It was winter break. I could still remember the first drop of snow had settled down on my window pane as I sat and watched. Snow didn't fall much here in Miami, and when it did, it was never for long. Christmas was more beautiful in New York, more lively. I should have stayed back with Jasmine instead of coming here. But what choice did I have, especially after my mother had cried her eyes out over the phone the night before I got here. She was always so good with emotional blackmail.
"Oh come on, you can't tell me that you're upset about being in your big ass mansion, with a whole bunch of food,and a complete family to spend your Christmas with?" Jasmine said over the phone, I had face timed her the moment I unpacked all my stuff.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not being ungrateful, I'm just saying I would rather spend Christmas with you. I hate the fact you're all alone in the apartment on Christmas day."
Jasmine was supposed to head home to meet her family in Scotland, but then there was a snow storm, and any form of flights were cancelled because it wasn't safe.
She gave me an eyeroll. "Please don't try to flatter me, or use my sad dilemma as some excuse. Besides, it's not so bad the way you're making it. I'm cuddled up in my sheets, I've got a whole box of the best pepperoni pizza to myself, and you see this?" She rose up a tray of cookies. "It was given to me by that cute neigbour that just moved upstairs. All that is missing is…"
"Me?" I said, smiling sweetly at her.
"I was going to say me watching Home Alone."
My smile fell. "I hope you enjoy spending Christmas alone."
She grinned. "Oh I will, and maybe that cute neigbour would warm up my bed as a bonus."
"Jasmine, please do not sleep with our neigbour." I groaned. "Remember Pete, you had to pass the fire escape for a month, just so you wouldn't bump into him in the lobby."
"What good is Christma without a little scandalous sex?" She blew me a kiss. "Say Hi to your hot dad for me."
"Eww no." I said before she hung up. "I guess there goes my plan to stay cooped up in my room, and pretend to have important calls."
At that moment, there was a soft knock on the door, and my mother poked her head through an open space. "Honey, you should come down. Dinner is ready, and your father is already waiting in the dining room."
I gave her a small smile. "I'll be there in a minute."
It was pretty obvious that my mum actually put a lot of effort for this Christmas dinner, considering the fact that she had let all the maids go home for Christmas, and made dinner herself.
When I got to the dinning room, I wasn't exactly sure if she did cook all of this ,or just ordered it off the bat. I guess it was the thought that counted. My father, Gabriel Russo, sat at the end of the table, his face set in anger as he swore loudly in Italian at who was at the other end of the line. His personal bodyguard, Marco, stood by his side, his face set in a stoic manner as he stared ahead.
I sat down a couple seats away from him and smiled to myself at how I used to think he was a President when I was younger. When I was little, we were supposed to talk about our fathers on Father's day. I remember saying he was the President, because he always had guards around him, and everyone respected him where he went. I looked up to him a lot when I was younger, until I found out what he really did. My own father wasn't just a simple measly man who sold cars, he was the Don of the Russo Mafia of Miami. The name that drew blood wherever it went, and when I was old enough to realize just how much of a danger all of it was, I hated it. I hated that he had another side of him that scared the shit out of people.
"You better find the bastard!" He yelled before cuttng the call, and placing the cell o the table. He muttered something to Marco who nodded his head slowly before walking away.
After staring into space for a couple of minutes, he finally noticed me. A wide smile spread across his face. "Amore, when did you get back?"
I shrugged. "A couple of hours ago."
He motioned to the seat beside him, his smile still held in place. "Come sit with your old man, and tell me how you've been."
"There's not really much to tell." I grumbled, but still stood up.
"Oh come on," He said, his smile widening. "entertain your old man."
"School has been good. One more year of it, then I'd go to film school."
His smile fell as he sighed. "You're still interested in that?"
I shrugged, already used to his disapproval about my career choice. "It's my dream."
I never wanted to go to college, the plan was to go to film school after my high school graduation. But my father didn't agree with his only child, a daughter for that matter, not having an education. So I agreed to it. I might have been difficult at first, but I was glad he didn't try to marry me off for connections. I have a lot of cousins that were thrown into arranged marriages with cruel men just for the connections their fathers could gain.
"Passion only take us so far." He said, leaning back on the chair.
Before I could give my reply, my mother came in with smoking lamb.
"The final meal is ready!" She said excitedly, placing it at the center of the table. "Let's dig in."
