Page 41 of Contempt

Renzo zipped up the duffle bag, and slung it over his shoulder at the same time the phone on the bedside table started to ring. He glared at it—knowing who it probably was, and wishing he could just ignore it. He’d only given the room’s phone number to one person. His fucking sister. It would be far easier for him to apologize to Rose at a later date, over the phone instead of face to face, let her rage at him, and then she’d be over it.

Yeah, easier.

But he wasn’t a damn coward, either.

At least, he could say that.

Even if was stupid.

Before he could go ahead and prove himself wrong on the coward thing, Renzo leaned over the bed, and grabbed the ringing phone. He put it to his ear, already cringing because he knew what was about to come his way from Rose.

“Yeah, it’s Ren here,” he said calmly.

“What happened?” Rose demanded almost instantly. “Did you even consider what you did today, Ren?”

No hello.

No you’re late.

Nope.

“Avoided a problem?” he asked.

Not that he expected his sister to understand what he meant by that, but he understood. That was more than enough for him. It’s what counted.

“I told Diego you were coming, Ren!”

The level of her shout was enough for him to yank the phone away from his ear to try and save his eardrums. Jesus, Rose could get loud when she wanted to. Not that he was able to ignore the words she said because he couldn’t.

They were still ringing in the back of his mind—knives stabbing into his heart, honestly. Fuck. Yet another thing for Diego to add to his list of things Renzo failed him on. Something else to add to an already huge pile of issues he was probably never going to be able to fix where his kid brother was concerned.

Life was a joke.

Or … it liked playing jokes on him.

“Rose,” Renzo tried to say.

“No, you listen,” his sister snapped back just as fast. “I was so happy. And I thought … you were here, so it was safe for me to let him know. He’d be okay because he would get to see you. And do you know what? He was excited. He wanted to get out of school to come right home when I called in, and got them to bring him into the office.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t—”

Nope, his sister didn’t even let him try to talk.

“He loves you, Ren. He misses you all the time,” she practically hissed. “And yeah, I know he won’t get on the phone to talk when you call, but that’s because out of all the fucking things you taught him—you forgot to teach him that it was okay to say goodbye because it doesn’t always mean you won’t be back when you say it.”

Shit.

Rose wasn’t pulling any punches here. Each one that she threw out hit Renzo like a ton of bricks right to the gut. Whether or not she knew that, he couldn’t say, but they did. It hurt like a motherfucker.

“And I’m the one who has to deal with that. I am the only one tonight who will be here picking up the pieces of a little boy when he breaks all apart again. Fuck you for making me do that to him again.”

The phone line went so quiet after Rose finished her rant that Renzo almost thought she might have hung up the phone on him. After a couple of seconds, he didn’t hear the dial tone, so he figured she hadn’t hung up, and maybe it was safe to speak again.

Well, he tried to speak.

His voice failed.

What could he say?