seconds, Robbie finally said, “The decision was made for you to move. Is that what you said?”
“Yes,” I answered, knowing I was going to have to tell her the basics.
“I don’t understand, Frankie,” she muttered, confused. “What do you mean, the decision was made?”
I could feel my heart beating in a rapid tempo. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Robbie because I did. It was just…a lot to divulge my relationship with Luca, Ciro, and Phoenix. To anyone outside Morgan City they were like ghost stories. They were like mystical legends you tell people to spook them. You heard about them, but you doubted their existence because the stories had to be exaggerated, right?
“The guy who came to see me yesterday is Luca Benetti, Robbie,” I finally admitted.
“What?!”
I winced at the level of screeching the girl had reached. “The guy who came to see me yesterday is Luca Benetti,” I repeated.
“I heard you the first time, Frankie,” she replied, her voice full of shock and confusion. “Are you talking about Luca Benetti? The Luca Benetti? The goddamn Father of The Holy Trinity? I’m mean, you said you’d tell me what was going on later, when I asked who he was, but…Christ, Frankie, I hadn’t expected this! Luca freakin’ Benetti.”
I grimaced. I had heard they referred to the guys as that name, but I had done my best to not hear or talk about anything that had to do with Morgan City while I’d been away, so I chalked it up to rumors and had done my best to mind my own business. But I knew they referred to Luca as The Father, Ciro as The Son, and Phoenix as The Holy Ghost, and I didn’t care to learn why. Whatever made them earn those titles wasn’t good.
“Yes,” I answered.
And just when I didn’t think her screeching could reach higher levels, she caused dogs harm everywhere with her next realization. “Holy shit. You’re Francesca Mancini,” she cried. “You’re Ciro Mancini’s sister. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.”
“Robbie, calm-”
“Oh, my God, Frankie,” she went on. “You’re the freaking Church.”
Church?
“The what? What are you talking about?”
“Oh, my Sweet Jesus,” she mumbled. “You don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?” I honestly had no idea what she was talking about.
“People call you Church,” she said. “No one believed you existed because no one has seen you in years, but…the rumor is that The Holy Trinity worships the ground you walk on. Hence, calling you Church; a place of worship.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I blurted. “Those three men don’t…they don’t…”
Ignoring me, she said, “I knew your last name was Mancini, but I never connected you to those three. Why would the sister of Ciro Mancini be working as a waitress in Cedar Creek?”
Exactly, I wanted to tell her.
Once she settled her fandom down, her voice changed from incredulous to hurt again. “Why…why didn’t you ever say anything?” she asked. “I…I thought we were…close.”
“Robby, I’m sorry,” I replied, and I was. I truly was. She’s been the best all these years, and she deserved better. “I was trying to distance myself from…my life in Morgan City. I didn’t tell anyone. Even if it wasn’t a matter of privacy, it was a matter of safety. I couldn’t walk around freely if people knew who I was.” And in saying those words, I realized what a fool I’ve been. I was able to walk around too freely, and I never connected the dots.
Robbie let out a deep sigh, and I knew she was trying to absorb what I was saying without taking it personal. I also knew it was hard to find out the person you thought you knew wasn’t all they claimed to be. It’s how I felt the night I followed Ciro and Phoenix to that warehouse and found out I wasn’t as close to them as I had believed.
“That’s a good point,” she conceded. “It’s just…a lot.”
I pulled the sheet tighter around my naked body. I had to shift around to get comfortable from the ache between my legs. “I know it is, Robbie. I’m sorry I kept this from you, but…it is a lot.”
“So…no more playing common peasant, huh?”
I hated how she phrased that. Luca might be royalty, maybe even Ciro and Phoenix, but I wasn’t. And there was nothing common about good people who carved out decent livings for themselves. “I wasn’t playing a role,” I replied, trying to keep my voice from sounding defensive. “I left Morgan City for a reason, Robbie, and I was happy