Broken Pieces (Riverdale #2) (5 page)

“Okay, thank you. God bless you, have a great day. Take Care. Bye, now.” Deb said, smiling into the phone. Joe grabbed the phone and hit the end button. “What the hell is wrong with you?” She stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

“Excuse me, but you were two greetings away from inviting whoever was on the other end of that conversation to have dinner with us.” He said sincerely concerned that his wife would feed another mouth.

Deb rolled her eyes and took her glasses off and she turned her gaze to her family and smiled. “We have a date!”

Jake glanced down at the calendar. “July twenty first.” He blew out a breath and glanced across the kitchen to his brother. “You okay with that?”

Luke balled his hands into fists and stretched his arms out in front of him insinuating to take his blood right then and there if he could. “Let’s do this.”

“Wait daddy, my dance competition is that weekend. Who will bring me if you and Uncle Jake need to go to the hospital?” Ava stared up at Luke in wonderment. Luke’s smile fell as he looked down at his daughter. He put his hands on his hips and contemplated a remedy for the situation, in true Luke form.

Jake interrupted his thoughts. “We’ll change the appointment munchkin!” He smiled at Ava, and Luke turned to face him abruptly.

“No, we won’t.” He said firmly. He looked around the room, his eyes landing on Leah’s.

“I would but I’m working that weekend, twelve hour shifts.” She said as stared down at Ava.

“Alright, well we will just have to miss this competition, Sweetie.” He bent down, he was eye level with his little girl. “They’ll be plenty more, and you know how important is that daddy has this procedure to help Uncle Jake get better.”

Ava nodded. “It’s okay.” She smiled and looked at her uncle. “I rather you get better so you can come to my next competition.”

Jake bit his cheek, obviously affected by Ava’s reaction. Sam heard the words escape her before they registered. “I can take her.” She looked between her brothers. She wanted to be there for them during the transplant, but one look at her niece's sweet face, and she wanted to be the one who made it all okay for her too.

Luke shook his head. “Forget it. Her competition is in Atlantic City. That’s like four hours from here.”

“So we’ll get a hotel.” Sam said.

“You’re not driving that far by yourself.” Luke asserted.

Nothing infuriated Sam more than when her brothers acted as if she was the frail little rag doll that couldn’t take care of herself; or stand on her own damn two feet for that matter. Usually it was Luke who did the insinuating, she couldn’t group Jake in the same category. He was the one that usually made Luke see the light. She rolled her eyes at Luke.

“I’m a grown women Luke. I know how to drive a car, and I’ve driven to Atlantic City before. As a matter of fact…”

Jake interrupted her rant. “What if someone else drove her?”

The entire kitchen turned to him and when he confirmed he had all of their undivided attention he wiggled his eyebrows. A mischievous grin spread across his face.

“Please daddy!!” Ava said, breaking the silence.

* * * * * *

Nick had been around this family for a long time. He knew exactly how each and every one of them operated. He watched as Sam’s anger fumed, and mentally counted down the eruption of the tirade she was about to unleash on Luke. He shook his head; his friend never learned his lesson when it came to his sister. Sam didn’t take to Luke when he denied her independence.

For some stupid reason, as the chaos exploded in the kitchen, he decided to look at Jake. He studied him for a moment and almost physically saw the wheels in his head turn as he formulated one of his grand schemes. Jake’s eyes found Nick’s and a light flickered in them. Nick eyed him skeptically as he brought his beer to his lips.

He heard the warning bells sound in his head as he guzzled the beer. He knew the look in Jake’s eyes only meant trouble for Nick. He glanced around the kitchen, trying to formulate the easiest escape route.

It played out in slow motion. Nick would’ve sworn he heard the dreadful music of a horror film taunting him in the background.

  “What if someone else drove her?”  Nick flinched at Jake’s words, here it comes.

The entire kitchen turned to face Jake. He wiggled his eyebrows as he stared at Nick. A mischievous grin spread across his face.

