Follow You Home

I get dressed in jeans and a black and white plaid button up shirt and do my hair and makeup in the bathroom, while John lays in bed. When I come out, his eyes are shut. I stop and watch him sleep for a minute. There is a small gash above his left eye that had to be stitched shut and his cheek is bruised. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he'd been in a fight. I pull the door shut on my way out and wander out to the kitchen to find something for breakfast. I'm not a good cook in any sense of the word, I could burn water if I tried to boil it. So, I grab out a box of Frosted Flakes and pour them into a bowl. When I turn around to get the milk, I see John standing there, with his hand braced on the counter. He's dressed in black sweatpants and a zip up black sweatshirt. His brown hair is standing on end and his eyes look medicated.

"Hey, what are you doing out of bed?" I ask.

"Hungry."

"Sit down." He does as I tell him and I pour milk over the Frosted Flakes and bring them over to him. He starts wolfing them down immediately. It occurs to me then that neither of us ate dinner last night. I pour myself a bowl of cereal and sit down across from him.

"I thought you were sleeping." I say.

"Couldn't get comfortable. It hurts to breathe." I grimace. He notices and smiles a little.

"Don't worry. It'll feel better tomorrow."

"Said with experience."

"I've had busted ribs before. It's nothing new."

"That's comforting." My cell phone rings in the bedroom, so I get up and run to get it. Frank's number is on the screen.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey, how's the patient?"

"Sore, but fine. What's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know his truck is in the impound lot. I know he'll probably want to get pictures and shit to the insurance company." he says.

"Oh, OK. Thanks."

"Yeah." He sounds like he's in a bad mood.

"What?"

"I have some information on the accident... It's not good."

"What do you mean, not good?"

"The other car, from what we can figure, was going about sixty miles an hour when it hit John's truck. It blew right through the red light. There are no bars in that direction, so it's safe to say it wasn't a drunk driver."

"So, what you're saying is whoever did this, did it on purpose?"

"That's what I'm saying." We're both silent, absorbing this information.

"You think it was whoever is stalking me." I say, more of a statement than a question.

"I'm saying it's a good possability."

"Shit." I plunk down on the couch and run a hand through my hair, taking deep breaths.

"The guys on the case have been searching for the car all night. No reports from any body shops, junkyards, nothing. So, either they're still driving it around or it's in a chop shop somewhere already broken down." he says.

"You're not on the case?"

"No. I'm in homicide, remember? I got all of my info from the guys who are running crimes against persons." I don't say anything.

"You need to think, this person wants to hurt you, the people around you. There's no doubt in my mind, this asshole thought you were in the truck with John last night. Who would want to hurt you like that?"

"I don't know! I've been racking my brain for weeks, Frank! I don't know!" I yell.

"Calm down. Yelling isn't going to solve anything. Now, I was thinking and I had a theory."

"What?"

"What about that guy Ma had over for dinner a couple weeks back, Joe Rizzo?"

"What about him?"

"Well we both know he's not the most savory guy. He's been laundering money out of his dad's construction company for years. Maybe he got jealous that you were with John and wants to get even."

"I don't think so, because remember, I got the first threat the afternoon before that dinner."

"But, Ma met his mother in the store the day before and set the whole date up." He trails off and I shake my head.

"I don't know, Frank. He seemed totally fine with me not wanting to continue things with him."

"Pshyco's are good at hiding their emotions, Iz. Look at Dom."

"Come on, Dom's not a pshyco."

"OK, maybe not, but whatever. You know what I meant. It's something to think about." he says.

"I just don't think it's Joe. And I don't think it's Lee, either."

"I don't think it's Lee anymore. He's fallen off of our radar in Boston, which concerns me, but I don't think he's in Lawrence. He would have shown himself, either to you or me, or his family. Anyways, I gotta go, I just got a page, some gang guys on Pierce got turned into Swiss cheese this morning."

"Yikes, too much information."

"Yeah, tell me about it, I have to go look at their sorry asses." he says.

"OK, bye."

"Bye." I hang up, count to ten and then walk out to the kitchen. John is standing at the sink, staring out the window.

"What's up?" he asks.

"It was Frank. Your truck is at the impound lot."

"I figured. What else did he say?"

"He's almost positive it was my stalker who hit you last night."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I ask.

"I didn't want to freak you out anymore than you already were last night." He turns away from me and walks slowly into the living room and gingerly lowers himself onto the couch. I stand over him.

"Frank also thinks Joe Rizzo is stalking me." His eyes flicker up to my face and then go back to the TV.

"What do you think?" he asks.

"I don't think it's Joe. He has no reason to stalk me or try to hurt me and the people I love."

"Jealousy."

"That's what Frank said."

"Joe's a scumbag, I've heard stories about him beating up his girlfriends from time to time, and I can see him being pissed off about you dumping him for me." he says.

"I didn't exactly dump him though. We had one date that I didn't even know was happening until I got to my parents house."

"But he knew it was happening." I drop down next to him and put my face in my hands.

"I just don't know. I just feel like if it was him and it was over jealousy, that he would have mentioned something in one of the letters."

