CHAPTER THIRTEEN

 

Rose

 

At first, Rose worried that Sal and Grace were fighting. She’d heard their hushed conversation as they hurried from the kitchen to their bedroom and back out again. Then Sal was gone. She’d rushed out of the bedroom, ready to comfort her sister if in fact they had had an argument, something so foreign in their relationship. Ever since they’d gotten back together after their breakup, things had been nothing but blissful between them.

When Rose had walked into the kitchen, there was no denying something was wrong. Grace glanced at her then looked away just as quickly. Immediately concerned and remembering how tortured Grace had been during their break up, Rose’s heart sped up. She’d already been tense the entire evening ever since Vincent had hung up on her and hadn’t returned any of her calls or texts, but now this only heightened the stress she was feeling. Sal never left in the evening and never so suddenly.

“What happened? Where did he go?”

Grace began cleaning up the counter and cleared her throat. “Something’s happened, but I don’t have the details yet.”

Confused and growing even more concerned, Rose took another step forward. “Something happened? With who? Is it bad?”

Grace turned to Rose, her expression as concerned as Rose felt. “I don’t know, hon. You haven’t talked to Vince?”

Feeling her insides sink, her heart did a sudden leap. “Vince? What about him? Is he okay?”

Grace rushed to her. “He’s fine…I think. It’s something with their neighbor. Vince’s dad called. All he said was he needed money to help keep Vince out of trouble. It was all so rushed Sal barely had a chance to explain. But he was angry.”

A million things ran through Rose’s head. “Trouble? Did he say what kind of trouble?”

Rose couldn’t even imagine what Vince would be in trouble for that was bad enough Sal would have to be called. She began walking back to her room to retrieve her phone but slowed waiting for Grace to respond.

“I’m not sure…something about drugs.”

Rose’s heart nearly stopped, and she stared at Grace for moment before rushing off to her room. “There’s gotta be a mistake,” she said dismissing Grace’s words.

It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t. Trying again in vain to call him, her call went to voicemail. “Vincent, call me, please.” Her shaky voice finally broke, giving way to what had been building since he’d hung up on her earlier. Only now her heart was breaking. “I just heard about you being in trouble.” She wiped away the tears, feeling a sudden anger start up from deep inside. “They’re wrong, right? Call me. I need to talk to you.”

By the time Sal got home late that night, Rose had cried herself to sleep. The only news they’d gotten was when Sal called to update Grace, telling her he was on his way home and would explain when he got there. Rose insisted that Grace demand some kind of details—anything. She was dying to know what was going on, and Vincent wasn’t returning any of her calls.

When Grace asked, the only thing Sal said was that Vincent had been caught dealing again, and there’d been an altercation between Vincent and the girl’s father who he’d been dealing to. The man was threatening to call the cops on Vincent unless they paid him which to Rose’s relief Sal had. Only he said there was more, and he’d explain when he got home.

The fact that Vincent had been dealing again was enough to break Rose’s heart in a million pieces. What could he have been thinking? Didn’t he know that was something Rose could never accept? Didn’t she mean as much to him as he did to her? Already Grace had that look of disapproval all over her face.

As much as she wanted to stay up and wait for Sal to get home to find out more, exhaustion overcame Rose’s cried-out body. She woke in the morning, sitting straight up when it all came back to her.

Romero was in the kitchen with Sal and Grace when she rushed in after hearing their voices and knew everyone was already up. They all went quiet when she walked in.

“So what happened? Was he really dealing?”

Sal nodded his face stern. “Yeah, he was.”

Filled with incomprehension, she shook her head still unable to believe it. “But he’s not going to jail, is he?”

Sal and Romero exchanged glances then Grace spoke. “No, but he is going away.”

Rose’s breath caught the words taking a moment to register. “What? Where is he going?”

The panic sunk in fast. She needed to talk to Vincent now—hear his side of the story. There had to be some kind of mistake.

“The Army, Rose.” Sal said matter of fact. “He’s enlisting today.”

Feeling the warm tears drop down her cheek, Rose’s eyes went from Sal to Romero and then stopped on Grace. “Why?” The only people she’d ever known of who’d enlisted in the Army were gone for years. Why would he want to be gone—away from her—for years?

“It’s what the girl’s father and Vince’s dad agreed to,” Sal said. “The girl’s dad wanted him gone and punished. I offered to bring him here, but Vince’s dad said that would be rewarding him. I was able to convince him boot camp and the Army would straighten Vince out. It’s not a walk in the park, but it’s not jail, and it won’t ruin his life. It might even help save him from himself.”

