Gabe

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  Isa turned to me in shock. “You used to strip?” Cap grinned, but Isa just pulled me in closer. “I think I want a private showing.”

  “Again, I’m standing right here,” Cazzo pointed out.

  “So, go the fuck home,” I said, not paying any attention to him. “No one asked you to come over here.”

  I was getting hard and I needed all these jackasses to go home so I could fuck my woman again.

  “I’d just like to point out that my dick is currently in perfect working order,” Sinner reassured everyone.

  “Good, because Burg was hoping for another chance in the sack with a man,” Cap laughed.

  Burg crossed his arms and glared at Cap. “Really? Because Sinner was worried that his relationship with you would worry the other guys. Something about getting all the good jobs and what that might look like? You have something to tell us, Cap?”

  “Christ, my own teammates are turning against each other,” Cazzo muttered as he rubbed a hand across his forehead.

  “If you guys are done, maybe you could leave us the fuck alone,” I growled.

  “Just so we’re clear,” Cap stepped forward. “We’re all cool? I don’t need to worry about Cazzo shooting your ass off?” He glanced between Cazzo and I. Looking over as Isa’s brother, I gave a nod which he returned. “It’s all good, Cap.”

  “Thank fuck. I really didn’t want to have to bury your body in the woods.”

  “What? You were gonna side with him?” I was shocked, but not that shocked. He had known Cazzo for longer.

  “Let’s face it, Gabe,” Cap smirked. “Cazzo has a stake in the company. If he was gone, who would do all the shit I fling his way?”

  “So, you would side with him because of paperwork?”

  “More work for me means less time with Freckles.” He shook his head sadly. “It wouldn’t have been easy, but someone has to make those tough calls.”

  “Nice to know where your loyalties lie.”

  “Hey, against anyone outside of work, I got your back,” he pointed at me.

  “Thanks, I feel so special. Bet you wouldn’t be all chummy with Cazzo if I told him that you knew all along I was fucking his sister.” I put a hand to my mouth in mock horror. “Oops. Did I just let that slip?”

  Cazzo didn’t have a chance to unleash his anger before Cap ran back through the house, escaping the wrath that Cazzo was sure to rein on him. Burg and Sinner ran after them, probably to keep the mayhem to a minimum.

  “Now that they’re gone, why don’t we get back to what we were doing.”

  Isa pushed up on her toes to kiss me, grinning as her fingers ran through my hair at the nape of my neck. “Did I hear you right? You want to marry me?”

  She didn’t need me to confirm it. I already told her that she was mine and we were all going to be a family. So, I just smiled down at her. “I love you, baby.”

  “I love you too. Now, are you going to give me that live showing?”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Isabella

  EVER SINCE GABE and I had said the big L, he had been staying over here a lot. Now that our relationship had become so serious, things were taking off in a big way. We did things like call each other to find out when the other would be home or figure out who would be picking up the kids at the end of the day. Matteo had been trying with the kids, but I could tell he was getting frustrated. He had never spent so much time with them and now he didn’t know how to deal with them.

  “I’m sorry, you want to do what?” I asked Matteo when he dropped off the kids.

  “I want to take them for the weekend. I think I need to spend some more time with them. A few hours here and there just proves how little I actually know my kids.”

  I eyed him warily. “You know this is going to be hard for you, right? A few hours is nothing compared to watching them overnight. They have a schedule to follow and… it’s not just that. You have to know how to handle them.”

  “And I’m never going to know if I don’t try this. It may have taken you leaving for me to realize how good I had it or that I didn’t actually know my kids. I was missing out on so much. I don’t want to lose them too before I have a chance to make it better.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should believe him. After all those years of marriage, he was a totally different man, maybe the man I had originally fallen in love with. It was too late for us, but he was right. If he could fix his relationship with the kids, that was something I couldn’t deny him.

  “Alright, you can take them Friday night, but I want them back here early Sunday afternoon.”

  “I can do that. Thank you, Isa.”

  I nodded, not really comfortable with my kids being away from me for the whole weekend, but then again, I guess that’s what happened when parents divorced. Gabe pulled into the driveway and the light on Matteo’s face dropped. He looked at the ground for a minute and then gave me a weak smile.

  “He’s here a lot now.” There was no malice in his voice, only sadness.

  “Yeah, I meant to talk to you about that, but things have been pretty busy.”

  “I’ll see you Friday.” He walked away, even giving Gabe a small wave which made Gabe suspicious. When he got to me, he eyed me warily.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Matteo wants the kids over the weekend. I guess I should be happy that he’s finally decided to be a parent. On the bright side, you get me all to yourself this weekend.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and smiled at him.

  “Actually, I have to leave tomorrow morning on a job. I’ll be gone at least a week.”

  “Oh, well, that kind of sucks. Our first weekend alone and it’ll just be me.”

  “I’m really sorry.”

  I waved him off. “Don’t be. It’s your job. It’s not like I never see you. You’ve already been around the kids and me more than Matteo was for our entire marriage,” I joked.

