Page 78 of Claiming Vanessa
“How long do I have?” I ask him, unable to look away as I try to reconcile his casual threats with how he’s simply measuring and pouring ingredients into a bowl. “To get pregnant?”
“Fuck if I know. But at least a year, I guess? The doctor said there were no obvious issues with your fertility though, so hopefully it won’t take that long.” Giulio yawns again as he starts whisking everything together. “Can you turn on the waffle iron? It’s next to the microwave.”
I cross the room to turn it on. “Do you even want kids?” I ask, suddenly curious. “Or is it all about what Damien wants?” I can’t figure out their dynamic. They obviously like women, or they wouldn’t be all over me all the time, but they’re terribly close, too.
Giulio hmms, as if thinking. “I never thought about it much. But I’m coming around on the idea. I’d do a much better job than my old man, that’s for sure. And Damien… he’s done a lot for me. He deserves to get what he wants on occasion, considering he put up with both me and my old man for so many years.” He catches my expression and laughs. “Yeah, I know I’m a pain in the ass.”
I lean against the counter near the waffle maker. “I’d do a lot better than my mother, too,” I mumble. I close my eyes, trying not to let the hurt overwhelm me when I think of how easily she’d dismissed me and Lucia, how frank she’d been about not actually wanting us. Will I feel that way about my own children? With Giulio as their father, will I resent them as much as I hate him and Damien? I can’t imagine ever showing it.
“Your mom was hysterical though.” Giulio walks over and lifts the lid of the waffle iron. After holding his hand over it—to test the temperature?—he pours in a generous amount of batter and closes it again. “I don’t blame her for being drunk all the fucking time. Damien said my old man had yours killed in front of all of you?”
I have to swallow hard against the nausea. I can’t speak, only giving him a small nod as I fight the urge to throw up at the memory of watching my father shot in front of the entire family.
“Man. I fucking hated my old man, but props for cruel creativity, I guess.” Giulio shakes his head. “Look on the bright side! You’ve got no family left for me to horrifically murder. Well, your sister, I guess, but I’m not going out of my way to antagonize Corvi right now. Gotta sort my own problems first.”
“That’s not really comforting,” I tell him, staring down at the bowl of waffle batter instead of looking up at Giulio.
He yawns again. “Yeah. As soon as it gets out that I’ve got an actual interest in you, the target on your back will be seen from fucking space. Ugh, I hope nobody is holding grudges for the shit my old man did to their families.” Giulio lifts up the waffle iron lid and removes the finished waffle, then pours in more batter. “Or for that time I threatened Romano’s son, I guess. Or when I fucked di Piazza’s daughter.” He snorts in amusement. “Guess your life is gonna be really interesting from now on.”
“Wait,” I say, my mind caught on the first part of what he’d said to the point that I’m not really sure what else he was talking about. “You have an actual interest in me?”
“Uh, what, you think I’m fucking you on the regular for no reason?” Giulio smirks at me. “Come on, college girl, keep up.”
His phone buzzes, and he sighs as he checks it. He taps out a response. I’m a little surprised he even bothers, when he so clearly doesn’t want to.
“You just want to get me pregnant because Damien wants that,” I point out. “That doesn’t mean you have to, you know, have an interest in me beyond that. And I’m not a college girl anymore. You made damn sure of that.” My words are more bitter than I expected, but I wish I could go back to that.
“You were cute, yesterday. When you decided to take the blame for whatever shit Traci and Cat did. It was bad enough to upset Elena, which pisses me off to a murderous degree, but I’ll let it slide this time since I got to see you practicing your acting chops.” Giulio removes the finished waffle and pours more batter. “You held nice and still for Antonia, too.”
I shudder at the reminder of the snake. “Do you always torture people you’re interested in, or am I just special?” I retort.
He laughs and nods. “Yep. Just ask Damien. I make his life hell. I just want to see all your interesting reactions.” Giulio leans forward and kisses my cheek. “My attention is the worst, I know.”
“It really is,” I say sourly, though he wouldn’t have had any interest in me at all if Damien hadn’t taken a liking to me for reasons I just don’t understand.
My stomach rumbles again, and I swipe a waffle from the plate. I tear off a piece and pop it in my mouth, too hungry to worry about butter or syrup or anything special.
Giulio wrinkles his nose at me. “I set out jam. It’s this artisanal stuff I bought at a farmer’s market I happened to pass… Don’t tell me you’re like Slayer and only tolerate boring foods.”
“I’m just hungry,” I say defensively, but I head over to the jar of jam he was talking about and open the lid. It smells good. I usually just have a sugary syrup with my waffles, or some fruit, but I decide to give it a try. I find a butter knife in a nearby drawer and spread some of the jam onto the waffle.
The first bite is… interesting, and I’m not sure if I like the tart taste or not. “What is this?” I ask, making a face.
“Hibiscus jam!” Giulio says. “If you don’t like that, I’ve got a persimmon marmalade, or almond butter, or…” The front doorknob rattles, and he trails off. “Ah, that’ll be Damien. Set the table for all of us, would you?”
I look through the cabinets until I find plates, and I set the rest of my waffle down on one of them. I grab the others and bring them to the table, setting them out before getting silverware and napkins and laying everything out.
I’m just sitting down with my plate when Damien strolls in, and I tense up at the sight of him.
Damien stares at me for a few seconds. “I didn’t realize you’d kept all the clothes,” he comments to Giulio.
“What, like I was going to toss them?” Giulio places all the waffles onto a large plate and carries it over to the table. “And look, I’m awake! I told you I’m never late.”
I look down at my waffle instead of up at Damien, not wanting to see him—to see the cause of all of this and know it’s his fault I’m here while they try to get me pregnant. I don’t speak, though, not wanting to be a part of this conversation.
“You’re cooking, though. And only just sitting down to eat, even though we’re supposed to be leaving now.” Damien shakes his head and heads to the fridge. “Do you still have the—”
“Yep, chili jam, same spot as always, still untouched from the last time you ate here because why would I want spicy jam on my breakfast?” Giulio sits down and laughs. “Vanessa, you should try some. It’s not even bad, but he piles it on so thick…”