"OK, so let's rethink this. Maybe it's not about you, maybe it's about the mob." he says. I turn and look back at him.

"I'm confused. I know Joe launders money, but is he really that tied into the mob?" I ask.

"Babe, anyone who launders money is in the mob. And, your brother is in big time, as you know."

"You're thinking this has something to do with Dom?"

"I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud. It would be more helpful if Dom was here to tell us if he's had any dealings with Joe lately." Someone knocks on the door and we look at each other.

"Probably my mother. God knows she's heard about the accident by now and is livid I haven't called her." he says. I blow out a sigh and stand, walking over to the door. I open it and am shocked to see Dom standing on the front step.

"Your wish has been granted." I call to John. Dom looks at me.

"What's that about?"

"Nothing, get in here." I say. He follows me into the house and we walk into the living room.

"Woah, what the fuck happened to you?" he asks when he see's John's face.

"Car accident last night. I was crossing Center and this car came out of nowhere and t-boned me. Lucky there was no one in the passenger seat."

"Are you hurt?"

"Couple busted ribs, no big deal. My shoulder got knocked around too, but they say it's fine." Dom nods.

"Where the hell have you been? You were supposed to be back home three days ago?" I say.

"I had some trouble in Jersey, what else is new? I always have trouble in Jersey."

"Who's in Jersey?" John asks.

"DeLanco's."

"Great."

"Are you in any trouble?" I ask.

"No, I'm fine. I'm worried about you, what's going on with this stalker?"

"The cops are working on it."

"Do they have any leads?"

"Nothing solid. They thought it was Lee, but that went cold." I trail off.

"Who else?" I don't say anything.

"Who else, Iz?"

"It's not official, but Frank has a hunch it's Joe Rizzo?"

"What the hell would Rizzo want with you?"

"Ma set us up for dinner the same night you left for the Caymen Islands."

"The same day your door was spray painted." He finishes.

"Yeah."

"So, what? You had a date and what? You dumped him?"

"I told him that I was in a relationship and couldn't continue things." Dom snorts and then stands up.

"Sonofabitch."

"What?" John and I ask at the same time.

"A couple of months back, I did a job for Rizzo's father." John gives me a look, and then looks back at Dom.

"What kind of job?" he asks.

"It was nothing major. He had this guy who used to work for him, apparently he had been stealing supplies from the job sites and was selling the shit. Rizzo found out about it and hired me to track the guy down and.... scare him a little." I drop my head down.

"Jesus, what did you do, break his knee caps or something?" John asks.

"I knocked him around a little, like I said, nothing major. He gave me a bunch of money that he said he had gotten for the supplies and I took it back to Rizzo. Anyways, the old man tells me that I didn't do what I was told to do, so I wasn't gonna get my check. I told him that was bullshit, I did my job, plus got him his money back. So, we get into it. Joe walks in and goes bat shit cause I'm bitchin' at his old man. I told him it wasn't his fight and we had some words and I left. That was it." He sits back down.

"Do you think Joe was pissed off enough to threaten Izzy's life?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. But, then again, it seems fishy to me that two months after we come to blows, he's all of a sudden hot on my sister."

"I think it's all a big coicidence." I say.

"Why are you protecting this guy?" John asks.

"I'm not protecting him. I just don't want to see the wrong guy go down for this."

We all absorb that for a minute. Dom stands.

"I gotta go. Things to do, ya know?" He gives me a hug.

"Be safe."

"You too." He nods at John and then lets himself out of the house. I lock the door and go back to the living room and sit next to John.

"So, what do you think now?" I ask him.

"I think it's fishy, like Dom said. It's worth looking into."

"I'm just worried that Dom is gonna go after Joe now, half cocked, without any proof." I say.

"That's a valid concern. I'm gonna call Frank and give him Dom's story, let the proper authorities bring him in for questioning."

"That's gonna piss him off. What if he goes after Dom?"

"That's for Dom to worry about, not you."

"I don't like it." I say, falling back on the couch.

"I don't like any of it, but it's what we have right now." I drop my head on his shoulder and he kisses the top of my head. We're both silent, but I know we're both thinking the same thing. The elephant in the room all day has been our conversation last night on the peir, and his confession that he loves me. I bite down on my lip. I'm not ready to have this conversation, but I know it has to be done. As if knowing the same thing, John starts talking.

"We haven't really talked about us...And I know you're probably confused about last night." he says.

"We don't have to go there right now..."

"Yes we do. We've been avoiding it for too long. What I said last night still holds true today. The way I feel for you hasen't changed. But, if you don't feel the same way, you don't have to say it right now. I'm willing to wait however long it takes." I sigh.

"It's not that I don't feel it. I do, I just....Can't say it yet." I say.

"I can live with that."

"We both have a lot of trust issues, and relationship issues, but I know that I want you in my life. Honestly, I don't know what I would do without you, especially this past year. I want to try." I say.

"Me too." He squeezes me closer to him and kisses my forehead. I relax into his warmth and try to distract myself from thoughts of Joe Rizzo.