Priceless Ink: A Small Town Romance

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “He’ll take away your inheritance.”

  That stung a little, even though I knew it was coming. I hated that my parents would take away something they had set aside for me just because they didn’t agree with how I lived my life. But in the end, this was my decision, and I was willing to live with less money so I could be happy.

  “That’s his decision to make.”

  “I can’t believe this. You’re giving up your life, all that money, for that trash downstairs?”

  I stood angrily and slapped her across the face. She covered her cheek with her hand and stared at me in horror. “Do not ever speak about him that way. I love him. He sees me for who I really am. He loves me for who I am and he treats me like I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to him. So, run back to your rich life that’s filled with fake people that’ll use you for what you can give them. But I’m staying here.”

  She slowly rose from her chair and scowled at me. “You’ll regret this one day. You’re making the biggest mistake of your life, and by the time you realize it, it’ll be too late. Your friends won’t want to go near you and no man will marry you now that you’ve whored yourself out to that…” She stopped herself from calling him trash again, probably because she could see me preparing to smack her again.

  A throat cleared from across the apartment and I saw Andrew leaning against the doorframe of his bedroom. His face was pissed right now, but it wasn’t directed at me. I wanted to cry. I was so ashamed that I had ever been like her.

  “Who’s this?” Lanie sneered. “Another guy you’re screwing?”

  “I think it’s time for you to leave,” Andrew said with a deadly calm. “She made her choice, and now I want you out of my fucking apartment before I remove you myself.”

  She looked completely shocked that anyone would dare speak to her in such a way. She pursed her lips at me and turned for the door. “Your father will hear about this.”

  “I have no doubt you’ll go running to him the minute you get back to Chicago.”

  She walked out and slammed the door behind her. I stood there completely deflated until Andrew walked over. I looked at him warily, sure he was going to say something crappy to me. He just didn’t like me and I didn’t know how to get on his good side. But instead of saying anything, he pulled me into his arms and gave me a hug.

  “I knew you had claws.”

  I laughed against his chest. “You knew that when I came here.”

  “Yeah, but now I know that these are good claws.”

  I looked up at him. “Is this like the good throat punch Derek was telling me about?”

  Sofia

  For three mornings in a row, I felt sick to my stomach and couldn’t stand the sight of food. Luckily, Joe and Andrew weren’t around because I had been sleeping in. I hadn’t meant to, but I was just so tired. But now, I was beginning to think that this wasn’t just staying up too late at night. I was pregnant. I just knew it. Joe and I hadn’t been careful at all. In fact, we hadn’t once used a condom and I wasn’t on birth control.

  I should feel terrified. I should be concerned about what my parents would say, but instead, I was just so excited. I dressed quickly and walked down to the grocery store, picking up a few things I needed, but then discreetly shoved the pregnancy test in the basket as well. By the time I was back home and ready to take the test, I was practically bursting at the seams.

  I quickly tore into the package and peed on the stick. I didn’t even have to wait a full minute before those two pink lines showed up. Biting my lip to keep from screaming out, I shoved the test back in the box and hid it in the back of the drawer to show Joe later.

  I heard the front door open and skipped into the other room, thinking Joe was home, but it was just Andrew. Trying not to look too disappointed, I gave him a smile.

  “Hey, just getting home from Stacy’s?”

  “Why would you think that?” he asked, rummaging around in the fridge.

  “Because I thought you were dating.”

  “No, we’re fucking,” he said, pulling a dish out and pulling off the aluminum foil. He sniffed and then grimaced, shoving it back in the fridge. When it was clear that he would starve if I didn’t make him something, I got to work making him a sandwich. The smell of the meat made my stomach roll, so I held my breath until I finished putting it together.

  “Here,” I said, setting the plate on the table.

  He looked at it warily. “What’s that?”

  “It’s a sandwich.”

  He lifted the bread, but stood back as he looked underneath.

  “Oh my gosh, it’s not a bomb,” I said in mock shock.

  “And there’s no Pine Sol in there?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest, showing him I wasn’t amused. “And why would there be Pine Sol on it?”

  “Well, because you made it. You never know.”

  “It’s just a sandwich, Andrew. I can’t screw it up too much.”

  Since Lanie had been here, things had been different between Andrew and I. He had been trying with me before, but the day Lanie came was a real turning point for us. I could see the genuine affection when he looked at me. I was finally becoming one of the family.

  “So, did you hear that Kat convinced Eric to jump out of a plane?”

  “Really?” I sat down at the table and watched him eat. “How did she do that?”

  He shrugged. “Probably with the challenge.”

  “What’s that about anyway? I know they do it as some kind of ritual, but is that a normal thing with couples?”

  “Well, since I’ve never been a couple, I couldn’t tell you that.”

  “Never?”

  “Nope.”

  “Why? I mean, you’re a good looking guy. Why wouldn’t you want to date someone?”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to, I just…don’t want to.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know that makes no sense.”

