Love and Loyalty

Chapter 1

Rose and her boyfriend Riley worked for the mafia. After too many life threatening incidents, she decided to leave that life behind. Rose tried to convince Riley to leave with her but he refused, saying he could never escape this life. Its been almost a year now. She was asleep in her bed until she heard a loud bang on her door. Rose went downstairs and opened the door to see Riley standing behind it, soaked in the rain and his hands coated in his own blood. He could barely even stand.

"Fuck, I need your help." He stammers, coughing as he leans against the door frame, clutching his stomach, his clothes soaked in rain and blood.

"holy shit what the fuck happend Riley?!" she says in a alarming voice.

"I... I can't explain.." He chokes, his breathing ragged as he staggers inside, heading for the couch. He doesn't make it far before collapsing onto the floor instead.

She rushes over to him "ok ok it's going to be ok" she helps him up.

"Ah... fuck..." He hisses as she helps him, wincing from the pain in his stomach. His head hangs low, too dizzy to stand on his own. He looks up at her with a pained expression.

she helps him to the kitchen table "ok what you tell me is how I'm going to treat this cut. so I need you to explain" she looks at the cut then his face looking for an explaination.

"It's... it's from a knife fight. I got the upper hand but... he got me too." He rasps, his voice shaking as he speaks. He reaches up to touch the cut on his cheek, a pained expression crossing his face.

"don't touch it it could get infected!" *she looks at him concerned.

"I know... I'm just... fuck, this shouldn't have happened." He grits his teeth as he pulls his hand away from the cut.

"I will go get the stuff to make sure these cuts aren't infected" she goes to the closet where the first aid box is.

He watches her go, a pained expression on his face. He lets out a heavy sigh as he leans back against the table, his hand resting on his stomach. He closes his eyes, trying to steady himself.

"ok I got the stuff do you want a drink or something before I clean these cuts?" she looks at him he's so bruised and cut but beautiful at the same time.

He shakes his head, "No... I just want this over with." He looks at her, his eyes softening slightly as he sees the concern in her eyes. "Thank you... for helping me."

"ok if you say so" she gets out the alcohol and starts cleaning the cuts "why didn't you just go to the hospital, Riley?"

He grits his teeth as the alcohol stings against his open wounds. "I-I can't." He murmurs. "If I go to the hospital, they will report it to the police and my boss... he'll kill me." He looks away, avoiding her gaze.

"ok. you know your boss used to be my boss right or did you get a new one?" she can see how much pain he is in without looking at his face. that's one skill she developed in the mafia.

He nods, "Yeah, I know. But he's not the same man anymore." He says bitterly. "He's changed. He's become more ruthless and cold-hearted. He doesn't care about anyone but himself and his power."

she doesn't know what to say "that is strange has he been like that since I left?"

*He shakes his head, "No... it's gotten worse over time. I think he blames you for his change." He says softly, as if trying to spare her feelings. "

"I felt like that was expected I was the strongest" she laughs as she continues to clean the cuts.

*He chuckles lowly, gritting his teeth as she cleans his wounds. "You were... but he saw it as a threat. He saw your strength and wanted to control it." He says, his eyes closing as he tries to calm his breathing. "I'm sorry..."