“Please daddy!!” Ava said, breaking the silence. There you go, add the cute kid with puppy dog eyes. He was so fucked.

“Who is going to drive them?” Deb asked. “We’ll all be at the hospital.”

Nick clutched his beer bottle and risked looking back at Jake. All the sets of eyes that were firmly planted on Jake, awaiting his answer, turned in the direction in which he was staring. Jake started towards him and Nick wondered if the bottle in his hand would explode from the death grip he held on it. Jake’s arm swung around Nick’s shoulders.

“Nick will drive them.” He said as he slapped him on the back. “Thanks man, you’re totally a life saver.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Sam asked wide eyed. Nick’s eyes found hers. At least she has been just as against this whole idea, as he was. Maybe together they could get out of it. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to spend a weekend with her. She would no doubt be impossible the entire length of their trip, her eyes told him that. Besides the fact he didn’t trust himself around her, add a seven year old kid to the mix, it was a recipe for disaster.

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Deb exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. “The transplant can go on as scheduled. Ava won’t miss her competition and both girls will be safe because Nick will be there.”

Jake grinned like a banshee. “Exactly…! See everything’s all good.” He leaned into Nick, and whispered. “You can thank me later, bro. Just don’t rob her clothes and shit this time, my niece will be there.”

Nick cracked his neck from side to side. As if the universe wasn’t cruel enough, Deb wrapped her arms around Nick and hugged him affectionately. He couldn’t say no to the woman who had been more of a mother to him, than his own. He sighed and reluctantly returned the embrace. When his eyes settled on Sam’s she was being toppled over by Ava, apparently she hugged just as intensely as her grandmother.

“Wonderful! The transplants scheduled, Ava gets to dance in the town Gamblers Anonymous was created for, and Nick will probably sleep with my daughter! Yeah, good times! Can we eat now?” Joe said as he pushed his empty wine glass across the counter and reached for the bottle instead.

Chapter Five

Sam slammed the door shut after she walked into her apartment. Jake threw her to the wolves. How could she say no? She and her big mouth and Jake with his bright ideas, no good came from the combination. Now she would be stuck in a hotel with Nick for a weekend. Luckily Ava would be there as a buffer. Pathetic really, that she had to rely on a seven year old to neutralize things between her and Nick.

She placed the Tupperware container full of leftovers on her kitchen table, before taking a deep breath. She could handle this, couldn’t she? Her doorbell rang forcing her to put her thoughts aside. She knew who it was. Phillip usually found his way to her apartment on a Sunday, to raid her mother’s leftovers.

She swung open the door and greeted Phillip. He stood smiling clasping his hands together, preparing his taste buds for Deb’s Sunday dinner. Sam rolled her eyes and stepped aside, letting him inside. She didn’t know why Phillip just didn’t come to her mother’s for dinner on a Sunday. Not that she minded the company, especially tonight, but it was kind of silly. Deb would’ve bent over backwards to feed another mouth.

“So what was on the menu tonight?” Phillip asked as he made himself comfortable. Sam sighed and closed the door.

“Well, hello to you too.” She mumbled and followed him into the kitchen.

“Uh oh, I know that tone. What flew up your ass?” Phillip asked as he reached into her cabinets for a plate.

“My brother’s transplant is scheduled.” Sam said as she sat down at the table, watching Phillip make himself a plate and heat it in the microwave.

He set the timer on the microwave and turned around to face her. “That’s great! However, it still doesn’t explain your bitchy mood.” He walked to the refrigerator and grabbed two sodas.

“I’m not bitchy!” She spat and then recognized the tone of her voice. Maybe she was a little bitchy. “Fine, if you must know, it so happens, that Jake’s transplant falls on the same weekend as Ava’s dance competition.”

Phillips eyebrows drew together as he studied her. “I’m still not getting it.”

“Of course not, you didn’t see my little niece's face. She was willing to forgo the competition knowing at seven years old that her Uncle desperately needs her father’s bone marrow.” Sam took a gulp of soda and looked at him. “So I offered to take her to Atlantic City that weekend so she doesn’t miss the competition.”

