The Family

Little Doctor...

I stood in the Vito residence as the sobs of Marcos family filled the room.

His daughter stood,being embraced by her spouse and crying into his arms. You could tell she was well into her pregnancy and ready to give birth.

"H-h-he didn't even get to see his grandson." She sobbed. I gripped my hat to my chest and nodded before leaving the residence and going back to the mansion.

On the way I passed by a book Shop and couldn't pass it up. I silently entered, soft murmurs and the smell of paper filled the shop and I made a B-line to the medical section. "Mmmm..." I grabbed my desired books and checked them out.

At the mansion, I traveled up the stairs and softly knocked on my brothers bedroom door. He mumbled something and I entered.

The room was warm and dark as the last remnants of sunlight filled the room. Dante was on the floor, crouching over a piece of paper.

"Ey champ, whatcha doin?" I called. He looked at me with eyes filled with happiness.

"Val! Come look!" He said as he gestured for me to sit next to him.

I sat next to him and my eyes couldn't help but wonder over to the piece of paper. On it, was a perfectly drawn skeleton that was neatly labeled.

"Wow Dante" I mused. He confidently smiled, "yeah! And it only took me 15 minutes!" He proudly stated. I ruffled his hair and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

He peered to the bag in my hands. "What's that?" He questioned. I took the bag and held it up, just out of Dantes reach. "Take a guess" I childishly said as I stuck my tongue out.

He hopped up and tried to reach the bag but to no avail. "Oh come on" he said as he pouted.

"OK what about....YOUR BUTT" he screamed as he began tickling my sides. "Bwahahhah....NO...Hahaha....my..........only weakness...gahahahahah.....TICKLES" I wheezed between breathes as I desperately tried to catch my breathe.

I doubled over and we fell into a heap of laughter on the floor. I finally was able to turn the tables and began tickling his sides.

Our fun was cut short at the sound of a person clearing their throat. We looked up to the direction of the noise to see Maurias, one of the most loyal guards my father had ever employed.

He smiled gently at our antics and beckoned me to come with him. "The boss wants to talk to you."

My expression changed from joy to blank as I followed him out the door and saw one last glimpse of Dante opening the bag.

I smiled and entered the office.

"Valentine...your gonna need to sit down for this" he said as he pointed to the seat in front of him.

I followed his order and sat down. He took a long puff before gripping the bridge of his nose.

"Alright....listen....my guards have picked up some interesting information."

"Word is there's some prince and his father visiting the country."

"Now as you know... I'm an honest man who knows a lot of people and I see a golden opportunity being presented here. The man would make a powerful ally." He said.

"Your point, papa" I questioned

"Well, you see, being the important person that he is, many attempts are gonna be made on him and his sons life." He said and rubbed his temples, "if we were to provide him with some...protection, he would be a very  grateful man and would possibly be happy to provide with an opportunity to grow our business elsewhere. Which is why I agreed to place you as his sons personal bodyguard." He finished off.

The information was so sudden. As I pieced the information together my father took a swig of whiskey. "So...I'm gonna become a bodyguard for some snooty prince?" I mumbled.

My father nodded his head. "But why not Tyler or Nathan or-" I was cut off by my father," they're busy with some other unfinished business...plus, protection and skill wise, they ain't got a hair against you." He said with pride slightly showing on his face.

"OK...when do I start" I questioned.

"Tomorrow morning, your gonna pick him up at their mansion and from then on you gotta stay with him where ever he goes" he stated blankly.

I nodded my head in understanding. "OK...shouldn't be too hard" I said confidently.

"But a friendly word of warning, if you fail and this boy dies. Our family is destroyed and all our respect is lost AND I'm gonna be blaming you." He said nonchalantly.

I nodded my head once again and stood up," Will that be all,papa?" I asked. "Yes now leave, child" he said.

On the way out I felt a weight of worry over my shoulders as I thought of the different outcomes that could come out of this.

The next morning, I woke up early and slipped out of the house without anyone noticing. I drove to the address that was given to me the night before.

"It's OK Val....how hard could this be?"

Oh how wrong I was...