A Collection of Short Stories

Mafia Leader (Part 1)

a/n: this one's a lot slower than my other stories so it's split into 2 parts.

I take a sip of my chai tea latte as I finish up a physics problem. I get the answer and put it into the practice test I'm taking on my laptop, and beam when I get it right. Someone slides into the seat next to mine and I look at them, sighing when I realize it's Nikolai.

"Well, good evening to you, too," He teases as he rests his arm on the back of my chair.

I thought I had found a coffee shop that I could go to without the fear of him showing up, uninvited. I've been coming here for a few weeks now. But he's found me, like he always does.

I cross my arms over my notebook and lay my head on them, groaning a little.

He chuckles. "I will always find you, Juliette."

"You're a stalker."

Something I've called him since high school. He took an interest in me in 10th grade. Back then, his father was still alive so he wasn't the leader of the Russian Mafia but his father died after we graduated.

"Maybe. But knowing you're not going home alone gives me peace of mind."

"Hayden's picking me up," I lie.

My childhood best friend. She's the only one that stuck around. We both cried tears of joy when we got our acceptance letters from NYU. Four more years of going to the same school. Four more years together before we start our actual lives.

"No, she's not," He responds, cooly.

"Yes, she is."

"She's working. She gets off very late on Friday nights."

We're both servers at a restaurant.

I sit up, looking at him. He's in black slacks, a black turtle neck sweater, and a black peacoat. A silver chain is around his neck over the sweater. His long sleeves cover up his black, patchwork style tattoos that I know are there.

"Stalking her now, too?"

"You're the one that told me, baby."

It pisses me off that I like that so much.

"Don't call me that," I snip, "And I don't remember telling you that."

"Well, you did," He insists, "Believe me or don't, but I know you're lying and I know you're planning on taking the subway home."

I glare at him for a moment. "What's your issue with the subway? Why do you hate it when I use it this late?"

He stares back at me. "You don't get why I don't want you using the subway alone at night?"

"No, you're not my... anything. We're not even friends."

His jaw clenches. "Juliette, you are a woman-"

"Thank you for clarifying, I wasn't sure," I cut in, sarcasm laced in my tone.

He gives me a look. "You are a woman," He continues, "Alone and in a big city in the middle of the night."

"It's a 10 minute commute-"

"A lot can happen in 10 minutes," He scolds, his tone harsh. I've pissed him off a little.

My head rears back a bit in offense. "You're an extremely paranoid individual. Did you know that?"

"If my paranoia keeps you safe, then so be it."

I scoff, "You're impossible."

He shrugs before his eyes travel down to my physics homework splayed out around me.