Phillip smiled as he reached over and pointed to her heart. “Aw, see there is a heart in there.” She pushed his hand aside and blew out a breath. Why did she think talking to him would be a good idea? He grabbed the piping hot plate of ravioli’s and sat down across from her.

“Will you let me finish before you crack jokes?” She said, cocking her head to the side, glaring at him icily. He held his hands up and protest.

“My apologies,” he offered sarcastically.

“Luke, being the noble brother, didn’t want me driving to Atlantic City by myself. Jake, my troublemaking brother, offered me a chaperone.”

Phillip’s fork stopped midway to his mouth and he grinned. “Let me guess who the hunky chaperone is.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Nick! Now I’m stuck with him for the entire weekend! I know it sounds shallow. I mean my brothers will be cooped up in a hospital swapping out blood and I’m complaining about spending the weekend with Nick.” She sighed and tucked the loose strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail, behind her ears. “I’m pathetic.”

“Yes, you are.” Phillip agreed as he chewed.

“Keep it up and I will cut you off from my mother’s leftovers.” She warned as she made a feeble attempt to grab the plate, he had in front of him.
 
He pulled the food closer to him and actually looked frightened. Taking a deep breath he took another approach. She watched him wipe his mouth before he looked at her. “Okay, why don’t you start explaining why spending a weekend with that yummy specimen of a man scares the shit out of you?”

“Once upon a time, Samantha Lanza was head over heels in love with Nick Foti.” She said sadly.

He raised an eyebrow. “How come this is the first time I am hearing this and why do you look so unhappy about that?”

She shrugged her shoulders and asked herself why she had buried those memories so deep within her. If he hadn’t come home this past year, she probably would’ve never given Nick a second thought. That’s a lie, a big fat one too. The truth was, no matter how hard she tried to bury her past with Nick, it always had a way of resurrecting. For the last seven years every man she dated, she measured to Nick. It didn’t matter that he was out of her reach. He was never far away in her heart.

”I don’t like to talk about it.” She said truthfully. “It wasn’t like we were ever a couple or anything. The minute the opportunity presented itself, he took off. He moved to Seattle and I barely heard from him, he had a whole new life there

“That’s all you’re going to give me?” He pouted.

“I had a crush on him since I was thirteen years old.” She paused and then smiled gloomily. “He never really gave me the time of day though. In fact, he dated most of my friends.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Until the summer I turned nineteen.”

“Then what happened?” Phillip asked intrigued. She smiled at him when she noticed he had even stopped eating and was now giving her his full attention. .

“My parents took us all to a resort for a weekend in the Catskills.” She shook her head as the memories flooded her mind. “I don’t know what came over me, but the night before we left, I decided I was going to make Nick Foti never forget me. He, Luke and Jake were sharing a room. My brothers had gone night swimming, and Nick had gone back to the room for something. I followed him.” Phillip raised his eyebrows, curiously. “I sort of tried to seduce him and began to undress in front of him.” She threw her head in her hands. She shook her head, embarrassed that she was that naïve.

“Wait a minute, you stripped in front of him?” Phillip’s eyes widened, a grin threatened his mouth.

Sam peered at him through the cracks between her fingers and nodded reluctantly. “Don’t judge me!” She warned and then put her hands down. “The point is, that night he didn’t turn me down. Sure, he was scared and all, only because I was Luke’s little sister. That was why we stopped.”

“So you mean to tell me, you were naked in his hotel room and he didn’t make a move?” Phillip looked at her suspiciously.

“First, I was naked only from the waist up. Second, I didn’t say we didn’t do
anything
!” She put extra emphasize on the last word, and smiled as she remembered Nick’s mouth on hers. “I am twenty-five years old, and I can honestly say, without any hesitation, that at nineteen Nick Foti gave me the best kiss of my life.” She thought about it a moment and then nodded. “I’m pretty sure I’ve never been kissed like I had been that night, and I’m even more certain that I never will.”