She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Where did you go in the morning?" she asked.
God...
The accusation within her words was enough to make her feel even worse. She had no right to be angry at him, did she?
Elio frowned, completely confused by where she was going with this. "I had to go."
A little smile tipped her lips then a chuckle followed as she threw her hands in the air at how blunt Elio was. He couldn't even comprehend that there could be any problem, whatsoever. "You had to go," she repeated.
"Sì. What does that have to do with whatever you're angry about?"
"All that sex you've been getting from so many girls, unfortunately, me included, must have made you completely ignorant to what you did wrong."
For the very first time, Savannah was not holding back by calling him out on his bullshit. The hurt made her brave.
"You know what? Arguing with you is pointless. Your arguments are based more on your own emotions than the quality or intention of the response. Call me when your hormones settle down," he bit back.
He dropped his hands and turned on his heel, heading towards his car.
"Of course, that's your response. Running away from any responsibility. Because, God forbid you might actually have to deal with any emotions," she yelled, letting go of all grievances.
"I don't need it in my life, Savannah. I have enough problems as it is to deal with whatever woman stuff you're going through. I don't have time for that, nor do I care."
Silence.
"You left me! After what happened between us you just left without saying so much as goodbye. You claim that I'm different and that you care about me but don't consider how cheap I might feel when I wake up and not see you."
Elio laughed at the accusations. They weren’t what he’d expected. With how mature Savannah was on a daily basis, it almost felt surreal that she could hold a grudge over something as ridiculous as this.
He looked at the girl, taking in the tears that shone in her eyes. A wracking feeling settled in his chest but he squashed it. "Are you seriously telling me that you're mad because I didn't cuddle? How old are you? Don't you realize that there are more important things? I have a job, Savannah. I cannot always consider that you want more attention. I gave you enough of it at night."
His tone was just as cruel as his words.
The bitter taste on her lips made her realize that she bit them harder than she intended to keep herself from crying.
"I didn't need you to stay but simply let me know that you have to leave. Is that too much to ask for?"
"So I'm the bad guy because I wanted to let you sleep before you had to get up to work?"
Savannah sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Keeping it in a ponytail while she had been working made it frizzy when she took off the hairband.
"I refuse to be treated like one of your whores, Elio. It's not what I signed up for and never will be."
The man didn't look remorseful in the slightest. He was amused by Savannah's outburst. "No, you're not. The whores don't get the time of day to question me."
She was in pain. So much pain that her vision blurred. Tears coated her eyelashes.
"Don't give me that look, Savannah. You're blowing this way out of proportion. As if you didn't know what was expected of us. Sex was good but giving me a hard time because I chose to leave is plain stupid." Pause "You are not a whore and I don't treat you like one but what we have now is as far as it will ever go. So you need to deal with the reality of the situation."
"What do you mean? Are you planning on us never defining our relationship? You didn't even say if I was your girlfriend or not and then you didn't even feel the need to, at the very least, give me some certainty that what we have matters to you."
Elio knew that there was no backing out now. Savannah had to hear him out. He hadn’t wanted reality to sink in so soon, however, she would dig until she found out the truth.
He stepped up to her, cupping her cheek in his large hand, stroking her skin with his thumb. "Defining our relationship won't change the fact that one of those days it will either end or transform to a side-fuck. Because I will have to marry a girl from our social circles whose family is part of the Famiglia."
Chapter Thirty-Three
Her chest caved in and her knees shook. She was dizzy and close to fainting. The revelations shouldn't be anything unusual. Hell, she had talked to Megan on numerous occasions and their topics had recently strayed more towards the Las Vegas Famiglia. She knew they were bound by certain rules and standards. Being criminals wasn't the same as being savages and they had their code.
But her heart skipped a beat either way when she analyzed what Elio had just said. And she had never felt as foolish as she did in that very moment. She didn't trust him all that much and wasn't expecting much as she’d learnt it from experience, however, if that was all she was ever going to get from the man; nothing beyond that, she didn't want it.
Taking chances could always work, sure. To simply rely on the fact that nothing happened without a reason. Savannah might have even believed it when it suited her. But she was no longer able to act based on 'perhaps' and 'maybe'. She didn't need an eternal love that would consume her to the point that she couldn't recognize her life before that. She hadn’t even thought that Elio was the kind of man man
