Bon Appétit! :D
Elizabeth's POV
The glass door behind me automatically slides open as I wiped away the coffee marks on a plastic table at the Raindrop. Syncing with the rest of the staff, we greeted the incoming customers.
"Welcome to the Raindrop!" I muttered half-heartedly into the table, not having the energy to look up at the new patrons. My mood was at a new low since my visit to Rebirth. Two weeks have passed but Angelo's words still etched into my mind like it was only yesterday when he had said it.
Loved it when the boy you like couldn't care less about you getting raped or not. It's worse than having a celebrity crush, when the one you go crazy for doesn't know your existence.
A tug on my sleeves made me notice Carina standing beside me. Upon getting my attention, she pointed to the two boys sitting by the windows with a bunch of girls surrounding them.
"Do you need binoculars? You can see them better with it." I teased as we returned back to the counter. A blushing Carina slapped me on my shoulder before joining the group of girls, ultimately failing to resist the beauty and charm of Rafael Valentine and Julian Makatski.
"Hot green tea latte for mister Makatski, iced mocha for mister Valentine and some cold water to calm down all the ladies' tits." I interrupted the lively gathering, earning smiles from the two boys as I set their preferred choices on the table. The embarrassed girls left soon after, throwing glares at me, their potential love rival.
The two boys have been our regulars for the last two weeks. Julian was acting as the middleman and bringing me missions Angelo has assigned me and Rafael on the path of seeking forgiveness.
With my reassurance falling on deaf ears, the latter was spending more time with me with at the cafe where I had resumed working. There was no need to avoid the trio anymore, with me making up with two third of the group and the remaining one third doing his best to not see me.
"Sir Angelo needs you to find out who is behind the distribution of fake Mietitore weapons in the central black market. Call me if you need an extra hand." Julian grimly pulled out the black envelope from his bag.
I frowned at the new mission. The Mietitores has been the sole supplier in the weapon industry for years, but this was the first time someone dared to forge their weapons.
An act of mockery.
Recently, trouble came in wave after wave for the Mietitores. The entire Mafia community in the Hollow wants to partake in bullying the King family, as the Mietitores are no longer in favour with The Eyes.
There was only one true master everyone was loyal to - power. If you lost it, you lose the control you wielded over Mafia men.
On my first mission, matchstick has explained that black envelopes stands for Mafia business. Though the familial colours are blood-red and silver, using them for administrative documents was too eye-catching. No one needed the extra attention when they are planning for illegal crimes, or at least not the Mietitores.
"Code yellow?" I took a peek at the mission documents, my excitement rising, this being my first code yellow. The Mietitores have created a scale for the difficulty level of their missions. There were seven levels on the scale, with yellow as the third most difficult level.
The more difficult the missions, the better the pay.
Rafael was weirded out by the grin on my face. He did not comprehend my joy of having a higher risk of dying,"Quit smiling Piccolo, you will die on a job someday."
I glanced at Julian who was watching Rafael with amusement, entertained by Rafael's protectiveness over me. He must be spending too much time with Black Bear.
Rafael managed to take down the tough ex warrior after a few days at the fight club. Their shared interest over drinks added to the Valentine prince's charm workable on the entire universe. Now, Black Bear actually looks more excited when he sees Rafael over seeing me.
"Saying good luck would have been sufficient, Raf. By the way, could you accompany me to go get some toiletries before heading to Black Bear's potluck dinner?" I probed, hoping he could be my driver on this blue day.
After their little fight at Rebirth, Black Bear did not want me living at Angelo's. He forced me to stay at the basement of his fight club, spinning tales about feeling more at ease when I was in his territory, under his care.
Angelo had Julian deliver my bag of items the very next day, including the cheque and the gadgets.
"Uh actually I got pl-woah she's hot!" Julian exclaimed, staring at his phone.
"Show me."
"Matchstick, have some self-respect."
The Valentine prince and I said at the same time.
Glimpsing at the photo, my heart skipped a beat. Not because of how hot the girl was but because of who she was with. Angelo Mietitore.
They were spotted by one of the Mietitore men. I told you, the Mafia men gossips more than high school girls. They were at Underrated, queuing. The photo clearly shown Angelo's face but only captured the back view of his date. The date he was looking at with a new boyish grin.
"Julian, I can't see her face. How do you know she's hot?"
"Sir Rafael, her back view is pretty hot."
"Pfffft."
I reflected on my own experience with Angelo at the Underrated and my mouth curved upwards at the stark difference. I know it was completely two different things but I couldn't help but make a comparison.
He tries to poison me to death while he queues with her, showing the world his beautiful date.
The bitterness I felt had gone unnoticed by the two boys arguing about how could a girl be determined as "hot" from just a back view. I rolled my eyes at their conversation. Sipping on my coffee, I remained seated with them, relishing the end of my shift.
Apparently, Angelo met her on the day we fought at his condo. The Mietitore men on duty at the Red Devil shared with Julian that their Sir had left with the girl after a heated making out session. Even a rock can imagine what had happened next.
So that was why he did not come back for the entire night nor did he respond to your texts. Sorry Elizabeth, Sir was too busy eating people's faces to care about your worthless apology.
"I've never seen him like that, though. Sir looks the most energetic and alive these days since Luciana left." Julian commented thoughtfully, thinking through the years he has been by Angelo's side.