Dinner was good, and it was almost starting to feel normal, until there was a loud bang at the door, followed by the sound of bullets. My dad was the first to be on his feet, grabbing his gun from the holster strapped on his waist.
"You both should head upstairs now." He said sharply, pulling out his phone from his pocket. "Su, presto!"
Mum was at my side quickly, pulling me out of the dining room. We ran up the stairs, and headed straight for my bedroom, locking the doors behind us.
"What was that?" I said, gasping for air.
She looked disheveled, but I could see the anger flashing in her eyes as she headed for my closet.
"I don't know, but it's obviously not something good."
I let out a gasp, when she pulled out a pistol from closet! How the hell….
How the hell did a gun get to my room?!I pushed my hair back, my eyes never leaving my mother as she cocked the gun. My own mother, who liked to sit in the garden on sunny days, who loved to wear sunflower straw hats, was handling a pistol like it was nothing. "What is that doing in my room? How did that get there? How are you doing this?!" "Don't be silly Gabriella, everywhere in this house is armed incase of something like this." She pulled out another gun, and handed it to me. "You know who your father is. Everyone wants him dead everyday, and if you weren't away so much, you wouldn't be so startled."I scoffed, stunned at the woman standing in front of me. Her mannerism and sweetness had suddenly vanished, replaced with a cold calculative persona. I didn't even notice when she moved closer to me and placed another gun in my hand.I flinched at the feeling of the cold metal on my skin. "I don't…"I got cut off by the sound of more gunshots and loud thuds. I tried to push my mind
A man dressed in all black, with a thick long coat, and a black mask, walked into the living room. "This was almost too easy." He continued, standing in front of my father. "I mean I guess I can call it easy when I've been planning it for 12 years." "You fucking bastard! How dare you come to my home, guns blazing?!" My father rasped, trying to hold on a face of bravery, but his face was so pale, he looked like he'd fall unconscious any second. "Always such an aggressive animal." The man replied. "You'd think that a man like you would be lonely and miserable, maybe that way I'd understand why it was so easy to be the unforgiving cold devil that you are."My father grinned. "So that's what this is? Now this is exactly why I never leave any survivors. Bastards like you always have a way of coming back to bite me in the ass."The man didn't hesitate to punch my father in the face, sending him falling to the ground in fits of bloddy coughs. He stretched out his hands to one of the men w
I was burning. My entire body felt like it was on fire. I couldn't stop the screams. They were my screams, but I couldn't stop them. "Your entire legacy is gone!" The masked man screamed before pulling the trigger, killing both my parents. "No!" I jolted awake, my body screaming in so much pain. My stomach throbbed with a dull ache, like a burn that was eating me up from the inside. My body was too weak to move, and I glanced around the room, but something was off. Why was everywhere so dark? Trying to steady my breathing, I touched my face to be sure I was awake. I was sure I was, and I was sure my eyes were open, so why couldn't I see anything? "Hello?!" I called out, reaching forward to try to grab anything, but all I could feel were the sheets beneath me. "Is someone here?!"I heard the sound of a door opening, and a woman's soothing voice cut through the air. "You're okay." She said, her hand grasping mine.I turned my head towards the voice, desperate to see who was speaki
He came again. More times than I could count, and everytime he did, he always brought some kind of token. Flowers, junk food the hospital would never allow. It was almost like he was baiting me, trying to get me to lower my guard, trying to get me to trust him. But I couldn't, not him, not anyone, not ever.He never stayed too long either, thirty minutes at most. It was enough for me to get info that he let me gain. His name was Matteo Morandi, didn't sound like a name I've heard before, but I was never good with remembering. He owned properties, car stores, and my father had been an acquaintance with his father. He had lent him some money once when his business was going under. Since Matteo's father died, he placed it upon himself to pay my father back. He was a mysterious man, who kept things about himself vague."Why did you save me?" I asked. I didn't know how long it has been since I was here, and I didn't care either. I felt hollow, empty…"You keep asking me a question that I
"What the fuck are you doing, Carlos?!" Matteo's voice boomed. He let go of my hair, causing me to fall to the ground. "She attacked me, and then tried to run!"I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering, panicking, trying to push away the horrors."I told you not to hurt her!" Matteo yelled, his tone icy. "Why the fuck would you grab her like some doll?!""My head feels like shit, and I'm the one bleeding!" He protested.He hurried to my side, and I immediately flinched at his touch. "It's okay." He soothed, his voice a total contrast of what it was a second ago. "I'm not going to hurt you, Gabriella."I whimpered, tightening my arm around myself. I curled up into a ball, my hands clutching at my head, as if I could physically hold back the painful memories that were flooding my mind.Suddenly a warm weight settled around my shoulders. Matteo's suit jacket, I realized, as the scent of the cologne enveloped me. His hands closed around my wrists, gentle but firm, and he pulled me into
