Chapter 2
The next morning was pretty uneventful. It mainly consisted of my mother "recommending" what to wear and me ignoring her recommendations. This isn't even a real date. Just two people hanging out because their intrusive mothers are "worried" about them ending up alone.
I sigh and sit on my small twin size bed. My goal is to get my English degree & become an editor, NOT date and have someone who is going to distract me from my degree.
Of course I can date and also get my degree but I want to be one hundred percent focused on myself right now. With dating you have to worry about a whole other person not just yourself. Hence why I'm single, I don't go out, and I am also passing all of my classes with a 4.0 with only one semester left to go before I can finally achieve my dream.
I can always cancel on dear Enzo and call this whole TATB thing to an end. Buttttt I mean....... Do I want to do that? If I didn't go hang out with him tonight, what else would I do? Binge watch the vampire diaries AGAIN? Obviously there's nothing wrong with that but it IS the summer. I AM off from school. My mom would probably die of a heart attack if I did "end up sick" like I told him might happen. Fuck it. YOLO. We are JUST hanging out. That's it's. I can do that.
***********
When 4:45 p.m. rolls around, I am fully dressed and ready to go after having pretty much all day with nothing better to do than pick out a cute outfit.
I settled on a pair of black high waisted shorts with a white spaghetti strap blouse and- the only type of shoes I wear- my flats. I can't wear heals to save my life. Even though I probably should so I'm not as short as my 5'3" self. I come up to Enzo's chest. It's kind of embarrassing. I decided to actually really brush and straighten my shoulder length auburn hair and tie my bangs back to keep them out of my eyes. I'm not the best when it comes to fashion, but hey I don't look terrible.
I did put makeup on this time as well. Not much but eyeliner. I finally perfected the wing. And some mascara. When it comes to makeup, it's like solving a Rubix cube to me. As much as I want to, I always give up. Why does makeup have to be so damn complicated?
My mom knocks on the door and enters without my having told her to come in. "You look beautiful!" She says and gives me a hug.
I squint at her. "Mom, this is just a..... date. I have been on dates before, if you remember. It's not like a wedding or something." I told her.
"Sweetie, high school doesn't count unless you end up dating them after. You haven't been on a date since the beginning of your senior year. That was four years ago." Shes says.
I roll my eyes at her. Mom hasn't dated since my dad died 10 years ago. Unlike Dr. Chancey, mom has pretty much called it quits. Every time I've asked her when she's going to find someone else, she simply states that there is no one else in this world for her and drops the subject entirely. It's pretty sad. I do feel bad for her even though she's completely changed since dad was around. Back then she was lively and happy. Now, she is just focused on my dating life instead.
5 p.m. rolls around and as if he was waiting just around the corner, Lorenzo knocks on the door the second the clock strikes 5. "He's very punctual, I see." My mom says right before she answers the door.
Standing on my porch was Lorenzo in a creme colored suit. His short black hair was perfectly in place. In his hands were a bouquet of white lilies. I found that to be an interesting choice in flowers considering I'm used to people gifting roses. I smile at him as I make my way to the door. "That's very sweet." I say.
My mother grabs the flowers from his hands saying "oh how beautiful and thoughtful. I'll put these in water for you, dear. You two have fun. Let me know when you get home. Even if I'm asleep." Then she whispers in my ear, "I want to know all about it."
Oy. I give her a thin smile as we leave the house. "You look stunning." Lorenzo says as we walk up to his ca——— is that a yellow Lamborghini.... in my driveway???
"Thank you........ What is this? Is this your car?" I ask, stopped in my tracks. Lorenzo just laughs and opens my door for me and I mumble a thanks.
He gets in on his side and starts the car up. "Am I actually sitting in a Lamborghini?" I ask him again. "I knew you owned a business but wow." I feel extremely self conscious at the moment. Finally realizing that this man is 5 years older than me, runs a business of his own, and is far more put together than me. I am in college living with my mom. I can barely afford to feed myself and am just finishing an internship. Unpaid, might I add. We are just hanging out, I remind myself. He doesn't need to approve of my life. I don't need a man, period. End of.
He scoffs. "Yes, it's a Lamborghini. One of the many I own. Like I stated last night, it's a very successful business and I have side jobs on top of that one." He grimaces a little, barely noticeable, as he stated that.
