The Girl And The Mafia

Venatores

I followed Will down to the floor of the room, weaving through the people fighting, he lead me to a table with a girl sitting alone.  She had dark brown hair with purple highlights running like shooting starts across her hair which was braided so pristinely; black clothes showed off her perfect body as her blue eyes looked up to me.

This girl reminded me of Clary, the way that she sat like she could jump up and run away, but at the same time in a way that suggested she knew everything you wanted to know, or her blue eyes that shinned like the skies you only knew of in novels. A less friendly version of Clary, but just like her none the less.

"Kaede, this is Octavia," He motioned to me, "Octavia, Kaede," The girl smiled at me and glared back at Will, almost the way I could imagine the twins doing every time they fought. As if they had, had enough being around each other, not knowing what it was like to spend so much time alone.

"She looks scared," She glowered, picking at her nails, disinterested with the both of us.

"So were you," Will took a seat next to her as I kept in my spot, listening to the movement behind me, the sounds, that if I tried hard enough, could turn into the sounds of clattering and singing from the home, or the laughs of the younger children, "Octavia, you can sit down," Will's voice cut like a knife through my mind.

Letting myself sit next to Will, the girl leaned over to look at me again, "Take that out of your hair, if you're not going to do it right don't do it at all."

Undoing my hair Will began talking over Kaede, "Okay, I thought it would be easier to explain down here," He began, "As Matt may have told you before, everyone here is part of a Mafia, we call ourselves the Venatores-,"

"Isn't Matt supposed to tell her this?" Kaede asked, poking at Will's side with her elbow, causing a glare from him.

"He told me to train her," He responded, turning back to me, "You have been, sort of, recruited-"

"Kidnapped," I corrected.

"To join us," He continued on, ignoring my comment, "And to be one of us."

"Cant I just go back home and not say anything to the cops? What will one person cost you with this many people anyway?" I was pleading now, imaging the looks on the orphan's faces when I wasn't there in the morning, "I don't even have an education."

Will smiled and responded, "Fine you can go home," My heart filled with excitement, more than I have ever felt, "But then I'll have to take that girl you were protecting," And it fell back, I guess Matt told him. I wouldn't trade myself to put a child here, and he seemed to know that as he leaned back against the wall.

"I will be training you later, but you should eat right now," Will got up from the table, leaving me alone with Kaede, who still seemed more interested in her nails.

"Will and I were both recruited in the same year," She began, "I was in Los Angeles and he was in New York," I starred forward as two boys in front of us started sparring, "Everyone here is from an orphanage, " One of the boys was flipped onto the mat with a thud, his sandy brown hair flew over his eyes as the one with black hair offered a hand down to him, "It's what brings us all together and keeps us from being homesick."

Noticing that I was aimlessly ignoring her, Kaede raised her voice, "We serve a bigger fight, Octavia," The boy got back up and aimed low, "Something you can't even imagine," At this I looked back to Kaede, raising my eyebrows for her to explain.

"You don't think I believe in all of those conspiracies, do you?" I questioned her mocking smile, the things news reporters would say to get the attention of the public, all of the rumors around big towns.

"It's not a conspiracy, its all very, very real. Like I said, things you've never imagined," Before she could keep explaining, Will returned with two plates, placing one in front of me and keeping the other for himself.

There was corn, mashed potatoes, a burger, and a bottle of water in front of me. I had never seen such big portions for one person in my life, but I didn't complain as I began eating. An empty plate and a long pause of awkward silence later and I was walking away from Kaede with Will leading the way.

"There are some empty rooms up here," Will hummed as we walked up the stairs, stopping at the tenth level from the top and turning down the hallway. From all the way up here everything below seemed so small and fragile, like intricate decals on a flower vase, small but appreciated; the same way I used to see the home, such a small detail from the center of town, a place no importance to anyone but myself.

Walking down the curved corridor Will stopped at a room with a red piece of tape on it,  he opened the door, letting me walk in first.

Against the far wall was a day-bed holding grey sheets with silver roses stitched into them, White pillows were at the head of the bed. Grey walls with a lamp in each corner, a small TV with a off-white couch facing it; on the other side of the room was a dresser, covered in silver paint splatters and glossed over so the light glowed off of it. Finally there was the bathroom door that opened to a small and simple area with the lights still turned off.

We both stood for a moment in the doorway, me looking at the room and Will at me, "Who do I share it with?" I asked, turning to him as he leaned against the wall.

"No one," He smiled, "Its all yours," My face dropped as I kept my eyes on him, waiting for him to start laughing and to tell me I was sharing with five other girls, but he never did.

"So, there's no room-mates? No sharing clothes? No-," I was cut of by a slightly comforting glance.

"No, Octavia, you're not at the orphanage anymore, this is all yours," Seeing me begin smiling he kept on talking, "There should be fresh clothes in the dresser and everything you need in the bathroom, I'll come get you in the morning." With that he turned and shut the door behind himself with a light click.

With a deep breath I put the red sweater on the couch and walked to the drawers and wandered through the clothes, walking to the bathroom with a pair of blue sweat pants and a white t-shirt. I couldn't even begin to bring together the events of the past few hours.

I had been kidnapped, taken halfway across the country, and told I was apart of a Mafia, everything that sounded like the plot of a horrible blockbuster movie that never made it past a hometown theater. Even now, as I stood in the hot shower, taking in the luxuries I had always thought would come with a foster home, I couldn't imagine why, but I was considering myself to be lucky.

****

Comment, follow, and vote for more!

Edited 4/2/2017