Slicing My Flesh

23

I jogged downstairs and found my mum smiling at a picture. She turned around when she sensed me. My mum smiled and placed the picture of our family down. I gave her a small smile and wrapped my arms around her.

"You seem tense. What's wrong?" She led me outside to the hammocks.

"Oh, you are NOT gonna believe this." She chuckled as we lied down. "You know Acacia, right?" She nodded and took a sip. "Well... Naomi decided to make an appearance." My mum spit out her drink all over me. "Yeah, my reaction exactly." I did a spell to remove the liquid from me. "Isn't that insane?!"

"You have to tell me everything!" She was clearly enjoying this.

"Okay, so I was at lunch with Acacia. She was upset, so I was distracted and didn't see Naomi entering. I caught her scent and she caught mine as well. I looked up and saw her kissing someone else." My mum's mouth dropped. "I know! Anyways, she saw me and came over. Her and Acacia were having a silent fight since they hate each other for some unknown reason." My mum smirked. "So I then left since the bell rang, right?! And then Naomi teleports in front of me and wants to talk. But Acacia is all like hell no, bitch! They then fight!"

"Wait, seriously?!" I nodded at my mum.

"And then my aunts have to break them apart. We get to the office and they start attacking each other again. We were sent to detention, but they just screamed at each other the entire time." I threw my hands up. "I asked Hailey to rescue me and thankfully she did! I then left her because I wanted to talk to you about this shit!"

"That's crazy." My mum laughed. "I didn't know she goes to school there."

"Neither did I!" I groaned. "Why is she constantly ruining my life?!

"I don't know, little dove." She wrapped me in her arms. "I'm sorry you're going through this headache." I pouted and wrapped my arms around her. "Although it is somewhat entertaining." She laughed when I pinched her. "How far along are you in the bonding ritual with Acacia?"

"We completed the three kisses." My mum pulled back to look at me. "Yeah, so that means that I can completely bond with either of them." I sighed.

"Who do you-"

"I don't know." I looked down. "Before, I'd have said Acacia, but seeing Naomi has stirred up old feelings. She hurt me, yes... but there's a part of me that still loves her." I looked up with teary eyes. "But I'm also falling in love with Acacia. I don't want to hurt either of them." I cried. "And I know I'm going to hurt one person." I muttered.

"Little dove, don't place that burden on your shoulders." She looked at me seriously. "You cannot help who your heart chooses-"

"But it has no preference!" I cried. "And I somehow have to pick one." I looked down. "I'm gonna cause unspeakable pain." I whispered. "What do I do?"

"I don't know, tesoro." She kissed my forehead. "I'd say to spend time with both and see who your heart yearns for more." She sadly smiled at me. "It just pains me that Naomi is putting you through emotional turmoil again." She gritted her teeth. "I don't want you to be hurt again." I looked down and nodded.

"H-How's your mission going?" I wanted to change the subject.

"Lara told me you asked about it." She laughed. "Not well to be honest. We haven't found any clue to where the opening is. The best we can do is try and track down a rogue and see if they have any information since they're loyal to no one. We'd have to heavily compensate, but that's no worry." She absentmindedly waved her hand.

"Any idea where it could be?" She shook her head. "I know it's always changing, but is there no common place the entrance inhabits? Like a desert or tropical place?" She shrugged.

"Hmm.. well that's weird. Are you busy now?" She laughed and shook her head. "I think that's a lie since there was a stack of papers on your desk." She rolled her eyes. "Nevertheless, can we go into town?" My mum nodded and got up.

I've been craving pizza and pasta, so I dragged my mum to the pizzeria Luca worked at. He was ecstatic to see me. Luca dropped the dough and gave me a bear hug. My mum smiled as she observed Luca and I interact. He then looked and blushed at my mum. I rolled my eyes since it was obvious he was attracted to her. Well, everyone in the shop was drooling over my mum. I snapped Luca out of his trance. He mumbled a sorry and went to make us our pies.

When Luca brought our pies over, my mum offered for him to sit with us. He was about to reply, but his manager told him to get back to work. My mum then flirted with the manager (cue eye roll) to get Luca to sit with us. I gagged when I could see his erection. He then left with a pep in his step. My mum smiled and turned back to the table. Her brow quirked when she looked at me.

"Maman is totally gonna hear about this." I teased.

"I'll get you gelato if you don't say shit." I laughed and pinky swore with her.

"Thanks for giving me a break." Luca spoke.

"No problem. I know my daughter misses you, so I wanted to give you two a chance to catch up." She smiled and went on her phone.

Luca and I caught up and traded crazy stories. Rocco was now a joke at the school since he had to wear dentures. He was originally gonna get veneers, but the dentist said they couldn't do it anymore. I looked at my mum, who wore a smirk on her face. I rolled my eyes since it was obvious they used their mafia privileges to intimidate the dentists.

I then told Luca about my relationship conundrum. I know he's my ex, but he's still one of my best friends, so it wasn't weird to talk to him about it. His face dropped when I mentioned Naomi had returned. He, like everyone, was wondering what I was gonna do. I was at a loss since I liked both of them. I found it humorous how everyone was on Team Acacia even though they haven't met her yet. Luca pointed out all the infractions Naomi has done against me. He was scared that she'd hurt me again. I thanked him for his concern, but said it was ultimately my decision.

Luca eventually had to return to work, so my mum and I left. She bought me new clothes, even when I protested about having to wear uniforms. My mum said that I didn't have to wear a uniform outside the school grounds or on weekends. I rolled my eyes, but allowed her to buy me the clothes.

We then went to a restaurant where we ordered so many dishes. The chef thought we were just gonna sample the dishes, not eat everything. The look of amazement on his face was priceless. We then went to a bakery where we ordered a lot of desserts. I felt content after we got gelato.

We walked the streets well after nightfall. When it was close to 2am, my mum thought it was an appropriate time to head back. I groaned when she told me I needed my beauty sleep. I decided to spend the night, so that I could delay dealing with Hailey's teasing.