Games We Play - Round 1: Never Have I Ever (18+ dark mafia romance)

Chapter 21 & 22 (Matteo)

Matteo

Chapter 21

Palermo, Sicily – May 29th, 2020

2pm

His father calls him as he's smoking a joint on his balcony, staring out at the sea with nothing on his mind. He remembers waking up two times before actually getting out of bed.

First time, it was Valentina saying his name that brought him back to reality. He was still semi-unconscious when he told her something he cannot remember now.

The second time, it was a pair of flip flops slapping against the ground that had stirred him awake. He couldn't fall asleep after that, so he got out of bed.

Isabella's idea of the girls going to see a psychic put him in a better mood. Their childlike excitement made him happy inside, like he was surrounded by people he could trust. That's why he allowed himself to make the occasional snarky remark. He decided that the two of them could hold their own against him.

The moment his father calls though, his good mood shatters. It's on their own private App, which means it's going to be a discussion that is not meant for anyone else's ears.

He places the joint in one of the cigarette-holders of the ashtray and swipes his finger across the screen.

"Hello?"

"I just got off the phone with the chief of police." He says, sounding tense.

A feeling settles in Matteo's stomach and doesn't leave.

"And?"

"I tell you to stay at home while the world is on lockdown, and you're going out swimming in a monumental fountain, drunk?"

He isn't yelling, but his voice is loud and stern. Matteo doesn't know what to say, so he says nothing.

"Say something, Matteo!"

"What do you want me to say? You're telling me to stay locked up in my room while people are dying outside, but you yourself don't do as you preach."

His father huffs on the other end, and Matteo hears him slam his fist on the desk in his office.

"Listen to me, Matteo Lorenzo Giudice. My father's name, my name, are your own name as well. Lorenzo Giudice did not build an empire and then die in vain protecting it for you to be swimming around in fountains with Russian whores."

The feeling in Matteo's stomach expands to his chest, his legs, turning into anger. His heart is beating faster now, and the waves below seem to be more aggressive.

"Nothing happened, they let us go. Why are you making a big deal out of nothing?"

"They let you go because they read your second and third name, not your first."

"What's your point?" Matteo asks, getting impatient. He knows what's coming, but he wants it done already. He knows he's about to be reminded of not doing enough.

"You haven't earned your place in the company that benefits from the privileges you abuse."

Matteo is way too high to register the gravity of his words. He's still angry about the 'Russian whore' comment. Like he hasn't noticed how his father turns his phone upside down sometimes when they're having dinner, or how he would smile then compose himself after catching himself falter?

But Matteo expected him to have affairs, it's not like they were uncommon, especially in their society. There was the Paulo Barone scandal, when he cheated on Vinnie's mom. Then there were Isabella's parents, who are now getting divorced after years of her father having numerous affairs.