Five Boroughs 01 - Sutphin Boulevard by Santino Hassell Read Free Book Online

Nunzio, what do you want from me? To just turn my back on them all of a sudden?”
    He shrugged, mouth tight. “I did.”
    “Yeah, but that’s different!” I stepped forward, grabbing his shoulder and drawing him closer to me. “Your family was straight-up evil, and my family is just… they’re just fucked-up and broken! They didn’t ignore me and beat the shit out of me just for the hell of it like your parents did. I can’t just say fuck it and go to Italy while Raymond and my father are at each other’s throats. I have to be sure my brother will be okay before I take off for a different continent. They’re a pain in the ass, but they’re still my family.”
    “So what am I?”
    I looked at him through the hazy filter of heat and my throbbing headache. “What do you mean?”
    “Nothing. Forget it.”
    “No, what do you mean?”
    Nunzio shrugged, cutting his gaze away from mine to focus on the pavement. “Never mind. I meant nothing.”
    “Nunzio, please.”
    When he refused to look at me, I pulled him closer until he had no choice but to meet my eyes. The full weight of his disappointment made the knot of guilt gnaw at me with sharper teeth. His whole demeanor had changed—shoulders sagging and hands balled up like they did when he was forcing himself to stay calm.
    I hugged him until he responded to the embrace.
    The sun was beating down on my back and my damp T-shirt was sticking to his, but the feel of Nunzio pulling me to him instead of pushing me away made up for all of those petty discomforts.
    Suddenly I wanted nothing more than to go back to his apartment and hold him for the rest of the day. We would be separated for the entire summer. I hadn’t considered how distressing that reality would be until he’d accepted it. I started to say just that, but Nunzio’s shoulders shook and the sound of his laugh shattered the moment.
    “What?”
    “That dude in the suit just walked out and gave me the only bitch face.”
    I barked out a laugh and glanced down the street. Sure enough, the accountant was walking away from us. Poor guy.
    “Damn.”
    “Who cares?”
    Nunzio pulled away. His face was flushed, and he was still wilted from the news, but the anger had drained from his posture.
    “Are we good?” I asked, touching his cheek.
    “Yeah.” Nunzio shrugged. “But I can’t even explain how much this sucks. Every plan I had is fucked.”
    “That’s not true.”
    He laughed again, but this time the sound was harsh and sardonic. “It really, really is. But it doesn’t matter. I understand.”
    “Are you sure?”
    Nunzio chucked me under the chin. “Don’t worry about me. You got enough on your plate.”
    “Okay….” Unconvinced, I forged ahead. “And if something was wrong with you, I’d drop everything to fix it just like I’m doing for them. The difference is, I’m stuck with those motherfuckers, and I chose you for myself.”
    Again Nunzio stared at me. He didn’t respond, and our conversation stalled, words replaced by the honking of a taxi and the exuberant laughter of some teenagers at the far end of the block.
    I scowled. “Thank you for making that really awkward.”
    “Sorry.” He looked down. “You just make things harder than they already are by saying mushy shit at random.”
    “Oh, shut up. I take it back.”
    “No, you don’t. I need to go home and start packing.”
    “All right.”
    “Call me later?”
    I nodded, but I was confused by the abrupt end to the conversation. He gave me a strained smiled and walked away. I watched until his lean form disappeared from view.
    I didn’t feel satisfied about him understanding. I was simply hit with despair.
    Something had shifted radically in the last ten minutes, and I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. All I knew was that I’d let him down. I’d bailed on a trip we’d been planning for two years, and I was spending the next several weeks of my summer vacation in the trenches of the Rodriguez family home.
    My body