I spend every one of my working days begging for information from Sandy, and sometimes, when Mr. Fankrio comes, I pleading ask him. But none of them crack like I expected them to.
Elijah drives me to work every day and waits patiently while I work in silence, laughing with Sandy from time to time about small and silly things.
Today, however, it is dark outside, and rain clouds are looming in the sky. I have an instinct that today will be bad, and it seems that Elijah does as well, since he is being extra clingy, desperate that I stay by his side.
I don't complain, knowing that I still owe him, after everything that happened in the cafeteria, a week ago.
Xavier, Xander, and Marco are all back at school, which makes it a lot harder to be around Elijah and Theo. Instead of socializing myself, I spend most of my time in the library, away from my bullies, brothers, and boys.
The triple B's.
I can tell that my family is close to figuring out who is hurting me at school, but no matter what, I won't tell them. Many wells said threats in the past have prevented me from telling the secrets. Several of those threats were even lived up to, resulting in the few friends I ever had, to suddenly go missing.
"Per favore, Sandy. Dimmi solo cosa fanno per vivere. Non devono sapere." I beg, following my female coworker through the store, desperate for even a small answer. Please, Sandy. Just tell me what they do for a living. They don't have to know.
"No, em. te l'ho già detto. Apprezzo molto la mia lingua. Non ti dirò niente." Sandy's voice is dismissive, but her words never make sense. She values her tongue? Well so do it, but that was out of context. No, Am. I have already told you. I value my tongue a lot. I will not tell you anything.
I grumble under my breath, before turning to Elijah, who is sitting on the plush sofa, an upside-down magazine in his hand. He has an amused look in his eye. I am sure that he is ears dropping on Sandy and my conversation.
"Eli. Don't leave me hanging, I am sure that you are well aware of what my family does. Please, just tell me." But my request falls on deaf ears.
Elijah smiles widely, giving me a very cheeky expression before it turns dark. His head flies to the side as if he has heard something. Lately, the mall has been very quiet, and all of the shops remind me of 'Diagon Alley' from Harry Potter, during the sixth book. Everything is boarded up, and all nooks seem darker than the last.
Most of the time, when Elijah and I walk into the usually busy plaza, no one is present within, despite most shops being open.
Not only has my working life turned weird, but at home, my brothers and father have turned even more strict, with one of them being by my side at all times, except when I am asleep, but I am certain that they can see my while I am in bed.
Today, my three youngest brothers couldn't come to school. According to my father, they have 'work' issues, and that 'it was nothing I should be worrying about.' But his words only helped to spark my curiosity.
Elijah stands up, abruptly pulling me down, and commanding that I sit down against the wall so that no one from outside the window can see me. I do as he asks, without any complaint, since he has turned serious. And if Eli is serious, then there is a serious problem.
Footsteps can be heard from outside the shop, and there is more than one set. By now, Elijah has crouched down beside me, and Sandy has moved to the front of the store, her eyes cast upon her feet, hands wrapped neatly in front of her.
I expected the footsteps to stop, but they continue for another few paces, before stopping at what would be the sketchy shop, which Elijah and I would often avoid.
Suddenly, one of the people's voices rings out, and I swear that my entire body freezes in fear.
"Esci, esci, ovunque tu sia Tiko. Sapevi che i tuoi soldi erano dovuti un paio d'ore fa. Come cliente abituale, sai anche cosa succede a chi non ci rimborsa in tempo." Xavier's voice is cold and taunting, very different from the brother of mine that is always so fun and kind. Come out, come out, wherever you are Tiko. You knew that your money was due a couple of hours ago. As a regular customer, you also know what happens to those who don't pay us back on time.
"Mi dispiace, signore. Te lo darò entro la prossima settimana. Ho solo bisogno di un po' più di tempo." The sound of a man begging makes my heart ache, and I feel the need to give him all of the pay, I earnt this week, just to stop him from sounding sad. But I can't. I don't. An invisible weight is keeping me down. I am sorry, sir. I will have it to you by next week. I just need a little more time.
"Tsk, tsk. Il tuo tempo è scaduto. Ci vediamo all'inferno, bastardo." Xavier says, before there is a loud bang. Tsk, tsk. Your time is up. See you in hell, bastard.
I force my hand over my mouth, to stop the sob from drawing attention. I am sure that Xavier just killed someone. And he did it like it was a normal occurrence. I am sure that this is what my father mentioned this morning, regarding 'work.' Does that mean, my family, kills people for a living?
I am pulled out of my thoughts by Marco's voice, which sounds in between bored, authoritative, and damn right scary.
"Non sprecare il tempo della mafia. Non prendiamo cazzate dalle vite basse, come voi. Forse, la prossima "persona scomparsa" sarai tu..." Do not waste the mafia's time. We don't take shit from low lives, like yourselves. Maybe, the next 'missing person' will be you...
