Wait. Did he just say reunite? Does that mean…“Torex and Silva were in a partnership before?” I asked in wonder. “You’re a fast one. That’s right…” Ethan said before grinning at me. “Really? How long ago was that?” I asked in wonder. From what I could tell now, the two groups were not on good terms at all. I didn’t have to understand mafia politics to figure out why that is. However, if they were in a partnership before then something must have happened…“When Hayden and I were kids our groups were quite close. Hayden and I go way back. He probably doesn’t want to remember it but, we grew up together. We were childhood friends, I guess you could say…” Ethan said as if reminiscing on some distant memories before he chuckled to himself. I blinked my eyes rapidly a couple of time to clear the image of a small blond boy playing around with a dark-haired boy. The idea of these two guys being childhood friends was just difficult for me to believe and comprehend. Although now that I loo
“I see…” I said softly. “We didn’t meet much when we were young and even less so when we grew up. I definitely wasn’t thrilled at the idea of having my life partner decided for me and I bet she felt the same way. We both tried our best not to get involved with each other’s lives and not to get in each other’s way. That was like our silent agreement. Everything was fine, until Hayden turned up…” Ethan said before his tone darkened. “Hayden?” I said questioningly. “Yeah. Do you want to see Hayden again?” Ethan asked. “I…” I began saying but then I hesitated. I did want to see him again, but I wasn’t sure if I should tell Ethan that. “Do you, or don’t you?” Ethan asked. The way his evil green eyes were looking at me told me that he already knew my answer and he probably had everything figured out already. Ethan would never approach me unless there was something that he wanted. That was just the person that he was. He’s handsome, charming, kind…and extremely manipulative. “Why do
When I arrived back at my exhibition, the same staff from before was there as if she was waiting for me. Once she spotted me, she came up to me excitedly and I wondered what she wanted. “You’re such a hot artist or maybe you’re such a hot girl,” she said teasingly. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Just now, another hot guy was here staring at that painting again. Maybe that painting attracts hot guys,” she said with a laugh. “What did he look like? Was he tall with light blond hair and blue eyes?” I asked rapidly as I put my hand up above my head to indicate Hayden’s height. “Yup, I think so…” she replied as she rubbed her chin in thought. “Where is he now?” I asked immediately. “Too bad you missed him. He left already; he should be out of the building by now…” she said. I didn’t listen to her until the end once again. I knew that it was a long shot, but I decided to run after him. If he was headed to the exit of the building, then he must have gone this way…At the end, after lo
My work at the art school was going well and the children in my class were fun to work with. Despite that, the joy of teaching the kid had waned during the past week as my mind shifted back and forth between the reality in front of me and my memories of Hayden. “Malissa, do you have a minute?” the lady called out to me from behind the reception desk at the art school. I had just finished teaching for the day and was packing things up. “Sure,” I said before putting some art supplies back into the cupboard. “Your classes have been getting a lot of positive feedback both from the students and their parents. So, I was wondering if you would be open to take on additional classes,” she said with a gentle smile. “Umm…I guess I can…” I replied. I was quite free now and I haven’t found a full-time job so working extra here wouldn’t hurt. I’ll be making more money that way too, so this was the perfect opportunity. “That’s great. I’ll prepare some documents for you tomorrow and you can le
“Lisa…” she said, her voice sounding so weak. I felt so scared that I started crying, my tears flowing freely down my cheeks. My grandma also had tears in her eyes, and I knew that she probably knew that she didn’t have a lot of time left. “Grandma…I…” I began speaking in between my sobs.However, my grandmother just shook her head as if she didn’t want me to say anything. I bit my lower lips as I closed my eyes from the pain. More warm tears rolled down my cheeks as a result. “Lisa…listen to me…well…” she said in a whisper so soft that I had to lean in to hear her speak. Unfortunately, I had sense that her next words to me may be her last. I nodded my head and brought my ear closer to hear lips so that I could hear her better. “You’ll be happy with Hayden. He’ll…take care of you…just like…when you were young…” she whispered as her breathing became more labored. “What?” I said in confusion. My grandmother was breathing in fast shallow breaths at this point and all I could do wa
“Hayden…are you really here?” I asked absentmindedly. “If you can ask a silly question like that, I think you’re fine now. I’ll take you back,” he replied before loosening his arms from around my body. I stared up into his face although I knew that my face must look like a big mess right now with my eyes puffy, my nose red and my lips swollen from crying. However, I still wanted to see his face up close. Hayden stared down my face before he placed a large hand on top of my head and started patting my head. “You should go back and rest,” Hayden said. He stood up and the next thing I knew, I was being carried in his arms. I gasped in surprise before wrapping my arms around his neck. Hayden smiled down a little at me and I started relaxing in his arms. I felt so tired and weak, being pampered like this didn’t feel bad at all. If this is a dream, I pray that I never wake up. I don’t want Hayden to ever leave my side again. My honest thoughts and my desire for him was so intense that
I also had another question up my sleeve. It just popped into my head when I thought of what my grandmother had said. In her last words…“My grandmother told me before she died that…I would be happy with you…that you would take care of me…just like when I was young. What did she mean by that?” I asked as I peered up into his clear blue eyes in wonder. “Do you think people should decide for themselves how they should live their lives?” Hayden asked. “What is this all of a sudden…?” I questioned in return. “Just answer me. If it were you, what would you do? Would you want to decide for yourself how you’re going to live your life?” Hayden asked as he looked directly at me. Was that a trick question, I wondered, because to me the answer was so obvious. “Of course. I want to decide everything by myself, if possible,” I replied without a second thought. “What if you get hurt by your own decision?” Hayden asked a follow-up question. “Umm…I’ll deal with it and live with it, I guess…” I
A few days after wrapping up the funeral, I was moving along smoothly in the process of moving on with my life. It had been almost a week, but I haven’t made up my decision regarding what to do with my life in relation to the mafia. It was a very difficult decision to make and no matter how hard I thought about it, the answer did not immediately come to me. Perhaps, I already had an answer in mind, but I was just too scared to admit it even to myself. While I was on break from teaching my art class, I got a phone call from the building manager’s office of the penthouse where I used to live with Hayden. For some reason, I still had the number saved so I knew who the call was from right away. I wondered what they wanted after all this time. It had been many months now since we’ve moved out. “Hello. Miss Malissa, sorry for calling out of the blue,” a woman’s voice said. “It’s ok. How can I help you?” I asked. “We were in the middle of clearing up the room as the rent contract had jus