Sofia's Secret Mafia Brothers

8. Houston, we have a problem

She was out of breath when she reached him.

"How do I know if I can trust you?" Sofia asked looking at him with her big brown eyes. He looked back at her with his grey, amused ones and said:

"Lesson one newbie: you can't trust me. You can't trust anyone. At the end of the day, you should trust only yourself. But currently, you have a choice between the bench and a smelly but comfortable mattress. On top of that, it's safer and easier to get food when you're with other people"

He's got the point. So Sofia followed him quietly. She was looking around all the time in a nervous manner. She was stressed about where he's taking her but also worried that someone will recognize her and call the police.

The place Anastasio brought her to was considerably better than the bench in the park.

It was an abandoned tenement building curenelty occupied by the squatters. Anastasio introduced her to several other kids. Iacopo, Antonio, Gianna, and Veronica. They all shared one thing: they had no place to sleep tonight and probably the night after that.

Probably because it will turn out to be false in Sofia's case.

She look at the place and every kid seemed to have their small square spot where they would keep their things and sleep.

"Come with me Sofia, we need to talk"

We ended up in another empty room this one had two white plastic chairs covered with dust.

"Make yourself at home"

Was that supposed to be something resembling an office? The room looked like shit but the fact that he took her here only convinced her that Anastasio was the informal leader of this establishment.

"Talk about what?" Sofia asked with distrust in her voice.

"About the conditions, you need to fulfill in order to stay here"

"This five-star hotel has a policy?" Sofia said ironically and Anastasio snorted.

"You'd be surprised" he responded with sparks of amusement dancing in his pretty grey eyes.

"What sort of conditions are we talking about?"

"As long as you're here you listen to me. If I ask you a question you answer me truthfully. I value honesty above anything else. Also, you're not allowed to bring anyone here without previously discussing it with me. I am the one who's calling the shots here and I'm responsible for everyone's safety so if you ever lie to me or ignore my order you're out faster than you can blink"

"That's it? Should I call you Your Highness as well?"

He rolled his eyes at Sofia's sarcasm.

"This place is a safe space for people who currently don't have a home but it is by no means legal for us to stay here. If we don't keep rules we might as well give away our location to the cops right now. Those rules exist to keep this place secure. Everyone has to follow them"

"Okay, fine. Anything else?"

"You're kidding? I just started. How old are you? Remember we don't like liars here"

"17 since January 1st if I have to be specific"

"Now look at that, we're the same age" he smiled "Why are you homeless?"

Okay, that was blunt.

"What?"

"Do you have any family? Is someone looking for you? I know it's uncomfortable to speak about but I promise it stays between us. I just need to determine if it's safe to allow you to stay here"