Sweet Rome

A searing pain shot into my chest and, groaning in fury, I threw my head into my hands.

“Rome, I thought you said she was nothing to you?” Shelly asked from beside me as Ally shot daggers from her eyes.

“Shut the f**k up, Shel!” I snarled, causing Mrs. Blair to gasp and my momma to jump to her feet in outrage.

Casting a glance back at Molly, I saw the crushing grief on her face, and I lost it the moment I saw her run. She took off down the street, hailing for a cab.

Pushing Shelly out of the way, I screamed, “Molly!” as loud as I could. She stopped and stood still on the spot, and I felt myself breathe again. Her shoulders sagged, and she slowly turned around. Our eyes met, and I tried to show her how sorry I was in my gaze, but when I smelled my mother’s strong perfume right beside me and heard her mocking laugh in my ear, I froze.

“I’ll ruin her, Romeo. This is the moment you decide if you want to destroy someone’s life. Believe it, boy. You choose her, I’ll ruin you both.”

Indecision plagued me. My momma always meant what she said. She never stopped until she got what she wanted. I’d seen her in action. When she wanted to be head of some damn committee, she tarnished the reputation of others in the running until she won. When she wanted my grades to be higher than they were in middle school, she blackmailed the teacher until my GPA miraculously increased. If she wanted Molly out of the picture now, all my instincts were telling me she would work out a way to get it done. I couldn’t put Molly through it. Christ, she’d been through enough—her daddy, her grandma, to name just a couple—but I couldn’t lose my girl.

“Rome! Don’t listen to her. She can’t control you anymore!”

I stared at my cousin but couldn’t speak, causing her to groan in exasperation and throw her hands up in the air.

I could practically feel my mother’s sense of victory, the f**king smug smile plastered on her botoxed face, but when Molly’s golden eyes fell to the floor and she caught the attention of a slowing cab, my flight-or-fight instinct kicked in.

Turning to my momma, I said, “It’s over. You won’t come near me or Mol again. If you do, you’ll regret it; that’s a promise I’ll make sure I keep.” It was the first time in my whole life I’d stood up to her and the first time I’d ever seen her taken aback, completely speechless.

Jumping over the small white fence, I took off running across the road, dodging oncoming cars, ignoring my momma’s frantic, “Rome, don’t you dare!” from behind me.

Molly jumped into the cab. I raced toward it, unable to bear the thought of her slipping away from me. The cab began to move. Pumping my legs as hard as I could, I ran beside it, pulling at the door handle, frantically begging her to stop, to listen. She looked so f**king broken sitting so small in the back seat. It made my heart ache when she turned her face from me and the cab screeched away, leaving me standing, alone in the middle of the street.

Backing onto the sidewalk, I sprinted for my truck, ignoring the shoppers gawking at me. Ally, Cass, and Lexi were still standing on the sidewalk in front of me. When Cass saw me approach, she stood straight in my path, blocking my route.

“Move, Cass,” I warned, but she ignored me, and, damn, that crazy woman swung her fist straight into my f**king stomach.

“You stupid shithead! How dare you treat Molly like this?”

Winded and bending over slightly, I argued, “It wasn’t what it looked like. I was f**kin’ protecting her. I would never cheat on Mol. For Christ’s sake! She’s all I want!”

“Well, it sure looked like something was going on, and with that skinny bitch, too!” Cass was breathing heavily, and I could see the fury in her red face as she stared me down.

“Cass, honey, leave him be.” Lexi pulled on Cass’s arm, calming her down, before looking at me, shyly. “Molly won’t take this well, Rome. She doesn’t trust people easily and I think you just about broke her heart today when she saw you with Shelly.”

“I know that, Lexi, but hear this: she’s mine and I’ll do anything to protect her. You have my word.”

Even to me, my voice sounded strangled. But Lexi must have heard my sincerity because she smiled and squeezed my arm in support.

Ally pulled me in for a quick hug, whispering, “Go get her.”

That was exactly what I intended to do.

I pulled the truck into park and ran to the backyard of the sorority house, climbing up to Molly’s balcony, only to be met by closed doors.

Shit! She never locked her balcony doors; it was obvious what she was trying to say.