"Okay. Where are we going?" I ask, genuinely curious and ready to get the night over with. Partly excited, but I didn't say that.
He takes off down the road, actually doing the speed limit. "I thought we'd go on the outskirts of New York. I need to be near my company for the night. Everything should be handled but in case it's not, I need to be in the area and there's a nice restaurant there that I want to take you to." I'm glad I wore something semi- nice since we're going to a restaurant.
"Okay." I bite my bottom lip, not knowing what to talk about, I watch him tap his fingers on the steering wheel. Is he nervous too? I scoff to myself. Why would HE be nervous? "So was your dad from italy?" I ask not knowing what else to talk about.
"Si, my mother was a tourist when they met in Italy. They had a summer romance, if you want to call it that. She came back to the states where she found out she was pregnant, my dad followed her. He had ... family.... here anyway. I still grew up around only Italians apart from my mom. That's where I get the accent."
"That's interesting. I bet it's beautiful there. Im sure you've been?" I ask.
Lorenzo laughs, "Si." he states as we get to the outskirts of NYC. My house is practically on the outskirts but not quite. Less than 15-20 minutes.
Lorenzos phone rings, he swears and apologizes as he answers. "This better be good." He states in a very formal tone, accent thick. Someone on the other end sounds frantic, speaking in Italian. Lorenzo speaks back in his native tongue. He sounds angry and I sit back, feeling slightly awkward. I wish I understood what the hell they were talking about. Some of the words sound familiar, almost similar to some of the Spanish words I learned in high school. But I can't remember what the fuck any of it is.
He says in English, "I'll be there in a few minutes. STALL THEM." I inwardly cringe. Something tells me I probably shouldn't be with him right now. "I apologize. Something happened at one of my side jobs and I have to make a quick detour." Lorenzo makes an illegal U-turn and hits the gas, the dash saying he's going well over 85 mph in a 60 mph zone. Fuck fuck fuck. I grab my seatbelt as we blaze past car after car, swerving in and out of them.
"Um, I don't know if you're aware that we're going way past the speed limit, but... we are." I say. Instead of slowing down at my obvious request, he speeds up instead. Is this dude off his fucking rocker?
I breathe in and out and close my eyes, praying that we don't die. The one time I agree to go on a date and look where it gets me.
Finally, we pull into a parking lot right behind what looks like a deserted brick building. Windows are busted out and everything. Yep, definitely deserted. "Listen, adalyn. This is one of those... side jobs I told you about. I'll be really quick. But you have to stay right here. If anyone but me comes out, stay down. I am sorry." He says as he gets out of the car. And rushes inside. Did he just tell me to stay in the car? Clearly he doesn't know me. And no way am I staying in the car when I don't even know where I am.
I get out of the car and tip toe -really fast- to the door he entered through. Why am I tip toeing? I have no idea. Too many spy movies I guess. And I've seen enough movies to know that whenever an abandoned building is involved, something hella shady is going on. But that still doesn't stop me.
When I enter through the door I hear several men with thick accents talking in their native tongues. Lorenzo is around the corner with his hands up, slowly making his way to.... what's that? A man on his knees with another man holding a gun to his head. What the fuck is going on? "Giovanni, put the gun down. I promise we didn't short you." Lorenzo says to man holding the gun. Short him?? Okay, I need to get out of here. What's that saying "curiosity killed the cat"? That saying was invented for a reason. I slowly back away from the wall as I hear Lorenzo trying to talk to the psychotic man with a gun. As I'm backing away, I feel something hard hit my back. Oh shit. Please tell me that's a wall I didn't see. Please, tell me— my inner monologue is interrupted as someone grabs me from behind and twists my arms backwards.
"Giovanni! Look what we have here." The man who snuck up on me, calls out to presumably Giovanni the crazy psycho with a gun. Ah shit.
Giovanni looks at me, while still aiming the gun at the man on his knees. "Who is this bitch?" He asks, glaring at me. Lorenzo takes the short glance away and kicks the gun out of the mans hand, grabbing his friend.
"You shouldn't have done that. Micah, put the Bitch in the van. Now." Giovanni tells the man holding me hostage, Micah, I guess.
"No! Lorenzo, help!" I scream out. Kicking the man in the groins as I try- and fail- to pull away. He doesn't loosen his grip even though he's clearly in pain.
