ROMANCE: Mr. Mystery: (New Adult Bad Boy Romance) (Contemporary Mystery Short Stories) (2 page)

Gianna made her way upstairs.  Her room was across the hallway from the master bedroom.  She’d expected the door to be closed.  Instead, it stood open revealing the dark bedroom.  The sheets were thrown back.  That was odd. Gianna wondered what had happened that they’d left so quickly. 

In her room, she flopped down on the bed.  She had homework, but it would wait until tomorrow.  For now, she was going to nap. 

As if on cue, one of the three cats wandered into the bedroom.  It leapt onto the bed beside her, curling into her side.  It was a sign.  Right now, this was all that she needed. 

Gianna didn’t know how long she had slept, but she woke up to the sounds of footsteps pounding up the stairs. 

“G!”  Patti called, flipping on the light in the room.  “Wake up!” 

Gianna muttered a curse under her breath.  She knew better than to say anything against her mother.  If her grandmother found out she’d be in trouble.  Her grandmother was adamant about parental respect-even if Patti was a lousy mother some days. 

“What?”  She sat up.  She couldn’t imagine that Patti cared that much how her night had been, she certainly didn’t care how her mother’s night had turned out. 

“I have something to tell you.”  Patti was sitting down on the bed beside her.  “It’s about Bianca.” 

So Bianca had finally died.  It was about time.  Gianna felt terrible with herself for thinking that way.  But even if the rest of her family ignored it, she felt bad about Bianca’s accident.  She could not imagine her vivacious big sister living her life in some type of a home onwards.  In Bianca’s case, death was truly better. 

“What is it?”  Gianna steadied herself for the news.  She did not think that she would cry. 

“She woke up today.” 

“WHAT?”  Gianna literally leapt off of the bed.  “You have to be kidding me!  After all this time?” 

“I know, I know it’s unbelievable.  I was shocked when I got the call too.”  Patti reached out to take Gianna’s hands.  She pulled her back onto the bed beside her.  “The doctors are saying that it’s a miracle.” 

A miracle?  Bianca now awake to be a vegetable?  Or an invalid?  Gianna would have to ask them their definition of miracle. 

“So…” Gianna hesitated.  “Now what?” 

“Well,” Patti rubbed her hands, “are you ready to see her?  I think it would be good for her.”  Gianna did not want to see Bianca.  She wanted to remember Bianca as she had been, not as she currently was. 

“If you think it’s best.”  Gianna shrugged.  Patti smiled. 

“She’s in better shape than they ever thought she would be.  It’s too early to say, but Bianca may go back to her old self.” 

“What?”  That got her attention.  “She really might…be ok?” 

She wanted Bianca to survive for herself, but she also wanted an ally.  If Bianca was going to be ok, she might just have someone to cover for her when Kevin and Patti got weird, or when they were running off to tour with a band rather than staying home with their children. 

“They want to run some tests,” Patti said carefully, “but yes, Bianca is recovering.  She may be ok.” 

This made Gianna smile. 

“Ok then, I’d love to see her.” 

******

It had been one month of physical, occupational, and speech therapy, but Bianca was finally ready to go home.  She had recovered much faster than anyone had ever expected, to the point that the therapies had just become a formality.  Now she was up, and functioning, weak but ready to attack the world. 

Well, at least she hoped that she was. 

It had been a rough month.  Bianca had to come to terms with the fact that so much had changed.  She’s lost a year of her life.  All of the hard work that she had poured into school was gone.  Her father had killed himself-at least that’s what Gianna had said.  Mia was gone.  And her mother was dating Kevin. 

That was what didn’t sit well in Bianca’s mind.  Her family had known Kevin for years.  He’d been in the first band that her mother had joined.  She and Kevin had toured everywhere together.  It had meant leaving both of their families behind.  Bianca remembered when Kevin had divorced.  Stephen and Patti had discussed it.  Bianca had been too young to ask what had happened.  Now she questioned. 

