Rockey Chapter 55
“I think she is accounted for.” Sofia said, crossing her arms. “Besides, I need it more.” She casually walked towards the body guard and Rockey, and gently grabbed the jacket. No one protested, and Rockey mouthed a “thank you” to her.
“So what are we doing here?” Sofia asked, standing between Rockey and the body guard. The three stared at the kids, who had at this point, drenched themselves in water.
“This is where we stop the fun.” Rockey said, as she removed her shoes, and got in. She quickly grabbed Bianca and waddled back outside. The bottom part of her dress was soaked, but thankfully she managed to stay dry up top. The same couldn’t be said about Matteo and Gio. And by the way they were looking at her, she knew they were itching for new prey.
Before they could do anything, Sofia grabbed Gio, and the body guard ushered Matteo back on the dry ground. The body guard handed Rockey his handkerchief, the only form of towel available for them.
“Why don’t I go inside and grab a few towels.” the body guard said. Just when he got far enough, Sofia finally exclaimed. “Love, I would kill to be you. You have all these guys coming after you.”
Matteo made a sour face at Sofia. “Stop, I don’t like that!” Matteo screamed, giving Rockey no time to respond to Sofia.
“Hey buddy, what’s wrong?” Rockey asked, kneeling down to his level. Matteo immediately turned red and crossed his arms. He huffed and puffed, and turned to face another direction.
“My parents wouldn’t allow that type of attitude.” Sofia said. “They would’ve left me outside wet, and in the middle of the cold.”
Rockey stood straight, keeping her voice neutral, yet firm. “Thank you. Now if you’d allow me to talk to my child, I’d greatly appreciate it. We will not be doing anything like that tonight.”
As if sensing her bubbling anger, Sofia yielded and led the group back inside. Rockey lingered behind further, hoping to talk to Matteo with less ears around them.
“Now what’s wrong?” she asked. When he didn’t answer, she kept talking. “Matteo I cannot help if you do not tell me what’s wrong.”
Matteo stomped his foot. “You wouldn’t even care.” he screamed before running inside. Rockey was right behind him, trying to get him to stop. “Matteo, please.”
He ran past the servers, who were offering hot chocolate and a clean towel to dry off with. Matteo ran back inside, and jumped back onto his seat. He knew better than to start trouble for his brother, even if he pissed him off. But he wouldn’t pretend that he wanted to be there either. He would behave, but at a cost.
Everyone turned to see Matteo pouting on his chair. He crossed his arms and sulked as his chair became drenched. Raffaele and Nicó looked at each other, but before they had to respond, Rockey came behind him with his jacket. She looked at both older brothers and mouthed “We are going to head out.”
“Hey, let’s head out.” She said, gently putting his jacket on his back. She slowly pulled him and his chair out, and waited patiently. Would he ignore her and just continue sitting? Would he listen? If nothing happened, it would definitely cause Nicó or worse, Raffaele to act.
After a few seconds, Matteo stood from his chair and quietly walked out. Bianca and Gio were already waiting by the front, a car waiting outside.
The entire ride home was quiet. Bianca hummed off beat, and Gio made
soft sounds as he looked outside. Rockey and Matteo remained quiet. She wanted to ask what had happened. She figured they were close; they’ve been through so much, and have never kept anything major from each other. Yes, she did find out about one of his crushes because she overheard a conversation between him and his best friend, Romeo. But other than that, he had been very open to her. So finding out there was something bothering him, and that he didn’t feel comfortable sharing it with her, made her sad.
Once they made it back, the kids ran inside. “Please take a shower, brush your teeth, and get ready for bed. I’ll be up afterwards to tuck you in.” Rockey said as she walked towards the kitchen. Arthur was there, pouring a glass of wine.
He passed it to her. “I figured you were going to need it.”
“I need more.” Rockey chuckled, chugging the rest of the wine. She pulled out her phone to message Raffaele, while Arthur poured her more wine.
“Made it back.”
Two seconds later. “Ok, see you later.”
Rockey feeling bold. “Not unless I see you first.”
“So…?” Arthur began. He wasn’t the one to gossip, but having bear witness to the growing tension between the two, he deserved a bit of…chisme.
Rockey was used to this, after all Caden and Tony would need an update as well. “I honestly do not know.” She said as she sank into a chair. “This whole night has gone out of script, and I don’t know how much more twist and turns I can take.”
“Well, here's one for you.” Arthur said, sitting down next to her with his own cup. “Raffaele’s mother is coming to visit.”
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Raffaele was the last to get out of the car. They had just returned back home, and were past the point of exhaustion. They had successfully completed the Charity dinner, and Raffaele couldn’t be more happier with the prospect of new business. Even Antonio had managed to make a deal with the Actress, and a few others. But the most shocking deal was made between Celia and Ivan. They had decided on a dinner date for one of the following evening.
The way Antonio’s face nearly fell when he heard it… Raffaele saw. Celia spoke fast with Raffaele, trying to assure him that she wouldn’t allow it to interfere with her work. She felt deep down that there was a potential merger between the business, and his. If they were able to move past whatever childhood beef they had with each other, then both sides would benefit.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Raffaele turned to Antonio, Sofia, and Nicó. “Can you please give Celia and I a few minutes?” The tone in his voice made Celia feel uncomfortable. Her conversation with Ivan had distracted her from the mistakes she made earlier. Antonio gave Raffaele a look, before ushering Sofia inside.
Nicó gave a small nod before turning to walk away. “Good night Celia.”
Raffaele waited until everyone was out of earshot. Before he had a chance to say anything, Celia blurted out, “I am sorry about the mistakes made-”
Raffaele held his hand out to stop her from talking. He looked at her in her eyes and said, “I think you should take some time off.”