💋
"Here", Julien says as he placed a pitcher of water on top of the table.
The four of us were sitting at the living room of the apartment, thinking of what to do next since bad things have finally started. Julien wasn't the only one involved here now. I was also involved now because the Dark Saints killed my people, and I will not sit around and wait for them to kill more of my people.
"By the way, this is Matthew Luca", I say as I looked at Julien and gestured my hand at Mat.
Mat quickly stands up and politely gives a bow, "Mat Luca, at your service."
"Nice to meet you", Julien says as he sat down beside me.
"He works at the black market", I added.
Julien nods his head in understanding and says, "So he's a marketer."
Of course he knows that too.
"Yes I am, and the best one at it. I know everyone in the black market. So everything you need, I can give it to you. Well, of course if you have the money", Mat says with a grin, and then he sits back down beside Johnson.
"So, what do we do now?" Johnson asked.
"Before we do anything, I have to say something to Julien first", I say as I looked at Julien seriously.
Julien didn't even look nervous. He stared at me for a couple of seconds, like he was reading me, then suddenly he says, "You know about me being the next head of the Dark Saints don't you?"
Everyone in the room became shocked, including me.
"Wait a second, you're not just a member? You're a fucking heir?!" Johnson asked, his expression obviously in shock with the sudden news.
"I am", Julien simply answered. Then he pointed at the tattoo on his face and added, "This is the symbol. Only the heads and heirs can have this symbol on their face."
"So we're really dealing with real shit here", Mat says, also in disbelief even though I already explained to him everything earlier.
"So your brother is here to..."
I looked at Julien but didn't dare finish. But he nods his head and finished for me anyway, "kill me. He's here to kill me so he could reclaim it."
"Are you an original blood?" Johnson asked.
(If you don't know what original blood is until now well it's basically the son of the head of the family and the legal wife.)
"I am, my big brother is only my half brother", Julien answered.
"No wonder he's so desperate to kill you", Mat added.
"But why were you put here anyways? Shouldn't you be at your household since you're the heir?" Johnson asked, and that was a question that I was also dying to know.
Julien takes a deep breath. When he looked like he was hesitant, I quickly grabbed his hand and squeezed it, "If you don't want to tell us, then it's okay. You don't have to push yourself."
Julien takes another deep breath, but then he looks at the three of us and started with his explanation, "I was supposed to be killed by my own father's hands because the elders demanded me to be killed. But, when my father was about to shoot me, he suddenly stopped midway. He said he couldn't kill his only heir. So, he sold me instead without the elders knowing about it."
"He sold you...to Club Luxuria", I said, finally understanding it.
"He did, and since then I wished that he could have just killed me instead. Because in that club...I was being killed every night", Julien says, his eyes now teary.
I squeezed his hand harder and don't say anything anymore.
I wanted to know why his father was supposed to kill him in the first place, but I didn't want to push him too much.
Now the whole room became quiet. No one wanted to say a word, and it was obvious that every one of us were exhausted after everything that happened today.
I lowered my head and suddenly saw the V tattoo on Johnson and Mat's middle finger.
I took a deep breath and decided that this was the perfect moment for me to finally tell Julien my side of the story.
"Julien, I want you to listen to me carefully okay?" I stated.
Julien, and even Mat and Johnson, quickly looked at me, curious on what I was about to say.
"Julien", I said as I let go of his hand so I could properly look at him.
I took a deep breath and immediately continued, "The reason why I'm like this, is because my family is..."
"Stop", Julien suddenly says, confusing me.
This time, it was Julien's turn to grab my hand; "You don't have to say it now. You've gone through so much today. What this might be...it can wait."
I looked at him confusingly, but I nodded my head anyway.
"He's right, we have to think of a plan first before we start talking about other irrelevant things. The Dark Saints are after Julien, and since he's with us, we're also in danger too", Johnson stated.
Then Mat looks at me and asked, "So boss, what's your plan?"
I looked around the apartment and answered, "We're not safe here. Maybe for a few days but they'll eventually find us. The safest place we could go to now is to head over to the Russo household. Once we get there, I might be able to ask Doña Victoria for some help."
"Russo Household?" Julien asked confusingly.
"Yes, the head there is Victoria Russo Valentino", Johnson answered instead.
Julien looked shocked as he asked, "Valentino? She's your..."
"Grandmother. She's the wife of the head of the family before my father ruled", I finished.
"Val's right. The Russo household is near the mountains, it will be hard to find. But it will take us at least 2 days to drive there", Mat stated.
"Who said we're going to drive?" I asked, making Mat's eyes widen from shock, "You have a private jet?!" he shouted, and I just nodded my head as an answer.
"Of course he does", Julien suddenly says, making me laugh.
Finally, the atmosphere became light. We were so tensed that it was literally hard to breathe inside the room.
"Alright, then we should get ready", Johnson stated as he stood up.
"Let me use the bathroom first", Mat says as he quickly leaves, then Julien stood up as well and said, "Then let me get some of my things."
Julien stood up and went to the bedroom. I was about to follow him but Johnson suddenly grabbed me by the shoulder and stopped me.
"What is it Johnson?" I asked him.
