Mafia- The Game No One Wants to Play

Victim Three- Jen

My alarm clock blares, waking me. I groan and don’t bother with the snooze, finding the switch on the side to turn it off. Cassie stirs, then opens her eyes and sits up on her elbows. I’ve already begun to change.

“Work?” she asks tiredly.

“Yeah.” She groans and flips over to her stomach and attempts to fall asleep again. “Are you babysitting tonight?”

“Don’t make me think about that right now, Will. I want to sleep.” I suppress a laugh and pull on a sports hoodie.

“Later.” She doesn’t reply, so I exit to the kitchen. I turn on the news to watch another story from last night. Around one in the morning some guy named Cameron Barnes was stabbed to death while sleep walking around his house. He looks probably forty or fifty years old and had a cool beard. The news people also say that police officers will be watching the city at night so they can catch the mafia doing all these crimes.

When the news ends, I leave the apartment and lock the door behind me. Cassie still sleeps in my bed.

I walk to work, a gym a few blocks away. I instruct a spinning class for women and some other weight training classes. Since I work there, I get to use all the equipment for free, so that’s my workout.

After work, I shower and change into clean clothes. Cassie didn’t say what she was doing today, so I suppose I’ll just wait til I get home to see if she’s there. I make the pasta for dinner since it requires no effort. It’s only just after five o’clock, but Cass isn’t home yet, so I eat alone.

My house feels weird clean and it takes me a while to figure out where my girlfriend moved all my stuff since she cleaned my house yesterday. Cassie comes home around eight. She pants as she flies through the door and into the apartment.

“You okay there, Cass?” She flings herself onto the couch.

“I was scared so I ran all the way up here.”

“It’s one flight of stairs.”

“Oh, shut up. Not everyone works at a gym.” She eats her pasta and I finish the last few bites of mine that I didn’t finish earlier.

We watch the nightly news on my bed later and I shower before bed. The news only tells us to not go out at night. It’s unsafe and police men can question anyone at any given time. Once again, I fall asleep easily and sleep well through the night.

I wake around two in the morning. My stomach grumbles and I groan. Cassie still sleeps beside me, not stirring at all. With an unhappy sigh, I roll out of the bed and pull on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. I make my way into the kitchen and search for food. Even though I went shopping like yesterday, all we have is oatmeal and half a box of cereal. The chips Cassie must have finished today. Why did I only buy breakfast food?

I throw on a sweatshirt and slip on a pair of sandals. I slide my wallet and phone into my pocket and slip out the door silently so Cassie won’t wake up. Once down the stairs, I exit the apartment building and wander into the warm summer night. The walk from my apartment to the gas station down a few blocks passes quickly.

Jen waves hello from her place behind the counter, then pushes a piece of brown hair behind her ear. I wave back and look for food down one of the small aisles. I find a granola bar that looks somewhat appetizing.

“Hi, Jen,” I manage to say.

“Hey, Will. What’s got you up this late?”

“I got hungry.”

“And you couldn’t eat at home because…”

“We’re out of food,” I answer simply.

“Well it’s not smart to be out this late, especially with everything that’s been going on.” I look down and nod. “Be safe.”