Romani Prince

Chapter 8: This is us

"It's late.  Get inside, Gabriella."

Carl releases me immediately and I jump out of the car, glad about the interruption.

"I apologize for the late time, Mr.Glass.  We were just talking."

Impassive, my father steps back from the car.  "Have a good night, Carl."

But what he really means is...  Leave, now.

While Carl's car pulls away, I hurry through the kitchen door, desperate to go up to my bedroom before my father comes in.

"Gabriella."

I freeze and turn around slowly to face my father.

"Care to explain?"

He won't be all that happy and I'm so exhausted from fighting. 

Still, I cannot lie to my father.  I better tell him the truth or Carl might use my fear to tell my parents to try and stick around.

Man up and tell him, already.

"Carl and I just broke up." I blurt it out, hoping he'll let me go.

Amazingly, my father doesn't seem surprised.  He stands there like the calm and distant giant that he has always been.

Richard Glass, or The Judge, as the entire town calls him, inspires respect through every pore, and he's still a mystery to me.

I grew up watching him from afar, as his job seems to always come first on his list of priorities.

Not even when little did my older brother and I ever dare to call him daddy.  It was always sir and father, with the utmost respect in our voices.

I frown, trying to figure out what is going through his mind.

Impossible.

"I gather that he didn't take it all that well..."

I shake my head.  "No, sir."

Extremely observant, his expression softens as he seems to notice my exhaustion.

"You need a good night of sleep.  We can talk at another time."

I don't hide my relief.  "Goodnight, father."

Hurrying upstairs, I grab my phone as soon as I close my bedroom door behind me.  What an intense day!

I drop down on my bed where my dog, Zed, yawns lazily, waiting for me to rub his ears.

"Hey there, my adorable lazybones." 

A quick rub, a lick on my nose, and he drops down, back to snoring.

Finally...

I wake my phone's screen and find a message from Luka from fifteen minutes ago...

Luka:  "I'm waiting..." 

Me:  "I just got in."

He answers immediately...

Luka:  "Is everything okay?"

Me:  "It breaks my heart to make him suffer, but I told him the truth."

Luka:  "About us?"

Anxiety hits me when I come to realize how quickly this is coming to be... us. 

It still confuses me, amazes me, while Luka doesn't seem to have any doubts.

His certainty is a bit scary, though.

Me:  "No...  I didn't need to say anything.  He's smart enough to have it all figured out."

Luka: "Good...  You never belonged to him, anyway, or anyone else, mierea.  Only me."