I give Sin a thumbs up, but he just rolls his eyes at me.
Whatever, it’s a point in his favor. Sorta. I guess Carly probably wouldn’t think so, since he does still work for them. He also advocates killing Vince to keep things tidy. Aw man, Carly wouldn’t approve of Sin, would she?
No point thinking about that. I’ll leave here in a few days and return to my staid life—the one where I never engage in sexual activity with murderers. Where I’ll get past the unintended burden of having a gangster’s baby and go on to marry a nice, normal biophysicist, and our biggest point of contention will be arguing about whose research is more important.
Why does that sound so boring now? Why do Sin’s busted knuckles feel like something I’ll miss? Before Sin, I only had Rafe to compare men to—and they already fell short. Now I’m going to look at the smooth, unmarked hands of every date I have and be like, “You clearly haven’t beaten anyone to a bloody pulp lately; check, please!”
Carly interrupts my thoughts of future disappointments, asking, “Wait, you’re at dinner?”
“Yes,” I answer, frowning slightly.
“Kinda early for dinner. What’s this guy do?”
I pull the phone away from my ear and check the time. It’s 5:18 here, but that means it’s only 3:18 in Chicago. I forgot about the time zone difference. Placing the phone to my ear, I say, “Late lunch, early dinner. Linner, if you will.”
She presses on. “Does he go to school with you? What’s his name?”
Before I blurt out another ridiculous name, I figure I should probably wrap up this phone call. “Okay, Mom, a stall just op
ened up so I have to go. When I get home I’ll give you all the deets. We’ll drag Vince out for milkshakes and make him listen. You know how much he loves our girl talk.”
Cackling wickedly, she says, “Yes, it’s a date. Text me your flight info and I’ll pick you up. I hate that you left a note and snuck away. I would’ve given you a ride to the airport.”
“It was impulsive,” I tell her. “Anyway, I’ll see you in a few days. I love you.”
“Love you too, babe.”
“Tell Vince I said I miss him too, then tell him I said to stop rolling his eyes.”
“Hurry up and get your butt back here. Summer is supposed to be mine, not some mystery guy’s.”
“I’ll be back soon, I promise. Bye, Carly.”
When I hang up the phone, I’m hit with a wave of homesickness. They’re the only family I have, and I do miss them. During the school year I’ve grown used to living on my own in the city ever since Carly moved to Connecticut for God knows what reason. But I always go home for breaks and spend them with her and Vince—or, in the case of Easter, with Vince’s family in Chicago, where I met Rafe.
He drifts over in my direction, hands shoved into his pockets and regards me. “Chicago, huh?”
“Couldn’t tell her I was coming to Vegas, now, could I? My sister has a fully functioning brain, so she would have stopped me.”
He cracks a smile. “You have a fully functioning brain, too.”
“If I did, I would be at home,” I inform him, handing my phone back to Sin. “I would have a belly full of Oreo milkshake and cheese fries instead of an embryo, and the only Morelli in my life would be the harmless one.”
Rafe looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Vince? The harmless one? Oh, kitten, you don’t know anything about him, do you?”
Maybe I don’t, and maybe I don’t want to. Now I just feel sad. I want to go home. Oh, God, why do I want to cry? I’m not going to cry. That would be horrible. I don’t even really know why, but I feel like I’m drowning in a pool of sadness and I can hardly breathe.
Before I make a fool of myself, I turn and abandon them in the kitchen, running upstairs to the bathroom and shutting myself inside.
Now I let the tears fall, even though I have no idea why I’m crying. Yes, I’m homesick, but why do I feel so heartbroken about it? And why out of literally nowhere? I guess it was the first time I’ve heard Carly’s voice in a few days, but this seems like an overreaction.
23
Rafe
Laurel is openly disappointed when she opens the bathroom door and I’m the man standing on the other side of it. Her eyes are red-rimmed and her nose is flushed. A tissue is balled up in her hand and now the light in her eyes dies because I’m not Sin.
Ouch.