“So?” Mom asked.
“I like it,” I said.
Her lips spread into a wide smile. “I knew it!”
“Are you okay?” Stella asked, her smile fading.
“Yeah, sure.” I forced my lips into a smile.
Still, I glanced toward the window.
Was Pablo out there somewhere? In Spain? Or was he dead?
It was something I was never going to find out, and it was better like that.
***
AS STELLA, MOM, ANDI were in the car and on our way home, I leaned my head against the window. No matter how much I wanted to stop thinking about Pablo, I couldn’t.
I thought about him so often it was probably not healthy, but I couldn’t help it, and I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it because they’d get worried for nothing.
It was so easy for my mind to whisk me away into a memory.
Back in Spain.
Back at college.
I was so happy then. For the first time ever, I wasn’t holed up in my home. For the first time, Stella and I got to pretend we were just regular college students.
Normal people.
Sure, it was a private college for rich kids, but it didn’t matter. Being a mafia princess sucked because I usually couldn’t go anywhere on my own, and I couldn’t hang out with normal people because there was always a risk something bad might happen.
We had guards, but they were pretending to be students too, so they couldn’t always be around us, especially when Stella and I were in our dorm room.
I’d befriended some girls, and they invited me to a party. Even though common sense told me I should stay in my room, I ignored it.
We were miles and miles away from home.
No one knew who I was because we were using fake identities. Going to a nightclub to party with plenty of students couldn’t hurt, right?
I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do something like that. It was a unique opportunity.
For once, I’d be free.
Completely free.
Normal.
When I entered the club, a thrill surged through me. It was amazing.
The lights. The music. The people.
I danced like I’d never danced before, shaking my hips and raising my arms up.
Then my gaze lifted to a pair of eyes that were so dark I thought they’d swallow me whole.
Strange energy overcame me as his eyes held mine and then traveled my body.