Had there always been something going on between her mom and Kevin?  Or was she just paranoid?  He’d come to see her in the hospital, and it had been uncomfortable.  She simply didn’t know what to say to him.  What did you say to the man that made your mother give up her entire life?  Gianna said that Kevin tried, but he and Patti were just not around all of the time. 

Someone entered the door and Bianca turned.  Gianna stood in the doorway. 

“Mom and Kevin are talking to the nurses.”  Gianna entered the room.  She was the only one who didn’t look at Bianca like she was an invalid.  The doctors had all assured the family that she would be fine, and be able to go back to her normal life.  But it didn’t seem to stick for everyone. 

“Ready to go home?”  Gianna sat down on the edge of the bed.  Bianca didn’t like to lay down.  She had spent too much time in bed.  She didn’t care if she never slept again. 

“How is home?”  Bianca asked.  It wasn’t the home that she had ever known.  Gianna was silent for a few minutes. 

“It’s a really nice house.”  She finally came up with.  “And we have three cats.”  Bianca guessed that that was better than nothing. 

“And how’s Kevin?” 

“He’s ok.”  Gianna answered.  “They’re not around much.”  

“Ok.”  She looked towards the doorway as Patti and Kevin came in. 

“Are you ready to go home, sweetie?”  Gianna saw it already.  The Favorite Child was back, and she would soon cease to exist.  As glad as she was to have her sister back, she couldn’t believe this was happening again. 

Bianca could only glance at Kevin as she they left the hospital.  She had no idea what the world that she was returning to would be like. 

The drive home was silent.  Bianca watched the city that she had once loved buzz around her.  It was so strange to see now.  It looked different.  She felt sick, but she didn’t think that it had anything to do with her lingering injuries. 

Gianna had been right, the house was nice.  It was a large three story brick on a small plot of land.  She was a bit surprised that her mother had come to Staten Island.  The family had always been the type of New Yorkers who joked about those who lived on Staten Island. 

“So there’s a whole bedroom upstairs.”  Patti told her as she was showing Bianca through the house.  “We thought you might like it.”  That incited a gasp from Gianna. 

“You’re giving her the third floor?”  Patti looked uncomfortable. 

“G, come on, she’s been through so much.”  Gianna bit her tongue.  She couldn’t say anything, but Bianca sensed the hesitation.  She immediately saw why. 

The third floor had apparently been set up to be its own apartment.  It had a kitchenette, a living room, a bedroom, and its own bath.  Bianca saw immediately why Gianna would be jealous. 

“You can have it, really.”  She assured Gianna.  Gianna shook her head. 

“No, go ahead.  You take it.”  She was saying it because it was the right thing to do, and Bianca knew that.  She shrugged awkwardly. 

“Ok.”  She glanced around.  “So did you put my stuff in storage or…”  Patti looked uncomfortable again.  This time, Gianna only looked accusing.  “Oh what now?”  Bianca sighed. 

“Well, baby,” Patti looked up at her, “we donated your stuff when we moved.”  Bianca was stunned to anger. 

“Wait.  So they told you that there was a possibility that I could survive…yet you STILL got rid of my stuff?”  What parent tried to erase their child so quickly?  Bianca was stunned-truly stunned.  All of the mementos of her life were gone.  How her mother and sister could do such a thing was beyond her. 

“Well we just…. didn’t know.”  Patti offered nervously.  Bianca sighed.  Getting angry was undeniably bad for her recovery. 

“Ok.  So we’re getting me new stuff, right?”  She meant it as rhetorical.  There was only one good answer.  If they gave her the wrong answer…well, that spoke for itself too. 

“Of course, baby.”  Patti was pulling her into her arms.  “Of course we will.  We’re just so glad to have you home.” 

Bianca looked over her mother’s sister at Gianna.  Gianna merely shrugged.  Bianca understood.  Their family had fallen into all sorts of weirdness.

******

In the three months since she had been back in the world of the living, Bianca still found everything to be strange.  Her mother had done everything in her power to replace the things she had lost, but it didn’t help.  Bianca no longer felt like she fit into this world…or this family. 