  “It does to me. I would be in a relationship if I found the right one. I don’t want to be in a relationship with someone I don’t want to be in a relationship with.”

  “So, you haven’t found the right girl,” I hedged.

  He shrugged. “I guess it’s because of what I see at work.”

  “You’re a hacker.”

  He nodded. “You know what I do?” I leaned forward, eager to finally hear something about this. “I dig into people’s lives. When someone wants to know about a business associate’s dealings, I check into them. When a husband wants to know about his wife cheating on him, I do the digging. Do you know how many women out there are just looking for a quick payday?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is that why you thought I was after your brother?”

  He shrugged slightly and my jaw dropped. “Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but if I wanted a quick payday, I would have married Graham.”

  “That doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t have used my brother.”

  “Do you still believe that?”

  He looked away and grumbled, “No.”

  “Well, at least there’s that,” I grinned.

  But then I realized that I was about to drop the bomb that I was pregnant on Joe. What would Andrew think of me then? Would he assume that I was trying to trap Joe into marrying me? This new formed friendship I had with Andrew seemed to be hanging in the balance, along with my life and my relationship with Joe. What if Joe wasn’t happy about it? What if he thought that I had tricked him too?

  I looked around the apartment, suddenly unsure about my elation with this new revelation. Would we have enough money to support a baby? And who would take care of the baby if I was going to help Joe at work? We couldn’t afford a babysitter. I could barely afford to buy clothes at the thrift store on what I made. Plus, I had set up a checking account at the bank so I could help with bills, but there wasn’t a whole lot in there right now.

  “You know what I mean?”

  I looked up at Andrew, having missed every
thing he just said. “Um…sorry, what was that?”

  “I was saying that I’m really sorry for how I treated you when you came. I know now that you love my brother and you wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. I just wanted to protect him.”

  I nodded numbly and stood, suddenly very eager to get away. “I should get ready for work.”

  “Yeah, I have to go meet a new client,” he said, standing and heading for the door.

  I barely heard anything else he said as I started getting ready for work. It felt like everything was running in slow motion right now. I was just about to leave when there was a knock at the door. I assumed it was one of Joe’s brothers because no one else had the key to the door downstairs. I flung the door open, my face dropped, and I suddenly wanted to slam the door and forget this day ever happened. But that’s not what I did.

  As I stared at my father, all my training kicked in. He stood in front of me in his expensive suit and his slicked back hair, a look of superiority on his face. I stood straighter. I schooled my features the way he always taught me. I was his prim and proper daughter once again.

  “Father.”

  He glared at me in disgust. “Is that all you have to say to me? I paid for your wedding that you ran out of and that’s the greeting I get?”

  I cleared my throat and stepped back. “Please, come in.”

  He walked in, but he couldn’t hide the disgust on his face. “So, this is where you’ve been hiding out. I had hoped that when you ran you had found someone…wealthier.”

  I stood there, my heart pounding in my chest. I didn’t know what to say. I was terrified. My father always had the power to manipulate me, and it was only when I made the decision to run that I had any hope of escaping that mentality. I thought I had. I thought I was beyond his reach, but as he stood in front of me, all I could think about was how angry he was with me for letting him down.

  “You don’t have anything to say for yourself?”

  My mouth gaped, but I couldn’t get the words out. I swallowed hard and said the first thing that came to mind. “Graham was cheating on me. I couldn’t marry him.”

  My father huffed and walked further into the apartment. “Sofia, you should know by now that a woman’s job in the home is to keep her husband happy. Now, once you marry Graham and you’re his wife, performing your duties, he won’t stray from you again.”

  “And that’s what you want for me? To ask for fidelity only after I marry someone?”

  “Would you stop being such a child? You ran away instead of talking to me. I would have had a talk with Graham ahead of time if you had just come to me.”

  “It was the night before our wedding,” I said incredulously. “He was sleeping with my bridesmaid.”

  “And he’ll stop all that once you’re married. You’re going to come home with me and we’ll make sure you’re married right away. We’ll have a small ceremony, this time with family only. God knows we can’t invite any of my business associates after the stunt you pulled. They already think you’re an embarrassment.”

  I could see my life and my freedom slipping away one minute at a time. If I didn’t stop this, my father would drag me back to Chicago and I would be powerless to stop him. I stood straighter and looked him in the eye. I was not his puppet anymore. I had a life here. I had a man I loved and friends, and there was no way I was giving that up.

  “I’m not going back with you.”

  His eyes chilled and anger took over. “What did you just say to me?”

  “I said I’m not going back with you. I don’t want your money, and I don’t want to marry Graham. There is nothing that you could ever say or do to make me want to marry him. I’m staying here. For the first time in my life, I’m happy. I have a boyfriend and friends, and I even got a job.” The look of disgust on his face made me laugh. “Yes, I work in the tattoo parlor downstairs, and you know what? I like it!”

