Perfect Enemies

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13 OceanofPDF.com K VALENTINA ane’s cryptic words haunted me all night. What could be so wrong with us being together? It wasn’t like we were brother and sister, for God’s sake. And if by some insane chance he was working for a cartel, I couldn’t imagine he’d have such a crushing sense of morality that kissing me would bring on a barrage of self-loathing. I was at a loss for what could possibly explain his warring emotions. Nothing made sense. No matter how I twisted his words or scrutinized his actions, I couldn’t see the full picture. I needed more information, and the only way to get it was from Kane. If he wouldn’t tell me directly, then I’d gather every breadcrumb I could find until they led me to the answer. And once I understood his hang-up, I’d decide for myself if the obstacle was truly insurmountable. I went back to school Tuesday with renewed purpose. For the first time since Kane started at Xavier Catholic School, we began to settle into a new normal. I allowed him to insert himself into our friend group, and he didn’t intentionally push too many of my buttons. The underlying current that buzzed between us still stirred to life whenever he was around, but I attempted to pretend I didn’t notice. On Thursday, my mom convinced my sisters to come for a family dinner. I loved getting to see them, so instead of playing piano right after school, which was my usual routine, I dove into my homework the second I got home, hoping to have it finished before anyone got to the house. I was still wrapping up an English assignment when Giada poked her head into my room. She usually called from the bottom of the stairs when she arrived, so I was surprised to see her in my room instead. “Hey, there. You have a minute to talk?” I grinned warily, happy to see my sister but concerned about what she wanted to discuss. “Yeah, I was just working on some homework. What’s up?” She sat on the bed across from me, fiddling with the fabric of my duvet. “I know this sounds a little weird, but I saw you on Monday over at a girl’s house. I haven’t told Mom and Dad, but that family is seriously dangerous. You have to stop going over there.” Those were the words I’d been dreading for weeks. I was suddenly overcome with desperation, fear scooting me to the edge of my seat and making my pulse thrum in my ears. “Please, G, you can’t tell them. Dad will make me break off the friendship, and I can’t do that. Her dad is awful, her mom is an alcoholic, and now she’s having to move. I can’t just abandon her.” I couldn’t tell Giada about Reyna’s escape. She’d think it was too dangerous, so I threw out everything else I could to try to sway her. “He’s not just awful, Val. He’s a cartel boss and Dad’s enemy,” she hissed, now perched on the edge of the bed. “I know, okay?” “You knew?” Giada’s perfectly sculpted eyebrows leapt to her hairline. “Then why the hell were you over there? How did you get over there? Doesn’t Dad have someone protecting you?” “Yes, he has some thug shadowing me. I had the muscle head drop me at another friend’s house, and I snuck out the back. Look, if I promise not to go to her house again, will you please not tell Dad? She can’t help who her father is, and she needs me. Please.” She flopped back on the bed, ever the drama queen. “Now I know how Alessia felt,” she muttered. “Huh?” What did our cousin have to do with this? “Nothing.” She waved it off with a flick of her wrist. “Okay, I’ll keep my mouth shut, but I expect you to swear on your life that you will not go back over to that house. And she needs to know that she cannot tell her father who you are. That man may have gone to Mexico for now, but that doesn’t mean the threat from his cartel is over. We don’t know what will happen, so we have to be safe.” She had no idea that Reyna and her family knew my mafia connections. It was never a coincidence that the two of us found ourselves at the same school. I wrapped her in a tight hug. “Thank you, G. You’re the best!” She smiled, but it didn’t erase the worry in her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. This blows up in my face, and I’ll make sure they never let you out of the house again, capisce?” I raised my right hand. “Scout’s honor.” “Alright, let’s get downstairs. I think Ma has something she wants to tell us.” Thirty minutes later, I was trying to digest the news that I had a brother somewhere in the world. My mother had just brought out the homemade lasagna when she dropped the bomb that she’d had a baby at the age of sixteen and given him up for adoption. She went on to explain why she decided to finally tell us, but my ears were ringing too loudly to hear. “Breathe, Val. You’re going to pass out,” Giada called to me from across the table. I glanced up at her and Javi, who was now settling in as a part of our family, and realized my lungs had frozen. I gulped in a lungful of air. Holy s**t, I had a brother. I’d thought the mafia secret was life-changing, but this somehow seemed even bigger. This wasn’t just my father’s job. A secret baby meant I didn’t know my mother half as well as I’d thought. The strict Catholic woman who always strove for perfection and was hyper aware of appearances had gotten knocked up as a teen. Everything suddenly made so much more sense. I tore off a small piece of bread from the slice on my plate and rolled it around my mouth. My stomach no longer felt hungry, but I needed something to do while I processed this new information. “Well, Ma,” Giada broke the silence. “I think it’s incredibly exciting. We’ve only ever had girls in the Genovese family, so a boy sure would spice things up. Is there any way we could find out who he is?” What the hell? Giada was acting like we’d added Disney Plus to our Roku channels rather than learned about a secret brother. I couldn’t fathom how she’d assimilated the news so quickly … unless she’d already known. My eyes traveled back and forth between my mom and sister as if I were a spectator in a studio audience, ignorant to the plot unfolding before me. I felt like a stranger in my own house.