Tentative Engagements

Chapter 9: “Getting rid of junk to make room for new junk.”

Angela

This morning Noelle woke me up early to go shopping for my college dorm. I usually enjoy shopping, especially when it involves redecorating a room. I can lose my sense of time as I peruse each item and envision how I will see it every day. This is usually a pleasant experience, but as I try to pick up a heavy lamp with my hand that was still surrounded by a cast, my mood dives as I remember that my mother was responsible for it.

“Oh Angela, look at these throw pillows! They would match with the comforter.” I quickly put on a smile for her. I hate seeing her worry about me. She has enough to worry about with Abby. She is also keeping my mother’s attack from my middle sister, Belen, a secret. I know it’s eating her up inside. Belen will not only be upset at our mother for putting me in the hospital, but she will be upset at us for not telling her.

“They would match, but do you think that maybe we are going overboard? I don’t want to be that girl.”

“What girl?” She asks, all while taking two of the pillows. Ahh, this woman!

“You know. Like the ones that go way overboard and take up a lot of space of their shared space. Remember Noe, I am sharing the dorm with someone else.” I take the throw pillows from her hand and place them back on the shelf.

“Angela, I am sure your roommate won’t mind. It’s all in good taste. Maybe we can buy a matching or complementary comforter for her.”

“Absolutely not. Picking a comforter for your dorm bed is something special. I would never take that away from anyone. OK, I think we have everything I could ever need. I still can’t believe Victor deposited money into my account.” A few days ago, I noticed a rather substantial deposit made to my checking account. There was a memo. It said it was for tuition and expenses. I was so touched that my father remembered me, that I cried. I planned to call him and thank him, but every time I think about what I should say, I end up blubbering like a baby. I can’t wait for my period to end. I hate being this emotional.

“Is that the famous Mrs. Noelle Mariano?” Luciana Moretti teases Noelle.

“Hey, Luciana! How have you been? How is your mom?” Noelle responds to the blonde beauty.

“Hi, Angela. We are doing well. Mom is here too. She is over there picking out new towels for the whole damn house. So what are you girls up to?”

“Noelle was helping me pick out stuff for my dorm room.”

“Wow, dorm room? Damn, your father is definitely not from around here.” By here, she means part of the Moretti cosa nostra. Nope, our father is not a made man by mafia terms. Our father is in a d**g cartel.

“Our Angela is responsible enough to be trusted, no worries.” My overprotective sister answers without revealing my father's absence in my life. “It’s Max. Give me a minute, girls.” My sister answers her cell phone and steps away for some privacy.

“Do you have any plans tonight, Angela?” The mischievous Moretti asks me.

“None. I did download some new books to my Ipad. Why, what’s up?”

“My girls and I are going to Madd Hatter’s club. Do you want to join us?”

“I’ve never been. Sure! Shoot, never mind. I have this stupid cast.”

“That is not a problem. People wear crazy get-ups. I have it all covered. The thing is, you can’t tell Noelle. I know she is cool, but she is married to the underboss. She must rat us out.” I don’t think Noelle would do that, but I also don’t want to put her in that position.

“I get it, but what should I tell her?”

“Tell her that you are spending the night at my house. This will work great. My family will leave us alone the whole night. It’s perfect. I will pick you up.”

“A sleepover? Hmm, I will tell her. Not too sure she will buy it, but she will respect my privacy. This is exactly what I needed. Thank you, Luciana.”

“I’ve hear that a lot. No problem. See you tonight.”

◆◆◆

Gabriel

“I can’t believe you didn’t make Abrianna tell you who her boyfriend is. What the f**k, Gabe?” I can’t say I am surprised that Christian already knows what took place in Abby’s room. We have secret surveillance cameras in her room. We are not going to repeat the mistakes we made with Noelle.

“I will find out who he is. He is not important. She said she doesn’t love him, so he should not cause us any problems.” I take a seat behind my desk. Live footage is playing on my screen of Abrianna.

“Where did she get a cell phone?”

“What cell phone?” I replied to my brother.

“Look,” Christian reverses the live footage to show me what he is referring to. “See, she pulled out a cell the moment you left. We sure as hell didn’t give it to her?” I study the footage. I examine Abby’s facial reaction. She obviously cares for the son of a b***h, judging by her tears.

“It was probably Angela. She brought Abby’s clothes a couple of days ago. She must have sneaked in a cell phone.”

“Sneaky bitches. It would be best if you took it away from her as soon as possible. What if they plan on f*****g us over like last time?” I consider what my brother says. Yes, it’s true. They can communicate and conspire to f**k my family over again.

“We need to use her cell phone for our benefit. We need to hack into her cell and somehow set something up that allows us to see everything she does with her cell.”

“Ah, spy s**t. Bro, I know exactly who can set this up for us.” Christian gleams.

“Perfect, who?”

“Noelle. She is a computer genius. This would be easy….” I stop him from continuing his joke when I used the back of my elbow to hit him in the stomach. f**k little brothers.