The Slap That Ended Us

Sally must have found the box I threw away when he came home that evening, because he showed up at my door, furious, pounding on it. "Gia! Get out here! We need to talk."

I opened the door. Sally's expression was ice-cold. "Why did you throw away everything I gave you?"

"That's none of your business." I stared back at him, detached. The handprint from that morning was still on my face. Sally had not held back. My cheek was bruised and swollen, the outline of his fingers clearly visible, and instead of fading with time, it had only gotten worse.

When Sally saw my face, his expression changed. He stared at the mark, frozen, and after a long silence, he muttered, "I didn't know it would be this bad."

He reached out to touch my cheek.

I stepped back, my face blank. I rarely got hurt. In the past, whenever I so much as bumped into something, I would run to Sally with tears in my eyes and complain until he comforted me.

It was not that I could not handle pain. I was actually pretty tough. Sometimes I would get a scratch and not even notice it for days. I just liked being babied by the person I loved.

However, not anymore.

Sally had never seen me like this before, cold and shut off. For a moment, he looked like he could not believe what he was seeing.

"I didn't mean to, Gia. It's just that you were screaming at her, and I lost my temper..."

I cut him off, "Since you're here, let's get this over with. We're done. The engagement is off. Starting today, we're strangers.

"From now on, call me by my full name. If we run into each other at a party, don't talk to me. And don't ever come knocking on my door like this again."

I moved to close the door.

Sally grabbed my hand and locked his eyes on mine. His expression shifted from guilt to anger to disbelief.

"Are you serious right now? Gia? If you're upset because I hit you, I'll apologize. Don't you think you're being a little extreme? Have you thought about what happens when you regret this?"

"I won't regret it."

"Why?" He was barely keeping his temper in check. "Just because I accidentally slapped you?"

I looked him dead in the eye. "Sì. Just because of a slap."

"Fine. If this is what you want, then so be it." Sally laughed, the kind of laugh that came from pure fury, and slammed the door on his way out.

…

The next day, Sally and Fiona announced to the entire class that they were officially together. I was not surprised. Looking back, all the signs had been there.

When Fiona first came into our circle, her outgoing, no-filter personality helped her fit right in with the men in the mafia families. But she barely spent any time with the women, saying something like, "I just get along better with guys. It's easier. No one talks behind your back. Women are too dramatic, always scheming and stirring things up. I can't deal with that.

"And those little princesses are so sensitive. Say one wrong thing and they hold a grudge forever. I'd rather just hang out with guys. It's way more chill."

Naturally, every woman in the mafia families could not stand her after that.

Fiona saw the reaction and turned to the men with a helpless little pout. "I know, I know, I shouldn't have said they were dramatic. Now I've really pissed them off.

"Great, here we go again. Another all-girl clique is shutting me out. Whatever. I'm used to it."

Just like that, she had us cornered. She was the one who refused to spend time with us, who called us prissy and overdramatic. But the moment no woman wanted anything to do with her, she turned around and accused us of freezing her out, of ganging up on her.

I came home and could not help venting to my parents about it.

"Cara, I understand. I've dealt with women like that before. The best thing you can do is ignore her. Don't let her get in your head. And whatever you do, don't get close to her."

Sally happened to be at our house. He overheard everything, and his jaw tightened. He was the type of person who never talked about anyone behind their back, and he had no patience for people who did.

"Don Vitale, Donna, Gia, don't you think it's a little wrong to talk about someone like that behind their back?"

My parents and I stood there, mortified.

I only found out later just how close they had already become. At some point, without me realizing it, Sally and Fiona had built what he considered a deep friendship.

Fiona was gorgeous and fun to be around, and she was always at Sally's side. She volunteered herself as his dance partner at parties.

That used to be my spot. But within two weeks of knowing Fiona, Sally's dance partner had quietly and seamlessly become her.

Fiona could also drive race cars. She got along with the boys, many of whom were Sally's closest Soldatos and friends, and she won them over fast.

Sally's impression of her shifted completely. She went from being the girl who mocked a stranger for no reason on day one to being the fun, easygoing, brutally honest girl who just said whatever was on her mind.

Sally, who had always hated the idea of spending all his time attached to a girl, accepted Fiona's presence without a second thought. He would throw his arm around her shoulders, and the two of them would laugh together right in front of me like I was not even there.

Sometimes, I would see Fiona sitting on the back of his motorcycle, grinning in the sun, as he and his boys tore through the estate in a loud, rowdy pack.

It used to sting, but I always told myself they were just friends. I told myself that the one Sally loved was me.

As it turned out, I was the fool. I had been deluding myself the entire time.