The Boy with Bad Habits

Chapter 46

I left Willow's apartment in an even more anxious mood than before. It went better than I had anticipated. When I did get home Nonna was already there roasting me with questions on my first day of school.

"How was it?"

"Did you make friends?"

"Were the teachers nice to you?"

"Did you get any homework?"

"Nonna," I drawled out with an annoyed groan.

"What? I want to know." She said still in her salon getup, hands on her hips, gazing in pure exhaustion, doing very poorly on hiding it. "You're my only grandson, and this was your first day and step in a good direction."

Not necessarily.

Nonna sat down next to me on the couch smiling, "I'm proud of you Ace for-"

Right then her phone rang in a large purse she carried around everywhere. She got up to retrieve it from the dining room table.

Her face etched with a frown in wonder seeing the number on her flip phone then answered. "Hello?"

"Yes, this is she."

More silence.

From a curious frown to a pissed off expression, she leered at me while speaking.

"Did he now?"

Fear crept up and my palms were strating to get sweaty the more steps she took toward me. "I'll definitely make sure it doesn't happen again."

Her glare was sharp and if looks could kill, I'd be sliced in to multiple little pieces. "You skipped the majority of your classes on the first day of school?!"

When I began to speak, she hulted me, "Don't."

Her hand met her forehead with disappointment and impatience. "I thought you knew better ragazzo," her words were quieted and she looked down.

I started to feel immensely regretful, "No it's no-"

"Save it." She sighed audibly, her phone was put back into the turquoise purse.

Nonna sat on the couch defeated, with both elbows on her kness and face in hands. "I'm doin' all I can Ace. And you go out of your way to rebel against that."

I stood abruptly and knelted down to remove her hands from her face. "Nonna look at me."

She didn't spare a glance.

"Please Nonna, I promise it won't ever happen ag-"

That time her hands moved, eyes not convinced in the slightest, still tired. "After all you've said to me, I know your promises are never kept."

"I'm sorry Nonna," my words came out pitiful and weak.

"If you were sorry Ace it wouldn't have happened again. Just like in New York, the same thing occurred and while you weren't at school you'd do the same thing over and over again." She left the couch swiftly, arms crossed with an infuriated gaze.

"Do you think smokin' dope and drinking is going to get you anywhere? Huh? Because all it's going to do is have your tail still on that couch living off of the little money I can barely make now!" Nonna turned away from me.

From my knelted position, I stood after her painful words. They stung deeply.

"I....made a deal with someone today."