In the Hands of the Mafia

The Run In

           Sheila had thankfully offered to drive to my old apartment and I had been a mess the entire drive. All three boys had insisted on coming with us and after only a small argument I decided it wasn't worth it to tell them no. All three of them seemed stubborn and it wasn't worth the battle.

          "want me to stay in the car?" Sheila questioned as she parked the car and I nodded my head. It wasn't that I didn't want her to come in. But if Jackson was in there.... and the guys were in there... I couldn't risk that. I couldn't risk what he might say or do. "I get it girl" I was beyond thankful for the friendship Sheila and I had and I nodded my head before sliding out of the car my eyes immediately meeting Ryders.

          "So what are we grabbing princess?" I struggled to understand how he could be so calm until I remembered that he didn't know Jackson, he hardly knew me. He had no reason to be worried or anxious.
"I have several suitcases I need to pack and grab and the mattress from the guest room is mine but I can come back for that." I grimaced. I hadn't thought about the bigger items.
"Princess... I sorta figured you may have some bigger items. One of our friends Theo is on his way with his truck" I wanted to yell at him for giving out my address but I realized it wasn't my address. Not anymore. And the sooner I didn't have to return? The better honestly.
"Thanks Ryder" I smiled as I turned to enter the apartment taking a few deep breaths before opening the door. everything looked the same as when I had left. Expect this time his shoes and shirt weren't by the door and neither were her heels.
My eyes scanned around the apartment and pretty much everything looked the same. My heart ached but I did my best not to let it show. Instead I vanished into the bedroom thankful when I didn't hear Ryders foot steps behind me because I got to let the tears fall feeling for a few seconds. I packed my items as quickly as I could and the guys took turns bringing my suitcases and bags out to Theos truck. We had been packing and loading items for about 45 minutes when I heard yelling outside.
"Shit" I cursed as I heard Jackson yelling out front.
"WHO the FUCK are you?" His voice echoed and I froze. I expected he wouldn't be thrilled if he happened to come home while we were still here but this? I didn't expect this reaction. I don't know how I had managed to shuffle out the door but I stood there staring at Jackson who looked like he hadn't slept since that day. He had bags under his eyes and his beard which he normally kept shaven was now scruffy.
"Jackson..." my voice was barely above a whisper but somehow he managed to hear it as he turned to me his eyes softening.
"Amelia, baby..." he took a few steps closer to me and Ryder stepped into his path. "Baby.. what's going on?" He questioned and I let out a scoff.
"What does it look like Jackson...." I questioned and I saw Nate and Luke share a look out of the corner of my eye. "I'm moving out..."
"But why Amelia?" He stared at me tears in his eyes and honestly at this minute he looked pathetic.
"Jackson I really hope you don't actually mean that because if you do you're not only a douche but an imbecile too. However incase you did somehow manage to forget the fact you're a fucking scum bag let me recap it for you. you fucking proposed to me, only for me to come home a week later from work to find you getting fucked by Nina. You're a fucking prick." I paused realizing that I had just aired my dirty language out to what was apparently my new landlord and neighbor and based on their facial expressions, Ryder hadn't told them.
"Amelia... it was a mistake. I tried to explain it to you but you didn't let me."
"A mistake?" I broke into a cold laughter and Jackson stilled. "Please explain to me how fucking Nina while engaged to me was a fucking mistake. Did you trip and fall? Lose your clothing? Mistake her for me? Not a second of you screwing that skank in our bed was a mistake Jackson. You wanna know what was a mistake? Trusting you, loving you, hell saying yes to your proposal was a fucking mistake." my eyes met Jackson's and I could see him deflate. Ryder glanced over his shoulder at me probably to make sure I was okay before turning to Nate and Luke.
"Grab the bed in the guess room. It's to the left of the kitchen" he ordered and the two nodded quickly before turning back towards me. "Is that everything you need?" I was thankful that he left out the nickname princess and I nodded my head.
"Amelia. When you left you said you'd be back in a few days.." Jackson spoke again and I shrugged .
"I said if I return not that I was." I cut him off and Ryder sent me a reassuring smile.
"You can't honestly expect her to want to STAY with a cheater can you?" Ryder questioned and I saw Jackson's jaw tick.
"Again I ask. WHO the fuck are you?" Jackson questioned and instead of Ryder giving back some sarcastic response he simply took a few steps closer to me.
"Ryder" was all he answered and Jackson lost his shit.
"No wonder you aren't coming back. You've already moved on. With how quickly you put out with me I should have remembered you were a slut." His eyes scanned Ryder giving him a once over and I could sense Ryders body stiffen. Thankfully before Ryder could say anything or worse do anything, Luke and Nate came back out with the bed loading it onto the truck.
"Princess" Ryder whispered barely loud enough for my to hear but my eyes met his. "Go get in your car. Well close up the truck and meet you at your apartment. Okay?" He questioned and I nodded not hesitating to turn and head towards the car not sparing a second glance at Jackson as Sheila peeled away.
"What the HELL did I miss?" I asked Sheila who sat there dumbfounded.
"Um. A lot...." Sheila confessed and my eyes widened. " I need to ask you something and you can't get offended okay...." Sheila spoke and I found myself becoming nervous but nodded my head anyways. "Did you know Ryder before things with Jackson ended?" I heard what she was asking but I also read between the lines she was asking me if I had cheated on Jackson.
"Sheila... If you're asking if I cheated on Jackson the answer is no.. I met Ryder at the restaurant the night Jackson proposed. I tripped and Ryder caught me. It was just by chance that I ran into him at the coffee shop the day I found out Jackson was cheating." Sheila turned to look at me briefly while we were at the red light before sighing.
"I believe you.... It just all seemed so convenient..." Sheila paused sighing. "And then when Jackson arrived.... It was an apartment building... Jackson could have been going to any of them but Ryder immediately jumped out of the truck and got in his way. Telling him to leave you be and you'd be gone in a few minutes. It just... I questioned that's all." I understood how it could have come across but I wasn't surprised that Ryder recognized Jackson. He recognized me after a minute interaction.
"I promise you Sheila... I only met him the once. He was sat near by us so I'm not surprised he recognized Jackson..." Sheila nodded her head but I could tell she had more she wanted to say. I was thankful when the building pulled into sight and Sheila parked the car.
The unpacking went faster than the packing and I was no where near as anxious without having to worry about the potential of Jackson showing up. By the time we finished I was exhausted.
"Princess?" Ryders voice sounded and I realized that I had been starting to fall asleep.
"Shit sorry" I mumbled and he let out a laugh.
"It's okay. We're all gonna head out anyways..." he nodded towards the door and I nodded my head.
           "Thank you... seriously" I sighed as I looked around the apartment, somehow despite not taking the couch one had arrived and I had decided against asking questions.
            "Luke, Nate..." Ryder called and the two guys came strutting over from the kitchen seemingly on high alert. "Let's leave her be for the night" he spoke and the two boys obliged heading for the door before turning to send me a wave.  Not even 5 minutes later my phone lit up with a text.
Good night princess, sweet dreams.