The Mafia King's Nicotine

Chapter 30

Vivian rested outside in the blazing June sun, trying to tan her pale skin a little. She burned super easily in the sun, so she was more likely to turn a bright pink rather than get a nice tan. Still, she enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her skin as she swung back and forth on the small bench swing in her parent's backyard. Erik had dropped her off, having an important meeting that afternoon and he figured it would be good for her to spend some time with her parents. Unfortunately, it was a weekday and both of her parents were at work.

It was Thursday, so she and her mother did have an appointment to look at some wedding dresses at a small boutique, but that wasn't until 2 which meant she had an hour and a half to sit and think. Dannye was home but he seemed pretty enthralled in his video games, so Vivian didn't want to bother him, though they needed to talk.

She hadn't seen Johanna since her grad /engagement party and she feared that the whole 'pulling a gun' situation may have scared her off, which made sense. She also missed Andrew. Erik made her quit her job a few weeks ago now and they had both been devastated. She knew it was coming, especially since they would be moving to France, but she was still upset about it. It also made the big stink Erik had caused over her becoming an artist, pointless. She had been suffering for the past month, slaving over her work to make sure that it was everything she wanted it to be.

It never was good enough.

She closed her eyes, letting her fingers drift across the concrete of the back patio, breathing in the fresh air. It had been a while since she had enjoyed the outdoors, she should do this more often. The backdoor opening startled her eyes open and Dannye stepped outside, down the small step and sat down at the table.

"Hey." He said, watching her swing.

"Hey."

Dannye straightened his sleeves, then rolled them up nervously, "We should talk." Vivian only hummed in response, half asleep, "It's about Ollie. If I had known that he was obsessed with you or was a danger to you I would have never trusted him! I thought he was the same boy that we all knew back when I was still in high school with y'all."

Vivian moved her arm from over her eyes and squinted at her brother, "Who did you know 3 years ago? I think we knew two different people."

"We probably did. I knew the drug hustling Ollie and you knew the caring Ollie."

Vivian snorted at her brother's description of her old friend, "Caring until he left me."

"I should have never let him back in the gang when he came back, that was my own fault. I should have known he wouldn't change and would just cause problems," He rubbed his face in frustration.

"Back? He was in your gang!?" She screeched, sitting up, "I- I knew he was in a gang but yours?"

"Yes... mine," he sighed.

"So that's why you had him watch over me? You thought you could trust him,"

"We were all dumb."

"Not Erik. Erik knew exactly who he was and I did too, I just didn't listen to myself." She groaned at her own stupidity, mentally scolding herself for not trusting her gut.

"He's not as bad as I thought."

"Who? Erik or Ollie?"

"Erik." He put his head in his hands, shaking it back and forth, "he's... he's done a lot for you, for all of us, and I know he will protect you. Protect you from the situation he's putting you in."

"No one said the situation was ideal."

Dannye snorted at her response, "not ideal at all."

"Pops is not very happy about it. I guess he thought I could still get out of it." Vivian sighed, remembering the fight she and her father had after the engagement party. He was angry at her for not following through with the plan to leave for Texas and they hadn't talked since. Her parents had always been supportive and were there for her through everything, she would have never imagined her father abandoning her when she needed him most.