ADRIAN It had never occurred to me that I would one day feel the sorrow of losing someone I barely knew this deeply.Leah, I believed that was her name, was really a nice woman. She was one of the kind hearted people I had ever seen.Sometimes I found myself wondering what made me love her donuts so much. Was it because of how great they tasted, or because the treats were made by someone as special as Madam Leah?I wished she was still here, alive, so I could appreciate her for everything. The reason I always looked forward to the end of my shifts at the Queen's was her delicious donuts. It was beyond doubt that I was going to miss such a beautiful soul."Your mom," I smiled, packing up some utensils and passed them to Gabe who retrieved them from my hands without a word. "She was a nice woman."Gabe shrugged, still wouldn't say anything as we box the rest of the stuff inside the shop.He was grieving, I knew. That's why I stayed behind, helping him in any way I could, so he wouldn't
ADRIAN The sound of my phone vibrating against my thigh jolted me awake. A heavy weight across my chest and waist made it difficult to turn over.I had no idea where I was, surrounded by an inky darkness. The only light came from the faint glow of my phone screen, still clutched in my pants pocket, but it was barely enough to illuminate my surroundings.I had little to no idea where I was, but when someone grumbled behind me and the weight on my body shifted, I suddenly realized my location."Oh no, the donut shop! I'm still at the donut shop... with Gabe!" I gasped, slapping a hand over my mouth to stifle my voice and avoid waking Gabe.I didn't really meant to sleep here. I only stayed back a little when he asked me to. All my plans were to wait for him to calm down, and then go home."Giovanni is going to kill me." I muttered, cold sweats rolled down my face as I gently shoved Gabe off me, standing up from the floor and pulled out my phone.My heart practically stopped beating whe
ADRIANI glared at my reflection in the mirror, fury and hurt etched on my face. My hands clenched into tight fists as I gazed down at the damage the wine had done to my shirt. The crimson stains spread across the fabric like a map of chaos, a constant reminder of my life at Great Fisher.A wave of loathing washed over me. I hated this city, its suffocating grip choking the life out of me. My own life was a sham, a never-ending cycle of disappointment. My family, a constant source of frustration. And this job... I hated every minute spent at the Great Fisher, the pretentious boss, the backstabbing colleagues, the suffocating routine and the damned horny bastards that patronise this place.I hated how every client in this bar only see me as a means of entertainment. To them, I was nothing more than a distraction, a plaything to be used for their amusement. My role as a server was constantly diminished, reduced to mere eye candy.It wasn't their fault, it was my damn family's fault for
ADRIAN It took me a minute to remember breathing was a thing people were supposed to be doing. I stood still, mouth parted open in shock as I stared into his eyes. Piercing silver eyes, ones I vowed never to gaze upon again, locked onto mine with piercing intensity. Their burning stare sent a shiver down my spine, and my throat constricted, making swallowing an impossible task. Giovanni Marino, the boss and the leader of the Marino's family was right here in the bathroom stall with me, gazing at me with a dangerous grin on his face. My heart skipped a beat and my mind went blank, unable to think of why Giovanni Marino would be in Great Fisher. My workplace. As the police chief's son, what would people think if they saw me in the same room with the leader of New York City's most notorious Italian Mafia family, the same organisation my father was working to take down? I had tried it once, hooking up with this same man just to get back at my father for disowning me because I was gay
ADRIAN When I suggested the idea, I half-expected Giovanni to dismiss it. To call me out on my shit. Instead, he shocked me by forcefully hauling the bastard to the bar, beating him while vociferously declaring that I belonged to him and threatening severe consequences to anyone who dared to bother me again. I watched as Giovanni grabbed the back of the man’s neck and slammed his face into the bar. Everyone cleared out, moving away as quickly as possible as he babbled and tried to speak. I should be happy that someone was finally putting a stop to this, but instead, guilt washed over me like a blanket as I watched from the corner of the now-empty bar, which had once been full of customers. My chest tightened until I could barely draw in a breath. What was I supposed to do now? Every time I raised my head to look in the direction of my boss, he would plead with me with his eyes that I should put a stop to this. I straightened up before I walked down the bar, to the man who was caus
GIOVANNI The sound of my baseball bat cracking against the skull was loud. Bones broke, and bits of brain and blood stuck to my weapon, my favorite one. I turned it around towards me and wrinkled my nose at the sight of the mess of hair and skull fragments clumped onto the metal. My phone's ringtone pierced the air, drowning out the groans and grunts of the man at my feet. I paused to take a look at the mess of bodies that littered the floor, and I couldn't be more proud of myself for knowing it was all my doing. I was fucking proud of myself. “You stay right here,” I said to the man at my feet with a groan. Walking over him to pick up the call. There was no point telling the man to wait, he couldn't get up even if he wanted to. I had already separated both his legs from his body and his body was already a mess. Walking over to the window on the third floor of the uncompleted building, I propped my elbow on the windowsill, staring down at my bloodied hand as I fetched my
