You're at the skate park down the street with Avani watching her boyfriend Anthony skate with his friends. It's not your favorite thing to do, but Avani is your only real friend which makes her long-term boyfriend... well your only other friend.
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Avani looked over at Bryce: "Did he really need to come? We are literally a block away from the house."
You: "Don't even get me started. You remember what happened last time I tried to sneak out without him just to come over to your house across the street. I thought my dad's men were going to swat-team the place."
Avani: *laughing* "They probably would have if my dad hadn't drug you out."
Bryce: *walking over to hand you you're backpack* "Hey, that boyfriend of yours has texted you a few times. Thought you might want this."
You: *softening* "Thanks, Bryce."
Truth was, Bryce was probably the person you were closest too. Even though he was several years older than you and literally on your Dad's payroll, he still went out of his way to make sure he let you have as normal of a life as possible. He'd been your personal bodyguard for 4 years now and he even doubled as someone to talk to on your long drives home from dates with Chase.
Anthony: *walking up, skateboard in hand* "I still don't think I'll ever get used to muscles over there. Why don't you have a bouncer, Vani? Don't your dads do the same thing?"
Avani: "Her dad is the boss. Mine just works for him."
Anthony: "Yeah, that's not mysterious at all."
Avani had never told Anthony what exactly her dad does for a living which was odd to you because they'd been together for years. You hadn't exactly told Chase either, but you'd only been together for 8 months. The only one in your life, besides your family and Bryce, who knew what your dad really did for a living was Avani and that's only because her dad worked for him.
Your dad might have seemed like a regular, over-protective dad to most, but you knew that he was the head of the most powerful mob family on the entire east coast. Avani's dad made sure to never involve himself in the violent side of the business, but he'd been your dad's financial advisor and the guy who helped clean all the money longer than you or Avani had even been alive.
When you two were born within a few weeks of each other, it was like you'd been born into an instant friendship. Dixie had lots of friends, but she also had a lot more freedom. Your mom always said that's because she followed the rules without question and you treated the rules more like suggestions. It was a fair point because that's exactly what you were doing with Chase. Going against the rule of dating boys your dad approved of. You still felt bad for keeping the truth from him, but if Avani could do it for years...
You and Avani were laughing as Anthony almost fell doing a trick but grabbed the board at the last second and tried to play it off. You noticed a dark-haired boy sitting across the park at a bench, holding a skateboard staring at you.
