Scared To Love You Again

33

Damian

Present

"So that's what happened." Dom looks off into the distance as he finishes telling me what went down between him and Imani. "I love her, fratello, but how can you love someone if you don't even know them. Questo è quello che mi sta fottendo." (That's what's fucking with me.)

He slips the bottle from my hand, but I don't fight back this time. I watched as he halfway downs some of the bottle. Damn.

"Everything feels like a lie, amico. I feel played. Stupid even."

"You're not stupid, Dom."

"Spare me, fratello. Romeo already told me about how the stronza didn't fuck with us "Romanos" and I still went for it. You heard Leila confirm it that night." He shakes his head in disappointment. "I don't know what she has over us, because I never did a damn thing to her but adore and fuck her brains out."

I chuckled. "Non si trattava di tutti voi." (It wasn't about y'all.)

"Ohhhh right. I forgot. She has this whole obsession with her sister being with you. Well... why don't she just fuck you already." He drunkenly joked.

I turn my nose up. "Don't ever disrespect me like that. I give that a hard fucking pass. No offense." Sister or not. I wouldn't touch Imani even if we were the last two people on Earth. If I had to choose between dying and fucking her, I'd have a reserved spot for me right next to the Devil himself.

"None taken. I don't know her."

"Dom.... You only feel this way for the moment, but later it'll change. Have you talked to her?"

"She keeps calling me, but I send her right to voicemail with the rest of the unknowns." That's wild. I never heard him talk this way about anyone. She really left her mark on him. Sounds like he's beginning to despise Imani. On the real, I don't blame him. She's disrespected me multiple times and I still showed her the upmost respect, but the other night drew the line.

He picks up a picture frame of the both of them from the nightstand. "Mmm." He drinks from the bottle again. "What a waste. A damn shame actually, because I was really thinking about marrying this girl." He sucks his teeth and throws the frame out the window.

"What the fuck, Dom?" I run over to the window, making sure anyone passing by didn't get hit.

"What? Leave it. That's where it belongs. In the fuckin' streets like the rest of them." He walks off into his bathroom with the bottle.

I stayed with Domenico most of the day so he wouldn't drink himself into a stupor. Took him out the house to get some fresh air and be with our brothers, so we chilled at a bar. He mostly just picked up a bunch of girls' numbers the whole time. I can tell he was really smashed, because half of them looked beat the fuck up. Damn he was better off with Imani. Not gonna lie, she's bad too but that attitude is ugly and delusional.

I checked the time and it's almost ten. Shit, I need to get to Leila. She probably thinks I've been avoiding her. Then again, she knows I was with my brother so she shouldn't be too pissed. I shoot her a text, letting her know I'm on my way home now. She says she's still with her sister. Cool. I turn to Romeo, Apollo, and Domenico. "Hey, I'll see y'all later."

"You outta here?" Romeo asks.

"Yeah, I gotta handle a few things."

"Who you think you fool in'? Man, we wasn't born yesterday, we know what that shit means. Talkin' bout handling a few things. Fuck outta here." Apollo instigated.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut the fuck up, Apollo." I gave the all a bro hug. Domenico being the last one. "You be careful tonight. Non fare qualcosa di cui ti pentirai più tardi." (Don't do something you're gonna regret later.)