Painfully Sweet

Chapter 2

"Dad!" I yelled as I slammed open the front door of my parent's house.

"Yer, pops where you at?" Sincere yelled as he and Adrian carried the guy into the house.

"Why the hell are y'all yelling in my house?" My mom said storming in from the kitchen. She was wearing an apron with a t-shirt and jeans underneath. My mom was 49 but didn't look a day over 35 with her soft dark brown skin and long thick hair. I resembled her more than my brothers which I always liked. We all looked at her apron quizzically.

"Mom, why the hell you got on an apron?" Adrian asked.

"You can't even make ice," Sincere cosigned with a snicker.

"Watch your mouth before I beat your ass," she said to them, "and I'm wearing this because we have guests who don't know I can't cook."

I erupted in laughter as my mom pointed at us with a wooden spoon. "I would love to hear the rest of this, but we really need to talk to dad," I said as I pointed to the unconscious man the boys were carrying.

"How many times have I told y'all to stop bringing dead bodies to my house?" My mom scolded.

"He's not dead, ma," Sincere said, "well, he shouldn't be."

My mom rolled her eyes and pointed to the dining room. We all mumbled thanks before making our way to the back of the house.

I turned the corner and saw my dad sitting at the dinner table with two strange men whose faces I couldn't see. They were chuckling about something I had no interest in.

"Oh, hey swe-" my dad started but was quickly interrupted by my hands hitting the table.

"You wanna hear about my night daddy?" I asked bitterly. "Well first, as I was handling some business, I got shot at. Then, when I finally caught the motherfucker who shot at me, he refused to talk so I had to torture information out of him. Which usually isn't a problem but I had plans tonight. Then, the stupid bastard told me the cartel is after us, which would've been a nice thing to know. Finally, when I'm all ready to leave, some Italian bastard pulls up and says you're working with some mafia motherfucker named Luka. And I come here to see you chumming it up with these two, care to explain?"

"Babygirl, meet Luka Ricca and his father Giovanni," my dad said with a chuckle. I craned my neck to the side and looked at the pair who held amusement in their eyes. I chuckled and took a cigarette out of my pocket.

"I'm glad I amuse you," I said as the cigarette danced between my lips as I lit it. I took a drag of it and smiled.
"Bring him in," I called to Sincere and Adrian. They came around the corner holding the guy who was, to my surprise, still unconscious. Luka and Giovanni shot up out of their seats and looked between me and the guy.

"What did you do?" The younger looking one, who I assumed was Luka, asked with a very thick Italian accent.

"He is one of our best men," Giovanni said in shock.

"He can't be that good to be knocked out by a wittle girl," I mocked.

"Wake him up, now!" Luka commanded.

"I wouldn't if I were you," my dad said from his seat. I chuckled and pulled the cigarette from my mouth.

"As you wish," I said as I reached over and pressed the cigarette against his arm. He started to stir, then his eyes shot open. I pushed the cigarette deeper into his skin and he started to scream.

"Take it off!" Luka commanded. I just shook my head in response.

"He's up, Zo," Adrian said with a chuckle.

"You think so? I don't think so," I said twisting the cigarette.

"I'm up!" The man cried out. I chuckled and pulled the cigarette away from his arm.

"Well, Andre, you were right. She has managed to piss me off within the first five minutes of me knowing her," Luka said to my dad as he ran his hand down his face.

I was about to speak when my mom barged into the dining room with rage in her eyes. My eyes got wide instantly.

"Zo did it!" Adrian said, pointing at me.

"Ooouu you in trouble," Sincere said with wide eyes.

"Zophisa, what have I told you about  getting other people's blood on my floor?" My mom scolded.

"He's not even bleeding," I defended. My mom just rolled her eyes and helped the guy out of the room.

"Now back to you," I said turning to Luka, "don't you ever disrespect me like that again, do you understand me?" There was shock evident in his face, but it soon turned to fury. I bought my cigarette back to my lips as I watched him in amusement.

"Look here little gir-," he stopped talking when I flicked the ashes of my cigarette onto his boots and smirked.

"Watch your mouth," I said. He got even more mad at this.

"You're lucky I don't hit women," he said through clenched teeth.

"No, you're lucky you don't hit women. I'm not the one you want to go rounds with," I said stepping closer to him.

"Alright, that's enough. Back to your corners," my dad spoke up, "we have business to discuss." Luka and I glared at each other as we sat down around the long table.

"Andre and I have been discussing the issue with the cartel," Giovanni said, " and we decided the best way to ensure the unification of the two gangs would be solid is by marriage."

We all nodded in agreement. "So, which one of your daughters are you giving away?" Sincere asked.

"I have no daughters. Just sons and my wife," Giovanni answered. This made my face fall.

"So... what does that mean?" Adrian asked.

"That means they want me to marry Luka," I said as I sat back in my chair.