Fate (12 page)

“This is probably why Sal is most worried about me hanging out with you. Nothing ever became of it. I wasn’t involved in any way
,
so they couldn’t prove shit
,
but I know Sal and the family have always had their doubts.”

He looked away again. Rose saw how hard it was for him to face her when telling her all this
,
but she was grateful that he was anyway. It obviously wasn’t easy for him.

“I like guns.” He must’ve seen the panic in her eyes
;
she was suddenly wondering if he was carrying one now. “But not like what you’re thinking
,
Rose. I like target shooting. It’s like one of the only things me and my dad do together. He’s the one that introduced me to it.” She could tell his eyes were searching hers to see if she’d calmed. She had a little. “When he got me a part
-
time job at the recycling factory where he works
,
we started going a few times after work to the shooting range next to the factory. And I’m good at it
—like
real
good. The trainers there
,
who’ve been doing this for year
s,
say I’m one of the best they’ve seen.”

He smiled for an instant proudly before shaking his head and frowned. “My dad has
a
gun for protection. It’s registered and everything. But of course
,
he’s not gonna let me use it for anything else
but
target practice
,
and only when he’s with me.” He shrugged looking away. “So
,
like a dumb
-
ass
,
when I heard some dude sold guns out of his car, I bought one. I was stupid. I actually thought my dad might even be okay with finding out if there was any way we could get it registered. Before I got the nerve to tell him about it
,
my mom found it in my room. She freaked—thought I was using it to mug people or something. But that wasn’t it at all. It was just another stupid plan I didn’t think through. The idea of having my own gun excited me. That was it. But of course she wasn’t buying it. ” He looked back at Rose. “My mom really thinks the worst of me right now
,
and I can’t say I blame her. I’ve done some pretty stupid shit.”

Rose stared at him hoping that was it. She didn’t know how much she could hear without running away. But there was more.

“The worst was the drugs because I have
no
excuse for that. I thought it through
,
and I did that willingly. It was easy money—too easy—even the strongest of wills would have a hard time passing it up. I
’d
make an easy couple of hundred just making a few drops a day.”

Rose stared at him
,
her heart beating for an altogether reason now. “You dealt drugs?”

“I wasn’t the dealer
,
but they paid me to deliver. I knew it was illegal and dangerous
,
but I did it anyway.”

Rose couldn’t pull her eyes away from him
,
and he stared right back at her. He was putting it out there and making no excuses. She asked for a full disclosure
,
and he was giving it to her. She almost regretted asking for one now
,
but she continued to listen silently as his words began to sound angry.

“I never took Enzo with me
,
but they could’ve followed me home. They could’ve broken in my apartment
and
hurt my family members just to get to the drugs. I hadn’t even thought of that until my dad found my stash. He’s the one that opened my fucking eyes about it. I’d heard about that kind of shit happening in my neighborhood all the time
,
but the money blinded me. I felt invincible. Even after my dad told me off, took my stash
,
and threatened to turn me into the cops if he ever found out I was doing it again, I still snuck around and did it here and there when I needed extra cash. Then it happened.”

He’d been looking everywhere but at her the whole time
,
and now his eyes stopped on hers. He didn’t even attempt to hide the anger now like he had earlier. “I got jumped. Enzo was with me. They wanted the drugs. It had gotten around that I delivered
,
and though I was only doing it when I needed to
,
not full time like before, not everyone knew this. And of course
,
the one time I
got
jumped for it
,
I didn’t have shit on me. Between me and Enzo
,
we managed to fight them off. They were fucking little wusses who only
fought
in groups. One on one I would’ve beat
en
each and every one of them til
l
they were barely breathing
,
but there
were
five of them and only two of us.” He winced and looked away. “Enzo had to have stitches
,
and my mom blamed me again
,
and she was absolutely right. That’s when I decided never again.”

Rose had listened the entire time without saying a word or changing her expression. The very thought of someone hurting Grace because of something Rose had done made her shudder. She understood why Vincent
seemed
so angry at himself. Suddenly Vince
nt
seemed nervous. “Rose
,
please don’t let this scare you into not wanting to be my friend…or more. I’m not like that anymore. I have a job still with my dad
,
and I’d be there now
,
but my dad wanted me away from the neighborhood for a while after the whole tagging thing. At first I didn’t want to. I know what the family thinks of me. I didn’t want to be scrutinized all summer
,
but after meeting you at the shower and then getting to know you better over texting
,
I could hardly wait. They can scrutinize all they want
;
it’s totally worth it. I’m straight now. I swear. No more of any of that shit for me
ever
, especially because my uncle and Sal have already warned me if I screw up, I’m gone.”

