Joseph Desaulniers stared down into his lap, tears dripping from his cheeks.
He'd tried being cheerful about everything once Claude's funeral had passed. He immediately tried looking for a job online to take his mind off things. Although his parents tried convincing him that he was too young, he insisted. While he was scrolling, he had come across one for a receptionist position. The first thing that had come to Joseph's mind was that if he was going to be at the front desk all day talking to people who enter, it should take his mind off everything right?
He'd applied for that job, not bothering to read the job description as he spaced out again. Spacing out became a part of his days. It took things off his mind, and it took away the pain he would feel easily. He'd never realised he applied for a receptionist position in the Mafia until he was three months into work.
That time Norton had went back into the lobby with a gun. Joseph was startled when he saw it.
"Whoa Mr Campbell! What's with the gun?!"
"Huh? This lil guy? Got it off someone's body. He owed debt so he's gotta pay for it eventually right?"
"Yea but... You could peacefully negotiate it. What would happen when people find out about this? The company's reputation-"
Wu'Jiu passed by, accompanied by Bi'An. He'd leaned on the desk.
"What reputation? This Mafia's already known around here anyway, who cares about reputation?"
"M-Mafia?"
"Yea, you didn't know?"
Norton asked with a raised eyebrow. Wu'Jiu seemed equally amused. Joseph looked around, confused. For those five minutes, he didn't space out.
"Wait wait wait, you're saying... I'm in the Mafia's building..?"
"Uh... Yea, no shit?"
He blinked twice, looking up at Wu'Jiu before jumping to his feet and dashing to the elevator. The others stared as his small figure disappeared through the door. Bi'An sighed and followed after him, Norton shrugging and heading back to his office. Joseph stomped his short legs to Andrej's office and burst through the door. The man looked up from his laptop, seeming just a little surprised to see the receptionist standing at the door.
"Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Hm? Tell you what?"
"You never told me I was working for the Mafia?!"
Andrej couldn't help but snicker a little as he leaned back in his chair. He smirked, making no move to conceal it as he looked up at Joseph.
"You never told me you didn't know either so, can't blame me on this one."
"Wha- What do I do?! Are people going to try to arrest us and break in the buildings?"
"What no? What makes you think that?"
"In those movies! There's always those people who storm into the building and-"
"Oh Mr Desaulniers, we don't live in a movie. We're not that sort of Mafia. Government approves anyway."
Joseph was stunned into silence for a few moments. Andrej continued with his work as Joseph stood in front, staring at him. Andrej looked up after a while.
"If there's nothing else you wanna ask..."
He got up from the desk and reached into his coat, one that Aesop now wore. He took out a note from his wallet and pushed it into Joseph's hand.
"Go get yourself something to eat. I can hear your stomach rumbling like an earthquake."
Joseph stared at the crumpled fifty in his hand. Wu'Jiu opened the door, Bi'An following behind him. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit when he saw Joseph.
"Ah, it's you two. Would you mind bringing Mr Desaulniers down to the café? He seems quite hungry. Get yourselves something to eat too."
The two nodded and bowed, Bi'An guiding a confused Joseph while Wu'Jiu continued snickering. No doubt he would make fun of Joseph with this for the next few months. They went down to the café, where Joseph set to angrily sipping soda. They'd laughed at it for a few minutes. It was the first time Joseph was happy without needing to space out.
"I don't think I have regrets at all!"
He'd said, wiping his tears from his eyes. But even so, he knew he would still constantly space out. But he didn't want to tell them yet. So from then on, when he wasn't talking to anyone, he would sit at the front desk, spacing out to take his mind off Claude. The Requiem twins constantly reminded him about Claude, but he didn't want to say it. He always just put on a smile and continued on with his day.
Promise me Joseph!
He couldn't break his promise.
But he's lost whatever that was keeping him happy. The company, his colleagues, his brother.
Was there any point to staying happy anymore?
He looked up at the door. There weren't any guards outside, considering he wasn't strong enough to even break out. He'd heard about them gossiping about the twins earlier. He felt his heart tear as they started laughing about how their bodies drifted down the stream, leaving ribbons of blood on the water.
Anger.
Anger was all he felt. They'd all sacrificed. His brother had sacrificed all his wishes so Joseph could be happy, the twins had each sacrificed an arm, Eli had sacrificed himself. Everyone had lost something, but what about him. Was he really going to call his happiness a worthy sacrifice? He almost scoffed at himself. It was almost pathetic.
Staring down at the ropes binding him, he wiggled his arms a little. There was space for him to move slightly, he pulled against it harder. A few fibers snapped, and it gave Joseph the will to continue until the ropes wore away eventually. His wounds would slow him down, but he refused to let them stop him. The guards wouldn't come back until morning, and it should give Joseph plenty of time.
He would break loose from this disgusting place, and he would run down to the river. He could only pray someone had found the twins' bodies, or that they managed to pull themselves up from the waters. Then he would head back to the building.
Maybe try finding Aesop.
