Page 2 of Vicious

“M-me,” my father says, his voice stuttering. He squeezes his eyes shut. “Don’t hurt her.”

Giulio makes a disappointed sound. “What’s with the sudden altruism?” He slides back into the chair next to my father and presses the flat of the blade against his jaw. “If this were my kid…”

I notice his hand tighten on the blade, knuckles turning white.

Giulio sneers, but the expression is gone quickly. “Of course, murder doesn’t get me my money back.”

“I…” My voice shakes, but I force myself to continue. “I have money. I can get more.”

My father shakes his head a little. “May, don’t…” He cuts himself off when the knife cuts into his jaw. A small line of blood appears on his skin.

“Yeah?” Giulio smirks at me. “How much does Simon’s baby girl have in her accounts?”

I grimace. He knows it can’t be much, and I know it’s nowhere near enough. “I can get you three grand today. Another… two next week.” Somehow. I’ll find time to work extra hours. I’ll find people to borrow money from who aren’t the mob.

Never mind that we’ll be out on the streets, but at least we’ll be alive.

Giulio starts laughing though. “Wow. Five entire grand. Shit, with that kind of cash, I’d almost be rich!” His shoulders convulse, and the knife slices my father again.

I flinch, wanting to do something, anything, to get this to stop, but I don’t know what to do. There’s nothing I can do.

Giulio stops to look at the damage. He rubs the cut with one finger, smearing blood across my father’s cheek.

“P-please, Mr. Pavone. It’s all we have.” My father trembles as he speaks.

“See, Simon, I’m having a hard time believing you.” Giulio draws the knife farther up my father’s cheek, resting it near his ear. “You said that last time, and suddenly these five grand spring up. But I didn’t come down here myself for five piddly grand, now did I?”

“N-no,” my father says. “B-but?—”

I don’t want to speak for fear of provoking Giulio more, and I glance helplessly between him and his two guards. No one’s going to speak up on our behalf. It’s just my father… and me.

“He won’t borrow anymore,” I say desperately, even though I think everyone in the room knows that’s just a flat-out lie. A well-meaning one, an optimistic one, but a lie all the same.

“He already borrowed more,” Giulio says. “And you know, I was going easy on him. I just needed one fucker to actually go to jail, and not for his fucking public defender to suddenly do a good enough job to loophole his way out of it. How hard is it to half-ass your fucking job, Simon?” Giulio pushes the knife harder into my father’s skin. “Who’s ever heard of a public defender who actually defends their clients?”

I wish I could be proud of my father for doing what most people would say is the “right thing,” but all I feel is despair creeping up on me—despair, and anger, because we don’t have to be in this situation. If it wasn’t for his addiction and his unwillingness to throw just one man under the bus, we might not be in this situation.

I watch blood trickle down my father’s face and wish I was anywhere but here.

“I didn’t— I didn’t mean to—” Baba’s voice goes high.

“Well, I didn’t mean to a lot of things, and that doesn’t bring those people back from the dead, now does it?” Giulio says cheerfully, right as he swings the hand holding the knife up.

Blood gushes out.

My father screams.

I close my eyes tight. I don’t want to watch this.

Goddamnit, I shouldn’t have to watch this. All the times he went out to the casinos, to those illicit little gambling places? He should’ve known better.

I guess I should’ve known better than to think he’d quit while we were only a little behind, too.

Baba’s desperate voice rings in my ears, but I can’t make out what he’s saying any longer. I don’t want to know what kind of excuses he’s giving… or is he still screaming? I might as well be standing here with my fingers in my ears as I try to pretend I’m anywhere but here.

My father’s voice turns ragged, then Giulio says, “Huh. Oops, my bad. I didn’t mean to take it all off.”

I don’t want to open my eyes. I don’t want to look.

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