𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐞 || A Mafia Love Story

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When Marlee woke up she felt as though the entire planet had crashed into her body. Her joints were stiff from the awkward position she had fallen asleep in, and her eyes were crusted shut. She was nervous to go downstairs after her dramatic display yesterday. She came to the realization that she was in no way entitled to that restaurant and therefore she made herself believe she wasn't allowed to be sad either. Marlee hopped down the stairs, with a little less cheer than usual, and made her way towards the kitchen.

Her mom was stood, arms crossed, leaning on the kitchen counter, a stony expression across her face. Nonna was sitting at the table sipping on a glass of iced tea and gazing out the window. Marlee could feel the stress radiating off of them and couldn't help but feel partly responsible. "Good morning." Marlee muttered awkwardly shuffling her feet in the entryway.

"Morning baby." Marlee's mother replied. "Come over here and take a seat cara." Nonna patted the seat next to her. Marlee glanced up at her mother before making her way towards the chair and sitting down, smoothing her dress beneath her. Marlee looked towards the counter where her papa usually sets his keys. He must have left already.

"Your grandfather had to take care of some things at the restaurant this morning, but he'll be back later this evening." The older woman said lowly, pouring her granddaughter a glass of tea.

"Shoot! I'm so sorry honey I've got to go to work." Her Mama blurted out startling Marlee in the process. "I love you honey, I'll see you tomorrow before school. Ok?" She kissed Marlee's forehead and placed a caring hand on her mother-in-law's shoulder.

"I love you more mama." Marlee muttered as her mother whisked out the door. Eleanore often worked entire days at the hospital so sometimes Marlee would only see her mother for a couple minutes in the morning. When Marlee returned home her mother was usually already asleep.

"Marlee," Nonna paused taking a sharp breath. "Your grandfather didn't exactly lose the restaurant so to speak, it was just sold to someone."

"He's still the manager and he's still running the restaurant it's just owned by another man."

"But if that's the case then- then why did you and papa seem so upset last night?"

"We don't know this man, we did however know his father, very well in fact, your grandfather took out a loan to open up the restaurant but when your father got sick it put our family in a lot of debt."

"Well, why- why didn't anybody tell me this Nonna? I could've gotten a job, I could've-"

"Marlee." Nona said in solemn tone. "You are a child and you have got to stop trying to clean up after the adult's mess." Her grandmother's tone dropped to deadly serious. "All we can do is hope he shows us grace, given our relationship with his father. Your grandfather, our whole family in fact, could be in a lot of trouble if he so chooses it."

"What trouble Nonna? What would happen to us?" Marlee unconsciously began picking at her cuticles. Marlee's grandmother looked as though she was caught doing something she wasn't supposed to and quickly flicked her eyes away from her granddaughter.  "I just mean there could be a lot of legal problems for us, we would be alright dear so don't go overthinking it like you always do." Her grandmother advised.

Marlee's grandmother reached her hand forward and placed it on her granddaughter's soft cheek. "Listen Marlee, I can see the wheels turning in your head already." Her Nonna laughed softly. "Everything will be alright.  Even if something did happen, your Papa's brother has enough money to help us. He's just too stubborn to ask for it."

"Now! I think it's time for you to get to school dear. Do you want to take the truck or does walking sound more your speed?" Her grandmother chortled sending the young girl a wink.

Marlee decided on walking to school as she would take any chance she could to do so. Wind rippled through the soft blades of grass and the soft sound of birds chirping surrounded her. Marlee lived close enough to town that she could see the roof tops of homes from her bedroom window but walking through the hilly terrain made it appear as if there was nothing for miles. The empty expanse brought peace to the girl's anxious mind, and she finally felt as though she could breathe. Her grandmother soothed most of her worries, but she couldn't help but feel that tick of anxiety in the back of her mind.

"Morning!" Marlee chirped to Ms. Howard, the receptionist in the office. Marlee continued a small conversation with the woman, asking about her fiancé and her plans for the wedding before getting a pass from her and continuing to her class. 

Marlee entered her third period and sat in her usual seat. Around ten minutes into the class a knock sounded on the door, a boy entered the room and approached Ms. June's desk. "Hi! You must be Roman." The woman cheered. The boy Marlee now knew as Roman looked at the teacher with a kind expression and nodded his head with a hum. The teacher glanced around the room until her eyes landed on the seat next to Marlee. Ms. June placed a kind hand on the boy's shoulder and pointed him in the direction of his new seat. "You can sit next to Marlee in the back hon." She smiled sweetly.

Roman made his way towards the girl and his eyes flicked across the room as if inspecting every single detail of it. Eventually his cold stare landed on Marlee, his new partner. His cold demeanor made Marlee nervous. Is he going to be mean too? Roman flashed Marlee a kind smile, surprising Marlee
in doing so, and placed his bag on the table.

The teacher resumed her physics lesson. Marlee has never been good at science so she would accidently tune the teachers voice out. She felt guilty for doing so but she couldn't help it. A couple minutes later Marlee felt a finger poke her shoulder. She turned her head towards Roman with wide questioning eyes. "Hi! I'm Roman." The boy whispered loudly. A few heads turned towards the pair but Roman didn't seem to notice or care. "Hi." Marlee whispered shyly. He's really pretty. "What's your name?" "Um-Marlee." She whispered with a sweet smile on her face. "That's a pretty name." Roman said kindly. "Thank you! I like your name too!" She said a little too loudly. She could hear some of her classmates snickering but Roman didn't seem to care.

Ms. June was usually strict on talking during her lessons, but that was the first time she'd seen someone treat Marlee with genuine kindness. The class was left with the rest of the period to work on their assignment, but Marlee was too busy trying to make a friend. "What classes do you have?" Marlee questioned. The pair compared schedules and found out they had a few more classes together including their first period. "Hey, your next period should be next to mine! Do mind walking me there?" Roman chirped, resting his cheek on his fisted hand. Marlee nodded her head excitedly and continued to chat with Roman about various topics for the rest of the period.

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