That One Time by Aja Foxx

Chapter Nine

~ Henry ~

 

I jerked awake when someone knocked on the car window. For a brief, heart pounding moment, I thought it was Frank. I eagerly rolled the window down until I realized I was face to face with a police officer.

"Can I help you, officer?"

I was afraid I already knew what he was going to say.

"Sir, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises or I'll have to arrest you for trespassing."

Yep, I knew it.

"Thank you, officer." I shot a quick look toward the mansion. The four guards were still standing there. "I'll leave."

"Are these your bags, sir?"

I glanced down at the two bags another officer was holding in his hands. "I'm not sure."

I climbed out of the car, took the bags, and set them on the hood. I quickly unzipped the bags and started going through them. I guess they were mine. Everything inside certainly was. I doubted a single item of mine was left inside the mansion.

I grabbed the envelope Bellino had put in there last night and held it out to the officer. "You can give this back to Mr. Bellino. It doesn't belong to me."

"I'll see that he gets it," the officer said as he took the envelope.

I tossed the bags into the back of my car and then climbed behind the wheel. I made sure I had my seatbelt on before I started the car and backed out onto the road and then started driving back toward the city.

I knew I still needed to talk to Frank, even if it was just to tell him about the baby, but my misery was starting to turn to anger. I didn't know what I was supposed to have done, and I was starting to not care. If they could find me guilty without giving me a chance to defend myself, then they weren't the people I thought they were.

They certainly weren't people I wanted my child raised around.

I still had to tell Frank, though. It was the right thing to do. This was his child as much as it was mine. He had a right to know he was going to be a father. I just had to figure out a way to talk to him without his family around or the guards or the police.

I didn't see a lot of options.

I called Ryan and asked him to meet me at my apartment. Hopefully, he would be able to give me some ideas because I was all out. Or maybe it was because I couldn't stop thinking about the hateful words Bellino had shouted out at me or that Frank believed whatever nonsense was going on.

I guess he didn't trust me as much as he said he did.

I was thankful when my apartment came into view because I was a blubbering mess. I was pretty sure the tear steaks going down my face were going to engrave themselves into my cheekbones.

I parked my car, grabbed my bags, and then walked into my apartment. I dropped the bags right inside the door and walked inside. I made it as far as the couch before I collapsed and started crying.

That's where Ryan found me. I felt his arms wrap around me and just turned and buried my face in his neck.

"Hey, hey, it can't be that bad, whatever it is."

"Frank's father met me at the gate to the estate when I got home. He had my bags all packed. He handed me an envelope full of money before telling me I would never see Frank again and that he wanted me to go away."

"What?" Ryan leaned back so he could see my face. "Why?"

"I don't know. No one will tell me. I don't know what I did."

"Did you try calling him?"

I nodded. "My number was blocked."

"I could try."

I nodded again as I sat up. "Would you?"

Ryan pulled out his cell phone. He already had Frank's number in case he couldn't get a hold of me. He dialed, but after a moment he lowered his phone and shook his head. "My number has been blocked, too."

"I don't understand what is going on. What did I do that was so bad?"

"Did you ask him for money?"

"No, I've never asked Frank or any of his family for money. I've always tried to make it real clear to all of them that I wasn't with Frank because he had money."

"Did you fool around on him?"

"No, I would never."

Ryan winced. "You don't think this is about the dent, do you?"

"No, I started to tell Mr. Galeazzi about the dent, but he said he didn't care."

"Mr. Galeazzi?"

The tears started to flow again. "Frank's father."

"I thought he told you to call him Papa."

"He changed his mind. He said I can only call him Mr. Galeazzi now."

"Bastard!"

My heart leapt into his throat when someone knocked on the front door. "It's Frank. It has to be." I jumped up and started for the door.

Ryan caught me by the arm. "You go wash your face. I'll answer the door."

That was probably a good idea.

I raced into my bedroom to the bathroom and turned on the cold water before glancing at myself in the mirror. Yeah, it was a real good idea. I looked like crap.

I splashed some water on my face and then dried it with a clean hand towel. Before I left the bathroom, I ran a brush through my hair. I tried to put a smile on my face as I walked out of the bathroom, but the sour look on Ryan's face instantly erased it.

Ryan's jaw clenched before he said, "It's not Frank."

I swallowed tightly. "Who...Who is it?"

"His brother Martino."

 

I drew in a calming breath before pushing past Ryan and walking out into the living room. Maybe Martino could tell me what in the hell is going on. "Martino."

The man turned from the window he was staring out of. "Why am I not surprised to find you two together?"