Uh-oh, I can hear thousands of girls' hearts breaking. The Angelo Mietitore they sought after is getting whipped for another girl.
Ignoring this piece of new information, I got up as my desire to punch a particular red head skyrocketed. I let out a loud breath shakily and slowly said, "Wait for me in the parking lot, Raf."
"Wait, Piccolo! I can't, I'm meeting the red lady." Rafael sheepishly rejected me, a blush darkening his cheeks. Not taken aback by his date with the red lady, I acknowledged him with a nod and walked to the staff room.
Still engrossed by Angelo's new hot date, I did not see an incoming Carina nor did I see a leg sticking out. The wet and cold sensation jolted me to my senses as I tripped and fell onto her jugs of cold water, making me exclaimed in surprise. My hair and clothes were all wet from the accident, earning snickers from nearby girls whom I recognised from the mini gathering around Rafael and Julian just now.
"Holy shit! Carina, you cool?" I yelled as I scrambled to check Carina who I had fallen on. The long legged girl picked herself up, assuring me that she was fine. The other staffs quickly came to the rescue, some mopping up the spilled water while others brought us back to the staff room.
"Here, change into my extra shirt." Carina threw me an oversized black shirt as I dried out my hair with a towel. Those girls must have bore a stupid grudge against me after I disperse their mini fan meet with two of the hottest boys in school.
I pulled my own shirt over my head, completely comfortable around Carina. The white jade pendant I wore under my shirt came to light, its gleam catching Carina's eyes. She was looking at it with deep interest. Albeit the jade necklace was a more mature piece that most girls at our age would have liked their accessories to be , Carina and I both shared a taste for more mature-looking fashion pieces.
"Nice necklace." She praised before returning to drying her own shirt with a hairdryer.
"Thanks, I got it from uncle MJ, he and my aunt passed away recently." I shared with her. "Uncle" MJ had met Carina a few times when I brought her over for dinner at MJ's house. They instantly clicked the first time as they had the same type of humour.
I loved those times when there were MJ, Emily and Carina at the dining table with me, chatting like a family. I missed those times.
Carina rubbed my shoulders in comfort, offering her condolences. Not wanting to hear or see saddened expressions when I was still in deep grieving, I had left out MJ and Emily's death in our conversations. As expected, Carina had entered into a sombre mood, deprived of her usual laughters and smiles.
I leaned my head on her shoulder, closing my eyes. More than a month have passed by but the sorrow never lessened with time. I sighed at the familiar emotion I had every time MJ and Emily were brought up, maybe it will always be a part of me.
"Gotta go, Rayer babe. I'll see you tomorrow." I patted her hands and left her in the staff room, her face still solemn.
Julian waved me over when I passed by the academy's carpark. He was sitting on the hood of Rafael's matte black Lotus, with his Macbook on his lap. Rafael had left the car with Angelo's assistant, tasking him to drive me wherever I wanted to go. The Valentine prince was still scarred from the Rebirth accident.
On behalf of Julian who was driving, I clicked in on a threat Rafael had sent Julian by text. Julian laughed it off but we never went past fifty kilometres per hour after that, his eyes steadily kept on the road at all times. A couple of times I had dozed off from his slow driving, making me want to strangle him for being overly careful.
"Matchstick, that grandma is moving faster than our car! Step on the goddamn peddle!" I yelled, angry at the smirk an old grandma gave us from the pavement as she jogged and overtook our car. Julian only spluttered in panic and stepped the fuck out of the gas peddle, bringing the speed to ninety. The impact pressed me to the car seat and the car was swooshing down the street.
"NOOOO SLOW DOWN!!!" I gripped to the handle, heart about to pop out from my mouth. I was never going to let Julian Makatski drive ever again. If I could survive this ordeal.
After an rollercoaster of dizziness, nausea and shoutings, I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I lurched out of the matte black Lotus, staring daggers at a pleased Julian. He hooked his arm with mine and whispered,"I actually bribed the tester, so I'm really glad we reached here in one piece." I would have strangled him if I didn't felt like puking all over him.
Putting the death-defying car ride, shopping with Julian was fun. We made puns out of everything we saw at the department store, laughing like two morons and forgetting about the stares adults were giving us.
"Where did Luciana Mietitore find you?" I asked. Luciana Mietitore was the only daughter of Brandon and Lorenze Mietitore. Not much was known about her as her father had kept her away from the eyes of the Mafia world. The only news I had found was the time she declared The Oracle her successor and left the city shortly after.
His face light up at the mention of Luciana Mietitore, "At the brothel ran by the man who owned me." Julian did not elaborate further as he got caught up with reminiscing that day where he was rescued by the Mietitore princess. There was no hatred but rather, adoration for his past. It made me felt curious about the princess who must have been the light in his darkest times and who have given him everything he owns now.
"I count myself to be very lucky, Eli. People like us don't usually see the wonders of life like other people do. But Luciana came for me and let me reborn into this life." Julian stated with seriousness, stripping away that loudspeaker, drama mama facade.
Angelo Mietitore have entered my head yet again, but for a different reason. He had done the same for me. Treated me like a proper human being. Given me another chance of living like a human being. Without him, I would probably wind up dead in an alley, with the world moving on mercilessly without a care.
"I feel you, Julian."
A shorter chapter but one where two nineteen year old look back at who saved their asses and how they feel underneath all that focus of staying alive and moving from mission to mission.
Thank you for reading and see you in the next chapter! :)