A Beautiful Fate by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page B

had my mom kept his life a secret from me? And why had she gone to such great lengths to hide his name in all the legal documents? There had to be something about him that someone did not want me to know. I opened my Google search engine and typed in Adrian Moirai. The first entry was an L.A. Times story from seventeen years ago.
     
    Business mogul, Adrian Moirai, 31, of Dana Point, California, was found shot to death Tuesday outside of the White Memorial Medical Center in suburban Los Angeles. His assailant is believed to have been a member of the Kakos family. Little is known about the small, European mob-style family, our sources indicate that Moirai had been caught up in the group for some time. There were no comments from his friends or family.
    According to Detective Jason Scott of the L.A Police Department, the assailant remains at large. The L.A.P.D assures the residents of Los Angeles that this was an isolated event and they will do their best at finding the attacker and putting the matter to rest.
     
    A horrible feeling of sickness overcame me. I could not believe that my mother could ever have been involved with someone who was a member of a gang. I concluded that the L.A.Times had gotten the story all wrong. I slammed shut my MacBook with more force than necessary and went down the hall towards the kitchen for a bottle of water. I spent the rest of the weekend in solitude until Sunday night when I joined the girls on my floor for another horrible romance.
    The next week seemed to drag by. I got used to my schedule and practiced the art of sleeping with a pillow over my face to drown out my nightly screams. I relived my mother’s death night after night. Each time I tried to save her, and each time I failed.
    I saw Ari less and less. But whenever I did catch a fleeing glance at him, the weird tummy thing would happen. It was as though a million butterflies had just decided to take flight in my stomach. We did once end up in the elevator together. I froze as soon as he climbed on with me. My palms got sticky and my breath caught in my lungs. I attempted to be busily looking at my chem notes, but I am sure he knew better. Neither of us spoke a word and I could feel the beating of my heart behind my ears. When the doors finally opened up to the twelfth floor, I heard him let out a breath of relief, then watched as he got off and walked straight to his room.
    I had been at school for three weeks now and homecoming weekend was just a couple of weeks away. Emily had told me the weekend would consist of non-stop partying. Mia had decided that a “non-stop partying” kind of weekend would be the best kind for her visit. I was eager to see her, but uneasy too about my feelings for Ari. I could see Mia believing her intervention to be a necessity.
    My nightmares continued and I woke up most nights crying out or screaming breathlessly. Often Ari would tap on the door and wait for me to answer and tell him that everything was okay. One night in particular the dream was so vivid and so terrifying that when I opened my eyes I didn’t immediately recognize where I was. I was sobbing and confused; moments later, there was a tap at my door and this time it slowly opened.
    “Are you okay in here?”
    It was Ari.
    “Mm hmm. I’m sorry I woke you.”
    He shook his head softly. “You didn’t; I couldn’t sleep.”
    “Oh.” I watched as he walked into my room and sat next to me on my bed. My mind went from confused and scared to racing … and my heart began to pound. I don’t think my new reaction had anything to do with my nightmare. Ari gently brushed a strand of my hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear. His touch was electrifying and my heart beat in triple time.
    “You moved here from Chicago.”
    “Mm hmm.”
    “Do you miss it?”
    “Yes.”
    “Oh, I’m sorry.” He frowned and the frown looked all wrong on his face.
    “What do you miss about it?”
    I sat there for a minute in the quiet darkness