Mafia Queen

Chapter Fifteen

Charlotte

"You just go to right up to your room and wait for your father to get home." I wasn't sure at what point exactly that I'd turned into my mother. When she said that when I was younger, I always knew I was in major trouble. Not that Josh was ever much of a disciplinarian, but the threat was always ominous.

Of course Layla picked the one day Julia had the afternoon off to get in so much trouble at school that I had to go pick her up. Leo clutched my one free hand while I lugged Cole's car seat in, both totally cranky from having to be woken up from their naps. Layla stomped in front of us, attitude exuding off of her.

"You're ruining my life!" She yelled over her shoulder.

I let out a sharp laugh. She was only six, but certainly going on sixteen. "You're only getting yourself in more trouble, Layla."

A few seconds later, I heard her door slam and let out an exasperated sigh. This was the last thing I needed this week. I was so exhausted I could hardly think straight. My body ached from so many sleepless nights in a row, and my mind was running in overdrive. Things had been off for a few weeks, but Luca's admission the other night had seemed to magnify everything.

And now, on top of all I had going on with Luca, Layla was running around like a little delinquent. I didn't have the faintest idea what to do with her right now. Today, she punched a little boy at school, getting herself suspended and sending the other child to the hospital. Normally, what she did was enough to get her kicked out of the school, but apparently, special concessions were being made for us since Luca donated so much money.

He was the one that was always saying I was too soft on her, so he could come home and deal with it. And maybe he was right. If I slammed the door like she'd just done when I was young, my mom would've been up there with a screwdriver, taking it off its hinges within minutes. I hated being the bad guy with her, especially because I was worried there was more going on underneath all of this. She hadn't been herself lately, and I'd never seen her act this way. I felt like a failure having to call Luca to come handle it, but I was truly at my wit's end. All she did was yell back at me, but Luca could get her to behave with just a certain look.

"Momma, Dory!" Leo pointed to the TV climbing up on the couch with Ralph. I normally wasn't one to let the kids watch much TV, but if it got me two minutes of peace today, I could be convinced of anything.

I put the movie on for him, hoping it would keep him awake until dinner. If he napped now, I'd never get him to sleep. Within minutes of having it on, though, he was sound asleep on the couch. Cole was teething, so he was incredibly fussy and cried whenever I tried to put him down. At least Layla had seemed to settle down. The stomping had stopped a few minutes ago, and I figured she was probably just reading or dancing.

Soon, I heard the front door close and the sound of both Luca's and Angelo's voices.

"Char?" I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was already headed toward the living room.

"Hey." I gave him an anxious half smile when he came in. Why did I immediately feel so uncomfortable whenever he was even in the same vicinity as me right now? It certainly wasn't helping things between us.

"Hey Char!" Angelo said cheerfully. "There's my favorite little minion." You took Cole from my arms and immediately started throwing them into the air and catching him. Cole dissolved into giggles, and I couldn't help but smile myself. They were so cute together.

Luca kept his distance, not greeting me with his usual kiss. "I got your text. Is everything okay?"

"Well, I guess that depends on whether or not you call Layla getting suspended okay." I sighed.