  “We’ll have a good night with the kids tonight and when I get home next week, we’ll find someone to watch the kids so we can have some time together.”

  “That sounds good.”

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  “This sucks,” I pouted as I sat on my couch in my ratty pajamas and ate ice cream out of the carton. My hair was a mess, my face felt dirty, and I hadn’t showered since yesterday morning. I had cleaned the entire house today and it was quite the workout. I did everything I could to distract myself from the fact that this was my first Saturday without the kids and I had not only spent the whole day alone, but now I was sitting on the couch on a Saturday night like an old lady. All I needed was a few cats and I was set. Was this what it would be like every time Matteo wanted the kids?

  I flipped through the channels, searching for anything to watch, and all I came up with was a rerun of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. After five minutes, I felt like my IQ had dropped at least fifty points. I shut it off and sat picking at the blanket on my lap. I should be enjoying this time to myself. I had never really had anything like this before, but right now, the house just seemed empty. I was on the verge of tears when my cell rang. Thinking it was Gabe, I wiped away the tears and answered in a chipper voice so he wouldn’t know I was lonely.

  “Hey, how’s it going?”

  “Isa, you gotta help me out,” Matteo’s panicked voice came through.

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t get them to calm down and they’re running all over the house and screaming. I got take-out, but they didn’t like what I picked up and they’re refusing to eat. I’m going out of my mind here.”

  After all the years that I had to put up with him refusing to help out when I needed it with the kids, I should let him suffer. But they were my babies and as sad as it was, I would rather be over there with Matteo and my kids than here all alone.

  “Give me ten minutes and I’ll be over.”

  “Thank you, Isa.”

  I hung up and jumped in the shower, quickly washing off so I didn’t reek to h
igh heaven and threw on some comfy clothes. I stopped at McDonald’s on the way and picked up some happy meals. At this hour, it was too late to make a home cooked meal for them anyway. When I arrived at the small apartment he rented, I knocked on the door, but he just shouted for me to come in. I was shocked at what I saw. Matteo was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands and the kids were arguing. Toys were everywhere and the take out he had gotten was strewn all over the counter.

  “I see things really are as bad as you said.”

  “I didn’t get it,” he said quietly. The kids ran into the room, squealing and jumping around when they saw the McDonald’s. I got them set up at the kitchen table and then went to sit by Matteo on the couch.

  “What happened?”

  “I was just trying to get them to like me. I took them to the zoo this morning and they wanted to go on all the rides. So, I bought them wristbands and they spent the whole morning having fun. I got them hot dogs and we were having a great time, but then Enzo started crying about everything and saying he wanted his monster truck and I didn’t know what to do.”

  “So, you took them shopping for toys?” I asked, pointing at the mess of packaging on the floor.

  “I swear, every toy they saw, they just had to have. And if I didn’t put it in the shopping cart, they started screaming and Enzo would get down on the floor and kick and scream. All the parents were staring at me like I was a bad parent. You have no idea how horrible it was.”

  I rolled my eyes, wondering how he could be so dense. I had dealt with shopping trips with the kids all along. He hadn’t ever offered to stay home with the kids. If they hadn’t created grocery pickup, I might have lived on drive-thru for the past six months.

  “How much sugar did you let them have?”

  “It was only a little bit,” he said, shaking his head in thought. “They had a few things at the zoo and then after lunch, I treated them to some ice cream, but I think that was it. Oh, and they might have had a few candy bars from the checkout lane at the store.”

  “A few?”

  “They couldn’t decide,” he said sheepishly.

  “Come on. Let’s clean up this mess and then we’ll get them ready for bed. It’s gonna take some time for them to wind down, so we want everything put away before they get done eating.”

  We quickly cleaned up and then ate the take-out he had ordered. When the kids were done eating, I took them straight to the bathroom for a bath. They were filthy and sticky. Then I sat down with them and read a few stories and by the time I had finished brushing their teeth, they were finally calming down. Of course, that may have been because I slipped them some melatonin, but I wasn’t going to give Matteo all my secrets.

  When they were finally asleep, I sank down on the couch with Matteo and stared at the TV. This had been nothing like it was when we were together. He actually helped out today and even watched what I was doing so he knew for next time. I had to admit that he appeared to actually be trying.

  “So, give it to me straight. What exactly did I do wrong today?”

  “Everything.” There was no hesitation in my voice. He needed to hear the truth. There was no sugarcoating this parenting thing. “You can’t try and buy them. If you wanted to take them to the zoo, that would have been enough. But the rides? They didn’t need to do that, and as fun as it was, that’s not what they need from you. They need to get to know you and have time just with you. Also, Enzo still takes naps, which is probably why he had a meltdown in the middle of the store. If Vittoria sees you buying him presents, she’s going to try and get as many as she can too. You have to be firm and say no. They have plenty of toys at my house and I packed some in their bags. They didn’t need more. I don’t think I need to tell you how much of a fail the whole candy thing was.”

  He sighed and leaned back into the couch. “I might possibly have overestimated my abilities to handle our kids.”

