DANTE
Luke always found it amusing when he talked about his problems and, sometimes, he felt like punching his best friend for that. Now, he was watching Luke struggle to stifle his laughter in the middle of him explaining how his father had just randomly called him.
“I really don't see how anything I've said is funny.” Dante voiced out his thoughts. “Not even in the slightest.”
“Man, forgive me for what I'm about to say.” Luke started. “But your father is a clown.”
Any normal person would have been offended by that statement. But Dante was not, and he did not even find it weird. Instead, all he had to say was, “Do not call him my father.”
“Alright.” Luke shrugged. “But the balls he has to call you after all these years, and even claim that it's not because he's going bankrupt? That's a stupid excuse and he knows it.”
“Everything he said yesterday got me really upset.” Dante confessed. “Hearing his voice made me want to rip my hair out of my scalp.”
“So what did you say to him?”
“To never call me again.” Dante said. “I did not let him speak for too long.”
Luke sighed, shaking his head. “If you ask me, I think it's Gloria's doing. She can no longer reach you, so she's trying to use him to do so. She's a very manipulative woman and this is not something that's beyond her capabilities, you of all people should know that.”
Dante went silent. He had not really thought of that possibility but it made absolute sense. Until then, he was convinced that his father called him out of his own selfish reasons. But the whole thing being the plot of Gloria made even more sense as she had always been in control of his father for as long as he could remember. Only little of the things the man did were actually things that he wanted to do. Gloria controlled things as big as business decisions and as little as the clothes that he wore each day. Yes, it was that bad.
“You know what, that makes sense.” Dante said to Luke, nodding his head. “This has Gloria written all over it.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Nothing.” Dante decided. “If they want to keep wasting their time trying to reach me from afar, they can continue. As long as neither of them come close to me and my family, I do not have a problem. I'll just keep blocking any number they try to reach me with.”
“I just hope Gloria does not end up doing something crazy. You know how she's always bent on getting what she wants.” Luke actually sounded a little bit concerned.
“I have her cornered, Luke. Don't worry about that.” Dante assured his friend. “And if she tries anything funny, she'll be the one to suffer it in the end. With the dirt I have gathered up on her, it'll be a very stupid move by her if she were to mess with me again.”
All Luke did was hum and shrug. Dante decided to let go of the matter too and brought up something work related as he was also not interested in talking about Gloria and her husband. Even though, at the back of his mind, he knew that there was a possibility that Gloria may still try something funny despite the leverage he thought he had over her.
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GENESIS'S POV
Lana had joined her in the garden while Elon was on his lunch break. These days, being around Lana was kind of uncomfortable for her, but she did her best to suppress that discomfort as the woman had done nothing to her.
She forced a smile at Lana as she sat down beside her and Lana smiled back.
“It's been a while since we sat down to talk.” Lana started.
“We've both been very occupied I guess.” Genesis shrugged, her lips pursed.
“Or you've been avoiding me?”
“Why would I want to do that?” Genesis raised a brow at Lana. “Do you think I have a reason to do that?”
She did not intend to be passive aggressive but she was not really comfortable with the kind of bond it seemed like Lana wanted to have with her. Maybe it was only her mental response to everything that had been happening and she was just not ready to trust anybody that was not Sara or Dante.
“Well, I don't think I've given you a reason to want to avoid me.” Lana responded. “But I may have done something that I may not be aware of. Did I do something, Jenny?”
“No, you did not.” Genesis fought the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she sighed. “We've both been very busy, that's all. I really have nothing against you, you have done nothing to me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am.” Genesis gave a tight-lipped smile. “You should check on El. We'll talk when you're done with him for the day.”
“Alright.” Lana stood up and walked into the house, leaving genesis alone again.
Genesis took in a deep breath, filling her lungs with fresh air. She needed that. Amidst all the recent chaos in her life, this was the only chance she had given herself to just breathe. So she sat there for a while, just taking deep breaths over and over again.
Until she was, once again, interrupted. This time, it was by the vibration of her phone in her pocket. She sighed frustratedly and pulled her phone out, she then picked the call without even checking who it was that was calling.
“Hello?” She said lazily.
“Jenny?” It was a man's voice she heard. “It's me, Aaron.”
“Oh.” Her voice no longer sounded as uninterested as before. “I was not expecting a call, you said you were going to text.”
“I figured a call would come with a quicker response.” He laughed. “I'm sorry though.”
“It's not a problem at all.” She laughed too.
“So… about meeting.” Aaron cleared his throat. “When will you be available? We have a lot to catch up on, you know?”
“Yes, yes.” She nodded. “How about tomorrow afternoon?”
“Sounds good.” He said to her, “There's a spot not too far from the store we met at yesterday, it's only two blocks away from there.We should meet there.”
“Alright.” Genesis agreed. “See you there by one.”
“Cool.” Aaron said. “Can't wait.”
Genesis laughed as they said their goodbyes and then she dropped the call. She made an internal decision to tell Dante that she was going to meet Aaron tomorrow but she had a second thought. Telling Dante the details about Aaron meant that she was going to mention the part of her past that she was hiding from him. Plus, how was she supposed to explain to Dante that she was going to meet someone that she dated when she was sixteen. That did not just sound right.
If need be, she was just going to tell Dante that she wanted to get some pastries, then she would get some on her way back. She was lying to Dante even more now and she did not like that.
It was then and there that she made a promise to herself to tell Dante everything if she gets to survive her brother. She would tell him everything that he deserved to know and she would live with whatever he decided to do.
But the thought of Dante no longer being hers hurt her more than she expected. But if that was what he would eventually decide, so be it.
For now, she was going to concentrate on finding a way to get her brother to leave her alone. Even though that was still proving to be a futile task.