Zoe's POVI bit into the steak and let the flavour sip into my tongue. "Mum, it's so good." I gasped to which she only chuckled and she pulled gently at one of my pig tails. She turned away from me but not fast enough I still saw her smile die on her lips. She began to wash the dishes. I swung my leg as I continued to revel in the deliciousness of the dish. The room was fairly in order although it smelt faintly of mould. Mum said it was the rain rotting the ceiling and that it will be alright. A cry tore through the air, slightly stunning mum but I was out of the chair and by Andrew's side in second. My baby brother writhed in his little creaky cot, his face flushed pink and tears rolling down his face. I reached out my stubby hands and carried him. The way I saw mum do whenever he was upset. He quieted down a little and something nudged my shoulder. I looked up to see it was mum smiling down at me, handing me his bottle. I took it and sat. I fed him by myself for the fourth tim
Zoe's POV When I opened my eyes the next morning and I was greeted with a fresh wave of headache so bad that I had to stroke my temple. The room was dark but I knew it was morning by the slivers of sunlight that filtered through the dark heavy curtains. The aroma of something that ought to be mouthwatering assaulted my senses and a fresh bout of nausea washed over me. This was normal in the mornings after I have been plagued with nightmares. I was forgetting something but before my muddled thoughts could begin to sort themselves out, a voice pulled me back. "Finally awake," By its sonorous yet husky timbre I knew immediately who it was. "Louis," My voice came out smaller and weaker that I intended. My eyes slowly adjusted to the dimness of the room and I could find the outline of his features. "Zoe," His voice was oddly comforting as if he was trying to balance soft with intimidating. "You need to eat." He got up and I felt the mattress heave a sigh at the absence of his weight.
Zoe's POV He looked me over one more time before turning away. "I'll give you some privacy if you want to call her." Then he left the room as he had promised. I went to the nightstand and picked up my phone. Just to be safe, I went to the bathroom to dial her number. On the second beep she answered. "Zoe?" Her voice was frantic."It's me." I affirmed. I heard her release a breath of relief on the other end before we delved into silence for a long minute. "Regina…" I said but I was promptly cut off. "What are you doing with Louis Rodriguez?" Her tone was hard. "What are you doing within a five mile radius of that fucking bastard?" Her voice rose. "Regina, it is…" "Confidential." She took the words right out of my mouth. "Like everything else in your life and I understand but this…" She heaved a sigh. "Is different. After everything he did to you. He is Abel's dad but that bastard does not know that he exists." "And I'd like to keep it that way. What did you tell him about Abel
Zoe's POVI really had neither the time nor the energy for a verbal sparring. I had too much on my plate and I could not put something as trivial as the attire I would wear for tonight, get me stressed. I took a calming breath before looking down at the boxes. "Thank you." I said finally, releasing the tension in my shoulders. A look of shock ghosted his features then he shrugged. We resumed work but my mind wandered. The previous day's revelation still sent shock waves through me and I had an itching urge to see Cathy, my mother. I was uneasy and gripped with anxiety. Whoever had put a bullet in her was still out there and would still be looking for a chance to strike. I had made sure she had security but I was still bothered. Then there was the fact that I would meet the D'Amato's today. I had figured out one part of the puzzle that Cathy D'Amato was Agatha Carter. I knew she was my mother but now came the tricky part. If the D'Amato's turned out to be her family and my grandpare
Zoe's POV"Whore!" The students behind me yelled. I knew who they were talking to, but I ignored them. They could all go to hell. I picked up my notebook, and I felt something hit my head."You can't be disgusting and deaf at the same time," came Nessa's nauseating voice. "You better answer me."She got no reply from me as I continued reading my notebook and even momentarily looked out the window, just to get on her nerves."Answer my sister when she is speaking to you!" An unexpected but familiar voice called out to me.Again, I refused to turn around and let out an exasperated sigh as I heard approaching footsteps. I turned around to face him. It was Louis Rodriguez, Nessa's older brother.The guy that girls would kill for. From his olive skin to his eyes that held the ocean to the unruly raven curls that adorned his head. With the build of a Greek god, yet he was just like the others. A rich, overbearing dick. Who loved to see me suffer.I watched in disgust as he came close enough
Zoe's POVI wandered a little bit, contemplating my life and everything else. I felt like was being pushed to the brink of insanity. This person didn't understand what it entailed to survive when you are dirt poor. Sure the part my mother took was not the most ideal but... she had three mouths to feed. She never showed affection towards us like she had when I was growing up. But I couldn't blame her, her job took all she had. She would come home exhausted and bruised. Her customers were monsters. I couldn't imagine; a depraved man letting out all his demented lust and violence on a woman beneath him. Sadly that was what my mother had signed up for.I couldn't completely see her as innocent or wise. She threw her life away for a bastard at nineteen. He had been twice her age. She ran away with him just to be used as an object for sex. She ran away again but she was already in deep. She was penniless but no matter how broke a woman was she could always pay in other ways. Luckily or unl
Zoe's POV The next day was a Thursday, and I made my way to school, dropping my brother off before heading to my own class. As I reached the gate, I paused and inhaled deeply, putting my nervousness to the back of my mind. I planned to thank Louis for saving me but then avoid him like a plague afterward. To be honest, I didn't want to see him at all. That would give me enough of an excuse not to have to talk to him. School was relatively uneventful, but for some reason, I felt like I was being watched. I hoped my intuition was wrong. He was not in our grade anyway, being two grades higher, so I had an advantage, but morally, a disadvantage. We had a test after recess, and when we were done, the teacher called me. "Zoe, take the scripts to my office." "Yes, ma'am." I took the script and made my way to her office. She followed me, and once I finished my task, I turned on my heels to go back to class. Around the corner, I was pulled by someone. "We need to talk," I heard the perso
Louis' POV I fucking hated her! Every fiber in my body wanted to make her suffer, break her down, and destroy her. Her presence drove me crazy, but sometimes not in the way I'd like. But that didn't matter. She had the bitch's blood in her veins. Her bitch of a mother was the reason mine was depressed and hurting. The woman without a status dared to destroy the person that held my family together. That woman bewitched my father to dance to her tunes. Now he barely spoke a word to the woman who had loved him for decades. Now the woman's daughter was in my school? The moment I saw her with her unruly brown hair and determined jade eyes, I knew I had a mission to see her mangled and helpless, totally at my mercy. My sister joined in, and being in the same economic class as the rest of the school helped. From her first day, it was either she submitted or she was punished; either way, she was the loser. She had not one friend after two years. All the other scholarship students had transf