One Step to You (The Rome Novels #1)(57)

Then Step burst out laughing.

“Do you mind telling me what’s so funny?”

“You know what I hate though?”

“No, what?”

“I hate losing fifty thousand lire.”





Chapter 24



One after the other, they arrived. Honking their horns and revving their engines. Some of them rode their motorcycles up onto the sidewalk, others parked them there in front of the locked metal gate in front of the Euclide.

Babi dismounted from Step’s motorcycle and brushed her hair back with one hand. At that moment, Pallina came up to her. “Cool, right?”

“What?”

“Well, you know, running out of that place, into the night, without paying. I’ve never done that. Come on, it was too much fun. Plus, they’re nice, aren’t they?”

“No, they’re not. And I didn’t think it was fun at all.”

“Well, just for this one time…”

“No, it’s not just one time. You know that perfectly well. It’s the usual thing for these guys. Pallina, you don’t seem to understand. You might as well have just held up that restaurant. If you eat their food and leave without paying, you just took part in a robbery.”

“Oh, give me a break! A bowl of tortellini and beer. The robbery of the century!”

“Pallina, when you’re determined not to understand something, there’s just no way around it with you, is there?”

Suddenly, a hand slapped her on the back, twice, and not lightly by any stretch of the imagination.

Babi turned around. Maddalena was right in front of her. She was chomping on a stick of gum and staring at her, with a smile on her face. “Listen, you’d better not come around here.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want you around here.”

“I don’t think this place belongs to you. So you can’t tell me not to come.”

Babi turned back to talk to Pallina, putting an end to any further discussion. She tried to start a conversation, any old conversation. But this time a sudden, violent shove forced her to turn around.

“Maybe you didn’t understand what I’m saying. You need to beat it.” Maddalena hit Babi hard on her left shoulder with her right hand. “You get me?”

Babi heaved a sigh. “What do you want from me?”

Maddalena raised her voice as she turned red. “I’m the girl that’s here to smash your face in.” Then she leaned in and shouted just inches away from her face: “You get me?”

Babi grimaced in distaste. All around her, people had turned to see what was happening. Slowly, the people stopped talking and clustered around. Everyone seemed to know what was about to happen.

Babi knew it too. She tried to shove Maddalena away but she was standing far too close to her. “Listen, cut this out. I don’t like it when people throw tantrums.”

“Ah, you don’t like it, do you? Then why don’t you just stay home…” Maddalena stepped forward menacingly.

Babi extended her arms and put her hands on Maddalena’s shoulders, trying to keep her at a distance. “Look, I told you, I don’t feel like arguing with you…”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Maddalena looked at Babi’s hand resting on her right shoulder. “Do you think you can put your hands on me?” And she slapped hard and fast at Babi’s arm, knocking it aside.

“All right, I’m leaving. Step?”

Babi turned around, looking for him. But at that very moment, she felt a stinging blow under her right cheekbone. Something had just hit her.

She turned around. Maddalena was right there, facing her. Her fists were up, clenched and menacing, and she was smiling. She was the one who’d just hit her.

Babi lifted her hand to her cheek. Her cheekbone was hot, and it hurt. Then Maddalena kicked her hard in the belly, and Babi reeled backward. Maddalena only grazed her with the punch, but it still hurt.

Babi turned around to leave. “Where do you think you’re going, you ugly bitch?”

A kick from behind caught Babi right in the seat of her pants, thrusting her forward, but Babi managed not to lose her balance. She had tears in her eyes though. She continued walking slowly. All around her she heard jeering and howls, saw faces laughing, others staring at her in cold silence, and people pointing at her.

She saw a group of girls watching with worried expressions and heard the noise of distant traffic. Then she saw Step. He was standing there in front of her.

Suddenly she heard the sound of running feet behind her. She shut her eyes and slightly bowed her head. It was Maddalena. She was going to attack her again.

Babi felt her head yanked backward by the hair, practically hauled physically, and she whirled around to keep from falling. She found herself being dragged by Maddalena. By that screaming fury who was a whirling dervish of punches to Babi’s head, neck, and shoulders. Her hair almost seemed to be coming out at the roots, and a stab of atrocious pain surged to her brain, driving her crazy.

That was it: Babi saw red. She tried to shake loose. But every jerk, every writhing act of resistance, just meant a new stab of pain, another lancing streak of agony. So she followed after her antagonist, practically chasing her. She held out her hands and managed to grab hold of Maddalena’s jacket, shoving forward with all her strength, closer and closer, faster and faster, without seeing where she was going, without a glimmer of understanding.