Page 83 of Love Me

“For what?” My mother asks.

I manage to give her a tight smile because where would I even begin with an apology?

“There’s Diego,” my mom says, pointing to him sitting by my hospital bedside. “He wouldn’t leave your side.”

I remember that, too.

He’s always been by my side.

“Let’s go make sure your father hasn’t done anything to him, huh? It’s time for dinner anyway.”

She closes the photo album and rises from the couch. The weight of all of the emotions moving through me makes it difficult for me to stand. However, I manage to push past them.

“I need to check my numbers before I eat,” I tell my mom as a way to dismiss myself to the bathroom. My statement is true, but I also need a minute alone. Everything feels suddenly overwhelming, and I’m not sure how I’m going to make it through this dinner for some reason.

CHAPTER20

Diego

I knew this day would eventually come. Ever since I made the decision about my intentions to make Monique completely mine, I knew I would have to have this talk with her father.

“Diego, did you see that?” Damian shouts in laughter. He just killed off my last remaining power source on the video game. “I thought you said you were good at this,” he quips.

“Guess my thumbs are out of shape,” I joke.

He rolls his eyes.

Damian’s a good kid so I don’t bother telling him that I’m letting him beat me. It’s his father whose eyes I can feel like lasers on my back. Watching us intently.

My aim is to get the game that I promised over as quickly as possible to have this so-called confrontation with Uncle Damon.

“Damian, why don’t you upstairs for a few minutes while Diego and I talk?” Monique’s father finally says.

“Yeah, I bet I can find better competition online,” Damian declares. “When’s dinner? I’m hungry.”

“Give us ten minutes,” his father answers.

“Cool. I’ve got plans tonight.”

Uncle Damon tells him something about making sure all of his schoolwork is done before he even thinks about going out for the night. Within a few minutes it’s just the two of us.

I rise from the chair and meet his eye contact.

“You wanted to speak with me?”

He looks me up and down.

“You know I own two guns, right?” he finally says.

I lower my head to hide my grin.

“Is that all?”

His eyebrows raise. “Don’t think because I love you like one of my nephews that I won’t hesitate to use them if you hurt her.”

“I would never,” I tell him in complete seriousness.

A small grin appears on his lips but quickly disappears.