Johnson lets go of my shoulder and said, "I'll drive you to the airport, but I won't be coming with you."
"W-What? No, we have to stick together", I quickly answered him.
"No, Romeo, listen to me. The family won't like you leaving with Julien; they'll definitely be against it if you do. But, I can stay here and buy you some time so you could plan for your next move. I'll talk to the family and convince your uncle, it's the least I could do for you", Johnson says.
I was about to decline his suggestion again, but Johnson looked like he read my expression, "You'll be fine. You're not the little boss that I was babysitting a month ago, you're Romeo Valentino now, and I'm counting on you to protect Julien. Can you do that?" Johnson asked.
I clenched my fist and looked at Johnson. But I knew that Johnson would never change his mind even if I beg him to.
I don't say anything and grabbed Johnson for a hug, "I will protect him, I promise."
Johnson chuckles and gently pats my back, "You really are a changed man. It was like a few weeks ago that you wouldn't even allow me to touch you."
I laughed back and let go of him, "Thank you Johnson. I don't think I've said it to you enough."
Johnson smiles and says, "Don't worry, it was enough."
"Let's go!" Mat shouted as he got out of the bathroom. Julien goes out of the room too and says, "Yeah, I'm ready."
"Then let's not waste any more time", I said as I quickly went out of the room. Julien, Johnson, and Mat following behind me.
We arrived at the parking lot where our car and Mat's car were parked.
"Are you going to leave your car here?" Johnson asked as he looked at Mat.
"No way man, I saved up for this baby for almost three years. I'll just follow behind you guys, don't worry", Mat answered.
"Alright then. Julien let's go", I say as I looked at Julien. I opened the back door for him, and then both of us went inside.
Johnson went inside as well and started the engine, and then he drives off, Mat just right behind us.
While we were driving our way to the airport, Julien suddenly grabbed my hand and leaned his head on my shoulder.
"I missed you by the way", Julien suddenly whispered.
I smiled and rested my head on his, "Me too. But I'm glad you moved out of the house, you could have been taken if you didn't", I answered him.
I thought Julien was going to comment about what I just said, but he said something different instead.
"Will your grandmother like me? This is actually the first time I'll be really meeting a member of your family. Well, except for your sister, but I wasn't able to greet her properly that time", Julien suddenly says, making me laugh.
"Are you actually nervous?" I jokingly asked him.
Julien hits my thighs and was about to remove his hand from mine, but I held onto his hand tighter and said, "I was just joking babe."
Julien rolls his eyes but doesn't say anything.
"Don't worry, I'll properly introduce you to her. Tell her you're my boyfriend and I'd be very upset if you'd hate him", I said, half joking and half serious.
Julien doesn't say anything. I thought he was still mad, but actually, his face was turning red because of what I said.
I was about to say something when Johnson suddenly clears his throat, "Have you guys forgotten I was here?" Johnson asked, making Julien and I laugh.
"Sorry Johnson. And I missed you too by the way", Julien says.
Johnson looks at us through the rearview mirror. He then smiles and says, "I missed you too Ju-"
Before Johnson could even answer, my heart suddenly dropped as a truck hits us on the side.
"Julien!" I shouted as I was able to quickly move to the right to hug him tightly and protect him.
"Romeo!" I heard Johnson shout as our car suddenly gets thrown to the side.
Everything was in slow motion as our car was being flipped over. I hugged Julien tighter and closed my eyes, "No, no...I am not dying like this", I say as I waited for the impact.
Julien was crying in my arms as the car finally fell.
The impact was so hard that I hit my head on the ceiling.
I slowly opened my eyes. We were hanging upside down; my arm bleeding because of the shards of glass from the window.
"J-Julien?" I weakly asked as I looked at him.
I slowly let go of him and checked if he was okay.
"Romeo", Julien called out, making me sigh in relief. Tears poured out of my eyes as I hugged him again, "Thank go, oh thank god you're okay."
"R-Romeo? Julien? A-are you...alright?" I head Johnson ask from the front.
"Johnson!" I shouted as I quickly let go of Julien. I tried to get out from the seats but my whole body was aching in pain.
"Romeo! Johnson!" I heard Mat shout from outside.
"M-Mat! Mat! We're here!" I shouted back, seconds later Mat arrives. He kneels down and looks at us, "Oh my god, I thought you guys died!"
"H-Help us out you fucking idiot", I say, quickly making Mat open the door.
"T-There was a truck, and it came out of nowhere and it suddenly hit you guys and your car was flying in the air and I thought I lost you", Mat tells us, his hands trembling as he pushed the seats so we could have a gap to get our legs out.
"Mat, calm down. You can do this", I say as Mat continued to tremble.
His eyes were teary, and he was obviously in a state of panic, "I thought I lost you guys", he said again.
"You haven't Mat, so don't worry", I say, and finally, Mat was able to pull Julien out of the car.
"Alright, you next V-Val", Mat says as he tried to pull me out of the car too.
"Let me help", Julien says as he helped Mat pull me out of the car.
When I was finally out, I quickly stood up, but immediately regretted it because my whole body was in great pain.
"S-Shit..." I say as i quickly held my bleeding arm.
