The Neighbor I Never Noticed - RadioDust

Prologue

The Boudreaux’s and the Giovanni’s were two very different families.  The Boudreaux’s consisted of a single mother and a son.  After the tragic death of James Boudreaux, Emily was left to raise her son on her own.  Her son, being only five years old at the time of his death, didn’t have many memories of the man.  Many would say Emily did a fine job of raising him into a proper young man.  Her son, Alastor, wasn’t as social as people made him out to be.  If he were given the option of going outside and talking with the other children and reading a book, he would have chosen to read a book.  The Giovanni’s were a different story entirely.

    The Giovanni’s were the head of the Italian mafia.  The man in charge, Henry, was a single father of two sons and a daughter.  His oldest son was Audrick, his right hand man and most trusted partner.  His daughter, Molly, was the favorite of the family, it was made sure that she was never involved in anything that would cause harm to her.  Finally, there was Anthony.  Anthony wasn’t appreciated by anyone other than Molly.  He was solely used as a back-up in case anything happened to Audrick.  He and Molly were twins, and almost inseparable their whole lives.  Despite being just a back-up he was quite good at what he did.  Sure to hit any target he was given.

    The two families did not have any ties with each other, nor were they very aware that the other existed.  And that remained for nearly eighteen years.  Alastor was sitting in his bedroom in the middle of reading a book before a gunshot rang out followed by the sound of shattering glass.  A few screams were heard as more damage was presumably done.  And then the thing that caused even Alastor to jump.  A small explosion could be heard and then another scream.  

    Quickly closing his book, Alastor ran down the stairs trying to find the source of the commotion.  He reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around.  There didn’t seem to be any damage done to the house but he wasn’t too sure yet.  “Mama, what happened?”  Emily was sweeping small glass shards off the floor.  “I don’t know, I think one of your guns went off.”  Alastor mentally facepalmed, thinking he had forgotten to correctly disassemble it after he had gone hunting.  “Do you know where the noise came from?”  She looked out the window, “The neighbors.”  He sucked his teeth.  If enough damage had been done to their property there was no doubt it would be taken into court.  And judging by the explosion, there was enough damage.

    Within seconds there was a loud knock on the door.  Alastor winced at the sound, knowing what was to come.  Emily timidly opened the door to reveal a large angry looking man.  “Excuse my intrusion, but I am inclined to believe that a gun went off in here and caused an explosion in my house.”  Alastor certainly hadn’t expected Henry himself to make the complaint.  Seeing as he only left the house in emergencies.  He had expected his son- Audrick, Alastor believed he was called- to come in his place.  Seeing Henry was certainly a surprise.

    Alastor stepped in, “Sorry my good sir, I believe I may have forgotten to properly disassemble my gun when I came back from a hunting trip.  I do hope it didn’t cause any permanent damage.”  Henry looked up from Emily and at Alastor.  “Yeah well a fuckin’ hole’s been blown through my wall, I’ll let you judge if that’ll be permanent or not.”  Alastor’s eyebrows furrowed, “Well I apologize about the damage done to your property, and the scare it may have caused you and your son.”  Henry grumbled something under his breath, presumably in italian, “It didn’t just give us a scare, startled everyone in that fuckin’ house.  Molly was right next to the explosion, she coulda been hurt.”  Alastor’s ears perked at the news of other people living there, he was sure that it had just been Henry and Audrick but it seemed he was wrong.

    “Ah yes, well-”  Emily stepped between the two of them, “Alastor, stop.” she said softly, “I apologize for the inconvenience Mr. Giovanni, how can I repay you?”  Henry’s eyes turned back to Emily, “I’m takin’ this to court, this is now a legal matter.”  Emily nodded, “Alright, again, I apologize.”  Henry grumbled, “Yeah yeah, whatever.”  He walked back toward his own house.  Emily sighed and shut the door.  Alastor knew they probably wouldn’t have enough money to pay whatever charges were pressed, which added on to the stress of that day.

    “Well it’s certainly news to me that there are other people there other than Henry and Audrick.” He said, trying to change the subject.  Emily gave him a look, “Well you would’ve known if you had left the house when you were younger, but yes, he has Audrick, and two other ones, their names are Anthony and Molly I believe.  You’ll probably meet them soon enough.”  Alastor nodded, yes, that was probable considering the events that were about to transpire.  “Anything I should know about them?”  Alastor was in fact very curious about those two.  Emily shrugged, “They’re twins, and I’m pretty sure they turn eighteen in a few months.”  She smirked, “Maybe Molly might be someone to look into.”  Alastor shook his head, “Mama, you know I’m not interested in that kind of thing.”  She chuckled, “I know but things change, you never know, maybe you’ll like her.”  he chuckled, “Maybe.”

    Emily smiled, “Maybe we should make them some jambalaya to apologize?”  Alastor nodded, “Perhaps…”  Emily breathed in, “Alright, I’ll make some now, and we can deliver it tonight, sound good?”  He nodded, “Splendid idea!”  She walked into the kitchen and began to make the food.  Alastor returned to his room and picked up his book.  He marked where he had left off and closed it.