A Light in The Dark

Chapter Seven

"Wait, wait, wait," Scott rushed out excitedly, just as Richie came out of the bathroom and sat down beside me. "Your dad is basically the King of the French Mafia?"

I shrugged, my brows furrowing, unsure of where the teen was going with the information. In all honesty I was kind of expecting him to say something along the lines of "are you a princess" because that seemed to be where his mind was.

"So, if you're his kid, he's in prison, and your mom isn't around," he pointed out bluntly, earning a smack in the arm from Kate, "wouldn't that make you the Mafia's new Queen?"

"No," I told him, disregarding the pang in my chest at the mention of my recently deceased mother. "Under other circumstances, I might consider saying yes, however, my father is still alive. And my brother is on their hit list because he went off the grid during one of his assignments." All of that thinking was making my head ache. At that point, I wasn't even sure if anything I was saying made sense. "So, for now, I'm just his heir. If he dies, then there's this 'Hell Week' I would have to survive before becoming the new leader."

Scott grinned like he'd just heard the best news ever. "That is... so cool!"

I cocked my head to the side and furrowed my brows in bewilderment. "Yeah, um, I guess that's one way to put it."

"Are you dense?" Kate looked at her brother like he was the most senseless person she'd ever met. She turned to me, seemingly apologetic. "It must suck to live like that."

"How so?"

She was the first person to ever pity my life. It was definitely... different.

"Well, you know, being groomed to be a leader by your parents rather than loved."

An awkward silence fell over the four of us. It took me a moment to understand that her life completely contrasted mine, so while I grew up used to the stoicism of my parents, she was probably showered in love and praise.

"Seriously, what the hell, Richie?" I sighed, resting my head in my hands. After turning away from Kate, I had learned that Richie was pointing a gun straight at Scott who appeared to have done nothing to earn it. "Don't point that thing at them, idiot."

"Please," Scott added, nodding at me. "We hit a bump, it could go off."

Richie didn't move a muscle except to say, "It's not gonna go off."

Liar.

He and I both knew what kind of gun that was and that it could easily go off, and I was betting the kid did too.

Sure enough, Scott immediately went into full detail about the gun Richie was holding, impressing the Gecko and proving me right.

"So Bruce Lee does know his guns." A cocky grin spread its way across Richie's face.

I rolled my eyes at the toxic masculinity that sat beside me. "Seriously Richard, he's just trying to explain to you how easy it would be for someone to get hurt." Jeez, how thick was that man's skull. "Oh, and I've already been shot once today- or was it yesterday, doesn't matter," I said, shaking my head.

Scott gave me a strange look. "I'm just saying we could hit a bump, or a pothole, or something."

"Maybe I don't care if we hit a pothole." Richie hadn't taken his eyes off me in a while, which hadn't changed. He leaned forward. "Maybe I'm hoping we hit seventeen potholes." His demeanor was challenging, like he was proving something.

Kids. He was telling kids that he wanted to "accidentally" shoot them. A freaking psycho was what he was.

"Richard," I hissed, letting my anger show, and fully interrupting his hostile rant, "Put the gun down. Now. Get up." To be honest I was sure what he would do, but I held my ground, not allowing my anxiety to gain control over my actions.

He stared for a moment, and I could see the gears running in his mind. A millisecond passed before he stood up with a huff, uncocking the gun.

I followed suit, letting out the breath I was holding, and grabbed his wrist, dragging him into the small cubicle of a bathroom.

"Seriously, what was that about?" I whisper shouted after closing the door behind the person taking up half the room.

"He was being a smartass." Richie shook his head, glaring down at me.

"So? He's a kid!" I threw up my arms in exasperation. "You don't point a gun at a kid, much less threaten them!"

He lifted the gun that he hadn't ever put away towards me and took a step forward. "You better watch yourself, little girl, or you might just be the kid that I decide to shoot."

I swallowed hard, grasping the severity of the situation I'd put myself in. I was extremely nervous. Richard Gecko was basically an IED. One wrong move, and he might blow. But apparently, I was willing to take that chance.

My feet moved of their own accord, stepping forward enough that the muzzle of the gun was pressed right up against my ribs. "Do it," I whispered, my head tilting up to meet his gaze.

His cold blue eyes flitted between mine before he sighed, allowing his arm to fall back to his side. "You're fuckin' crazy, you know that?"

I shrugged with a relieved smile breaking out on my face. "It's been said on occasion."

"I hope you know, you're gonna get yourself really hurt at some point," Richie stated, turning to open the door, "or worse, you're gonna get killed."

"I know." The part that I didn't say was that even if I did, it wouldn't matter.

After exiting the bathroom, which was surprisingly nice for an RV, Richie took one look at the two siblings and pulled his gun on them. I didn't make a move to stop him as I was in complete shock. Never before had I seen a Gecko afraid of something, but the fear was evident on Richie's face, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"Richie?" I was cautious. Whatever he saw really spooked him. Like a snake does a horse.

"What's going on back there?" Pastor Fuller called from up front.

As soon as Seth turned our way, he stepped into action, jerking his brother back.

I sat down on the couch. Seth can handle it this time, I told myself. Leaning back with my eyes closed, I tried to relax. I was tired and in pain and completely over being on that hell bus.

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Published 8/15/21

(Unedited)