She still had to straighten out her schooling, and what she would do with her life.  She had just turned twenty-one.  She was an adult now.  She had no idea what to do with herself. 

She was also quite tired of being alone all day.  Patti and Kevin were both off doing whatever music industry thing that they did.  Gianna was in school.  Bianca had nothing.  She sat at home all day and looked at the cats, who were still not sure about her.  Today, she was making a change.  Today she was stepping out. 

She had downloaded the Uber app onto her new iPhone.  As soon as the driver pulled up, she headed outside. 

“Where to?”  The driver whose name was Lennie asked. 

“Somewhere fun?”  Lennie chuckled. 

“You got it, honey.” 

Five minutes later, they were pulling up in front of a store that Bianca had never seen before. 

“Is this a record store?”  She asked suspiciously.  Lennie laughed at that. 

“It’s a record store, café and a place for live music.  It’s very hipster.”  Bianca didn’t think she looked hipster, but she thought she’d give it a try. 

At this hour of the day, there weren’t many people in it.  There was, however, a band setting up in one corner.  Bianca went to browse through the records for a few minutes, and then headed over to the bar to order a latte.  She was sitting there, sipping it, when someone moved to the bar beside her. 

“You a groupie for them?”  A boy in a green t-shirt and wearing a cowboy hat motioned to the band.  Bianca shook her head. 

“Hardly.  I don’t know who they are.” 

“No one does.”  He sat down at the counter beside her.  He held out one hand.  “I’m Keith.” 

“Bianca.”  She shook his hand.  He was good looking.  She thought she spied some tangled blonde hair emerging from beneath his hat.  His eyes were a bright green which matched the shirt he was currently wearing, and he had the air of someone who worked out. 

“Good Italian name.  Are you Italian?” 

“On my mom’s side.”  She was glad that he had sat.  She wanted someone to talk to for a few minutes.  Someone who wasn’t worried about her health.  Someone who didn’t know her history.  “Nice hat, by the way.” 

“Thanks.”  He tipped it to her.  “I’ve never seen you in here before, and I come here a lot.  New to the area?” 

“Sort of.”  Bianca shrugged, not wanting to get into it.  “My mom lives nearby with her boyfriend.  Why do you come here?  For the records?  Or the coffee?” 

“Neither,” Keith grinned at her, “my band plays here a lot.  Do you sing?” 

That was a hard question.  Bianca did sing.  Or she had, rather.  It had been one of her many talents.  She was the only one of Patti’s daughters who had inherited the trait.  She didn’t know if she still could. 

“I used to,” she finally answered. 

“Well, if you find that you do, this is the place to hang out.  Lots of groups looking for singers.”  Bianca wanted to hate the music industry.  The pursuit of it was what had taken her mother from them.  She had seen the strain that it put on her father.  Part of her already hated it. 

However, part of her was drawn to it.  She wanted to know if she could sing.  And then there was the dark thought in the back of her mind.  If she could be a singer too, maybe she could prove a point to her mother.  That was an even worse thought to have. 

“I’ll see.”  Bianca pushed the other thoughts out of her mind. 

“Good.”  Keith reached into his wallet. “You on Facebook?  You should like my band’s page.”  He handed her a business card.  “If nothing else, you’ve now got my email address and phone number.”  He gave her a quick wink.  “Hope to see you around.” 

Bianca watched him go off.  She gave herself a quick once over.  She looked decent enough (for someone who had spent a year in a coma).  But she was still underweight and looked weak.  In fact, she was tired now.  She needed to get home. 

Quickly pocketing the man’s card, she set up another Uber.  She was glad when he dropped her off at home because now she was incredibly exhausted.  As soon as she laid down, she was asleep. 

She awoke to the sounds of someone moving around downstairs.  Heading down, she found Gianna in her bedroom. 

“Hey.” 

“Hey.”  Gianna looked up.  “I came up earlier and you were sleeping.  Is everything ok?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”  Bianca shrugged.  “I went out today.” 

“Oh?  Anywhere cool?”  Bianca sat down on the ottoman in front of Gianna’s bedroom chair.