Rose gulped
,
feeling the steady beat of her heart strong
.
She was
anxious but at the same time strangely excited. The touch of his fingers against hers sent shivers up her spine, his words making her insides liquid. Had she heard him correctly?
Or more
?
What those two little words did to her was unreal. But if Grace knew everything he’d been in trouble for, guns, drug dealing? She didn’t care what he called it—delivering—selling. It was still drug dealing
,
and her sister
would
surely forbid so much as even a friendship.

The
ir
eyes met
,
and his were so piercing, so full of remorse
that
Rose instantly caved. He
did
say it was all in the past. She inhaled deeply. “Is that it?”

For the first time in a while
,
he smiled. “Yeah, that’s it. I told you everything else in the email. And most of this
was
from way back, Rose. I swear.”

“Why do you get into so many fights? You said you’ve been in fights
,
but you didn’t elaborate just said
lots
.” She smiled nervously.

His smile morphed into a forced smirk. “In my neighborhood
,
it’s just like that.”

Rose frowned. She wouldn’t let him off the hook so easy. “Vincent, look around. I’m not exactly in La Jolla here. El Paso wasn’t much better either
,
and I’ve never been in a fight in my life.”

She wouldn’t mention that Grace had been in quite a few when they first moved to El Paso. But that was different. She was bullied because of her accent. There’s only so much you can take before fighting back.

“It’s different for girls, Rosie. When you’re a guy there’s a lot that’s so hard to let go.”

Rose was still recovering from hearing him call her Rosie
,
but she shook it off. “Like what?”

He stood up
,
shoving his hands in his pockets and kicked a few rocks on the ground. “Like seeing others get picked on, girls disrespected, your buddies getting wailed on. You don’t just walk away from those things. My brother…sometimes he has a smart mouth and shit.” He shrugged. “He’s just a funny dude
,
but sometimes people don’t like it
,
and I’ll be damned if anyone’s gonna fuck with him. They go through me
,
first
,
a
nd…over the years
,
that’s happened a lot.” He looked up from staring at the rocks he was kicking and flashed a hopeful smile. “Can we talk about something else now?
Please?”

She was sure he
used
the sweet expression to gain her sympathy
;
instead
,
it made her knees weak. How could she say no? “Okay
,
”
s
he smiled back
,
“
b
ut just one more thing
.
”
H
is expression went hard again.”
It’s not so much about you but about your dad. I’m just curious.”

Now
he
looked curious. “My dad?”

“Yeah
,
Grace told me about how Sal’s grandpa started the business way back with a taco truck
,
and then Sal’s dad got involved
,
and they made the restaurants what they are now. Sal’s dad and yours are brothers right? Why didn’t he join the business? I mean
,
how did you guys end up in La Puente?” She hoped he wouldn’t be insulted
,
but from all the stuff he just told her
about
Sal’s family and then his own, their families were like night and day.

Rose was surprised to see a little humor in Vince’s eyes. “Grandpa Moreno got busy after Grandma Moreno passed away and didn’t tell anyone.” He smiled at Rose’s raised eyebrows. “Yep. And then I don’t know why
,
but my grandma never told anyone either. My dad didn’t even know he had a brother until he was already married and had moved to La Puente near my mom’s sister. Then my dad found out my grandpa never even knew about him. My grandpa tried to make up for the lost time and even offered to let him come work for him at the restaurant
,
but my mom said my dad was too proud. He already had a
gig
.” Vince frowned shaking his head. “I was such a dick to my dad when I was younger. My mom would tell me he was working up north
,
but like an idiot I didn’t buy it.”

“Why not?”

“In my neighborhood
,
‘Your dad’s going away for a while to work’ was code for a lot of things—going to jail, carrying off a job for the mob, going to live with his other woman
;
you name it. It was never anything good. So here I acted like a total asshole when he’d get back from
‘
work
’
and the whole time he’d been up north working his ass off as a field worker to support his family.” He winced shaking his head again. “
Now
can we talk about something else?”

Rose felt bad that Vincent felt so guilty
,
but she didn’t blame him. She was almost sorry she’d made him tell her
,
so she quickly agreed to change the subject. “What do you wanna talk about?”

That twinkle she’d seen too many times at the baby shower was back in his eyes
,
and she couldn’t wipe what she knew was a big silly smile on her own face now, too.

“You.”

Vince

Vince could tell he made Rose a little nervous
l
ike now that he’d turned the conversation onto her. As cute as it was, he didn’t particularly like making her nervous. He wanted her to relax and enjoy his company
,
the way he did hers. Well, except for when she was grilling him about his past. But it was cute the way she tried to play off the fact that she wasn’t squirming.

“There’s not a whole lot to tell,” Rose said brushing away a strand of hair from her forehead. “My past or present aren’t quite as colorful as yours.”