Please Love Me Back Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Angie Morelli dabs at her eyes with a small handkerchief. She has always been a strong and tough woman. She never cried when her handsome, brutal yet extremely charming husband beat her, cheated on her or gambled his salary away. She didn't shed a tear when she was in labor. Her eyes remained dry during her husband's funeral. But right now she simply can't stop her tears. She's too tired, too worried and too afraid. And she has trouble suppressing her raging anger. She's mad at the world. She's mad at herself. She's mad at her son. She's also mad at both Emily Hasting and Stephanie Plum.

She has sworn to herself that she will never ever bake, buy or eat another cupcake again for the rest of her life. She has no idea why Joseph has to nicknamed his girlfriend "Cupcake". She has no idea why that Hasting woman wants to be Joseph's "Cupcake" so badly. She has no idea why Stephanie Plum could not settle down with Joseph and start their own family. She has no idea why Stephanie Plum and Joseph kept breaking up and getting back together. She has no idea why her life is always so complicated and never easy. The only thing she knows is that she is sick of cupcakes. Soft. Sweet. Fluffy. Shallow. Gooey. Easy. Cheap. And empty. Just like her dead husband's sexy smile and all his sugar-coated promises. Just like her illusion of a happy family. Beautiful and attractive on the outside but hollow inside. Pretty, but sadly worthless.

Her mother-in-law is slipping further away from reality. Her elder son is once again kicked out by his wife. Her daughter is filing for a divorce. She herself is sitting in a cheap uncomfortable hospital chair waiting for her younger son, the pride and joy of her life, to wake up from his drug induced slumber. The doctors have finally warned her that Joseph may suffer from amnesia or other kinds of head traumas. The district attorney hasn't decided if she is going to file any charges against him. Stephanie Plum and that Ranger have moved in together and moved on with their lives. Angie lets out a harsh, ragged laugh. And somehow she can't help feeling a little bit happy for Stephanie. Angie closes her eyes and feels ashamed and guilty. She thinks of the little girl who followed Joseph into his father's garage many years ago. She thinks of the young girl who became the town's laughing stock when Joseph left home to join the Navy. She thinks of all the rumours and gossips concerning Stephanie and Joseph. At least one of them has found true love. At least one of them is having a happy life. She grasps hold of her sleeping son's hand and tells herself.

And maybe Joseph can find his own happiness when he wakes up and restarts his life. A life without his Cupcake, his Stephanie Plum.