Lost Lombardi

Chapter 30

"Dino, slow down! Slow down!" Kacper screamed from the passenger seat while Dino drove fast to catch up with Helio's car.

"How can we catch them if we slow down, Kacper?" Dino said firmly.

"But what if we get into an accident?" Kacper replied, sweating with fear and with his face turning red.

"We won't. I know how to drive," Dino insisted, pressing the accelerator hard.

Helio's car was a few meters in front of Dino's car, speeding ahead. Suddenly, Helio took a sharp turn onto a narrow road. Dino followed, and the road was not crowded at all. It looked like a lonely path surrounded by woods. Neither Dino nor Kacper had ever been in this area before.

Dino realized why Helio had chosen this road. One reason was that it had many turns, and whenever Helio turned, Dino couldn't see Helio's car. The other reason was that the road was bumpy because of its poor condition.

—---------

"Turn left, Rosi! Turn left!" Lola shouted to her friend, who was in the driver's seat. Rosi was driving Lola's car, and Lola had to speak louder than the noise of the song playing. Rosi and Lola were friends in their thirties. Both were single and rich, and they were driving to their friend's place for a party that night.

"Are you sure this road is right? It looks like a jungle," Rosi said, glancing around.

"This is a shortcut. I use it sometimes," Lola replied. "Just turn on Google Maps, stupid," she added, turning on Rosi's phone. "See? We can get there quickly," Lola pointed to the screen. Rosi nodded.

Finally, Rosi started to feel familiar with the road, and both of them began to sing along to the song loudly again. No one could hear them, so they didn't care how their voices sounded or if they could sing well.

"All the single ladies, all the single ladies. Oh oh oh... OOOOOO MY GOSH! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Rosi screamed, struggling to keep the car steady. Something had hit the car hard as she took a turn, and the vehicle was almost about to jump off the road. But she controlled it like a pro.

"What happened?" Lola asked, her eyes wide open. "Are you okay, Rosi?" She cared more about her friend than the car. Lola had more than one car, and buying them wasn't a big deal for either of them since they were rich.

"I'm okay," Rosi said, but just then they heard a huge thud. They turned their heads to see a car had crashed into a tree.

"Oh, I think that car hit ours. What an idiot!" Rosi said, stopping her car.

"Do you think we should stop and check?" Lola asked, concerned. She worried that they might be robbers or something. Then they saw two school boys climbing out of the car.

"Oh my gosh! Are those school boys?" Rosi exclaimed.

"Looks like it. No wonder they drove like that. Idiots," Lola laughed. "Thank God we don't have kids."

"Now we have to check on them. I can't believe how their parents raised those kids," Rosi said as she reached toward the car.

—-----

Kacper looked at Dino with pain. Dino was about to cry. His brand new car had crashed into a tree, and the bonnet was damaged badly. It was a miracle they hadn't been hurt.

"Dino," Kacper said, looking at him with concern.

"What will I tell Papa now?" Dino replied in anguish.

"Are you guys okay? Hello, kids!" They heard a woman's voice and turned to see two ladies approaching. Dino realized he had hit their car. He knew it was his fault. That meant Pietro would have to pay for the damages, and Pietro was going to be mad at him. And Don too.

Oh my gosh. How can I escape from Don? Maybe I'll run away from home, Dino thought.

"Are you guys okay?" one of the ladies asked. Both women were dressed in expensive, fun-looking clothes. They appeared to be in their thirties but were in great shape, showing they took their appearance very seriously.

"We don't have any serious injuries. Thanks for asking," Kacper said politely. But Dino was too busy thinking about how to face Pietro and Don.

"Are you okay, kid?" Rosi asked Dino.

"Not really. My dad will kill me now. And my grandpa," he replied, sounding pained.

"Were you two drunk? Why did you think it was okay to drive that fast on the road?" Lola asked firmly. She was angry that their car had been damaged because of the two reckless boys.

"We're not drunk. We just..." Kacper looked at Dino for an answer.

"I... I just got my license a few days ago. I... I mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the brake," Dino lied. Kacper, who wasn't used to lying, turned as red as a tomato and pressed his lips tightly together.

Lola and Rosi exchanged glances. "How dangerous," Lola said.

"Can you give us a phone for a minute? We need to call our parents," Kacper asked politely again. Dino looked at Kacper, not wanting to tell Pietro that the brand new car he had bought for him had hit a tree. He wished the trees could move so he could blame it on them instead of himself.

"None of you have phones?" Lola asked suspiciously.

"Someone stole them," Dino said.

"What do you mean?" Lola asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"School bullies," Dino replied.

"Okay, take a call quickly. I can't wait to meet your parents," Rosi said, offering her phone to Dino.

Dino took the phone and dialed Pietro's number. Then he regretted calling Pietro instead of Luca. He quickly hung up and dialed Luca's number instead.

"Hello?" Luca's rough voice came from the other end.

"Luca, don't tell Papa. My car hit a tree," Dino said, explaining the location. Luca assured him he would come quickly.

"Thanks for the phone," Dino said as he handed it back to Rosi.

"So, your parents are coming?" Rosi asked.

"Mmm, he's busy. My guard will come," Dino replied.

"Oh, you have a guard," Lola said, surprised.

"I mean my Papa's driver," Dino clarified.

"It's okay if you want to keep secrets," Lola said. "But, kid, your parents have to pay for the damage you caused to my car." Dino nodded.