Romani Prince

Chapter 20: Mother

We quickly jump out of bed and I place myself in front of Luka as my mother rushes to him with her hand up in the air.

It all happens so fast...

She is aiming higher for Luka, so when her hand comes down it hits me hard across my temple.

Luka catches me as I stumble back and everything goes dark for a brief second.

When I regain my bearings and sight, Luka has my mother's wrist in his hand while huffing and puffing from behind me.

"Enough with the slapping." He growls dangerously low.

"Luka!" I push my back against him and he releases my mother, embracing me, protectively.

Shorter than me, my mother still pushes forward, almost pressed to my chest while glaring from Luka to me with a vengeance.

"I can't believe you, Gabriella! Fornicating like a whore in the bed that we paid for! Have you no decency? No, of course not! I always knew this would happen, someday!"

Is... my mother saying that she always thought of me as a whore?

"Can't you see that we're fully dressed? Nothing happened!" Luka tries to be heard.

"We did nothing wrong, mother!"

Lost deep in her blinding rage, I know that nothing can be said to make her see the truth.

"I know what I saw! And how did he even get in here? I'm calling the cops!"

"Mother! Stop! Are you crazy! I invited him here!"

For another second there, I imagine that another one of her slaps would come crashing down on me, but instead...

"Crazy? I certainly was crazy to think that the best education and good morals we taught you could possibly change your wild nature! But you were already lost from the first moment that I saw you!"

I am... speechless.

What was that all about? Does my own mother think that I'm a whore by nature?

Luka grabs my shoulders from behind while I watch as my mother yells the most absurd things on the phone to my father.

"Let's go, Gabriella! Now! You and me!"

He turns me around and gently cups my face, looking into my confused and teary eyes.

My head hurts, my vision is foggy from all the tears, and I can't make sense out of anything while my mother screams in my ears.

All the terrible things that she is saying... It is horrible.

I drop down on the bed. "I can't... breathe."

With my hands over my chest, I try to suck in all the air in the room into my lungs. Not enough. Is this... a panic attack?

Luka's terrified face appears in front of mine. He has tears in his eyes, too.

He is so worried for me... For us.

Instinctively, I wipe his tears off and he takes my hands in his, looking into my eyes.

"Come with me, mierea. It's going to be okay."

His voice sounds so calm, and suddenly... Luka is all I can see and hear.

"We'll deal with your parents later when things calm down. Come with me, baby."

Taking a deep breath, I get up and allow Luka to lead me out to the corridor, not even worrying that we're still barefoot and I'm wearing this ridiculously short red dress.