𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗲 [ 𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗶 𝗮𝘂 ]

matters worse .48

gina looked up from her phone and at her two best friends. ricky and carlos last across the restaurant both wearing terrible yet functioning disguises. ricky and carlos gave gina thumbs up while she gave them an unsure smile. soon enough, she saw benjamin walk into the restaurant. he talked to the hostess before they made their way towards gina. the girl took deep breaths and gave benjamin an awkward smile before he sat down in front of her.

"hi."

"hello," benjamin awkwardly answered back. the two of them awkwardly glanced around the restaurant before benjamin spoke up again, "this is an amazing restaurant. i love their calamari."

"i'm allergic to squid," gina stated.

"oh," benjamin simply said before falling silent again. gina mentally slapped herself in the face and cleared her throat.

"thank you for coming. i know it was probably a lot for you to come out here for me but i really do appreciate it," gina told her father. he gave gina a smile and relaxed a bit more.

"of course! it wasn't that hard for me to come out here you know...just because i wasn't there before doesn't mean i won't be here for the rest of your life," he told gina. the girl nodded her head.

"but i'm a montague."

"yes...i know," benjamin said a bit saddened, "well then maybe you can ... switch over to capulet records?"

"what?" gina quickly asked.

"excuse me?" they both heard someone say. they looked up to see jenn standing over their table.

"she looks angry," carlos whispered to ricky as they spoke behind the menu.

"yeah no shit," ricky answered back. carlos gave ricky an annoyed look before the two boys focused their attention on gina, benjamin, and jenn again.

"gina is not going to switch over to capulet records," jenn stated in a stern voice, "what the hell is this anyways? gina, i thought you and i were going to have dinner."

"no? gina and i are going to have dinner together," benjamin stated, "you've had years to do this. now piss off."

"stop!" gina yelled in a frustrated tone, "i am having dinner with the both of you. now sit down."

benjamin stiffened in his seat as jenn sat right next to him at the table. jenn scooted her chair away from benjamin and had an annoyed look on her face. gina shook her head at the two adults and sighed, "anyways ... i want to thank the both of you for coming out here and having dinner with me." she looked at them from a response but they just awkwardly sat down and kept their mouths shut.

gina sighed, "i wanted to talk to the both of you about something important."

benjamin and jenn both looked up from the table, "what is it?" jenn was first to ask. gina glanced at carlos and ricky's table. they gave her a nod of reassurance so the girl prepared herself.

"i...i want you guys to lift the ban on montagues and capulets," gina finally said, "it's stupid and useless. it's tearing everyone's lives apart and it's nobody's fault. it doesn't have to be like this, you know? we could all be one big family."

"we are not family," jenn quickly stated. she glanced at benjamin and rolled her eyes, "at least he's not."

"i'm sorry?? i'm not the one that ruined ours," benjamin was quick to say, "we were perfectly married. we had a company together — a future. but you ruined it. this isn't anybody's fault but yours."

"please, can we not—"

"me? me? you think i was the one that ruined our family?" jenn asked benjamin, cutting gina off, "i'm sorry who was the one that didn't want a kid at all? you were too busy and invested into the record company to care for a child. you specifically stated that you were never gonna have kids. how do you think that made me feel? i marry you and all of a sudden you don't want a family anymore?"

"but you think i would disown my own daughter if we were to have one?? i would've loved her the second i seen her," benjamin argued back, "but you never gave me the chance. you took away my child. our daughter. you then stole my money and my company."

"i never stole anything! we invested in that company together and we made that company together," jenn spat back, "that's your problem, ben. you think that everything is yours! that you created everything, but you didn't! gina was mine from the start. she was never yours because you never wanted her."

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU NEVER EVEN GAVE ME THE CHANCE TO MEET HER?" benjamin yelled back. gina got startled and leaned back into her chair. the girl was silent as her two parents argued about whose fault was whose. jenn quickly rose up from the table and looked at gina.

"gina. get up. we're leaving," jenn commanded.

"she's not going anywhere with you. she can think and do whatever she wants," benjamin argued back.

jenn laughed and shook her head, "oh really?? then why don't you have the same energy for your little prodigy, nini. you let her moms lock her up and control her like some pet. at least i treat my artist with respect and love. at least i treat them as fucking human beings."

"you don't know anything about that girl," benjamin yelled, getting a bit defensive.

"and you don't know anything about this girl either," jenn spat as she grabbed gina, "she's not your daughter. if anything, nini is."

"you know what your problem is, jenn?" benjamin asked, getting closer to the women, "you're scared. you get scared that no one is gonna love you. that's why you took gina away from me. you knew damn well that our marriage wasn't working out. you took gina away from me because you knew that at the end of the day, gina would've picked me. she would've picked me as her sole provider. she would've picked capulet records and she sure as hell would've loved me more than she could ever love you."

jenn felt the anger and resentment rushing through her body. she pulled gina to stand next to her as she pulled them away from benjamin, "you are never allowed to see my daughter."

"jenn—"

"say goodbye gina," jenn told her as she pulled her away from benjamin.

"you take my daughter away from me and i swear i WILL pull nini out of that DAMN movie!" benjamin yelled back. jenn stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at benjamin, "you know damn well that ricky needs this movie. you don't have maya anymore and ricky is the only thing holding your damn company together. you need this, jenn."

jenn's nose flared and she simply shrugged her shoudlers, "pull the girl out the movie then. because none of my montagues are ever allowed to see you twisted capulets."

"no, no, no," gina cried as she looked at the two despicable adults, "don't do this please. it doesn't have to be like this."

"we're going now," jenn simply said before dragging gina out of the restaurant.

"you're making a terrible mistake! a terrible mistake!!" benjamin yelled out, "you're gonna regret this, jennifer!"

ricky and carlos watched as benjamin stormed the restaurant shortly after gina and jenn left. the two boy looked at each other with worry and disappoint, "what did we just do," carlos whispered.

"we just made things worse," ricky sadly said, "we only made things worse."