"You shouldn't have done that, whore." I hear as I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head and everything goes dark but not before I hear a gun go off.
I sigh and sit on my small twin size bed. My goal is to get my English degree & become an editor, NOT date and have someone who is going to distract me from my degree.
Of course I can date and also get my degree but I want to be one hundred percent focused on myself right now. With dating you have to worry about a whole other person not just yourself. Hence why I'm single, I don't go out, and I am also passing all of my classes with a 4.0 with only one semester left to go before I can finally achieve my dream.
I can always cancel on dear Enzo and call this whole TATB thing to an end. Buttttt I mean....... Do I want to do that? If I didn't go hang out with him tonight, what else would I do? Binge watch the vampire diaries AGAIN? Obviously there's nothing wrong with that but it IS the summer. I AM off from school. My mom would probably die of a heart attack if I did "end up sick" like I told him might happen. Fuck it. YOLO. We are JUST hanging out. That's it's. I can do that.
***********
When 4:45 p.m. rolls around, I am fully dressed and ready to go after having pretty much all day with nothing better to do than pick out a cute outfit.
I settled on a pair of black high waisted shorts with a white spaghetti strap blouse and- the only type of shoes I wear- my flats. I can't wear heals to save my life. Even though I probably should so I'm not as short as my 5'3" self. I come up to Enzo's chest. It's kind of embarrassing. I decided to actually really brush and straighten my shoulder length auburn hair and tie my bangs back to keep them out of my eyes. I'm not the best when it comes to fashion, but hey I don't look terrible.
I did put makeup on this time as well. Not much but eyeliner. I finally perfected the wing. And some mascara. When it comes to makeup, it's like solving a Rubix cube to me. As much as I want to, I always give up. Why does makeup have to be so damn complicated?
My mom knocks on the door and enters without my having told her to come in. "You look beautiful!" She says and gives me a hug.
I squint at her. "Mom, this is just a..... date. I have been on dates before, if you remember. It's not like a wedding or something." I told her.
"Sweetie, high school doesn't count unless you end up dating them after. You haven't been on a date since the beginning of your senior year. That was four years ago." Shes says.
I roll my eyes at her. Mom hasn't dated since my dad died 10 years ago. Unlike Dr. Chancey, mom has pretty much called it quits. Every time I've asked her when she's going to find someone else, she simply states that there is no one else in this world for her and drops the subject entirely. It's pretty sad. I do feel bad for her even though she's completely changed since dad was around. Back then she was lively and happy. Now, she is just focused on my dating life instead.
5 p.m. rolls around and as if he was waiting just around the corner, Lorenzo knocks on the door the second the clock strikes 5. "He's very punctual, I see." My mom says right before she answers the door.
Standing on my porch was Lorenzo in a creme colored suit. His short black hair was perfectly in place. In his hands were a bouquet of white lilies. I found that to be an interesting choice in flowers considering I'm used to people gifting roses. I smile at him as I make my way to the door. "That's very sweet." I say.
My mother grabs the flowers from his hands saying "oh how beautiful and thoughtful. I'll put these in water for you, dear. You two have fun. Let me know when you get home. Even if I'm asleep." Then she whispers in my ear, "I want to know all about it."
Oy. I give her a thin smile as we leave the house. "You look stunning." Lorenzo says as we walk up to his ca——— is that a yellow Lamborghini.... in my driveway???
"Thank you........ What is this? Is this your car?" I ask, stopped in my tracks. Lorenzo just laughs and opens my door for me and I mumble a thanks.
He gets in on his side and starts the car up. "Am I actually sitting in a Lamborghini?" I ask him again. "I knew you owned a business but wow." I feel extremely self conscious at the moment. Finally realizing that this man is 5 years older than me, runs a business of his own, and is far more put together than me. I am in college living with my mom. I can barely afford to feed myself and am just finishing an internship. Unpaid, might I add. We are just hanging out, I remind myself. He doesn't need to approve of my life. I don't need a man, period. End of.
He scoffs. "Yes, it's a Lamborghini. One of the many I own. Like I stated last night, it's a very successful business and I have side jobs on top of that one." He grimaces a little, barely noticeable, as he stated that.
"Okay. Where are we going?" I ask, genuinely curious and ready to get the night over with. Partly excited, but I didn't say that.