Matteo's povWhat the fuck was I doing? Saving the daughter of Gabriel Russo, faking her death, and then taking her with me to my home in Los Angeles. All of these are like ingredients to a disaster that was going to blow up in my face in the future. I looked over at her, and saw she was already sound asleep. Her brows were furrowed together as if she was having a bad nightmare. I'm not surprised, because things like what happened to her, stays in your mind forever. There was no fixing it. My eyes trailed to the burn scars on her neck, and I felt the ripple of rage run through me. The time spent with Gabriella, made me realize she wasn't a bad person, she was the direct opposite of Gabriel, but yet she still had to suffer for his sins. "Great." I muttered as I looked away. "You had one mission, Matteo, but instead you had to save the girl."I leaned back in my seat, and sighed. I was already too deep in this to turn back now. Gabriella stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She looked
Gabriella's povI was safe. I was safe. I was safe. It was what I tried to tell myself even though I was so unhappy. It's been fourteen days since I've arrived in Los Angeles, and it felt like eternity since I felt I had any form of control over my life. It felt just like the hospital, but worse. Since I wasn't familiar with my surroundings, I couldn't move around as I pleased. I had a monotonous routine : wake up, eat, get ushered to the garden by the maid, Gretta, eat again, then sleep. I felt locked up.Matteo on the other hand was like a ghost. It was almost like I had made him up these past few months, and now my reality was struggling to keep up with my fantasy.I hardly slept, because my nightmares kept me up. The darkness was oppressive, like a physical weight that pressed down on me at all times. But what difference did it make? Day or Night, it was all the same to me. This left me filled with so much panic and anxiety, that I began to create scenarios in my head. I thought
Gabriella's povI was safe. I was safe. I was safe. It was what I tried to tell myself even though I was so unhappy. It's been fourteen days since I've arrived in Los Angeles, and it felt like eternity since I felt I had any form of control over my life. It felt just like the hospital, but worse. Since I wasn't familiar with my surroundings, I couldn't move around as I pleased. I had a monotonous routine : wake up, eat, get ushered to the garden by the maid, Gretta, eat again, then sleep. I felt locked up.Matteo on the other hand was like a ghost. It was almost like I had made him up these past few months, and now my reality was struggling to keep up with my fantasy.I hardly slept, because my nightmares kept me up. The darkness was oppressive, like a physical weight that pressed down on me at all times. But what difference did it make? Day or Night, it was all the same to me. This left me filled with so much panic and anxiety, that I began to create scenarios in my head. I thought
Matteo's povWhat the fuck was I doing? Saving the daughter of Gabriel Russo, faking her death, and then taking her with me to my home in Los Angeles. All of these are like ingredients to a disaster that was going to blow up in my face in the future. I looked over at her, and saw she was already sound asleep. Her brows were furrowed together as if she was having a bad nightmare. I'm not surprised, because things like what happened to her, stays in your mind forever. There was no fixing it. My eyes trailed to the burn scars on her neck, and I felt the ripple of rage run through me. The time spent with Gabriella, made me realize she wasn't a bad person, she was the direct opposite of Gabriel, but yet she still had to suffer for his sins. "Great." I muttered as I looked away. "You had one mission, Matteo, but instead you had to save the girl."I leaned back in my seat, and sighed. I was already too deep in this to turn back now. Gabriella stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She looked
"What the fuck are you doing, Carlos?!" Matteo's voice boomed. He let go of my hair, causing me to fall to the ground. "She attacked me, and then tried to run!"I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering, panicking, trying to push away the horrors."I told you not to hurt her!" Matteo yelled, his tone icy. "Why the fuck would you grab her like some doll?!""My head feels like shit, and I'm the one bleeding!" He protested.He hurried to my side, and I immediately flinched at his touch. "It's okay." He soothed, his voice a total contrast of what it was a second ago. "I'm not going to hurt you, Gabriella."I whimpered, tightening my arm around myself. I curled up into a ball, my hands clutching at my head, as if I could physically hold back the painful memories that were flooding my mind.Suddenly a warm weight settled around my shoulders. Matteo's suit jacket, I realized, as the scent of the cologne enveloped me. His hands closed around my wrists, gentle but firm, and he pulled me into
