5

I V Y

While the adults began talking about their childhood and all boring stories, I found myself eating my pizza quietly since I had nothing interesting to say and I did not want to be part of the adults' conversation. It always ends up with something like marriage, kids and stuffs.

I took a bite from my second pizza when Mason's phone started ringing. He excused himself before standing up and leaving to attend the call. Ace and I were the only ones not talking. I finished my second pizza, feeling full.

I opened my soda and drank the whole content before standing up and went to wash my hands. After washing them, I turned around only to be met with Ace's piercing blue eyes, staring right at me.

I wiped my hands with the towel before smiling at him, "what are you doing here?"

"I came to wash my hands," he replied walking towards the sink, his shoulders brushing against mine. I took a step away, giving him more space. My eyes fell on the tattoo on his wrist. I took a close look at it before my eyes slightly widened.

A snake wrapped around a sword and a skull tattoo. The sword was into the skull and the snake was coming out from the skull's eyes, mouth and other holes on it's face. It wasn't big but any person who is or was, in my case, involved in the underworld knew what this tattoo mean

The Italian Mafia.

Ace was part of the Italian mafia.

A C E

I stared at Ivy who had her eyes fixed on the tattoo on my wrist which represented the Italian mafia. Her eyes were wide opened and her lips were slightly parted. She hadn't realized that I was staring at her, she was too concentrated on the tattoo.

Did she see this somewhere? Fuck, did she know what it represents?

"Ivy?" Hearing my voice snapped her back to reality. She blinked a few times before staring at me, "sorry, I zoned out."

"I could tell," I muttered, staring at her closely. She took a deep breath before flashing me a clearly fake smile, "I was thinking about something. Never mind."

"About my tattoo?" I asked, showing her the tattoo representing the Italian mafia clearly, "this one? Have you ever seen this anywhere before?"

"No," she shook her head, "no, I just find it very interesting. Like, what does it mean?"

"The skull represents death," I replied, "the snake represents power and the sword represents authority, protection, courage and strength."

"Interesting," she muttered, "well have a great night."

"I'm not leaving anytime soon." I stated. Mason and I planned to play video games and all while my parents planned to have a long talk with Mr and Mrs Reed. These four were childhood friends which was how I met Mason in the first place.

My dad signed a deal with Mr Reed and they were invited for dinner at our place. Mason and I were both bored shitless at that dinner so I asked him if he wanted to play video games with me. He instantly nodded and followed me to my room and we hit it off. He and I had a lot in common.

"Then enjoy the rest of your night," she said before walking away not giving me the chance to say anything else. Her whole mood changed when she saw the tattoo.

Did she by any chance know what it means? That was the billion dollar question.

Ivy was gone for two years. Why? She was clearly lying when she said it was for studying. Mason told me a different reason, he told me that she wanted to stay with their grandparents who live in France.

Both of them were lying. But why?

"Stop playing detective," I muttered to myself before shaking my head, "so what if they lied? That's their problem not yours." I made my way outside and saw my parents taking all the time in the world eating and chatting.

I felt a pat on my shoulder making me turn around to come face to face with my best friend.

"Let's go play?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. I nodded, "go, I'll come after grabbing my drink," he then walked away. I went towards the table and took my bottle of soda before going to Mason's room.

I opened the door, stepped into the room before closing it. Settling on the couch in front of the screen, I opened my soda and waited while Mason chose a game for us.

**

I V Y

I don't know for how many hours I've been lying down on my bed and staring at the ceiling. The only thing I could think of was the mafia.

Ace was part of the Italian mafia. Did Mason know? Was he part of it too? I had so many questions yet answers to none. I couldn't just go and ask them, 'hey guys, are y'all part of the Italian mafia?' I was not dumb.

They would ask me questions, like, how do I know of the tattoo? Where did I see it? And I wasn't ready to let anyone know that part of my life yet.

My eyes felt heavy and were beginning to close. I didn't bother to fight sleep. I let it consume me.

**

"Hold this gun and shoot that man." The familiar voice spoke dangerously close to my right ear. I took a deep breath and focused on the man in front of me, who was tied in a chair, his hands behind his back and his head lowered. I felt bad.

I don't know what he did. I didn't have the right to question my own boyfriend. My heart was racing and my hands were trembling. I felt a hand on my waist making me almost jump by the sudden contact.

"Scared, love?" He questioned, his grip tightened on my waist so hard that I was sure it would leave a bruise.

"I can't do this," I muttered softly before lowering the gun. I then turned around to face him. He had a scar running down the side of his face and another one that crossed his left eyebrow. "I can't kill someone. I want out."

He chuckled darkly making me gulp. It was never good. Whenever he'd chuckle like that, I'd fear he might do something I won't like. His hand moved from my waist and snatched the gun from mine then he placed it to the back of my head before he grabbed a handful of my hairs and pulled it which made me yelp in pain.

I then received a kick in the stomach but didn't fall backward because he was holding me still by my hair. It was painful. I could feel my scalp burning. He then grabbed my face in between his hands, forcing me to look at him in his haunting brown eyes.

"You are my girlfriend. You do as you're told, do you get that?" He asked to which I nodded. He then moved his hands from my face and gripped my shoulder, "words, bitch, I need words!"

"Yes," He then smirked and turned me around, handing me the gun again, "now kill the man. Pull the trigger."

And I did.

I pulled the trigger.

The man in front of me received a bullet right in his neck. While he was laughing, my heart sank. What have I done?

**

I jolted awake, sweat dripping off my forehead. I gripped the sheets, breathing heavily. My hand reached out to the bedside table, looking for a my bottle of water. But it wasn't there.

Frowning, I stood up and walked to the bathroom before rinsing my mouth and splashing some cold water over my face. Coming out from the bathroom, I glanced at the clock and saw that it was only one-thirty in the morning. I've been sleeping for three hours now.

I opened the door to my room and went downstairs to the kitchen. I didn't bother to turn the lights on as I made my way towards the sink. Grabbing a glass, I filled it with water and leaned against the kitchen counter before drinking it.

"Itsy bitsy spider c—oh hey Ivy!" Ace shot me a smile, walking towards the fridge. Was he singing that nursery? He couldn't be part of the mafia, could he? He had the attitude of a kid. He was immature or so I thought. He opened the fridge and took out a bottle of cold water, "why aren't you sleeping?"

"Why are you still here? Did your parents kick you out from your house?" I asked back, raising my brows. He let out a chuckle before shaking his head, "nope, Macy and I are playing games so I'm gonna stay over today."

"Macy?" I repeated, smiling at the familiar nickname that I also use for my brother. He nodded, opening the bottle, "yeah, he told me that's how you call him and he hates it so I started calling him like that too, to annoy him." He then brought the bottle to his lips before gulping down some water.

"Alright. Good night," I said, placing the glass aside. He stopped drinking and nodded at me, "night, Vy."

"You shortened my name more than it already is," I muttered and heard him hum in response, "I just realized that both our names have got three letters. I'm gonna call you Vy, your nickname. Hope you like it because I'm not changing it." He winked, closing the bottle.