Love Me (BWWM)

Chapter Six

Vincenzo is avoiding me.

First he kisses me, then he eats me out and now he's avoiding me.
Starting with Vienna's father dropping her home from school and dropping me at work just like he had.

I slumped over the register with my cup of ice coffee sitting right near me sweating onto the table.

"Excuse me?" I looked up and saw a beautiful tall slender woman with a wide brim hat and sunglasses.
"Hi, what can I get you?" I asked and the woman removed her glasses.

Shit, that's Hera, herself.

"Are you Alright?" She asked, combing through her ends with her fingers.
"Ah, yeah. I just have a little tummy ache. Sorry I didn't mean to lay on the counter."
"Honey please, I don't care about the counter. If you're not feeling well you should take time off." Hera said sweetly, her gold bracelet glistening in the light.

"No- no, I'm okay, seriously I am."

"If you say so, little one. I'm off now." Hera said putting her glasses back on and turning around, her sundress flows behind her.

"Actually, I heard there was a man here the other day, disrupting the peace. The next time Don't let him in, call the police immediately. You reserve the right not to serve customers who make you feel unsafe, remember that."

"I will."

"Good girl, I'm off now, au revoir."

She's everything I wish I was.
That walk, that gaze, that outfit... she's so powerful.

I can only imitate those things, can only strengthen my posture and stride but never really carry my head that high.

Envy eats me alive.

I sip my coffee and look at the customers Eating and chatting not too far away.
I removed my phone out of my pocket to see messages from Vienna which I ignored.

I saw the message I sent to Vincenzo.
A simple 'hey, can we talk?'
It's been seen and apparently ignored. I tuck my phone back in the pocket of my apron.

I pulled out the book I'd just received in the mail.

-excerpt from The boy still in the woods-

When I heard the call, I was with my cousin Bruno building houses. All I remember from the call was the frantic voice of Amara, screaming 'papa- Papa has my Angel, Papa has my child, my baby.'
My first instinct was not to panic, Amara was an alarmist, she always has been.

For as long as I'd known her as the mother of my son, Amara had panicked about everything. The water used to mix his formula, with the music we were playing to him at night- she worried club hits would spoil the infant's innocence, the color of clothes we bought him. Everything had to be just so, or she thought the baby would spoil.

'You can not spoil this baby, Marco, you don't get another one. This is the Sun and the moon. He is everything.' She'd say with so much love in her voice that I'd fall in love with her all over again. Being capable of possessing so much love for anything, seemed impossible to think about before I met her, and she met our son.

'He's always with papa, what's wrong?' I'd been irritated that day, the frame of the house Always just a little off.
"The police- they said that papa hurt some girl, the girl is with them but not- he's not there Marco. They're looking but we must go find him, we must, please Marco."

That day I thought I could out run a car. I ran and ran until fire burned my lungs and I was gasping for air all the while still running. All I could think, all I could see was my boy, scared and alone somewhere out of reach.
end of excerpt-