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The Don’s attack dog, enforcer, and executioner.
The three of us were all the same.
Only with each other could we be something more — actual people, not just weapons to be used.
I stood there looking quietly at her for a moment.
The poor girl didn’t even have that.
“I think that I’m just going to stick with girl,” I finally said, and she shook her head from side to side as if disappointed in me.
She took another drag out of the joint before facing me, and I could feel the atmosphere shifting around us.
“Do I seem ungrateful to you?”
The abrupt change in subject left me puzzled.
She must have noticed my confusion because she continued, “I mean, it’s pure luck that I’m alive right now. The only reason I’m still breathing is because King had an impulsive whim. But, to be completely honest with you… at this moment, I don’t feel very lucky,” she quietly admitted and despite my better instincts, I started to feel for her. What must it be like for her, the life in front of her looking so bleak and gray?
The most disheartening part was the sheer difficulty of even envisioning a future that included her.
Was she going to spend the rest of her life between these walls, living like a bird locked up in a gilded cage? One day she’ll grow tired of it and want to escape.
King was too smart of a man not to see it too, but he was purposefully avoiding thinking about it. He wanted to give her some kind of autonomy, but that was impossible. If the Don everfound out she was still breathing, it would all be over for her, and there was absolutely nothing that could change that.
“No, you aren’t ungrateful,” I told her, tone serious. “Here’s my advice — try to do your best with what you have now.” It didn’t feel nearly enough but that was all I could say.
She held my gaze for a moment, before looking away.
I didn’t know what she thought of my suggestion, but at least her demeanor had lightened up a little bit.
“What I would like right now is to have a buddy to smoke with.” She raised an eyebrow at me as she held out the joint.
I nodded with a little huff. “Fine… give it here.”
She looked pleased as she watched me breathe in once deeply, before I gave it back to her.
While I couldn’t be sure of what the future held for her, I had a very strong feeling that she was going to stay here for a while.
“Tell me something about yourself,” I said because no matter how much I tried, it was difficult not to see her as a real person, and not some sort of pet that King had found on the streets and brought back home.
“Like what?” she questioned, and I shrugged.
“I don’t know… do you have any siblings?”
“Nah,” she answered, before cocking her head with a tiny frown. “Well… I’m not actually sure, but let’s just say I don’t.”
That sounded like an interesting story, but I decided against asking further about it, trying to keep the conversation on a lighter note.
“You?”
“No. I don’t have any siblings, either.”
“So the three of you aren’t related?” the girl asked, not even bothering to clarify to whom she was referring.
“No.” A small chuckle escaped me. It wasn’t the first time someone had made this particular assumption about us before. “But we grew up together, so we may as well be.”
King and Ace —Marcello and Alessio— were my family. The only one I knew and the only one I’d ever need. There had been a time when there was one more, but… that didn’t matter anymore. It was best not to open up any old wounds now.
