Page 12 of From My Past
“I don’t, but these guys are my friends. Don’t be such a nosy bitch.” He snarled, leading me towards the car. I let him move me around because at least, I was going to get out of the apartment for more than just work.
We sat in silence while Luca sped through the apartment complex and then got onto the highway.
“Now, listen here, amore. You will not talk to anyone except myself and Trenton. You will not go anywhere except the table we sit at and the bathroom if needed but only after telling me. You will not get drunk and you will not get sloppy. You will keep your mouth shut about our business and if people ask about your face, you tell them you fell. Do you understand?”
I nodded silently and clasped my hands tighter on my lap.
“Say it!” He said sharply, like every other word he has said to me recently.
“I understand.”
“Good.” He said as he pulled a cigarette out from the package with his teeth and threw the package towards me to catch. He looked and shuffled around the middle console for his lighter. When he found the yellow Bic lighter, he flicked it on and sucked in a deep breath making the tip turn cherry red as it caught fire.
“Do you have to do that while I’m in here?” I ask, choosing to fight this battle. See, my fight wasn’t gone but I’d been fighting long enough to get smart about it. Choosing when and what to push him on.
“Does it bother you?” Luca blew his smoke in my face, the grey cloud swirling through the enclosed space and I waved my hands quickly to try and dissipate it before it reached my lungs.
“You know I have asthma and smoke makes it flare up.”
“You know I hate when you open your mouth to talk.”
“It’s not good for my breathing.”
“I don’t care.” He replied with the cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth as he turned the car into the bar’s parking lot.
Thank god we were here, I could feel my chest starting to get tight. We pulled up to a well-known Italian mafia-owned bar right in the middle of downtown. I wondered why we weren’t meeting at the restaurant that Luca’s father owned but I wasn’t about to ask.
“Out. And remember how to act.”
I didn’t say anything and just got out of the car. I wanted to slam the door, scream like hell and punch him all in the face, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. My sister was my best friend, she was only a few years younger than me but she knew exactly what she wanted to be and told people to fuck off when needed. She was my hero and I never knew about that asshole Ian who had been beating her, until I walked in that day. I knew that he had caused a rift between us, forced a wedge there, but she was still my little sister.
I would protect her until I couldn’t anymore. If I told Luca that I had killed Ian, my threats would be worse, and I’d never get out from underneath him. He would be able to use Auggie against me and I don’t want to know how they could hurt her in order to make me his puppet. Not to mention, he would pull his protection on her. However, if he continues to believe that Auggie killed him, she would still be under the Italians’ protection. If only so that Luca could continue to hold it over my head.
It seems backwards, but when he’s hurting me, I can rest easy knowing that she is safe.
“Today, amore!” Luca yells from across the packed parking lot, his voice was falsely light. A sure sign that his ‘good boyfriend’ persona was back in place.
I moved quickly then, weary of his fake mood but also wanting to soak it up while it lasted. The bar, Momentum, was one that most businessmen and women frequented, it catered to their tastes. Low lighting, top shelf liquor that was actually purchased and savored, comfy seating and low volume of background music. It was also a place that was very heavily associated with the Italian mafia. I’d come to find that out once Luca decided I wasn’t any kind of threat to bother hiding anything about his family. In fact, the first few days after the incident, he seemed to find great pleasure in telling me just how deep of shit I was in.
“Remember your place.” He said harshly under his breath as his fingertips bit into my hip. He steered me through the entrance, a sleek black metallic door with a tinted window that was so dark it was almost opaque. He nodded to the bouncer who was staring people down as they walked in. The bouncer nodded back to Luca, obviously recognizing the Princeling and completely ignored me.
“I will.” I said softly, plastering on a fake smile that made my cheeks hurt and cuts burn.
“This could be a very big recruitment commission for me. Don’t fuck it up.”
“I understand.”
“You better. Now sit down and shut up.” Luca pushed me towards an empty table towards the back, away from wandering eyes but close enough where we could see the front door so he could watch for the man he was meeting.
I slid into the booth as Luca sat on the other side of the table and took out his phone to properly ignore me.
Being that I wasn’t allowed to bring anything with me, I people watched. There were so many people at the bar tonight, it was truly packed. In the far corner of the room there were some, very obviously packing, older gentlemen deep in conversation that was getting more heated by the second. Across from them were a couple; a too-young woman laying on the lap of a man easily three times her age. From the looks of it, the man was loving it but the girl’s eyes were straying every few seconds to check out the hot bartender.
The hum of chatter was calming, I could just be one in the crowd. I didn’t have to worry about expectations or punishments. I didn’t have to fear for my life or my sister’s. I could just close my eyes and pretend I was just fading into the masses.
“Open your eyes.” Luca hissed. “He’s here.”
I hadn’t realized my eyes had closed but at his words they snapped open. Maybe he had done more damage than I realized. Do I need to worry about a concussion?