  His nostrils flared right before he backhanded me across the cheek. My father had never hit me before, but I was beginning to see that there was nothing that would stop him from getting his way right now. But I had an ace up my sleeve, something that would keep him from dragging me home with him.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  I swear, the shock on his face almost made me burst out with laughter. But then he shot forward and grabbed me by both arms, shaking me hard. “You little slut! Just months after your wedding and you’re already pregnant?”

  “Yes, and I love him!”

  “Too bad. You’re not staying here. Do you hear me? I don’t care if I have to drag you back by your hair, you’re coming home with me and you’re going to take your place beside Graham. I’ve put too much money into this for you to back out now!”

  “I won’t do it,” I shouted back. “I hate you. I hate that life, and there’s no way I’ll go back with you.”

  “What are you going to do? Raise a baby here? In this filthy apartment? Do you even know who the father is?”

  “Of course, I do. And he’s a good man. He comes from a good family,” I said, my voice shaking with anger. “I don’t care that he doesn’t have money. I don’t care if we live in this apartment. He’s the only person that’s ever cared about me and I’m not walking out that door with you and giving him up!”

  His eyes narrowed dangerously, and my confidence started to waiver. The man I was seeing in front of me was a monster, and I somehow knew that he would get his way in the end.

  “Listen to me, you little bitch. You are leaving here with me today, and if you don’t, I’ll make sure that your boyfriend pays for it. That’s his shop downstairs, right?”

  I swallowed hard, refusing to answer, but it wasn’t necessary. My father was in business mode right now. He already knew that Joe owned that shop, and based on the way he was looking at me, he had already dug into the business and the finances.

  “I own the deed to the bank in town,” he said slowly. “With just the snap of my fingers, I can have them call in his loan. Do you think he would be able to pay outright for the shop? Do you think his brothers could pay for it? What do you think would happen if I called in the loan on that auto shop his brother owns? Or the construction company? Even the lawyer doesn’t have enough money in savings to keep his little enterprise going without the bank to back him. I could ruin them all with just the snap of my fingers.”

  His eyes glimmered in satisfaction. My father had done his homework before he came down here, which meant that Lanie had made good on her word. She had run to my father and told him everything. Tears pricked my eyes. I was caught. I couldn’t stay here and have Joe’s business ripped away from him. He had worked so hard for it. And what about his brothers? Sure, they could go to another bank, but by then, it could be too late. And how long would it take for my father to buy up those banks? Weeks? Months? It would destroy all of them, and I would never be able to live with myself or look any of them in the eyes again. My only option was to go home with my father and pray that he never spoke of Joe again.

  I took a deep breath and did my best to be strong. “And what about the baby?”

  He sneered at me. “I should make you get rid of it. God knows we don’t need that filth in our family. But I think I’ll let you keep it. You’ll raise it as Graham’s child, and if you ever think of double crossing me, I’ll take that child away from you and you’ll never see it again. Am I clear?”

  I nodded shakily and stepped away as my father released me. My whole body was cold as I realized that this would be the last time I was ever in this apartment again.

  “I have to tell him goodbye. I have to explain.”

  “You can do it in a note. Be quick about it.” I nodded, not knowing what else to do, and grabbed a piece of paper. “And Sofia, I’ll be reading that before you leave it, so don’t try anything funny.”

  Joe

  I was slammed at work. I had three walk-ins and the night was already booked. Decker was sending people my way again, only this time, I didn’t have the staff
to accommodate everyone. But I couldn’t turn them away either. And Sofia hadn’t shown up yet, which was unlike her. She had said yesterday that she was feeling off, so she probably just wasn’t feeling good. Maybe she fell asleep upstairs. Either way, I needed help. I was drowning tonight.

  I picked up my phone after my last client left and dialed Andrew’s number, turning the music down so I could hear over it.

  “What do you want? I’m busy.”

  “Hey, are you in the apartment?”

  “Yeah, I’m working. Why?”

  “Can you check on Sofia? She’s not here. I’m guessing she’s not feeling good.”

  I heard his heavy sigh over the phone as his footsteps sounded in the background. “She’s not here.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Well, considering our apartment is less than eight hundred square feet, I’m going out on a limb and guessing that she’s not hiding in any corners. Wait, there’s a note for you.”

  “What does it say?”

  “I don’t know. It’s sealed in an envelope.”

  “Well, can you bring it down to me?”

  “Yeah, because I have all the time in the world. Can’t you come up here?”

  God, he was pissing me off. “Fine.”

  I hung up and let Ziggy know I was headed upstairs for a few minutes. I had people lined up in the reception area. I really couldn’t be doing this right now, but I had to know what was going on with Sofia. She probably just went over to Eric’s house or something. I could just give him a call, but the fastest way to find out where she went was to read her note.

  I stormed up the stairs and practically slammed the door open. Andrew was standing at the counter making a sandwich.

  “So fucking busy, huh?”

  “Do I look like your servant? I’m eating, not yanking my dick.”

  I rolled my eyes and snatched the envelope off the table. “Why the hell didn’t she just text me?”

  “Because she’s a fucking princess and that’s what princesses do,” he mumbled around a bite of food.