Page 2 of Mine, Forever

To be completely honest, I could have spared Luca. He wasn’t who I wanted to hurt, but this would destroy Giordy, and I knew that would be in my favor. Giordy was head of the family now, his stubbornness and will to want, want, want would mean I could easily take him out. He was cocky and reckless just like I used to be, and it would be the reason he died.

EBONY

My alarm screamed for me to get up, but all I could muster was one eye open to locate the damn thing. I slammed my hand down on it and rolled over. It only took minutes for me to turn back around and look at the red digital numbers.

Nooo... I mentally cried out. I couldn’t be late today. Why hadn’t I reset my alarm last night? Pulling the sheets off my body, I ran to the bathroom. Plugging my mouth with the toothpaste-laden toothbrush, I quickly began rubbing foundation onto my face. Swirling the paste around in my mouth before spitting, I brushed my hair to make it presentable in a high ponytail which I twisted so it stayed in a bun and off my neck. Next, I painted the rest of my face the best I could while wrangling my body into my white T-shirt and black pants.

Running out the door, I grabbed my bag on the way and headed down the street toward my uncle’s restaurant. Today was my first day working for him, mainly because my mother wouldn’t allow me to live with her anymore so I had to get a job. The problem was, no one wanted to hire me.

Why?

Because I’d received terrible grades in school and had a serious addiction to painkillers which had led me to rob pharmacies for more when my prescriptions ran out. I was caught and sent to juvenile attention, but that was only the beginning. I’d been out of juvie for the past three years, and this was marked in my file which every company seemed to check these days. My uncle was willing to take me on so I could get some experience under my belt. By this time, I’d pretty much ruled out every other form of job other than waitressing. At least I knew I wouldn’t ever be out of a job—let’s face it, waitresses were needed everywhere.

I didn’t want to work for Uncle Giordano, but I had no choice. He was in some pretty hard-core stuff from what I could gather, and he seemed to think he could control everyone in the city. That wouldn’t work for me, especially given the relationship I had with my mother, Adora-Lee. I just didn’t want anything to do with her family.

They were monsters.

I turned the corner and looked at the outside of the restaurant. To me, it looked old and run down, but I knew it wasn’t. I knew it was a front for illegal activity, yet no one did a thing about it. Some of Giordano’s best friends were cops so I knew he’d never get busted. From what I heard, he was one of the most feared men in town, second only to the one they call Jett Black.

Personally, I’d never seen this Jett Black person, but I’d heard about him, and I hoped I’d never meet him—ever. He was even more evil than Giordano and the Torelli’s, if that was even possible.

Taking a deep breath, I weighed my options to run. I had no money and no family to help me out. If I ran now, I’d never hear the end of it, so I forced myself to walk across the street and open the door to my new job. Air conditioning blasted my face making me feel as if I’d just walked into an igloo.

Jesus, it wasn’t that hot in the city yet, was the AC even necessary?

“Can I help you?” a woman from behind the bar asked, without looking up. I tried to place her face with a name, but it had been so long since I was invited to the family barbecues, I just couldn’t remember it. “We’re not open yet, darl.”

“It’s my first day. Giordano asked me to come by early to learn the ropes.”

“Oh…,” she said, closing the till and coming closer to me, straining her eyes before smiling. “Ebony?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s me,” she exclaimed, excitedly. “Man, have you grown up. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“Yeah… same.”

She must have caught the hint because she laughed as she introduced herself. “Darla...”

Oh, now I remembered. Darla used to push me into mud puddles when I was young and laugh as I scraped my knee when I was pushed against brick walls. She wasn’t someone I wanted to be trapped with all day while I worked. Darla wasn’t Giordano’s daughter. From what I could remember, she was one of his father’s daughters born close to Giordano’s age but younger than her brothers and sisters.

“Yeah, I remember you.”

“I bet,” she smiled at me. “I wasn’t a nice kid, I know. Sorry about that.”

I smiled, hoping she took that as my ‘that’s okay’ because I certainly wasn’t going to say it. She made my life a living hell when I was a kid. Couple that with an abusive mother and annoyingly perfect sisters, and you found yourself hating life and wishing it would end on a regular basis. I wasn’t much better now, but at least I now had Prozac to keep me going.

“We’ll start you off easy and get you setting up tables and handling the orders. You need to get your license if you want to pour the drinks.”

“That’s cool. Where do you want me?”

“Why don’t I get you to set up with Allegra?”

She called out the name Allegra so loudly, I thought my eardrums would burst.

“Who’s Allegra?”

“My daughter. She’s only working here to earn enough money to go to beauty school.”

---