Love and Sacrifice by Chelsea Ballinger Page A

“Remember that guy at the mall?” He nods. “Well, he used to date Claudia. While they were dating… we slept together.”
    “That’s bogus,” he says with a sly grin.
    “Yeah, I know. What’s funny is that everyone actually thought I slept with Eric just to piss off Claudia, but I didn’t. I slept with him because I actually liked him. It was stupid and naïve of me, but when I got to Eastbrook and Christian died, I was lost. Not only does one brother die, but the other gets shipped off to another country. My parents go into depression and I ─ ”
    “You didn’t have anyone by your side.”
    I’m trying not to cry here. The way Tommy just said that was so knowing and endearing and nice. It’s just nice to hear someone say it.
    “Yeah… and I’m not blaming my family. I understood, but it was times when I wanted to just yell and say ‘help me.’” I watch his eyes study me and it makes me feel vulnerable. This should bother me, but it doesn’t. “So, one day I was in school in the library crying my eyes out by my lonesome and in walks Eric Anderson, the cutest and most popular boy in school. He was nice to me and what started out as texting turned into secret meetings and eventually me losing my virginity to him. After we had sex he acted like it was nothing. I watched him pretend with Claudia and then found out he was sleeping with every girl in the school, and I envied her. I envied Claudia and her dad was trying to put my dad in jail so I told her in front of the whole damn school.”
    “Well, we all fuck up sometimes.” Tommy shrugs and it’s so cute to me. “So what about your brother and Claudia? Wasn’t it wrong for him to fall for the daughter of the enemy?”
    “Well, it’s kind of complicated. They didn’t know who each other was when they first met. Yeah, maybe, when they found out they should have stopped, but I literally think they couldn’t. They are so in love with one another that I don’t think they could ever stop. They look at each other like my parents do. I’ve never really understood that. How you could be so consumed by someone. I still think it’s crazy.”
    “You don’t want a love like that?”
    “It’s like I do, but I really don’t.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m not the girl who wants to lose control. If I have it under control, I won’t get my heart broken.”

 
                  Chapter 7
                  “Mystery Vs Truth”
                  Tommy
    "You didn't tell me about your dad." I slide that question in after the conversation about love.
    She doesn't want to get her heart broken and I should be happy that I might be the one to break it, but it's seriously killing me right now.
    "My dad is definitely one of a kind." She smiles to herself. "He's this hard ass, but he has the biggest heart."
    “A mobster with a heart of gold, that's a new one.”
    "Yeah, it seriously is. Thanks to that heart he gave up… well, he gave up most of the mob life. He's no saint, but he does protect us. It's been hard since Christian, but I think he's starting to get back to not looking over his shoulder every five seconds."
    Well , that's about to change.
    " What about your family?" She asks me the question I don’t want to answer. "What was your mom like?"
    "French ," I say.
    "Do you know French?"
    "Not really. A few words. She died before she could teach me anymore."
    "What else?"
    "She was amazing. She was beautiful and she loved me. Everybody in the neighborhood was in love with her. Unfortunately, she chose my dad."
    "What was he like?"
    "An asshole. He didn't deserve her. Hell, I didn't deserve her."
    "Why do you say that? Tommy, she was your mom."
    "Yeah, but if she hadn't got pregnant with me, she wouldn't have been stuck with him."
    "You don't know that."
    "Yes, I do. So, leave it at that."
    "Okay." She holds up her hands in surrender.
    "So...." She stops walking again and looks at me. "You want to kiss me again?"
    I smile