ADRIANAfter the phone call with my brother, I felt increasingly restless, unable to shake off the unease that kept me awake and made bedtime impossible.Aston's disturbing revelation about the Marinos' near-miss shooting had already unsettled me, but his hasty goodbye without elaborating on the cryptic 'something happened' comment sent my imagination racing. Now, the deafening silence from my brother had me sick with worry. When I left home three years ago, my sole concern was avoiding any actions that might worry my family.Ironically, I now find myself consumed by worries about their well-being.As I stood frozen in the middle of my living room, phone clutched in my hand, my mind raced with a flurry of questions while I awaited my brother's call, my gaze drifting blankly into space.One question I kept asking myself was, "what have I done?"A sudden knock at the door sent me recoiling in terror, my heart racing and eyes wide with alarm. I froze, paralyzed by fear, my gaze fixed on
GIOVANNI "It's definitely his place," Dominic confirmed, his voice booming from the other end. I nodded my head, with the phone still pressed gently against my ear. I brought the cigarette closer to my lips and took a long drag before blowing the smoke out of the window. "Good. Leave the Russell's boy to me and just keep your eyes on the fed." I ordered, my voice was as husky as ever. "Yes, boss." I ended the call and tossed my phone on the stack of papers on my passenger seat. With the internal threats neutralized and the turncoats held accountable, the calm that followed left me feeling uncharacteristically idle. I craved action, my instincts itching for the next adrenaline rush. I had to change order of everything overnight. I had wanted this shit with Price Russell to be over with, but dealing with paper works after that made me want to drag this out for however long I want. I could have fun with this while I shove that bastard fed in his place. That was what bro
ADRIAN The sound of my phone vibrating against my thigh jolted me awake. A heavy weight across my chest and waist made it difficult to turn over.I had no idea where I was, surrounded by an inky darkness. The only light came from the faint glow of my phone screen, still clutched in my pants pocket, but it was barely enough to illuminate my surroundings.I had little to no idea where I was, but when someone grumbled behind me and the weight on my body shifted, I suddenly realized my location."Oh no, the donut shop! I'm still at the donut shop... with Gabe!" I gasped, slapping a hand over my mouth to stifle my voice and avoid waking Gabe.I didn't really meant to sleep here. I only stayed back a little when he asked me to. All my plans were to wait for him to calm down, and then go home."Giovanni is going to kill me." I muttered, cold sweats rolled down my face as I gently shoved Gabe off me, standing up from the floor and pulled out my phone.My heart practically stopped beating whe
ADRIAN It had never occurred to me that I would one day feel the sorrow of losing someone I barely knew this deeply.Leah, I believed that was her name, was really a nice woman. She was one of the kind hearted people I had ever seen.Sometimes I found myself wondering what made me love her donuts so much. Was it because of how great they tasted, or because the treats were made by someone as special as Madam Leah?I wished she was still here, alive, so I could appreciate her for everything. The reason I always looked forward to the end of my shifts at the Queen's was her delicious donuts. It was beyond doubt that I was going to miss such a beautiful soul."Your mom," I smiled, packing up some utensils and passed them to Gabe who retrieved them from my hands without a word. "She was a nice woman."Gabe shrugged, still wouldn't say anything as we box the rest of the stuff inside the shop.He was grieving, I knew. That's why I stayed behind, helping him in any way I could, so he wouldn't
ADRIAN "Here you go ma'am." I smiled warmly, tried not to wince as I handed the customer her order of green god smoothie with some wellness boosts to go with it.Good stuff."You are such a sweet young man." The woman, who was probably in her late sixties, smiled back at me, giving my hand a light pat as she retrieved her order.Right? You can never find another sweet smoothie maker like me.Being sweet was part of the ingredients. The main ingredient even."Thanks for sipping with us! Have a berry smoothie day!" I smiled, waving at her as she exited the shop.Immediately the old woman was out of the shop, I turned around, crossing my arms as I glared at Grace who had been cleaning the same blender for the past forty minutes."Now, what?" I demanded, shooting Tobi a deadly glare when he wouldn't stop poking a hole in the poor orange. "For the love of God, you guys, please stop being weird.""Tell me you're a traitor without actually saying it." Tobi hissed, tossing the orange into th
