Don't Touch

-47-

Simone rubbed his hand with her thumb while regretting her decision not to get involved. "Chris... I'm sorry about this, I really am..."

Chris stiffened for a few moments when the apology came from Simone. His hands slowly fell from his face and looked up at her. "So you knew this whole time...? And you just let it slide?" He released a sharp huff from his nose. "You know what it's like... Hector cheated on you!" he snapped and Simone quickly released his hand and pulled back, the fearsome glare in his eyes catching her off guard.

"I told you to lower your fucking voice," Emiliano warned, placing his arm over Simone's shoulder.

Chris backed down, but when he calmed his speech, he words came out more as winces when he spoke again. "I remember you staying with us for like two weeks after you walked in on him. You were a wreck... Barely getting out of bed and all I heard were sobs coming from the guest room when you weren't outright crying hysterically with Lali..."

Luca and Emiliano both tensed when they felt Simone shaking as Chris recounted one of the darkest times of her life. Luca looked over at Simone and noticed her swallowing several times as if trying to hold back tears and that was enough for him.

"You can get the fuck out, now," he growled, pulling a gun on Chris.

Chris froze, his eyes shifting between Simone and Luca as if signaling her for help.

"I can't make any guarantees about Lali, but I'll try Chris," she said, not hiding the exhaustion and agitation in her voice. "But like Luca said, you can leave, now." Simone waved him away and Chris stood up, his legs wobbly, a clear mix of confusion, heartbreak, and fear as he dragged himself to the door to leave.

As soon as Chris left, Simone shot to her feet, the fury burning inside her. "I'm gonna kill that bitch. Would I be wrong if I killed her even though she's pregnant? Because I'm considering it... The actual fuck is wrong with her?" she ranted as she paced the room. "We were best friends. And now she plays my brother? The fuck is that? I never thought she was such a shit person. Was Syd Johnson really that fucking dumb to be friends with her? Was I that dumb?" She directed her questions to Emiliano and Luca.

"Not gonna lie..." Emiliano chuckled while Luca didn't respond. "Syd Johnson wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed."

Simone shook her head. She and Emiliano had a similar sense of humor and his smiling face pulled her out of her flustered state. "You still wanted to fuck her, though," she quipped with a smirk.

"Keyword being 'fuck', sweetheart..." Emiliano strolled up to her and held her face in his hands. "I wanna do a lot more than that with Simone Davidson," he said before pressing his lips against hers.

Simone savored their kiss for a few moments before breaking it and looking between him and Luca apologetically. "I need to go to my parents' house."

***

"Hey pa," Simone greeted, kissing Jeff on on the cheek as she took his hand. He laid in the bed, unable to stand or lift himself up and barely able to open his eyes.

"H-hey, babygirl," he said weakly with a failed attempt to smile. "How you doin?"

"I'm alright, pa," she responded with a trembling lip as she tried to gather herself. She saw how her father's condition was only getting worse, but she knew he preferred to see her smiling and happy and she promised herself to show him that as much as she could. "Just here to talk some business with your son."

"D-don't wor... work him t-to hard," Jeff's eyes closed again and he struggled to get his words out.

Simone rubbed the top of her father's head and smiled down at him, keeping up a cheerful façade even though he could no longer see her. "No guarantees, pa. Can't have him thinking he's on vacation or some shit."