“This was your idea?” Rose felt her insides warm. She was certain Vincent would’ve never agreed to this. Sal must’ve forced him. “You suggested he enlist? How could you?”

“Rose,” Grace’s voice was soothing yet cautionary, “Vince agreed to this. It was necessary.”

“Necessary?” Rose glared at Grace then brought her glare back to Sal. “Why? Because you said so?”

Deep inside, Rose had always doubted Sal truly believed in Vincent. He’d always thought him a thug even after he’d proven he wasn’t. She had no idea why Vincent would get involved in dealing drugs again, but she was certain there had to be a reasonable explanation.

The tears streamed down her face now. She hated Sal at that moment, almost as much she had when she’d found out he’d broken her sister’s heart. Now he was breaking hers.

“It was either the Army or go to jail,” Sal said as he stood up from where he was sitting. Walking his coffee mug over to the sink as nonchalantly as if he’d just confirmed Vincent would be leaving for a day, not years, only made her angrier. Then he turned and said the worst thing he could at that moment. “He brought this on himself, Rose. It’s time he mans up for his mistakes. This will be good for him. He’ll be back soon enough.”

Romero stood up as Rose’s jaw dropped. “Soon enough?” She said through her teeth. “When does he leave? I need to talk to him.”

“Normally it would take weeks to get him in, but Romero here has some connections that might get him in a lot faster.”

Romero’s smug smile only pushed her already fiery buttons. She was dying here and, he was smiling? “Why are you in such a rush to get rid of him, Sal?”

She knew she should be grateful to Sal for getting her boyfriend out of trouble, but how could she be grateful? Because of Sal, Vincent would now be leaving her—for years. Before Sal could respond to her lethal question, his phone rang.

“I gotta get this. It’s the attorney I spoke with last night,” he said raising an eyebrow, and he stepped into the other room.

Rose immediately turned to Grace. “Why is he doing this? Is he enjoying socking it to Vince?”

Thoughts of not being with Vincent for months and months suffocated her. How could Sal? How could Vincent damn it!

“It’s for the best, Rose.” Grace insisted. “Vince might’ve been looking at doing some hard time—ruining his life. This will actually do him good. And until then it’s probably a good thing that he’s away from you.”

“What?” Rose felt like screaming. Didn’t Grace remember what it was like when she and Sal had been apart? Grace knew how much Rose loved Vincent now. “That’s a real shitty thing to say, Grace,” she cried. “Why would I want to be apart from him?”

Romero and Grace exchanged glances as the baby began to whimper in the monitor. Grace pushed away from the counter, but Romero held his hand up. “I’ll get him. You two should talk.” Without waiting for Grace to respond, he stepped out of the kitchen.

Rose already felt drained, but somehow Romero’s tone sent even more waves of panic through her body. They should talk? So there was more?

Grace’s sympathetic expression furthered her worry. “What is it?”

“He’s probably been doing this the whole time, Rose. He told his dad he wanted the money to get a car.” Rose didn’t think her heart could break any further. Easy money. “But it was more than just dealing, Rosie. He was in the girl’s bedroom when her father walked in, and Vince was facing possible statutory rape charges. The girl was underage.”

Rose stared at Grace for a moment, unable to move before she began shaking her head. “No.”

“It’s true. The girl admitted to her father that she’d been holding the drugs for her…boyfriend.” Rose could almost feel the pain it caused Grace to whisper that last word. She listened to the rest of story completely numb. “He admitted it was true, and when her father grabbed her arm in anger, things got violent. Vincent attacked him. So he was also facing assault charges. The attorney Sal spoke with last night told him this was bad. Anything they could do to get her dad to refrain from pressing charges would be better than having to go to trial. Between offering him money—lots of it and then convincing the man that boot camp would be something tough enough to put Vince through, not to mention the girl begging in tears that he not press charges, he finally agreed.”

Grace took the few steps closer to Rose and reached over to wipe the tears that now fell freely without any attempt from Rose to stop them. “I know it’s an impossible thought, Rosie, but it might actually be a good thing that this happened now and that he leaves. Before, you know,” Grace soothed Rose’s hair, “things got any more serious between you and him.”

Any more? Rose had never been more serious about anything in her life. They’d talked about moving in together for Christ’s sake! She had no words to respond to that, nor could she find enough air in her lungs to say anything.