ADRIAN "Where the hell are you?" I half-yelled into the phone, casting a nervous glance over my shoulder to make sure the guys weren't eavesdropping.I would absolutely hate myself if T-Jay should found out I was here talking about him behind his back with Marcelo."At the office." Marcelo grumbled tiredly, there was a sickening sound in the background. "I'm fucking busy."The sound of metal hitting something solid, like a wall or floor, echoed again, followed by a muffled groan.What the fuck was that sound?It was as if he was at a butcher shop."That means you're not coming here." I asked, deciding to let go of the weird thoughts that were running through my mind.It wouldn't do me any good to know if Marcelo was really at a butcher shop, butchering a human instead of beef.Fuck!This whole thing was messed up."I will be there. Soon. Not now." Marcelo grumbled again, he was sounding a little bit irritated now, instead of sounding tired like before."You're a bastard, Marcelo!" I
ADRIAN Working at Great Fisher had never felt so gloomy. Having already informed my boss of my decision to quit, today being my last day made every task feel surreal. It was strange to go about my duties as if it weren't my final day here.Noah had been acting weird since my shift started. He wouldn't talk to me, and he wouldn't even look me in the eye. He was straight-up avoiding me.I hadn't even told him yet, and I wondered what was making him act like that. My shift flew by in a blur, and before I knew it, it was already time for me to leave.I disappeared into the backroom, packing my bag, when someone walked in, slamming the door shut behind them.It was as if they were trying to announce their presence."You're really gonna quit?" Noah half-yelled, and I felt my body shudder a little at how annoyed he sounded.So this is what it's all about? "H–how did you know?" I asked, swallowing down a ball of lump as Noah walked over to me.He plugged into the empty beside me on the ben
GIOVANNI Adrian had disappeared into the building, and it had been over twenty minutes since he went in, but he still hadn't come out.Standing here in the cold, with the scent of animals and fur wafting from the vet hospital, was making me feel sick. I wished I could go in there and drag him out, but I couldn't. Can't get close to those whining pets.I would never understand humans' obsession with animals. I mean, we have enough animals amongst us humans already, why need another one?"Fucking dammit!" I grumbled, leaning slightly against the bike. I needed to do something to distract myself from my surroundings. So I pulled out my phone from my pocket, dialing Dominic.He picked up on the first ring and I wondered if he had been wanting to call me as well."Did you schedule a meeting with Price Russell?" I asked, my hand clenched tightly inside my coat pocket as I exhaled deeply.I fucking need a smoke.One wasn't enough.The line went dead for just two seconds before Dominic grum
ADRIAN I fucking owned a bike now, and it was my dream bike.The last time I had a bike to myself was years ago, back in 7th grade when I was still in middle school.I had come first in my class that year, beating Aston for the first time. For the first time in forever, Dad was so proud of me. He got me a bike as a reward, something he later took away from me when my grades slightly dropped in 8th grade.I wasn't able to get my bike back, and it took me over three years to get over the hurt and pain of losing my first-ever gift from Dad.But now, no one is going to take this new bike away from me. Giovanni told me it was a gift from him to me, and he would never take it back.Harley!My fucking Harley!My heart almost jumped out of my chest when Giovanni took me to the garage this morning and showed me the bike. At first, I thought he was joking when he said it was mine. I only believed it was real when he asked me to sign the receiptFucking hell!I was still on cloud nine about own
GIOVANNI I wasn't at all surprised when Adrian's demeanor turned cold immediately that night, upon mentioned of him returning to school.I had read his profile so many times that I knew he didn't have a college degree. I couldn't help but wonder why, especially since his brother was nearing graduation and seemed to be doing well.I knew Adrian wanted to say something to me, but he forced out a smile and said he'd think about it. I was tempted to press for an explanation about why he dropped out of college, especially since financial struggles seemed unlikely given his father's wealth. However, I decided to hold back. If he felt comfortable enough to share his struggles with his family regarding his sexuality, I trusted that he'd eventually open up about why he left college when he was ready.I wanted to be someone he could always turn to. Someone he could trust and rely on. I don't want to be like his family who made him think less of himself.It had been three days since we had tha
ADRIAN When I asked Giovanni to tell me more about himself, I never really expected his story to be so heart-wrenching.I had always thought being a mobster was the life he chose, but I never really considered that he had no say in the person he wanted to become. His future had been decided from the day he was born into the family. He wasn't born for himself, but was born and raised for the organisation.All the bad things he said the organisation made him do at a young age were the most depressing. How could anyone starve and beat up a twelve-year-old boy just because he refused to torture an innocent person?Giovanni told me how he was forced to watch people die in the underground torture room where he was held for a year. In an attempt to break him and mold him into one of them, he was ordered to torture people, effectively stripping him of his innocence. Each time he refused, people were killed, and he was forced to witness their gruesome deaths.I knew he wasn't a good person; G