The Wounded Love novel Chapter 47

"Can I help you?" I asked with a smile.

"You are breathtaking." He took my hand in his and led me outside. Sean walked ahead of us and after harassing a few cab drivers, managed to get us a ride.

Susan and Anthony's house was a literal mansion. I'd always lived in what I considered to be big houses, but compared to this monstrosity those were nothing.

His mother greeted us at the door, first kissing Sean on the cheek and then bringing in Dante for a hug. I laughed at the way they both looked in my direction while blushing. "Skyla!" She called excitedly. "It's so good to see you again. You look so pretty, where are you guys off to?" She was already more of a mother than I would ever have.

"We're supposed to meet up with my friend later but I'm not sure where exactly she's taking us."

"Anthony, the kids are here!" Susan called up the stairs. I suddenly heard footsteps coming down the big staircase, but the man who appeared didn't appear to be quite as... friendly as his wife.

"Hello." He shook my hand and then patted his son on the shoulder. Such a warm welcome!

Dante, without acknowledging Anthony's existence, walked right passed him towards the bar in the big family room. I watched him more himself a shot and wash it down like it was a sip of water.

Susan, maybe in an effort to distract me from her not so friendly husband, began to ask me questions such as where I was from and how Dante and I first met, how long we've been together...

Anthony wasn't mean, he was just very stoic. He was the stereotypical business man, the type of man who spent every second of every day answers emails, returning phone calls, ignoring their family, thinking of nothing other than how he would make his next dollar...

"Can I talk to you for a second." He grunted toward Dante, who stood next to the front doors.

"We have plans." Dante frowned. "Let's go, Skyla."

I really wanted to know why they were so mad at each other.

"No, no." Anthony motioned for me to stay put. "We are going to have this conversation, Dante." He gave him a warning look. It appeared as if Dante already knew what the conversation was going to be about.

His father? I wondered

"So Sean came?" This girl! I mentally face palmed myself.

"Jade, I swear to god you better not get any ideas."

"Psh, ideas..." she trailed off, slipping on a pair of what seemed to be twenty inch heels, they were so high and so, so slutty. "We'll find him some hot chick and set them up. It'll be epic, you'll see, Sky." She really had no self control.

"You have issues." I laughed.

It was very clear that they were avoiding each other. There was that awkward wave hello, then a few minutes of us staring at each other in silence, which was broken by the cab driver who basically told us to hurry up. Sean sat in the front seat, Dante in the chair behind him, me in the middle, and Jade beside me. Sean dragged Dante into a conversation about some kind of new drink he recently tried, and Jade talked my ear off about her new roommate who was, "really f@cking annoying."

Jade had a literal map of the city with what she referred to as, "hot spots", circled in red marker.

We decided on a place that wasn't too far away because the cab driver was visibly irritated by us, and we were afraid he might drive us into a building as he gripped the wheel tighter with each second that went by, mumbling things that I couldn't quite hear under his breath. Sean held his hand to his mouth to avoid laughing and angering him even more.