Indebted To Marco (Slow Updates)

The First "Date"?

Gulping nervously against the dry lump forming in my throat, I ran my shaking hands over the far to revealing shimmering, deep red sparkling dress that Brianna had talked me into, well it wasn't much of a fight with my defiance fueling my rage as we shopped, but now standing in front of my floor length mirror my anger has faded and I was definitely questioning my sanity or lack thereof for agreeing to this form fitting dress that I had to practically pour myself into.

KNOCK KNOCK

Two rapid knocks to my door caught me off guard, earning a squeak of surprise and slight jolt from my tense, over-wrought frame. Pressing the palm of my hand over my flip-flopping stomach and laying the other over my erratically beating heart I took several deeps breaths, attempting to calm myself. I was already getting way over worked just thinking about attending this damn event.

"Yah..." I called out, once I had my emotions back under some kind of control.

"Ell?" Richie's voice beckoned. "It's six ten... we got to get going... we still have to swing by and pick up Severiano." He added his voiced laced with the need for urgency.

"Right... okay." I muttered back, feeling a whole new wave of anxiety blooming in my chest. "I'll... uh... I'll be down in just a second." Whimpering at the realization that this whole fucked up situation was actually going to happen, that this was real, that I could no longer deny or ignore what I had got myself into.

"Alright." He huffed impatiently, pulling himself away from my room, his footsteps trailing back downstairs.

Running my hand down my neck toward the plunging neckline of this dress, I leaned my head back, closed my eyes and prayed for the strength to get through this first event without having a panic attack or outburst of hysteria.

It was finally sinking in, I was really indebted to a mobster and not just any mobster, no it had to be the insanely gorgeous Marco Greco and I still couldn't believe I agreed to go out with him like a paid prostituta. Dio mio, how the hell did I let this happen? What the fuck was I thinking? Nonna Galiana was probably rolling over in her grave right now, cursing me up one side and down the other for allowing myself to be wrangled into this mess with known gangsters. (Prostitute, Oh my god, Grandma)

She had always shown her respect to Uncle Carmine and the familia, but she was never compliant with the seedy way that their business was conducted and would make her feelings well known to Papi and Uncle Carmine about keeping us kids out of anything that had to do with it. She would be so disappointed in me for falling prey to them, after she had tried so hard to shield us of from it all. (Family)

Thinking back now, I wonder if she knew just how involved my Papi was with the familia, if that's were her concern came from. I've been pondering that and other questions a lot since I found out about his debt, running them over and over in my head, desperate to know just how deep my father was with the entire Greco family's business. (Family)

Up until a few days ago I never would have thought it went beyond Papi and Zio Carmine being childhood friends, I mean yeah, they're best friends so I should have seen this coming and now I couldn't help but to question everything about their and our family's relationship with theirs. (Uncle)

Hell, I was questioning everything I knew about my Papi. Deep down I knew he was on some level involved with Zio Carmine's business, but not to the extent of $3.6 million dollars' worth of debt. What else had I been blind too? What else was our Papa hiding from us? Who is he really? (Uncle)

I guess everyone really does have secrets and I'm not naïve to the dealings of the Greco's going on around me or am I innocent here either, but I wasn't putting our family in direct danger by taking out loans from cold, calculating criminals and not paying them back.