He came again. More times than I could count, and everytime he did, he always brought some kind of token. Flowers, junk food the hospital would never allow. It was almost like he was baiting me, trying to get me to lower my guard, trying to get me to trust him. But I couldn't, not him, not anyone, not ever.He never stayed too long either, thirty minutes at most. It was enough for me to get info that he let me gain. His name was Matteo Morandi, didn't sound like a name I've heard before, but I was never good with remembering. He owned properties, car stores, and my father had been an acquaintance with his father. He had lent him some money once when his business was going under. Since Matteo's father died, he placed it upon himself to pay my father back. He was a mysterious man, who kept things about himself vague."Why did you save me?" I asked. I didn't know how long it has been since I was here, and I didn't care either. I felt hollow, empty…"You keep asking me a question that I
I was burning. My entire body felt like it was on fire. I couldn't stop the screams. They were my screams, but I couldn't stop them. "Your entire legacy is gone!" The masked man screamed before pulling the trigger, killing both my parents. "No!" I jolted awake, my body screaming in so much pain. My stomach throbbed with a dull ache, like a burn that was eating me up from the inside. My body was too weak to move, and I glanced around the room, but something was off. Why was everywhere so dark? Trying to steady my breathing, I touched my face to be sure I was awake. I was sure I was, and I was sure my eyes were open, so why couldn't I see anything? "Hello?!" I called out, reaching forward to try to grab anything, but all I could feel were the sheets beneath me. "Is someone here?!"I heard the sound of a door opening, and a woman's soothing voice cut through the air. "You're okay." She said, her hand grasping mine.I turned my head towards the voice, desperate to see who was speaki
A man dressed in all black, with a thick long coat, and a black mask, walked into the living room. "This was almost too easy." He continued, standing in front of my father. "I mean I guess I can call it easy when I've been planning it for 12 years." "You fucking bastard! How dare you come to my home, guns blazing?!" My father rasped, trying to hold on a face of bravery, but his face was so pale, he looked like he'd fall unconscious any second. "Always such an aggressive animal." The man replied. "You'd think that a man like you would be lonely and miserable, maybe that way I'd understand why it was so easy to be the unforgiving cold devil that you are."My father grinned. "So that's what this is? Now this is exactly why I never leave any survivors. Bastards like you always have a way of coming back to bite me in the ass."The man didn't hesitate to punch my father in the face, sending him falling to the ground in fits of bloddy coughs. He stretched out his hands to one of the men w
How the hell did a gun get to my room?!I pushed my hair back, my eyes never leaving my mother as she cocked the gun. My own mother, who liked to sit in the garden on sunny days, who loved to wear sunflower straw hats, was handling a pistol like it was nothing. "What is that doing in my room? How did that get there? How are you doing this?!" "Don't be silly Gabriella, everywhere in this house is armed incase of something like this." She pulled out another gun, and handed it to me. "You know who your father is. Everyone wants him dead everyday, and if you weren't away so much, you wouldn't be so startled."I scoffed, stunned at the woman standing in front of me. Her mannerism and sweetness had suddenly vanished, replaced with a cold calculative persona. I didn't even notice when she moved closer to me and placed another gun in my hand.I flinched at the feeling of the cold metal on my skin. "I don't…"I got cut off by the sound of more gunshots and loud thuds. I tried to push my mind
It was winter break. I could still remember the first drop of snow had settled down on my window pane as I sat and watched. Snow didn't fall much here in Miami, and when it did, it was never for long. Christmas was more beautiful in New York, more lively. I should have stayed back with Jasmine instead of coming here. But what choice did I have, especially after my mother had cried her eyes out over the phone the night before I got here. She was always so good with emotional blackmail."Oh come on, you can't tell me that you're upset about being in your big ass mansion, with a whole bunch of food,and a complete family to spend your Christmas with?" Jasmine said over the phone, I had face timed her the moment I unpacked all my stuff."Don't get me wrong, I'm not being ungrateful, I'm just saying I would rather spend Christmas with you. I hate the fact you're all alone in the apartment on Christmas day." Jasmine was supposed to head home to meet her family in Scotland, but then there wa