I look toward Eli, with tears in my eyes. He, of course, looks slightly worried by the threat, but not as terrified as I do. That must mean that he already knew. Once he takes a look at my face, the young man's arms snake around my waist, pulling me close.
Burying my head in his chest, I allow the tears to silently fall down my cheeks. He shushes me softly, in a voice so quiet that I almost miss it.
"That was a long day, boys. Now it is finally time to go home to our sorellina. I am sure that she is tired after a long day of school." Xander's voice says in English, as they make their way out of the mall. Baby sister.
I look from Sandy to Elijah, feeling the bile rise in my throat. Slowly standing up, I sway from side to side, holding onto the wall to regain balance. I make a face as if to say 'what the fuck.' However, both of my companions are sporting pitying eyes, telling me that this is not s prank.
Then, my eyes dart over to the sketchy shop, where I see an older man, who appears to have choked on his own blood. A crimson trail of red flowed from his chest and mouth. A perfect gunshot must have been delivered to his heart.
I would be impressed, except for the fact that 1) He was a living person who died, and not a prop, and 2) my older brother killed him.
Not able to contain myself, I sprint from the shop, rushing over to the nearest garbage bin, spewing everything into it. I hear someone behind me, and suddenly, my hair is pulled back from my face, with a hand running up and down my back.
When I am done, I give Eli, a sheepish 'thank you,' before wiping my mouth with my arm. I turn to the dead man, feeling guilt and sadness eat away at me. I didn't intervene, which technically means that his death was my fault, even if I wasn't the one that pulled the trigger.
When I walk back inside Zara, I face Sandy and Eli. I already know the answer to my question, but I want to hear them say it.
"Perché non me l'hai detto?" Why didn't you tell me?
Sandy decides to answer, but she takes a deep breath, before starting her explanation.
"Lasciate che cominci dall'inizio. Quando sei nato, io avevo quattro anni, e anche allora la tua famiglia era a capo della più grande mafia d'Italia. Tutti sapevano chi eri, ma allo stesso tempo nessuno lo sapeva. Nessuno è stato in grado di assumere il tuo nome e chiunque lo avesse già condiviso è stato costretto a cambiarlo. Hanno affermato al pubblico che gli ricordava te. Come clan mafioso, la maggior parte del loro lavoro è stato tenuto nascosto, tuttavia, man mano che sono diventati più potenti, il loro lavoro non è stato necessario per essere tenuto segreto. Sei anni fa, accadde una giornata terribile. Quella che era l'Italia di rottura. La sua famiglia si è impadronita delle forze di polizia siciliane, togliendo ogni forma di giustizia. Da allora, siamo stati costretti a vivere secondo la loro legge. Ma finché seguiamo le loro regole, non ci facciamo male. Tutti i nostri genitori ci hanno subito insegnato a non fare accordi con la famiglia del diavolo, poiché avrebbero sempre trovato il modo di tornare da noi, in modo negativo. Quando sei tornato in Sicilia, era una legge non detta non parlarti di nulla riguardo al loro lavoro. Tutte le nostre lingue sono state minacciate, così come le nostre vite. Ma tecnicamente, ti hanno detto di non me, l'ho appena spiegato." By the end of her short story, Sandy is out of breath, giving me an empathetic look. Let me start from the beginning. When you were born, I was four years old, and even back then, your family ran the largest mafia in Italy. Everyone knew who you were, but at the same time, no one knew. No one was able to take on your name, and anyone who already shared it was forced to change it. They claimed to the public, that it reminded them of you. As a mafia clan, most of their work was kept quiet, however, as they grew more powerful, their work wasn't needed to be kept a secret. Six years ago, a dreadful day occurred. One that was rupture Italy. Your family took over the Sicilian police force, pulling away all forms of justice. Since then, we have just been forced to live under their law. But as long as we follow their rules, we don't get hurt. All of our parents quickly taught us to not make deals with the devil family, since they would always find a way of coming back to us, in a bad way. When you arrived back in Sicily, it was an unspoken law to not talk to you about anything regarding their jobs. All of our tounges have been threatened, as well as our lives. But technically, they told you not me, I just explained it.
I don't know what to say. My mouth hangs open, as I realise just how dangerous my family is. They also sound quite psychotic. My mother took custody of me, because my father didn't. They shouldn't ruin and end lives, due to their weird obsession with me. If you can even call it that.
Taking a shaky breath, I look over my shoulder being reminded of the man who was slaughtered by my own brother's hands. I weigh up the decisions in my head, not knowing whether or not, I should involve her. Who knows, maybe the crazy people, I share a bloodline with, will kill her as well.
"Elijah can I please use your phone."
A/N: Hey guys!!! Thank you so much for reading and for 5.4k reads. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter. If you did, please remember to vote, comment and keep reading. I love you all so much, and hope that you all read when I upload again tomorrow night. Byeeeee <<<3