A Light in The Dark

Chapter Six

When we got to the stairs, we stopped. Scott sighed, motioning downwards.

"Me first? You first?" He asked Richie.

Richie suddenly seemed to get defensive. "You got something you want to say to me?"

Scot tilted his head forward in confusion.

"I'm not gonna ask you twice."

"I don't have anything to say to you," Scott replied as calmly as he could.

"C'mon Rich, just drop it." I sighed. I really wasn't in the mood for anymore arguing, or what could become death.

Richie looked at me with surprise before it turned into a glare, the meaning obvious. He wanted me to stay silent. And so I did, for the time being.

"You got nothin' to say, huh?" He returned his pointed gaze to Scott. "That's funny, I could've sworn you gave me an 'F-you' look. You wanna say 'F-you,' Scott?"

Scott shrugged, shaking his head slightly, "No."

Richie hummed in response, obviously not believing him. "My mistake. Maybe it wasn't an 'F-you' look. Maybe it was an 'I'm gonna make a move' look."

I rolled my eyes, completely over the entire situation. The entire conversation was pointless. Richie had the idea that everyone was out to get him drilled so far into his brain, that he could barely think straight. And honestly, it was going to get him killed.

"Is that right?" He continued. "You ready to make a move, Scott?"

Scott didn't respond, seemingly confused by the Gecko's words.

"That was a question, not a statement. And I want an answer."

It was then that I decided to cut in. "I've got an answer for you, Richard. He's not gonna make a move. Even if he wanted to, he's smart enough to know that you're the one with the gun. And even if he could get if from you, what then? He didn't grow up like we did. I doubt he even knows how to handle one." I took a deep breath, stopping myself from continuing my rant.

"Now," I stated calmly, "Can we please get going before Seth is on our asses for being delayed?"

I started down the stairs, not bothering to check if they were following me.

We made our way, quietly, to the RV, without any more problems.

Richie's paranoia was on overdrive. He was gonna lose it. Or maybe it wasn't him. Maybe it was me. I had always been told I trusted too easily. As the daughter of a mob boss, I was expected to only trust myself and never show emotion, which was probably why my father had always told me I was weak.

Once inside the RV, Scott and I set down the bags, whilst Richie made his way to the driver's seat where Jacob was waiting for us.

"Start her up." Richie pressed the muzzle of his gun into the older man's shoulder.

I didn't particularly care to hear Richie make threats. Knowing as much as I'd learned in the past day, he was more bite than he was bark, whereas his mostly level-headed brother was the opposite.

Instead of making myself useful, in some way, I chose to curl into a ball in the corner of the couch. The exhaustion and blood loss was finally taking its toll on my body as I closed my eyes.

"Angie? You okay?" A hand was placed on my shoulder, and from the gentleness of the voice, I could only assume it was Scott.

"Just resting my eyes," I muttered, half heartedly. I was already half asleep, but maybe that was a good thing. The RV started moving just as I let the darkness consume me.

***

The sound of vague speaking interrupted my dreamless sleep. I did my best to ignore it so that I could go back to sleep.

"What's wrong with her?" Came the gruff voice that could only belong to Seth Gecko.

I let out a grunt of annoyance before speaking, my eyes remaining shut. "I'm exhausted, Seth, now let me sleep before I decide to commit homicide."

"That's cute, Princess, real cute, but, uh, I'd watch your mouth, if I were you."

I opened my eyes, immediately finding his. "Yesterday, I watched my mother get killed, then I got shot, on top of that, I saw a woman with a significant lack of eyes." I held his gaze, finally dropping my composure. "I'm exhausted, okay?" A small, bitter laugh escaped me. "You and I both know I wasn't cut out for this, but, not unlike this family, I had no other choice."

The man whose face remained impassive, gave me a small nod, squeezing my shoulder gently. "When we reach the border, you're free. You can go home," he said, quiet enough that the other couldn't hear him.

"I'll never be free, Gecko, my father's a mob boss," I joked, ignoring the truth behind my words. "Plus, you and your brother will get yourselves killed the second I leave."

He cracked a small smile before returning to the passenger seat to speak to Jacob. "You got a first-aid kit in this beast?"

I hadn't realized until then that Seth was hurt. He rubbed at his shoulder, obviously experiencing more than a little discomfort.

When Jacob didn't respond, I spoke up, preventing the Gecko from making more threats.

"Um, actually, Mr. Fuller," I said and made my way to the driver's seat, clutching my hip. "I kinda need it too."

He looked away from the road for a second, to see me grimace as the sharp pain in my side. "In the cabinet." Came his response as he pointed to the first cabinet above Seth's head.

"Thank you." I didn't actually need the kit, considering I had bandages and ibuprofen in my bag, but Seth did, and I wasn't up to listening to his "I'm the Alpha in this pack" speech.

As Seth rummaged through the cabinet, mocking Jacob for being a pastor, I walked down the aisle of the RV. Silently, I sat down beside Kate. "Hey," I whispered, giving her a gentle smile.

She looked up at me, not bothering to return the gesture. "Why are you with them?" I couldn't tell if she was disgusted or afraid, but it was a legitimate question.

"Kate!" Scott tried to hush his sister, surprised by her abrupt behavior.

"It's okay," I assured him. They didn't have a right to know, and I wasn't obligated to tell them anything. But they were teenagers, just as I was only a short while ago. So I told them everything, from me being born into the mafia to my mother getting shot in the liquor store. And they listened, one without judgment, the other in absolute fascination.

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Okay, so to start off, this took me way too long to write, I know. I was having a lot of writer's block on top of my schoolwork. Sorry it's so late, and hopefully the next chapter will be up soon.

Published 2/13/21

(Unedited)