He takes off down the road, actually doing the speed limit. "I thought we'd go on the outskirts of New York. I need to be near my company for the night. Everything should be handled but in case it's not, I need to be in the area and there's a nice restaurant there that I want to take you to." I'm glad I wore something semi- nice since we're going to a restaurant.
"Okay." I bite my bottom lip, not knowing what to talk about, I watch him tap his fingers on the steering wheel. Is he nervous too? I scoff to myself. Why would HE be nervous? "So was your dad from italy?" I ask not knowing what else to talk about.
"Si, my mother was a tourist when they met in Italy. They had a summer romance, if you want to call it that. She came back to the states where she found out she was pregnant, my dad followed her. He had ... family.... here anyway. I still grew up around only Italians apart from my mom. That's where I get the accent."
"That's interesting. I bet it's beautiful there. Im sure you've been?" I ask.
Lorenzo laughs, "Si." he states as we get to the outskirts of NYC. My house is practically on the outskirts but not quite. Less than 15-20 minutes.
Lorenzos phone rings, he swears and apologizes as he answers. "This better be good." He states in a very formal tone, accent thick. Someone on the other end sounds frantic, speaking in Italian. Lorenzo speaks back in his native tongue. He sounds angry and I sit back, feeling slightly awkward. I wish I understood what the hell they were talking about. Some of the words sound familiar, almost similar to some of the Spanish words I learned in high school. But I can't remember what the fuck any of it is.
He says in English, "I'll be there in a few minutes. STALL THEM." I inwardly cringe. Something tells me I probably shouldn't be with him right now. "I apologize. Something happened at one of my side jobs and I have to make a quick detour." Lorenzo makes an illegal U-turn and hits the gas, the dash saying he's going well over 85 mph in a 60 mph zone. Fuck fuck fuck. I grab my seatbelt as we blaze past car after car, swerving in and out of them.
"Um, I don't know if you're aware that we're going way past the speed limit, but... we are." I say. Instead of slowing down at my obvious request, he speeds up instead. Is this dude off his fucking rocker?
I breathe in and out and close my eyes, praying that we don't die. The one time I agree to go on a date and look where it gets me.
Finally, we pull into a parking lot right behind what looks like a deserted brick building. Windows are busted out and everything. Yep, definitely deserted. "Listen, adalyn. This is one of those... side jobs I told you about. I'll be really quick. But you have to stay right here. If anyone but me comes out, stay down. I am sorry." He says as he gets out of the car. And rushes inside. Did he just tell me to stay in the car? Clearly he doesn't know me. And no way am I staying in the car when I don't even know where I am.
I get out of the car and tip toe -really fast- to the door he entered through. Why am I tip toeing? I have no idea. Too many spy movies I guess. And I've seen enough movies to know that whenever an abandoned building is involved, something hella shady is going on. But that still doesn't stop me.
When I enter through the door I hear several men with thick accents talking in their native tongues. Lorenzo is around the corner with his hands up, slowly making his way to.... what's that? A man on his knees with another man holding a gun to his head. What the fuck is going on? "Giovanni, put the gun down. I promise we didn't short you." Lorenzo says to man holding the gun. Short him?? Okay, I need to get out of here. What's that saying "curiosity killed the cat"? That saying was invented for a reason. I slowly back away from the wall as I hear Lorenzo trying to talk to the psychotic man with a gun. As I'm backing away, I feel something hard hit my back. Oh shit. Please tell me that's a wall I didn't see. Please, tell me— my inner monologue is interrupted as someone grabs me from behind and twists my arms backwards.
"Giovanni! Look what we have here." The man who snuck up on me, calls out to presumably Giovanni the crazy psycho with a gun. Ah shit.
Giovanni looks at me, while still aiming the gun at the man on his knees. "Who is this bitch?" He asks, glaring at me. Lorenzo takes the short glance away and kicks the gun out of the mans hand, grabbing his friend.
"You shouldn't have done that. Micah, put the Bitch in the van. Now." Giovanni tells the man holding me hostage, Micah, I guess.
"No! Lorenzo, help!" I scream out. Kicking the man in the groins as I try- and fail- to pull away. He doesn't loosen his grip even though he's clearly in pain.
"You shouldn't have done that, whore." I hear as I feel a sharp pain in the back of my head and everything goes dark but not before I hear a gun go off.
