Mafia- The Game No One Wants to Play

Victim Two- Jessica

                I sleep easily through the night and wake to my alarm at 7. Groggily, I climb out of bed and go through my daily routine without thinking. I pour a bowl of dry cereal and watch the news.

                “No more has been learned about the death of Jared Wilson, but a new victim was taken last night. Here’s Natalie with the scoop.” I groan. Of course it’s a mafia. The image on the screen changes to a small house surrounded by cops and other people. A newscaster appears and begins to speak.

                “Thanks Samantha. I’m here at the home of the latest victim. Jessica Parks, a twenty-two year old college student was killed last night. Passersby say they last saw her walking home late last night, appearing drunk and lost. A man offered to help her, but witnesses say she refused and continued on her way home. Hours later, witnesses claim they heard a single scream come from her house, but nothing more. No one saw any signs of people entering or leaving the house at any point. When the Police arrived at the scene, they found Jessica’s body, yet no traces of a killer. More news  on this later. Back to you, Samantha.”

I click off the TV and bury my head in my hands. A groan escapes me and I pound the table with my fist. Why did this come up all of a sudden? This is such a peaceful town; where did a Mafia even come from?

My phone’s ringing interrupts my thoughts. It’s Cassie again.

“Hey baby,” I say nonchalantly.

“Will, we need to leave.” I try to hold back a laugh. “I’m serious! I don’t know who’s going to be next and I don’t want it to be you or me! We need to move!” I try to make my voice as calming as I can.

“Cass, we’ll be okay. They have no reason to hurt us.”

“They don’t have any reason to hurt anyone, Will!” she shouts back. “They’re just a bunch of murderers! If we don’t leave now, we’ll be next!” I sigh sadly and think of a new idea.

“Would it make you feel better if you moved in with me?” She doesn’t respond for a moment.

“Uh huh,” she finally whispers. “Can I come over tonight? I don’t feel safe living alone in this apartment anymore.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Come whenever; I’ll try to clean up.” She agrees and we hang up. I slide my phone back in my pocket, wash out my cereal bowl, and start straightening up the apartment. It’s small, so there’s not much work. Just a kitchen area, a small couch for my living room, and a bedroom with a small, attached bathroom. It’s small, but the rent is cheap. Having two people in here might be an issue though.

A knock on the door puts my cleaning on hold. I look around at the mess still covering my apartment and sigh. Whatever. Cassie can deal with it. I look through the peephole and see my girlfriend waiting wearily for me to open the door.

When the door swings open, Cassie nearly tumbles into the room and pulls the door shut behind her.

“Hello to you too,” I say. She drops her small duffle bag of clothes and smiles up at me. Her dirty blonde hair falls around her face as I pull her in for a hug. I rub her back and try to make her feel better, even though it’s useless. She sniffs a little then pulls away.

“Great job cleaning,” she says sarcastically.

“Hey, I actually tried. Give me some credit.” She laughs and gives me a pat on the shoulder.

“You did your best, sweetie.” She smiles sweetly, then turns to bring her things into my room. I help her unpack the necessary things, leaving the rest in the bag.

We eat lunch, but little food remains. We both know I’ll have to go get food at some point, but there’s no way Cassie’s gonna let me out of the house. All I can think to do is go out while she’s asleep, but with everything that’s been going on, even I’m afraid of going out at night.

“Why don’t we eat out tonight?” I suggest. I doubt she’ll agree, but our options were running low.

“Are you insane? I’m not going out, and neither are you. Can’t we just order in?” she whimpers. I sigh.

“Cass, that’s not the point. I have to work tomorrow anyways; we can’t just hide. That’s what they want. If we just do whatever we normally do, it’ll be okay.” She huffs but doesn’t reply. I hear her mutter something under her breath, but I can’t tell what she says. “You coming to the store or not?”

She frowns. “No, you go. I’ll straighten up around here.” Yeah, that’s why. I nod, grab my keys, and shout a “later,” behind me as I leave the apartment.

The grocery store isn’t far from the apartment. Down a flight of stairs, over two blocks, and across the street.  You need anything? I type out on my  phone. Cassie replies a minute later.

Cereal, milk, eggs, apples, ham, cheese, bread… Do you even eat anything fresh?

I laugh. Nope. I walk into the store and pick up some random things. Chips, cereal, and some apples, and some oatmeal. Then I remember I actually have to feed Cassie too, so I grab a box of pasta and some cheese. That’s good enough. She won’t kill me.

I get back home twenty minutes later. The space is cleaner now than when I moved in. Cassie greets me and I set the bags on the table. Cassie frowns.

“Will, you didn’t get anything I told you to get.”

“I got cereal and cheese.”

“You got Dinosaur Eggs oatmeal?”

“Shut up about my Dino Eggs.”

We make ourselves the pasta for dinner and enjoy the fresh meal. The nightly news has no more information than it did this morning, other than if the murders persist, cops will be stationed around the city every night to try to catch the guys.

Cassie and I watch TV til we’re both tired. She locks the door and the windows, which annoys me because I like my windows open in summer. It’s not til around midnight that we climb into bed. I try to sleep, but Cassie won’t lay down.

“You okay?” I ask, half asleep.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says uneasily. “Just a little scared.” I sit up and put my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to me.

“It’s gonna be fine, Cass. We’re safe here. No one will hurt you.” She sniffs and nods, her head resting on my shoulder. Eventually we lay down and she falls asleep with my arm around her. The soundless night passes and I sleep well.