The Other Half [ON HOLD FOR REWRITE] / MAFIOSA

Chapter Twenty Two

A/N: Updating Schedule change! Now it's either Friday OR Saturday!

Happy reading!

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 I take a deep breath and relax my shoulder, rolling my head from one side to the other. "Yes it has, I thought you finally gave up and found a life to worry about."

 Julia's cold blue eyes narrow down on me, her lips forming a slight pout as she ambles over to the sink next to me.

 "So you can steal it away and ruin it again?" She asks then lets out a sarcastic laugh. "No, I would very much like to destroy yours... well, you."

 I face her and see a coy smile play her lips. Now, having a better look at her, I see that the bright blonde hair she use to have years before is now bland and damaged. The long and healthy look of her hair is gone, now covered by split ends and crisps from over straightening her hair. Julia's skin is paler than before, looking dull.

 Life has not done her any good.

 "I never stole or ruin your life, you do that fine on your own." I bite back, leaning back against the sink and giving her a smug smile.

 Her lips fall into a flat line, turning into a scowl. "That's where you're wrong! Everything that went wrong in my life was because of you! And now, you're going to get it."

 I sigh and turn back to the sink, turning on the water to wash my hands yet again. "What do you want, Julia?"

 "Nothing really, just your new boy toy. He looks really familiar, oh, wait! He's that well-known player!" She says excitedly then changes her face to a sarcastic empathy. "I'm disappointed in you, I thought you were smarter than that. Why would you get involved with a womanizer? Those never change. They will always want one thing, and that's sex."

 Julia moves behind me and whispers on my ear, "Aren't you scared that he could easily cheat on you with any woman? Especially one like me."

 I shrug her off then grab her neck with my hand with a strong grip and push her against the bathroom wall, keeping her in a tight lock with my other arm and upper body.

 "You don't know anything. You know nothing!" I grit out my teeth, my face closer to hers. My grip gets tighter and I see her struggling for air. I squeeze a little tight, giving her a sly smile, then drop my grip on her neck. Julia falls to the floor on all four, gasping for air as on of her hands touches her neck.

 "Go ahead and try your best, Julia. Give me the worse you got and I'll give you hell. You messed with the wrong gal. I'm not going down without a fight, I hope you get that through your pea-sized brain." I say with rage, turning so that my back faces her then walk to the bathroom door to leave.

 Just as I open the door, I hear a noise behind me. I direct my attention back and see Julia slowly getting up, gripping a sink as she laughs maliciously.

 "Watch out, I'll get you when you least expect it. You won't even see it coming, Reese." My body tenses as she calls me by the nickname my brother, and only he, used for me. Memory of when Gustavo first called me Reese floods my mind.

Three years before Gustavo died...

 The cool Floridian spring breeze surrounds me as I lay on the grass of our backyard. Staying quiet, I can hear the sound of the ocean waves crashing down.

 "Alarice!" My brother's voice comes to range, covering up the sounds from the beach. "You're out here again?"

 "Que paso, Gus?" I ask, plopping myself up in my elbows as he sits crisscross beside me.