Angel De La Muerte

Chapter 2

I watched Chiko sit in a corner, his face buried in his bruised hands. He was trying to muffle his sobs, but I could hear them clearly from the other side of the emergency room. There was no one near Sam's body, just an open curtain, for all to see.

My father rushed in first, taking me into a tight hug while asking more questions than I could answer. Tio Matt leaned over his son's body in tears. He screamed and shook Sam, begging him to wake. It looked stupid.

Dad left me with my brothers,  Alano, the elder one, and Agustine. " Are you okay? " Alano asked, gripping my shoulders. His eyes were welling up with tears, but he fought them. Agustine pulled me from our brother and buried my face into his chest. 
" I should have stayed, I knew they weren't enough. " Agustine said. But whether or not he stayed, we would still have been ambushed.
" We'll go see Sam.. " Alano whispered.

They both hesitantly walked to the rest of the family. I glanced and Chiko, who was still a mess on the floor. I looked at tio Matt who was consumed by grief, and my father who was mad with rage.

I sat beside Chiko, placing an arm around him. I didn't know what to say, so I just sat there, my eyes trailing my father. He had his phone in his hand, desperately trying to call someone. He glanced at me and stormed out. " Hermanita.. " Chiko said, clearing his throat. " .. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.. " He sobbed.
" Why -"
" There are things you don't understand about the family, and I kinda blame myself for your ignorance.. " I knew our family had a few enemies. Most of our relatives were lawyers and cops, while my dad and uncles were in the casino, and restaurant business. Still, it came as a surprise that people would go out of their way to harm us, just to get to the rest of the family.

" Chiko!" Alano called. Chiko immediately got to his feet and jogged over to my brother, as if nothing had happened. They gave him a pat on the back as tio Matt pulled his only son into a hug. They cried into each other's shoulders, Chiko gripping at his father's suit. Two of my uncles walked towards me. " Sobrina, we have to go. " Tio Anton said
" Where?  I thought we were staying with tio Matt? " He shook his head and reached his hand out. He helped me to my feet and began walking me out. Dad stood outside with uncles Jose, and Armando. My father gave me a kiss on the forehead. " Be careful, okay? " He said, closing the car door. 

Uncle Anton drove, while uncle Jose sat shotgun. " Where are we going? " I asked them.
" You'll be staying at the Mandarin hotel for a few days. " Tio Jose said. I nodded. We'd probably be staying at a hotel for a long time. It would take more than a month to make repairs on the house, even then, my dad probably wouldn't feel safe there anymore.

We arrived at the hotel without needing to check in. Apparently they'd packed my bags for me. Tio Jose's wife, Catalina, was already in my room. Tio Anton, and Jose had to go back to the hospital, and left me with some money in case I wanted any food. " Oh sobrina, are you okay? What happened? " Tia Catalina fidgeted with my hair, and gasped at my bruises.
" I'm okay tia. " I forced a smile and pushed past her. " I'll go soak in the bath, my body hurts a little.. " 
" Okay, yes-yes-sure thing. Do you need me to prepare your clothes? I- " 
" No, i'll do it myself. You can go to the hospital with tio Jose if you'd like, I'll be fine here. " She smiled but shook her head.

" I can go by your tio Matteo's house later, I shouldn't leave you. " I faked another smile and shut the bathroom door. I took out my phone to text my father.

Papa, is it okay if you make tia Carmelita leave my room, please?

My father, unlike the others, understood that I hated spending time with the women in the family. He, just like me, found them annoying, and nosy. 

Dad didn't reply to my text, but tia knocked on the door almost instantly. " Hello, darling, your tio just called, he said I have to go pick up Andrea. Is that okay with you? " I slightly opened the door. 
" Of course tia. I can take care of myself, thanks for coming. " She smiled and obviously fake smile and rushed out. The only reason she pretended to care about me was that tio Jose treated me like his own daughter. If she had her way, no one in her family would even look in my direction. 

Dante and Miguel are right outside, just call them if you need anything.

Alano texted. He must have still been with father. I sat in the warm bath, staring at my silent phone. " Trevor, please call. " I said to myself, but almost instantly my phone started ringing. It was Trevor.

" Hey, glad you called. "
" I heard about the shooting, what happened? " He sounded genuinely concerned.
" These guys drove up and just started shooting. I think its got something to do with a case one of my uncles is handling, or the casino. Who knows.. " I sighed, sinking lower into the bath.
" How are you? "
" FIne, a few bruises.. I fell down the basement stairs. " Trevor and I laughed.
" Did anyone get seriously hurt? " Trevor knew almost as much as I did about my own family, if there was anyone I could trust outside of it, it should be him.
" Sam's dead.. " We both fell silent for a few moments. He cleared his throat and took a breath.

" How's Chiko ? "
" A mess. "

" Do you want me to come over? "

" No, I'm at a hotel. I don't want anyone to think that we're- "
" Yeah, I know. I guess I wont be seeing you tomorrow? "
" You will, I'm not staying in a hotel room all day. " Trevor chuckled. I could imagine all the fake condolences tomorrow..

" So, I'll talk to you later? "
" Yeah, sure. Bye. "
" Bye.. " I hung up and closed my eyes, resting my head on the tub's rim. I couldn't take Chiko off my mind. There was something he needed to tell me, and I wanted to hear it. If there was something the family was hiding from me, I needed to know, because if my family was in danger, I couldn't trusts my father's life in anyone's hands, other than my own.