Mat helped Julien and carried him inside his car. Mat was about to help me up too but I pushed his hand away and practically crawled my way towards Johnson.
"J-Johnson..." I called out as I got to where Johnson was.
"Romeo", Johnson weakly called out. I thought I was going to faint when I heard his voice.
His forehead was bleeding, but it looked like he was okay.
"Mat! Help me get him out!" I shouted as Mat ran towards us.
"N-No..." Johnson suddenly says.
"What do you mean no?!" I angrily shouted at him.
Johnson doesn't answer and looks at his legs. I followed his gaze and realized that his legs actually got smashed by the front of the car, and there were metal parts piercing out of his flesh too.
My eyes widened, and my own hands was started to tremble.
"N-No...we're going to get you out of here", I say as I looked at Mat, "C-Call...call the ambulance!"
"No!" Johnson suddenly shouts again.
"T-The gas...it's...it's leaking...the car will explode, you need to get out of here", Johnson suddenly tells me. And I literally bluffed for a couple of seconds when I heard Johnson said those words to me.
I grabbed him by the hand as more tears now poured out of my eyes, "No, I am not leaving you behind. We can still get you out, we can still..."
I was trying to pull Johnson out, but he wasn't budging.
"Romeo listen to me!" Johnson shouted, and then he suddenly pushed me off him.
"Leave! Now!" Johnson shouts again. Then he suddenly started coughing blood.
"N-No...Johnson please", I say as I grabbed hold of him again. My hands were now covered in his blood, but I didn't mind.
"Please Johnson", I begged him.
Tears poured out of Johnson's eyes, but he still smiled at me as he said, "I am proud of you, Romeo. You can prove everyone wrong, you don't need me anymore."
"That's a lie! I still need you Johnson! Johnson, you're the only one I have left, you can't do this to me, please", I told him.
Johnson slowly reached out to touch my cheek as he said, "You have Julien now."
"N-No...it's you, me, and Julien. You have to be there for me, you have to..."
"It was my pleasure to serve you...little boss", Johnson finally says before looking at Mat.
"R-Romeo...we need to go", Mat says as he was about to grab me, but I quickly pushed him away and held onto Johnson again, "No! We're not leaving him!"
"Rome!" I heard Julien shout. He goes to where we were and suddenly gasps when he saw Johnson.
"Julien! Help me get him out!" I told Julien. But Julien just stood there, his eyes wide from shock. Then he immediately started crying.
He moved closer and immediately covered his mouth and said, "G-Gas...Romeo, the gas is leaking!"
"Get out of here now!" Johnson shouted again before coughing more blood.
"No! Johnson please!" I shouted back.
But Mat grabbed hold of my arm now too and started lifting me up, "Romeo we have to go!"
"No! I'm not leaving Johnson behind! Let go of me!" I continued to shout as I struggled to get off Mat's grasp. But my whole body was in pain that I couldn't even push him away.
"Romeo, I'm sorry", Julien says as he helped Mat push me away from the car.
"Johnson!" I shouted as we got farther and farther away from the car.
"Romeo!" Johnson suddenly called out.
Mat and Julien stops pulling me away as Johnson continued, "Your mother...she did everything for your sake...p-please...please forgive her!"
"W-What?" I asked. But Johnson just smiles and says, "I love you...my son."
(A lot was so confused in this hahaha This is NOT biological. Johnson meant this as a symbol that even though Johnson doesn't have a family, he treated Romeo as his real son, which is why in his last breath, he called him his son. Thank you and please do continue 😉)
And just at that moment, the car explodes.
"No!" I shouted as Mat and Julien finally lets go of me.
"Johnson! No!" I shouted as I ran towards the car. But I couldn't approach it anymore because of the large fire.
"Johnson!"
I fell on my knees as the tears continued to pour. I gripped on my hair and aggressively tugged it to stop the pain that I was feeling, but it wasn't working.
"N-no...no...no..." I say as my looked at my bloody hands.
"One one thousand...t-two one thousand...t-three one thousand..."
I clenched on my chest, trying to catch my breath as I stared at the burning car where Johnson was still in.
"H-Help me..." I now say as I was about to hit my head on the floor. But Julien quickly grabbed me just in time. He kneels in front of me and hugged me tightly.
"J-Johnson..." I say as I buried my face on Julien's chest and hugged him back.
"I'm so sorry...Romeo I'm sorry", Julien told me over and over again.
He hugged me tighter and my vision became blurry.
My whole body was trembling, and the tears continued to pour. But Mat then approaches us.
"Val", he says as he hands me a paper.
"The driver of the truck...he dropped this when he drove away", he says as I slowly took the paper from Mat's hand.
My own hand was still trembling as I looked at the paper. I unfolded the paper, and Julien immediately gasped when he saw the symbol.
"R-Romeo, oh god I'm so sorry. Romeo, I'm so sorry", Julien immediately says as we both stared at the Dark Saints Symbol on the paper.
I continued to stare at the paper.
The tears stopped pouring, and my hands stopped shaking.
Then, everything felt numb.
And the monster that I desperately tried to lock away...
Finally came out.
- END -