  “Well, they’re still alive, so that’s a positive thing for the day.”

  “Yeah, but they’re only alive because you came over here and saved the day.”

  “Eh, I’ve had lots of practice.”

  “Do you want to keep me company for a while? We could watch a movie.”

  “Sure,” I said as he placed his hand on top of mine.

  “I really want to thank you,” he said sincerely. “I know I really dropped the ball today…and ever since we had the kids. I just didn’t know how to deal with these little people and it was easier to pretend that I didn’t have to.”

  “And now?”

  He let out a long breath. “Now, I’m going to take it one day at a time and try to be better. I don’t know that I’ll be a great father, but I at least want to put in the effort.”

  I smiled at him, glad that he was finally coming around. It was a shame that it had taken me leaving for him to notice.

  “I picked up your favorite movie at the store today. I saw it in the sale bin and I just couldn’t resist.” He held up Forever Young and waved it in front of me enticingly.

  “Alright, let’s watch it.”

  “I’ll get the popcorn. You put it in.”

  We spent the rest of the night watching movies and it felt just like old times, when we were young and in love. At some point, I fell asleep on the couch. I should have moved and gone home, but I was comfortable and didn’t want to.

  When I woke up the next morning, Matteo was already up with the kids, cooking breakfast and nodding at Enzo’s jabbering. Now it was awkward. I didn’t know what to do, but this felt too much like we were a family. Last night had been a good reset for us, but that was all it was. I didn’t want Matteo thinking that because we had buried the hatchet that we would be getting back together.

  “I’m gonna get going and let you guys have the rest of the day together.”

  “Momma, you wan befkist?” Enzo asked.

  “No, buddy. I’ve got some stuff to take care of.”

  Matteo walked over to me and lowered his voice so the kids couldn’t hear. “You know, you could stay. We could spend the day together and-”

  “No,” I smiled sadly at Matteo as I shook my head. “I think it’s great that you want more time with the kids and I’m glad you called when you needed help last night. But we’re not getting back together. It’s too late and I’ve moved on.”

  “You mean with Gabe.”

  “No, I mean I’ve moved on with that part of my life. I’m recreating what I always wanted and I’m taking it for myself. What you and I had never would have lasted and I can see that now. As soon as we got married, things changed between us. Honestly, I don’t think you ever really wanted that life, and that’s okay, but we have kids and we have to do what’s best for them.”

  He nodded and looked at me like he used to when we were dating. “I’m sorry that I hurt you. Out of all the shitty things I did over the years, I hate that I killed that light in your eyes.”

  I didn’t want this to keep going on, so I said goodbye to the kids and headed home. I felt like I was finally going to be able to move on without anything hanging over my head.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  The building inspector had declared the house unfit for human habitation and it was set to be demolished. I had called the owners and told them there were some things that were left behind and they agreed to meet me at the house to go through and collect anything they might want to save and discuss the next steps for selling the property. They finished up at the house just as the sun was setting. Even though the house was condemned, I was still required to make sure it was locked up before I left for the night.

  I was already in my car before I realized that I had left my phone inside somewhere. Cursing myself, I went back and let myself in the house. I couldn’t remember where I had left my phone and since the power was off, it was hard to see in the fading light. The last place I had been was upstairs, going through the things in the bedrooms. I was just about upstairs when I heard my phone ringing. I hustled toward the soun
d. How lucky was I that someone had called and I didn’t have to search the whole damn house?

  “Hey, Gabe.” I said, picking up the phone just before it would have hung up.

  “You sound out of breath.”

  “I left my phone upstairs at the property I’m working. I had to run upstairs and get the phone before you hung up, otherwise I never would have found it in the dark.”

  “I really don’t like the idea of you being on some abandoned property this late at night.”

  I glanced down at my watch and chuckled. “Yeah, crazy that I would be here at 6pm. I’m lucky I got out with my life.”

  “It’s not funny, Isa. It’s dark out and you’re at a house with no power. What if someone broke into the house?”

  “If they did, they’d probably fall through the floor. Luckily, I know where to step.”

  “Promise me you won’t do this again. I don’t like-hey, hold on.” I heard him talking to someone in the background for a minute. “Sorry about that. I have to go do something for your brother.”

  “Tell him to piss off.”

  “Isa, he almost shot me.”

  “No, he did shoot you, which is why you shouldn’t give in to whatever bullshit he’s putting you through.”

  “I’d gladly do it. It’s worth it to be with you and not have to hide it.”

  “You say such sweet things.”

  “Yeah, I’m a regular Romeo. I’ll see you at home.”

  “Okay, bye.” I hung up and headed for the stairs, squinting in the dark to see where I had to step. I was about halfway down when the sound of glass breaking filled the silence of the house. My heart jackhammered in my chest. I didn’t know where the sound had come from, but there was no way I was staying in this house for one more minute. I looked for my next step and kept telling myself that it was just a squirrel or a rabbit.

  Yeah, Isa. Squirrels and rabbits are known to break into houses.

  After I hit the last step, I quickly looked around. Not seeing anyone, I crept toward the door.