What?

"Where's Frank? I need to speak to him."

"Frank doesn't want to speak to you. In fact, he never wants to see you again." Martino pulled two envelopes out of his pocket. "This is a check for one million dollars. Frank felt it was only right for you to have it. Personally, I think it's a little much to pay for a well-used whore, but it's his money."

I couldn't even gasp. I felt as if someone had just driven a dagger into my heart. I wasn't even sure it was still beating anymore.

"Get out, you son-of-a-bitch!" Ryan shouted.

"Oh, I'm going," Martino said with a smirk on his face. "I just have one more thing to give you. This is a restraining order barring you from being within five hundred feet of any Galeazzi, our places of residence, or our businesses. If you do attempt to see us or are found on any of these properties, you will be arrested and thrown in jail for what I hope is a very, very long time."

With that, Martino walked out, slamming the door behind him.

It sounded like a death knell.

I know I was numb because all I could do was stand there and stare at the two envelopes on the table. I didn't want to touch either of them. I knew my life would end if I did.

"Henry." Ryan's voice was soft and gentle, but I barely heard him. "Henry, come on, man. Snap out of it."

A bitter cold of despair dwelt within the deepest reaches of my soul. I closed my eyes, my heart aching with the pain. How was I supposed to survive this?

I have no idea how much time had passed before Ryan's voice tunneled through my misery and started to make sense. "Hey, Henry, you need to listen to me. You've had enough time to wallow in your misery. It's time for you to wake up and start making some decisions."

I opened my eyes and realized that it was light outside. "Wha—" I had to swallow hard before I could speak again. "What time is it?"

"About ten o'clock in the morning."

"Wow." I rubbed my hands over my face. "I guess I was out of it there for a little while, huh?"

"It's Thursday, Henry. You've been out of it for two days."

My eyes rounded. "Shit."

That would explain the smell.

"Why don't you go jump in the shower while I make you some breakfast and then we can sit down and talk?"

I nodded absently. "I didn't imagine that Frank kicked me to the curb, right?"

"No." Ryan snorted. "He more than kicked you to the curb, he erased your ass."

Yeah, that's what I thought.

I refused to let anymore tears fall as I got up and walked to the bathroom. I peeled my clothes off and dropped them in the hamper before climbing into the shower. I felt icy fingers in every pore of my body, freezing me from the inside out. Nothing really felt real.

The shower made me feel at least human, if nothing else. After drying off, I pulled on a clean set of clothes and then walked out into the main room. Ryan was sitting at the dining room table drinking a cup of coffee.

"I wasn't sure how your stomach was, so I made you some oatmeal."

"Thank you."

Ryan was kind of enough to let me eat in peace. He didn't start talking until after I had finished, taken my bowl into the kitchen to rinse out, and then sat back down.

And then he hit me with both barrels by slapping the two envelopes down on the table in front of me. “It's time for you to make some decisions."

"I'm not sure I can."

"You don't have much choice, Henry. It's not just you that you have to think about. Frank or not, you are bringing a child into the world." Ryan cocked an eyebrow. "Unless you don't want to, but that decision has to be made soon, too."

I instantly covered my abdomen with both hands as if protect the life growing inside of me. "I'm not getting rid of my baby."

"I didn't think you would, but that means you have some hard decisions to make."

"You keep mentioning decisions. What decisions?"

"Where you're going to live? How you're going to support yourself and a kid? Are you going to continue to go to school?" Ryan grabbed one of the envelopes and shook it. "Are you going to take this guilt money to make your life easier or shove it back in his face?" Ryan shrugged. "Those kind of decisions."

That was a lot.

"I won't take a penny from Francesco Galeazzi or his family."

"Okay, then you'll have to support yourself."

My heart sank a little more as I realized my priorities in life had shifted. "And drop out of school. I can't afford to pay rent, go to school, and raise a kid." The cafe didn't pay that well.

"Well, we can move in together. That should cut down on some of your bills."

My eyebrows lifted. "You want to live with me and my kid?"

"Actually." Ryan leaned back in his chair and rubbed his abdomen. "I was thinking you and your kid could live with me and my kid."

My jaw dropped.

"I kind of met this guy and had a one night stand with him. After we did the nasty, he told me he was married and wanted nothing to do with me, so I guess I'm on my own."

A burst of laughter left my lips. "Oh, we are a pair, aren't we?"

"I have a few suggestions if you want to listen."

I nodded. Anything would be better than what I had, which was nothing. "Go ahead."

"How do you feel about Seattle, Washington?"