Ruthless Obsession

Chapter one

My heart races as I pace through the living room trying to calm myself down. I bite my lip in careful concentration, wiping my brow, relinquishing the minuscule drops of perspiration collecting on my forehead from the inevitable Florida heat.

Days like these remind me of the summers we spent in Italy. I'd do anything to escape into the fickle, beige-colored hallways of the summer estate right now.

If I revisited today, I think I'd crumble.

That house was my mothers.

I asked her where she wanted to die once.

She answered Italy and I knew with one glance that she meant the Venice estate.

I'd do anything to remember her voice. It withered away in my mind like most of my memories of her.

Death doesn't just take the person, it takes all of them, it takes who they were, who they would be, everything.

I wonder what she would say in counsel if she were here. Maybe she would offer sympathy or moral support, or maybe she would kiss my cheek, leaving red lipstick behind in silent solidarity to my cause.

I sit down on the couch in our large family room, having nothing to do but flick through the channels on the TV, biting my nails and fidgeting with my hair in anticipation.

Not the kind of anticipation you get on Christmas before opening presents. No, this anticipation comes from deep within, when you know someone else is deciding your fate for you, and there's nothing you can do but wait.

I wish I could be in that room, I wish I could be apart of the very conversation that will decide my future.

The door bangs open so suddenly, that my eyes widen and my legs stiffen, standing much like a soldier would if his commanding officer entered the room.

My disgruntled father enters, anger written all over his face.

"What-" I begin to say.

"Pack your things, Ruth." My father interrupts, not bothering to explain what was discussed in his office.

The small man storms up the stairs, much like a toddler on the verge of a breakdown.

I'm so screwed.

My brothers, Antonio and Eric come out of the room, guilt written all over their faces. They stare at me for a very long second, sharing shameful glances with each other. "So that's it then, you're just going to hand me over to him? There are no other solutions?" I say, anger lacing my every word like the venom from a snake. 

"We discussed all the other solutions. This is the only thing we could do to recover our losses" Eric, grits his teeth, avoiding my eyes.

Eric, my eldest brother, is dressed in a regal black suit, twin to my father's. Everything Eric says, wears, and does is twin to my father. He's an exact copy of the man and to say it unnerves me is an understatement.

"I'm sorry, Ruth. You understand don't you?" Antonio consoles, rubbing my arm.

Antonio is the softer of my brothers. He's the youngest of the two.

Is it really as bad as it seems? Although, I'm in no way, shape, or form accustomed to the politics of the mafia, I would think, at least my brothers would fight for my right to choose a husband when I see fit.

But no, this seems to be the final decision. The be-all-end-all. The easy fix to a persistent problem.

"I understand," I say furrowing my brows and pushing Antonio's hand from my arm.