Her Safety

Chapter Twelve

The days following were hectic and quick. There was so much to do with moving my family into the new house, starting my new job and preparing to meet DeAngelo's family. Not to mention the brand-new security team Ang had watching just about my every move. He didn't take my cousin Frank that seriously, but he said he didn't want to take a chance. Hence my new security detail.

"Mama, did you get chicken breast?" I asked my mother as she return home from grocery shopping. DeAngelo hired a personal driver for us and Ma was beside herself.

"Yes dear." She hummed as she restocked the pantry. She had a very important doctor's appointment the day with a specialist. Since we had no insurance previously, it was hard to get an appointment with specialists.

"Are you excited to finally get in with Dr. Kieran?" I asked her as I chopped up vegetables.

From the corner of my eye I saw her smile to herself, "Of course, bella. He is known for treating lupus and putting his patients into remission."

"But you've been feeling better, right? With those supplements Ang and I ordered for you?"

"Well yes, but it won't cure me."

I sighed, watching her work tirelessly, never taking a second to breathe. My mother was my biggest inspiration and my biggest motivation. Yet, and the same time, I couldn't get this nagging feeling out of my mind. I wondered how much she knew about my father's past and about Angelo. I didn't want to bring it up in fear of stressing her out. When Ma got stressed her lupus would flare up and she would get very sick.

"Angelo is going to be here at six, so I'm going to finish preparing dinner. Why don't you go take a shower and get some rest before he gets here?"

"Honey, all I did was grocery shop. I'm not even tired, let me help you with dinner." She immediately started gathering potatoes to cut.

"So, when can we go shopping? You and the kids need outfits for Thanksgiving." I assessed my mom to see how she would react. When Angelo cordially invited her, she seemed a little uneasy about it. There was some sort of understanding shared between Angelo and my mom, but I couldn't understand it. They always cliqued, but it was like they could read each other's minds sometimes. It wasn't a bad thing, I just didn't understand it.

"Let's wait until they get back from school, so we can discuss it together." She offered.

While the food was cooking in the oven, I took the time to shower and change. Angelo called me, offering to pick my brothers and sisters up from school before he came over. He was very involved in their academics, even insisting to send them to private school. I refused incessantly until he backed off. Now, he felt responsible to keep up with them and to make sure the school was good enough for them to attend. He was very big on academics.

As I put the finishing touches on my makeup, my siblings charged in the house. 4:03 p.m. like clockwork. I smiled to myself as I overheard their endearing conversations with Angelo. His interest in them wasn't a facade, as I once worried it would be. He genuinely cared about each and every one of them individually.

"No, Cat, I don't think it's a good idea," I listened to the serious words Ang shared with my younger sister, Catherine. "If you tell on her, you're gonna be known as a tattletale. You need to learn how to take care of your problems by yourself. That way, when you go to middle school next year, you'll be mature enough to face anything."

I covered my mouth to stifle my giggling. He was always giving them life lessons and they eagerly took his advice, often repeating it to me.

"But what if I can't solve it on my own? I can't deal with her anymore!" Cat whined. I assumed she stomped her foot dramatically, but I couldn't hear it over the ruckus of my brothers shouting at each other.

"Cat, come here," Ang pulled her aside into the hallway. I tiptoed closer to them, the only thing diving us was the cream-colored wall in front of me. "If you're anything like your sister you're going to mess everything up, because she is the absolute worst!"

"Hey!" I jumped around the wall, with my hands on my hips. The two of them burst out laughing.

"That'll teach you not to eavesdrop, sweetheart." Ang and Cat shared hi-fives, still laughing at me.

Rolling my eyes, "Keep laughing and let's see what dinner you two will be eating!" I jokingly stomped away from them. Ma was in the foyer, putting the kids' shoes away and hanging their coats.

"Guys! What did I tell you about letting Ma put away your shoes and coats?" I shouted out loud, proceeding to take their backpacks into the laundry room closet. They all ignored me of course, but what do you expect from a bunch of nine, ten, eleven and twelve year olds?

After we had dinner and the kids went to start their homework, Angelo, Ma and I gathered at the table for tea as we usually did. We discussed wedding details, like the color-scheme and flowers. My mom was very excited about dress shopping, while Angelo was more interested in what we were going to serve and who would cater the wedding.

"You know I don't care. It's your choice who caters it. My one and only request is that we get married at my childhood church, St. Hugo's."

Ang nodded, writing something down in a notepad, "We'll go there sometime next week to book the date. We decided on September 16th, correct?"

I nodded, smiling softly. We were lucky enough that September 16th of the next year would fall on a Sunday, since we specifically chose the date in honor of my father. September 16th would have been his 57th birthday, so it was important to me that we found a way to tie him into the ceremony.

"Papa would be so happy," Ma smiled sadly, looking down at her tea-cup. Nine—almost ten years later and she still couldn't help but shed a tear every time she mentioned him. I stared at her, wondering how much she knew. My heartbeat picked up at the thought of her knowing about Angelo while I had not one clue. It hurt me to know my loved ones hid so much from me, and even though I knew it was for my protection, it still stung. I decided to have that conversation with her alone.

Angelo's phone rang suddenly, waking all of us up from our thoughts. His eyes turned dark and he picked up the call with no hesitation, "It's DeAngelo, go."

Ma stood up and gave him privacy, proceeding to put the empty teacups in the dishwasher, while I unashamedly looked on. I couldn't hear the other end of the phone call but I noted how Ang's posture tensed and his grip on his phone tightened.

"I'm on my way," He ended the call and stood up immediately, walking to the door with myself in tow.

I didn't want to ask but my curious nature would forever be my downfall, "Everything ok?" I asked, biting my lip while he buttoned his coat up.

He forced a smile and kissed the top of my head while squeezing my arm, "Everything is perfect."

I saw right through him, but I didn't want to add onto his stress so I smiled and asked him to call me when he got home. I knew he was strong and capable, but he wasn't invincible, and that's what frightened me most. I needed to know he was safe or I wouldn't be able to sleep. He promised me he would before sending his regards to my mom and whizzing out of the driveway.

Later that night, I heard a tapping sound on my window. Since my room was on the first level, there was easy access to it. However, with the abundant security teams Ang had circling my property, I didn't have much to fear. I didn't think anyone could get past them. Boy, was I wrong.