*Saoirse's POV*
Our abrupt departure from Chicago flew by as a whirlwind nightmare. I didn't know when I would see my parents again or when we would be allowed to return. We couldn't bring our phones or any personal belongings, couldn't even call to tell our parents goodbye and that we loved them.
I had insisted on Claire sitting in the back with me as I propped my sore ankle up on the center console in front of me while Kathy drove us to an undisclosed location. Even though we had asked her to elaborate now that we were in the car, she remained silent and focused on her task.
Claire had silently cried herself to sleep, our arms wrapped around each other in a protective embrace. I was worried and already missing my own parents, but I could only imagine how terrifying this was for her. Her family was vile, and I knew that her disappearing from their family business where she worked her ass off would anger them. They also wouldn't have their Cinderella to clean up after them for however long we would be gone. Tara would be pissed that Claire was on this "vacation" instead of her. If there was one thing I hated more than anything else it was conniving two-faced women who tore other women down.
That was Tara in a nutshell. She thought she was all that and a bag of chips, and it showed in her behaviors and mannerisms. Her ugliness only shone brighter around Claire when she tried to distinguish herself as better than her sister. I couldn't stand her when we were kids, and I only grew to detest her more now as adults.
We went to school together, and although we were constantly in the same classes, there was never a moment when we got along. As a matter of fact, I had beaten the shit out of her in sixth grade after she told me only ugly unwanted kids had red hair. I got suspended, but she got off the hook just because I broke her pig nose. My suspension hadn't mattered to me, though I received a hell of a lecture from my parents after that incident.
Come to think of it, that was the first time I met Sean. I had been dragged into the principal's office and forced to sit on a wooden bench to wait for my parents to show up. I still had streaks of Tara's blood on my face and hands, but I didn't care. My head was held high, and I refused to let anyone bring me down. I was proud of myself and no matter what any adult said to me nothing would change that. Sean was two years older than me and walked into the principal's office escorted by a hall aid. After she dropped him off, he took one look at me and instead of sitting as far away from me as possible, he chose to sit down next to me.
"Is that your blood?" he had asked, his voice cracking as preteen boys' voices did. He had pretty green eyes and blonde hair, and my little heart had been excited to have a cute boy interested in me even for a moment.
"Nope. I beat up Tara because she said my red hair was ugly," I explained to him, as if he could possibly know who I was talking about. I smiled at him with pride as he stared at me.
Sean had tilted his head at me and leaned in to get a better look. "She was wrong," he said after a minute. "Your hair is really pretty. Want to be my girlfriend?"
"What?!" I had shrieked, my head whipping to look at the insane person next to me. Just because I thought he was cute didn't mean I was ready to date anyone. "I don't even know who the hell you are."
He pretended to be offended. "I'm Sean Donnelly. Your parents probably work for my family, right?"
I shrugged my shoulders, not quite sure if that was true or not. The name Donnelly did sound familiar, but I didn't remember where from. "Dunno, but I'm still not dating you."
"Why?" he asked, this time actually offended.
"Stranger danger, dude. Plus, I'm not interested in dating anyone right now, especially someone who looks way older than me."
"It's not like I can be that much older than you, since we're both in middle school together, dummy," he said crossing his arms and leaning against the backrest of the wooden bench.
"What'd you just call me?" I asked him, my head cocking to the side. I had come close to murdering a girl that day, and I wasn't about to let some boy get away with offending me either. I channeled my inner Harley Quinn as I stared at the idiot sitting on the bench next to me who apparently had a death wish.
He leaned in closer and squinted at me. "Are you deaf now? I called you a dummy. Man, that girl was wrong about you being ugly, but you sure are stupid."
Before I could think things through, I had jumped up from my seat and yanked him forward by his shirt, slamming my fist into his face. The sudden attack caught him off guard and allowed me to tackle him to the ground. When his mother and my mother walked into the principal's office together, they were shocked to find me on top of him throwing my fists directly into his face, his own hands doing little to stop my blows.
