Read Online Gorilla Beach by Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi - Free Book Online Page B

have told everyone she knew because that’s what friends are for, right? To give you sympathy and support. But it was Bella’s decision to keep her family’s crisis to herself. Out of respect for Bella, Gia had to stay silent.
    But the desperation on Tony’s face! It’d been nine months since Bella had broken up with him, and he still didn’t know why.
    Gia took mercy on the poor bastard. “You know that Bella’s parents sold their deli and planned to spend the money traveling in Italy, right?” He nodded. “They never left Brooklyn. Aunt Marissa went for a checkup two days before their flight, and the doctor noticed something. They postponed the trip so she could get some tests. It turned out she had cancer. She had surgery, chemo. Bella gave up her dorm room to stay home and take care of Aunt Marissa. We all pitched in, but Bella did the most. She insisted on it. Doing a double shift—school and home—would have been okay. Bella can handle just about anything. But Uncle Charlie completely freaked out. He couldn’t handle the stress. When Aunt Marissa had her first surgery, he wasn’t even at the hospital. Heran off to the nearest bar and stayed for three days. When she started chemo, Uncle Charlie made excuses not to take her to her appointments. He acted like nothing was wrong, as if she was completely healthy. He yelled at Marissa if the laundry wasn’t done or if dinner wasn’t on the table. It was psycho.”
    â€œPrick,” said Tony under his breath.
    Gia remembered that Tony had had his share of family hardship. He’d lost his parents when he was five and was raised by Giuseppe and Tina. “That’s not the worst of it. In February, Charlie left. Packed his bags and moved out. They’re getting a divorce.”
    Tony sucked in his breath. Fighting in families was to be expected. Treating a spouse horribly? Feeling disappointed and disillusioned? It happened in the best of marriages. But divorce? It was rare in the Italian-American community. Not so rare in the Spumanti/Rizzoli family, though. Gia’s parents had divorced, too.
    â€œHelp me with the timing,” said Tony.
    â€œRemember the day you called Bella and started yelling at her about some bullshit? Aunt Marissa had just come home from the hospital after surgery.”
    â€œNo wonder she told me to drop dead and never call her again. Why didn’t she say what was really going on?”
    Good question. “Bella’s like her dad in some ways. He refused to acknowledge that anything was wrong. And she refused to talk about it.”
    â€œI don’t even remember what pissed me off that day, or why I went off on her. She was right to dump me. I should’ve been in tune with her feelings and sensed something was wrong.” Tony covered his face with his hands. “I feel like a piece of shit.”
    â€œYou have to swear not to say anything to Bella. I only told you because you looked so pathetic.”
    He thought about it. And thought some more.
    â€œTony,” Gia warned. “You better not screw me over. Bella thinks I’ve got a big mouth as it is.”
    â€œYou do have a big mouth. Don’t worry. I won’t say anything.”
    â€œGood. Now. Can I get two hundred dollars for the Honda?”
    He mumbled, “Sure.”
    â€œAnd a can of Coke from the machine?”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œAnd a lift back to the boardwalk?”

Chapter Nine

B-I-M-B-O, and Bimbo Was Her Name-O
    Not a nibble after nearly a week of job hunting. Bella must have filled out twenty job applications, from funnel-cake fryer to skee-ball ticket taker. Gia had been searching, too. No luck.
    They’d burned through Giuseppe Troublino’s $200 on the basics—food, vodka, beach badges, and laundry. Gia was starting to have withdrawal symptoms from tanning deprivation. To save money, Bella was attempting to cook dinners in the toaster