Created by the devil

We're better off not knowing the truth.

Gia isn't sure if she laid on the ground for forty-five seconds or five whole minutes. All she did was squint her eyes and bury her head into Tommy's chest. Once the sound of bullets hitting the facade of the Garrison stopped, she opened her eyes slowly.

Everybody is starting to stand, so she also stands up and dusts herself off with the help of Tommy. "Are you okay?" He asks, concern written all over his face. She nods in response. He puts both of his hands on her arms and asks her again. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes." She is still a bit out of this world. He takes her in his arms and hugs her. Her hands slide over his back as she hugs him back. "Everyone good? Alright, fuck off then. Ya didn't see shit." He yells out loud once he let go of her.

Once everyone is out of the pub, Arthur turns around and says "What the fuck was that about, Tommy?" Tommy himself can't answer who would have done it. 

It is only when Gia intervenes that they understand that it is none of their business. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'll get someone to clean this." She told the two brothers as she goes on to search for her vest.

Tommy walks over to her and prevents her from leaving the pub by standing in front of the door. "What the fuck just happened?" He questions. 

"As unfair as it is, it's not your business. I'm sorry about your bar, but I'll get someone to do the hard work and get your bar starting again." She tells him truthfully. 

"It is my fucking business, because they fucked up my pub!" He yells right in her face.

As much as her blood is boiling, not a single droplet of sweat is seen on her forehead. Even if she is not accustomed to being yelled at, she answers calmly.

"I know you will do great things, Tommy, because you fight with the deadliest power. There is nothing more dangerous than your intelligence, but you've got to accept that there are also smarter and stronger people than you, people you can't look into the eyes of yet. Learn from them; do not spit on them." She tells him seriously.

"What the fuck, Gia?" Arthur yells in stress. "We're all going to die, innit?" Johnn asks. "We're all going to die one day; don't stress about it." She smiles, and as she turns around, she is faced with Tommy, who doesn't try to hide his disappointed look. 

"Who were they, Gia?" He asks her slowly. And in that very moment, she wants to tell him everything, just because she looked him a second too long in the eyes. But even Gia doesn't know everything.

"They were a deal gone wrong, nothing to worry about." She sighs, her eyes sparkling back at his eyes. Tommy moves to the side and lets her pass through. 

But once he hears the door close, he changes his decision and runs after her. She has only gotten three feet out of the Garrison when she feels his hand on her shoulder.

"I want to know the truth." He tells her honestly and slightly enraged. What does her care about the bus? He cares about her not telling him. "Everybody wants the truth, but sometimes we're better off with the lies." She answers. "Stop doing that! Stop talking your way out of everything!" He gets mad again.

This time, she can't hold it in anymore. No matter how hard she makes a fist or how white her knuckles get from it, "You want to know the truth, huh? I'm fucking terrified because I can get killed right now, no matter where I am or with whom I am. That was a warning from our dear friends who wanted to blow up my head, like every single head in my family. They don't give a shit whether you're pregnant or a child; they want us all dead. That was the start of a war, and you may think you can handle them and that they are not that dangerous. You will not get far with your razors and mean words, not in my world. So, please just let me handle this." She went from yelling to whispering in about thirty seconds.

"I will not let you out of my sight; you better know that. I don't care if I get shot or killed. I won't let you do this alone." He tells her, which makes her sigh and lean with her head against his chest. Gia takes his hand, and they practically run to her house.

Once the door is open, she drops everything in her hands and runs to her phone. She dials the only number she has. "Whatcha callin' for?" She hears the voice say on the other line. 

"They didn't get ya'?" She asks. "The cops? I better fuckin' hope not." She hears her cousin practically yell in her poor ear. Gia sighs contently and leans with her head backwards. "Get out of there, get your wife and kids, run." She orders him.

This whole time, Tommy is listening to the conversation, trying to put the puzzle together. If they were in better conditions, he would've been listening to how her accent changes when she talks to relatives, but now he was listening to the context. How can she still be a walking secret to him?

"Don't tell me that you're talking about.." Her cousin quickly lowers his voice. Neither of them wants to say the name. "Capone, I think, I'm not sure." There it is, Tommy thought. The first time she shows him, she's truly scared.

"I'll catch you later." Mario hangs up the phone. She sighs out loud and looks back at Tommy. She looks around and asks him "You checked the house, right?"

"Why would I- Wow." He takes a big step backwards as she takes a gun from her bag; he isn't used to seeing women with guns. Gia doesn't say it, but she sure thinks it, fucking amateur.

Once she checks the house for breaking or entering and everything is clear, she places herself in front of the phone.

Tommy sighs as he sees her frowning. He walks over to her and glides to the ground. Yes, he probably should be helping his brothers out with the pub but seeing her like this makes him forget all about it.

"When I was a child, and it was only me, Arthur, and our John, we used to go to the cut and swim in there. Well, John was too little to swim, but luckily Freddy was there. We swam from one side to the other. I was a terrible swimmer, so it's safe to say that Freddy saved my life more than once." He explains as he finally looks over to Gia, who's giving him her whole attention.

After some time she speaks up, "When I was younger, my dad wasn't much around, so we played in his library. We played this game where you needed to run from one wall to the other over all the obstacles. That's how I lost my front calf's teeth." They both laugh.

In that very moment, which lasted only a couple of seconds, they looked like two young adults falling in love and nothing more.