Our mothers had pulled us apart by the time the principal came out of his office. After telling them that he had called me stupid, our mothers agreed to let the incident go and neither of us got in trouble for that confrontation. Though, we did both end up suspended for two days for the original incidents that landed us in the principal's office in the first place.
"Kathy?" I asked quietly, trying my best not to wake Claire up. We had been driving for almost three hours and had crossed into Wisconsin a while ago. There seemed to be no end in sight as we continued north.
"Yes, dear?" she responded as she glanced at me over her shoulder.
I bit my lip and silently gulped. A part of me was nervous to ask her the question that had been plaguing me for the past four months. "Why did you choose me for Sean?"
"What do you mean? You're the perfect match for him," she stated as if it were the most obvious thing on earth.
"How are we matchable though? I mean, he has been so staunch against our engagement, and I really don't think that his mind is ever going to change. If anything, it seems like our personalities clash too much to be a good match."
She shook her head. "Your personality is exactly why you're perfect for him, Saoirse. You don't take any of his shit and will make sure he stays in line. Somewhere I went wrong with him, and he has such an overinflated ego that he needs someone who will bring him back down to earth."
I paused as I thought about her explanation. "Do you remember the first time he and I met? I mean, not recently but when we were kids."
Kathy laughed lightly and nodded her head, "Aye, that's why I kept my eye on you over the years. You were the only child in that school who didn't care about where he came from or who he was. No, you didn't take his crap and put him back into place. Sean needs a woman who won't cower to his tantrums or bend to his every will."
"That one incident was why you chose me?" I asked, the surprise hard to keep from my tone of voice. It seemed like such an insane notion to base your child's future marriage on one childhood fight.
"Oh, heavens no. I chose you because over the years every fight you got in was to stand up for yourself or someone weaker than you. You care about our mafia family and will be a good first lady. Fighting for the women in our line of work and the families of the people we employ is a large part of what you'll need to do. Not all families work as ours does, and Patrick and I have worked tirelessly to root out the discrimination among the ranks as best we can. You will be a good fit to take over my work when I am gone and will ensure that our legacy continues."
I glanced down at my swollen and sore ankle. I sighed as I dropped my voice lower. "What if Sean and I never learn to click right? It seems that no matter what we try, things still just don't line up."
"Every relationship takes time to develop, dear," she replied. "It's a bit more difficult for you, because Sean's ego led him to believe that he'd never be forced to settle down. It's not really you that he's upset about but the fact that we haven't allowed him to run rampant and wild and are forcing him to settle down into the life we need him to live for our family to continue being successful."
I thought back to the night two weeks ago when Sean stormed into my home and searched for an imaginary other man around my room. He had been so quick to demand that I was his and his alone, but then he treated me as if he didn't want me. I sighed and looked out the window. "I guess the date last night did seem like he was finally starting to try. And then this happened," I said gesturing to my sprained ankle.
"Mickey and Darren told us about that. I'm sorry it ended so poorly, dear. Jackson told us about Claire and Ryan's date too. I know it doesn't seem like it, but the boys are trying. I know it's a lot to ask from you and Claire, but please just give them a little more time to figure out how to properly behave."
"I mean, do we really have any other option?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
Kathy chuckled to herself and shook her head. "No, I suppose not."
To my surprise, Kathy turned off the highway down a small gravel road through a barren forest. The safehouse came into view after ten minutes, confusing me even more. The two-story white farmhouse had a wide covered front porch, and a white pick-up truck was parked outside the front door. Smoke coming from the chimney indicated that someone was already there waiting for us.
"Saoirse," Kathy turned to me after turning the engine off. "This is very serious. You know how to get here now and know where our most important safehouse is located. If something goes wrong with your engagement to Sean, then this is going to be a very serious issue for our family."
I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to maintain a calm voice. "I understand, Kathy. It's not like there's anyway for our engagement to fall through anyways, but even if something did happen, I would never betray the family."
"Good," she said nodding her head. "Go ahead and wake Claire up, and I'll have Justin come get our bags."
"Justin?" I asked as I looked around us.
Kathy smiled and nodded her head. "Aye, this is his and Maria's home."