“If it were a cartoon, the smoke would be coming out of your head right about now,” the girl joked, catching up with Elio’s silent confusion. ”They say curiosity killed a cat but you can ask, Elio.”
”How old is he?”
”Five!” Aiden shouted, pulling his hand up, clearly proud of his age. His smile was so wide that his face might have started hurting. Nothing was left of the boy who fell down, hurting himself. Instead, he surprisingly started talking more than usual.
Savannah laughed, however, surprise flashed on her face. Aiden wasn’t one to talk to strangers, or at all. He was usually more reserved. Yet he felt the need to say that he was already five years old as if he had known Elio for a long time.
”You are twenty?” Elio asked.
”If you’re heading into the direction of counting whether I was too young to become a mom, I feel obliged to tell you that he is my brother. Not my son. But I am the only one raising him.”
That made so much more sense. Being fourteen and getting pregnant was possible, however, most cases were rape ones. That thought made Elio cringe. He pushed it aside, knowing that there was no reason for his mind to go there. Savannah hadn’t been hurt in any shape or form when she was still a kid. At least not like this.
Elio decided to abandon the topic. He wasn’t certain how much Savannah told her brother about their parents and the whole situation and he didn’t want to be the one to ruin anything. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that it might be their last meeting. Her child or not, she was still more of a mother to him that he could handle. His insides screamed for an escape and cursed the moment he offered a ride home.
Once the car stopped at the parking lot right in front of the obscure apartment complex, the silence became even more uncomfortable. Savannah had no doubt that flight was Elio's intention. However, for some reason, it saddened her. It might have been because of the kiss they’d shared earlier. Whether she liked it or not, it changed her feelings towards the man and she hated it even more. Such a trivial gesture wasn't supposed to change her mind. Yet it had. And she was above trying to do anything about it. She’d stopped giving people more ammunition to hurt her after her parents left. And Elio was probably a hell of an amazing shooter, so he wouldn't even need much to do real damage in her life.
Looking through the window, she saw Frank in his usual spot. He was staring at the car. "Aiden, go to Frank. He will be more than happy to treat your wounds for sure," she said and the boy politely nodded, getting out.
She wasn't excited for this conversation but she hated leaving things unsaid.
"Thank you for driving us,"
Elio nodded, acknowledging her words. For the very first time, he felt somewhat like a real asshole. But for fuck's sake, he only wanted to fuck Savannah. That was the solemn purpose of going out with her. If he’d thought that she would be up for it from the start, he wouldn't have even bothered with a date. However, as she was more of a girl who had no business hanging out with a Made Man - especially him - he’d changed his tactics.
The challenge was supposed to be her, not the fact that she was raising a child. And for that very reason, he couldn't act on his urges. He had already seen what the lack of backbone had done to his Mother, Savannah still had the possibility to come out of this unscathed. He could be a complete dick but he also had some common sense. It was time to back off before it went too far. And seeing the sudden change in Savannah's eyes, it would be inevitable.
"Why have you been so reluctant to tell me?"
"When people know your story, they know you. And they can hurt you," she admitted. "I don't mind being hurt as long as it doesn't affect Aiden. But I learnt that there is hardly anything that hurts me, but not him. We are a package deal. When I hurt, he hurts. And the other way around."
Her eyes were filled with sadness. She didn't want to imagine her little brother ever having to go through tough times. Even worse, that she wouldn't be around to help him. But that's how life went. Things happened. You went through pain every once in a while and learnt to deal with shit thrown your way. She just hoped to take as much of it, so that Aiden would have it easier.
Being a mom wasn't easy, being a single mom was even harder but being a teenager who had become a single mom was fucking another level. Savannah didn't sign up for that, yet she made it seem like just another thing she simply had to do.
Chapter Fifteen
He could hear the music from miles away as he drove his car in the direction of the Motor Speedway. It was a fucking long day with way too many surprises that he wasn't able to wrap his head around. So, naturally, the second possibility, other than getting drunk, was to meet up with Flavio at the Midnight Mayhem.
Elio wasn't even sure why he’d reacted in such an absurd way. Why the whole revelation about Savannah raising her little brother got to him on a personal level. He was a fucking asshole and, as he repeatedly told people,
