The Sinister Silhouette

I should mention that Ella can’t stand the sight of Cora and would probably yank out every hair on her head given the chance. That happens when you catch a person bent over being fucked into the mattress by your best friend’s boyfriend, in their own fucking bed. I didn’t know about that when I got with Cora. Had I known, I wouldn’t have.

I barely glance at Ella—she should know me better than that—before I look back to Cora. “We don’t have plans. You wanted to meet up, and I told you to fuck off. Now it’s time for you to leave, and don’t come back.”

Her lips jut out into a pout, and it only makes her look ridiculous, not seductive like she’s aiming for.

“Come on, Luca. You know you want to play with me,” she whines.

Actually, the thought makes me sick. Before I get a chance to tell her that, Ella, much stronger than her small frame suggests, pushes my arm aside and jumps at her. She grabs a handful of Cora’s bleach-blonde hair and yanks down, forcing the woman to bend over or have her hair yanked out. She screeches and starts prying at Ella’s fist.

“You bitch!” she yells. “Let me go!”

“I’ll let go when you’re out the fucking door,” Ella spews, bending and getting in Cora’s face. “Luca said leave. Are you hard of fucking hearing or are you just so damn desperate you refuse to listen?”

“Fuck you, cunt!”

“Not even in your dreams, hussy.”

I give Ella her moment of fun, but then sensing the mounting rage in her form, I stalk over to the women before it goes too far. I’m not the only one in my family who took classes at Abe’s.

“Let her go, Ella,” I demand.

“No,” she snarls without looking my way.

Like me and Theo, Ella is protective of her family, even when it’s not needed.

“Ella,” I warn and grab her hand. She finally lifts her head and looks at me, showing the ire in her eyes. “Let her go. She’s leaving.”

She bares her teeth, but eventually unwraps her fingers from Cora’s hair, then shoves her head away from her. Cora stumbles back a step and straightens. She looks like she’s ready to go after Ella, so I step between them. This shit ends now.

I point a finger at Cora. “I’ve told you a dozen times, we’re through. I see you in here again, Cora, and it won’t end pretty for you. Now leave. Or I’ll throw you out.”

She tosses her now ratty hair over her shoulder and curls up her red painted lips. “You’ll regret this, Luca.”

“I doubt that,” I deadpan.

Ella snorts out a laugh and Cora’s eyes flick to her. “Watch your back, bitch.”

And with that, she stomps to the door, flings it open so hard it bangs against the wall, and walks out without closing it behind her.

“I’ll never know what in the hell you saw in her,” Ella mutters.

I shoot her a look. “Don’t start.”

Walking to the door, I look out and make sure she’s gone before closing it.

“You need to learn to curb your temper.” I walk past her to the hallway. “It’s going to get you in trouble one day.”

She scoffs. “My temper is just fine when it comes to that woman.”

Ignoring her, because she won’t listen anyway, I go back to the room Kyle’s in. He’s back in the chair doing something on his phone.

“Everything cool?”

His question comes as no surprise. Neither does the fact that he didn’t come out to investigate what was going on. Living on this side of the tracks, you expect shit like that to happen. It’s our normal everyday lives.

“Yeah,” I grunt, grabbing my phone to start my music again.

“It was Cora, wasn’t it?”