How Things Are

forty eight

I was never allowed to know anything about my father's gang. What I know is whenever my uncle came, he could barely hold his temper. There were smug smiles and tension.  Simon would drag me into his room and tell me not to listen. It wasn't until we ran away together that I found out how dangerous he was.

My brother thought it was best to trust him with our safety. The saying goes 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' right? Well, it was a horrible idea.

He put Simon to work straight away. Made him a part of his gang yet made us also feel that we were lesser than everyone else. Even if we were blood. He wouldn't even look at me. I was too young to be of any use. Simon kept me in the room he was given.

He never told me the jobs he had to do but he came back with blood on his clothes every night. I learned how to stitch him up but it took practice. He had ugly scars because of my shoddy work.

Simon noticed him looking at me when I got older. His jobs started lasting longer than a day after he confronted my uncle. When he returned I was sitting on one of his men's laps.
He was furious. The moment he mentioned it to my uncle he beat him until Simon vomited blood. It took weeks for him to recover. There wasn't much left in the first-aid kit.

My uncle would drag me away from him to sit on some of his men's laps or let them touch me. All I wanted to do was take care of my brother but he told me I had to earn my keep. To this day I have no idea why Simon trusted him.

When he fully recovered Simon burned the tattoo my uncle gave him off his skin until there was nothing left. The smell of his burnt flesh above his other injuries was a nightmare for someone my age. We ran again. That was the catalyst that made him teach me how to defend myself.

Looking at my uncle now all I see is a pig. I'm still not sure if he's worse than my father. He is an enemy. However Lucas knows him better be a good reason. There's been way too many reasons. I've already wanted to run away on this trip.

"Don't look at me like that. We're family."
His exaggerated frown makes me want to it rip off.

"Why am I hear?"

"Watch it." Lucas warns me. I had already forgotten our conversation earlier. This is what the memories of this man does.

He smirks "I asked you to be. You're my family." I dig my nails into the palms of my hands.

"My family is dead."

I see his nostrils flare before he gains composure "Yes. I heard about Simon. Pity."

"Don't pretend to be upset when you nearly killed him first."

Our conversation seems to have spiked the interest of everyone in the room. They watch us as if we are performing.

"You asked her to be here. She's here. Now we do business." Lucas interrupts before anyone can retaliate

"Very well." My uncle bites "You wished for information. Here it is." He pushes a folder toward the center of the table. One of Lucas's men takes it then hands it to Lucas.

"This is it?" He looks up from the folder "This is nothing."

"This is the only thing I could get without exposing who I have on the inside." My uncle states while looking at his nails.

Lucas takes out a blurry picture of someone carrying the box that left Mafia City and flings it across the table.  "Where even is this?" Teedo asks while taking the photo.

"It's being escorted it Derek's territory as we speak." My uncle relaxes in his chair.

"And how would you know that?" Teedo asks "Does your guy know where it's going? Derek's territory is a trash pile buts it's big."

My uncle is holding his patience "Would I hold back information from the Mafia?" He smiles cheekily "I'm not as foolish as this young Derek. He seems misguided. Perhaps forgotten how our world works." Nodding his head towards Lucas "I wouldn't mislead the Don of our world."

Lucas stares at him with a stone face long and hard. "If you do end up misleading us. I won't hesitate to come back here and take everything you have, until you are nothing but a sad memory."

I smirked this time. The fear on my uncles face was a pleasant sight. If I could place it on a photo I would. However I don't know how they do that magic yet.

He clears his throat, snapping out of his fear "Of corse." Looks my way "So. Niece, how do you like serving the Mafia?"

Times like this I begin to realize people are pushing me to do something. Pressing a fake smile "it's great."

Teedo snorts, then tries to cover it by clearing his throat "We should go boss, we got what we came here for."

"Usless information." Lucas replies, then gets up and heads out first.

When we all enter the limousine Lucas slaps me hard across the cheek.

"I told you to behave." Everyone was surprised. I suppose I should have seen that coming.

After the driver snaps out of it he takes us to several parked cars where the rest of Lucas's men were waiting. We switch. This time I don't have to share a car with Lucas. He's too ticked off to bother with me. I don't regret it though. My uncle needed to know I wasn't scared of him anymore.