“Rosie, I know right now you’re probably wondering how you’re going to get through the next few years without him, but I really think that you should consider the possibility of letting him go for good.”

Rose’s mouth dropped open. She was going to hyperventilate. How could Grace even be suggesting this?

“Honey, Sal had to go with Vince back to that man’s apartment to get the drugs he’d left there. He explained to Sal why he needed to. The people—the drug dealers he dealt with, would come after him or his family if he didn’t. It’s so dangerous to involve yourself with someone like him. I’d be worried for you.”

Before Rose could even attempt to put a coherent string of words together, Sal walked back in just as his phone rang again.

Frowning he looked at the caller ID. “My uncle.”

He began walking away with the phone to his ear when it hit Rose. Vince’s dad? She rushed out of the kitchen behind Sal, listening to his every word.

“Yeah, Romero said they’d say minimum two weeks to get him in, but he knows some people that can put a rush on that. The attorney said it was best to get him gone ASAP before that asshole changes his mind or starts asking for more money.” Rose stared at the back of Sal’s head, her lip quivering uncontrollably now. This was really happening. Vince had really done this to them. “Don’t worry about that. I’m just glad he’s not going to jail. Everything else will work itself out.”

“Can I?” The words squeaked out, and Rose stopped to clear her voice—take a deep shuddering breath. Sal turned around, only then realizing that she’d been standing behind him that whole time. “Is Vince there? Can you ask him if I can speak to him?”

Sal said nothing for a moment then spoke into the phone. “Is Vince around?” he glanced up at Rose again, his lips firmly pressed together. “Yeah, let me talk to him.”

In the next second Sal’s expression went hard, and she knew Vince was on the line with him. “Rose wants to talk to you, but listen to me, Vince. We talked about this last night. This is already hard enough for her. Don’t bullshit your way out of this. She knows everything. I didn’t sugar coat any of it for her. What’s done is done.”

He handed the phone over to Rose who reached out a shaky hand and spoke into the receiver. “Vincent?”

“Rosie, I’m so sorry.”

The moment she heard his voice, the knot in her throat exploded. “So it’s true?” She could barely breathe now. “All of it? The drugs? The girl?”

“Yes, but it’s not all like what it seems.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, she felt her insides ripping apart. “Then how is it?” Rose held her hand against her chest in a futile effort to hold her heart together. She literally felt it tearing apart.

“I fucked up with the drugs, but Anita…it’s not at all what it looks like. I promise you that. She’s just my friend.”

Feeling a sudden wave of anger, she raised her voice. “Anita? She’s the one that called you her boyfriend?”

“Yes, but it’s not…I swear if I could explain, you’d understand.”

“Well explain it, Vincent!” she was yelling now and Grace walked into the room holding the baby in one arm, her free hand over her mouth, her own eyes teary now, “because if there is an explanation for this, now is the time to do it. They wanna send you away!”

“I can’t,” he whispered, defeated.

Rose blinked, the reality really hitting her now. “Really?” The voice had turned into a squeak again. “You’re not even gonna try to fix this? You’re just leaving?”

“I wish I could fix this but…Anita.”

“What about her?” Grace’s words came to her suddenly, the girl begged in tears. Rose gasped. “Are you in love with her?”

“No!” his voice was loud and deliberate. “I love you and only you, Rosie. There’s no one else—never will be. Remember that always.”

As much as she wanted to believe him, there was still one thing piercing in her mind. Something she just couldn’t understand. “But you won’t even try to fix this because of her? Why?” She could hear his dad asking him for the phone back. “Call me on your phone. We still need to talk.”

“I can’t, babe. I don’t have a phone anymore.”

Romero walked in the room, and he and Sal talked in hush voices as Grace walked out of the room again wiping her own tears away. Just like it had killed Rose to see Grace so miserable, she knew this was killing Grace. Rose tried to calm herself for Grace’s sake, but it was impossible.

“Rose, can I talk to him for a minute please?” Sal asked.

She handed Sal the phone without so much as a goodbye. Just as she numbly walked out of the room, she heard the words that hammered the last excruciating nail into her already dead heart’s coffin.

“If you get your shit together, you’re out of here in few days. Don’t ask. I told you Romero had connections. I’ll call you again when I get more details.” And then, just as she dragged herself like a zombie into her room, she heard, “Nah, she’s done talking to you, dude. You blew it bad.”