𝚂𝙾𝙱𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚃𝚈 𝚆𝙾𝙽𝚃 𝚃𝙴𝙰𝙲𝙷 𝙺𝙸𝙳𝚂 𝚃𝙾 𝙳𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 ,, j. b routledge

18 | you used to be so tough

Chapter Eighteen

Paralyzed Ocean (Put money To my Pain)

"you used to be so tough"

"They have POPE!? What do you mean they have Pope!?" I shouted

"It's because we listened to Barry instead of thinking logically!" John B answered loudly

"My fault?" Barry boomed "It was her father that got us into this mess, and Vittoria's idea to spit in their faces!"

My sister turned on her boyfriend, spitting with rage "Oh, so now it's my fault?"

"Quiet!" Mom shouted, rattling the dishes in the pantry "It's nobody's fault but Favios. We just somehow need to find a crap ton of money otherwise two deaths will be on our conscious."

We went quiet, John B pulling me in for a hug. What the hell were we going to do now?

"We need to call the cops." Nonna said quietly.

"No." Vit said sharply. "No police."

"Why not?" John B said. "This is just like an action movie, Jackie Chan is going to swoop in and save the day."

I punched him in the shoulder. "This isn't a movie, Booker! Jackie Chan isn't going to swoop in and save us."

Nonna shook her head sadly. She grew up in an area of Italy that was overrun with the mob. Dirty cops, corrupt businesses. I was baffled she even suggested getting the police involved considering the things she's seen.

"There's not a single dirty cop on this island, I think we can trust them."

"Nah." John B shook his head "You know I always got bad vibes from Shoupe."

"Why don't you ask them." Mom said, pointing aggressively at Vittoria and Barry. "They're the ones with criminal records."

"Real classy mom." Vittoria spat.

While the four of them argued, I shut my eyes and tried to tune them out, thinking about all the memories I had of Pope. There was the first time we had a Criminal Minds binge and he woke up with half a pizza on his face after falling asleep on the box. All the time we spent out on the boat. His stupid sarcastic remarks and random facts.

If we got the cops involved, there was a chance all of that was going to go away for good.

"We have to handle this ourselves." I said quietly. "I don't have too much experience with the gangster genre, and frankly I do not think that any HiGH&LOW film other than the Red Rain counts, but I know that Sangue won't hesitate to kill them both. No cops."

Vittoria "All right. We can do one better. Remember Cynthia, Favio's new girlfriend?"

"What about her?" Mom scowled

"They came to see me once, inside. To tell me that they were filing for custody. Not that it matters, I'm twenty-one in like three months. Anyways, she's a cop. The head of Organized Crime in Columbia."

I frowned, resting my elbows on the counter "You want to get that twat involved?"

"Do you have any other ideas?" Vittoria shouted "Because I'd love to hear them!"

"Fine." I said, throwing my hands up. "Call Cynthia. See how fast she can get her ass here, and how fast she can come up with the money her deadbeat boyfriend owes."

Shaking my head, I spun on my heel and stormed upstairs. When John B found me, I was sitting on the deck with my knees drawn into my chest listening to early 2012 metal core songs, dressed in a ratty pair of sweatpants and a Papa Roach sweater I could barely afford.

"You okay?" He asked softly, moving to kneel next to me. "You look really pale, have you been eating."

"Barely." I whispered "Haven't been hungry."

John B pushed a plate into my hands. "You need to eat something. There was leftover pasta in the fridge, I know it's like 12 A.M - "

"Johnny, it's fine." I chuckled, spooning some of the baked ziti into my mouth. Mom's cooking was always good, even if it was just the leftovers.

"What are you listening to?"

"Japanese metal core. From that series JJ made us watch, Sugarless."

"Was that the one with the idiot kid in the red jacket who kept losing fights?" John B chuckled, adjusting his sitting position so I could lean on his shoulder.

"Yeah. I enjoyed it. Wish it was in English though."

I stared off into the distance, porch lights and bonfires lighting up the dark. The sky was filled with stars. Any other day I probably would have found this relaxing and calming. 

Tonight I was just plain old worried. 

About Pope. 

Some part of me worried about Favio.

John B seemed to sense this, moving his thumb in circles on my thigh. "We'll figure this out. Find Sangue and then we'll go all John Wick on their asses."

"We aren't John Wick though. You're no Keanu Reeves. We're just kids. We can't beat Sangue."

He gently kissed my forehead. "Don't think like that. Everything is going to work itself out, I hope you know that."

I shivered as a strong breeze carried some sand and scraps of leaves in our direction, cutting through me to the bone. "I'm scared. My life was finally pulling itself back together at the seams: you and I were official, Vittoria came home. But then like usual, Favio has to be the wrecking ball that he is and mess everything up."

"Hey, everything's going to work out. JJ has probably seen enough gangster and cartel movies for all of us. He'll know what to do. And in the morning we'll call Cynthia, get her guys on this. We'll be okay."

Why did I find that so hard to believe?