Sempre (Sempre 1)

“Well, for one, I wanna know why you took my drink.”

“I was thirsty.”

“So you drank it?”

“No,” he said. “Any other questions?”

“Yeah, why do you have Haven locked in here like she’s on house arrest?”

“She’s been outside,” Vincent said, casting him an incredulous look. “She seemed to enjoy herself at your game until you had one of your episodes.”

“One of my episodes? Is that what we’re calling them?”

“Unless you have a better name for it.”

“Whatever,” Carmine said. “The point is she rarely leaves. She doesn’t even have a code.”

Vincent sighed exasperatedly. “Why do you suddenly care?”

“Because she’s a person.”

“So is Nicholas Barlow, but you never seem to be concerned about him.”

“It’s different. Someone ought to lock him up, but she’s just a girl. She’s harmless.”

Vincent looked up again at those words, blinking a few times. “Are you suggesting you’ve never hurt a girl before, Carmine? Because I think a few would say differently.”

The room remained silent. Carmine had no response. Vincent pushed his files aside and took off his glasses, sighing. “Look, she’s locked inside because I don’t have the time or the energy to take her anywhere, and there’s no one else to do it.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Carmine said. “I don’t even have enough gas in my car to take myself anywhere right now.”

“How do you plan to get to school?”

Carmine shrugged. “Siphon the gas from your car while you sleep.”

Contrary to the tension in the room, Vincent actually laughed at that. “You probably would.”

Carmine smirked. He would.

Vincent opened his top desk drawer and pulled out the silver American Express card. “I tell you what—I’ll make you a deal.”

Carmine eyed him skeptically. “I’m listening.”

“I’ll give you the credit card back if you make more of an effort.”

“What, like keeping my room clean?”

“I said an effort, not a miracle. And what I mean is straighten yourself out. Stop the fighting, stop the drugs, pass your classes, and when I ask for a favor, I want you to actually do it.”

“Fair enough,” Carmine said, grabbing the credit card before his father could change his mind. “I’ll make an effort.”

“Great, because I need a favor.”

Carmine stared at him, not at all surprised.

“We need groceries,” Vincent said. “Enough stuff to last a while.”

“Like food and shit?”