The Mafia Boss's Possession

Chapter 21

"I don't like it." My mom scrunched up her nose, looking at the empty living room that had large windows overlooking the small town.

"Mom, look at the town." I pulled the window upward as a gust of warm air hit my face. "At night, it'll be beautiful!" I smiled and turned over to look at her concerned face. "What's wrong?"

"It's just that," she paused and looked at the window again. "It is beautiful honey," she walked up beside me and rubbed my shoulder. "But why do you want to leave so soon? It's only been a month since you got back." She pointed out and I nodded, understanding what she meant. "I don't like the idea of you being alone and far away after only a month of your return from that traumatic trip."

She had no idea.

"Mom," I smiled at her and walked over to the master bedroom, the only bedroom, "right now, what I want most is time and peace. I want to be be alone and take time to myself to just relax and go about my life. All of these months, I've been worried about things that weren't even mine to stress about, and look to where it got me." I explained as tears started welling up in my mom's eyes.

"Oh, darling, you're growing up and leaving me just like your brother!" She cried out and grabbed a tissue out of her purse.

"Mom, it's only a forty minute drive, and you can call me or FaceTime me whenever." I chuckled, walking back to her side. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, I just need some space, to start my own life, you know?" I spoke softly, afraid that she'd just burst out into dramatic tears.

"I know sweetheart, I know." She sniffed and looked around as our real estate agent stood in the corner, waiting for us to decide. "It is beautiful." Mom agreed as she took another look around.

"And it's in the side of town, which means that it's not in the middle, but close enough to where you can go to a restaurant or to the park by walking. It's in the best location for the best price, can't imagine why the owner ever left." The older woman spoke, handing me a stapled document about the location and details of our surroundings. "The price is reasonable too, since it is a small apartment, but I understand you'll be living alone, correct?" The woman continued, and I nodded.

"Yes, and I do love it, I think it's perfect for a fresh start." I agreed, flipping through the rules of the documents and the payments.

"There are a lot of requests coming in, since this town is growing, so a lot of people want to get established, only problem is, this might be too small for the incoming families, but youngsters will start moving soon, now that college is looking to end." The woman continued to speak, and I turned to my mom, trying to get her opinion.

"She'll take it." My mom nodded as the agent woman smiled brightly.

"Perfect!" She grabbed her suitcase and opened it, walking over to the kitchen counters. "Now, all we need to do is sign a couple of papers, write a couple of agreements and set out the downpayment." She started pulling papers and pens and notes, causing me to feel a headache coming, but I merely smiled politely and reminded myself that it would all be worth it in the end.

Turns out, the end wasn't coming very soon, actually, not soon at all. The end wasn't even until next week. Turns out that it takes more than a couple of hours or days to get everything in place, especially since I was just twenty-one. I was grateful to have my parents back me up though. They explained to me what some of the papers meant, what I had to do, and they were there when I had to go to the meetings, or to set some things straight with the agent and/or the apartment owner. It wasn't until two weeks later though, that I was happy to say my final goodbye to my real estate agent. Not that she wasn't great, she had helped me beyond belief, and had stayed with me through meetings that she didn't need to, but I was also happy to finally be alone and in peace.

Peace wasn't actually there though. I had started packing my things and moving everything, so my mom was also with me, and my dad was around helping us move big things around. I couldn't pack a single piece of clothing without my mom remarking about the last time she saw me wearing it and the memories that it brought back to her. My dad wasn't helping much either because all he did was egg her on about his memories too. By the end of the day, I had packed all of my clothes and shoes and donated some that I wasn't planning on using, despite the protests of my mom about how much sentimental value they supposedly had. My dad had also helped by dismantling my bed and vanity and any other furniture pieces in my room so that I could place them in my new apartment.

Little by little, things were moved over to my place and I had started unpacking everything. Dad had helped by staying over to aid in building up my furniture. Mom was still in my closet, fixing my clothes as I focused on folding some clothes and placing them neatly in my bureau. I was pulling out clothes from my suitcase, not noticing that this was the suitcase that had been packed in Chicago by the maid in the Vescovi building.

I stared down at the red, satin dress that laid across my lap. I let my fingertips trace the cool material lightly and I let out a shaky breath. This was the dress I wore to my engagement party, the one of which Vescovi had later on taken off my body, the one that had started my tragic trip of emotions with Carson.

"That's a beautiful dress." My mom's soft voice commented from behind me.

Startled, I jumped a bit and saw a couple of dark spots now forming on the dress. Wiping my cheeks, I nodded silently and sighed. "Yes," I stared down and rubbed my hand over it again. "I hope that whoever buys it enjoys it just as much as I did." I hoped and gently folded it.

"What? Don't tell me you're donating it?" My mom asked, taking the folded silk from my lap. "Ayva, I have never even seen you in it! Where did you get it?" She persisted and I breathed out, closing the drawer and standing up.

"Carson Vescovi, Mom." I walked over to my bed and adjusted the pillows, dodging her eyes. "It was a simple gift." I rolled the empty suitcase underneath my bed and sat down.

"That's quite a name." She commented as she came to sit beside me, the dress still in her hands. I hid the fact that she might of heard it over the news. His name did come up often when policemen were talking about mafia organizations, only problem was, the authorities didn't have any actual evidence to pin against him or his crew, they were all innocent doves according to their records. "Just tell me one thing, did he treat you right?"

"Oh, Mom," I chuckled and looked at the glass, sliding door that was beside my bed, the sun was starting to set and a few stars were starting to twinkle. "Do you think I'd fall for him if he didn't?" I questioned her softly, hearing my dad's footsteps walking around the living room as he installed my new sofa. "I just want to move on, start my life." I stood back up and looked around my new bedroom.

"I'm so proud of you, your new apartment is beautiful, and you better expect me to pop in here every weekend!" My mom gushed as she smoothened the wrinkles off the bed where we were just seated.

"Honey!" My dad called for Mom as he huffed his way to my bedroom, wiping sweat off his forehead. "On days like these, I wish your brother was here or that you had a boyfriend to help out with all of this heavy furniture." He joked and my mom swatted his arm, silently telling him to hush.

"Sorry, Dad, but don't worry, I can finish off the rest." I apologized and grabbed my mom's purse off the ground and handed it to her. "Why don't you guys head back home, it's getting late and I know Dad's got work tomorrow." I ushered them off.

"Oh sweetheart, I was just thinking about how not everything is finished, so why don't you come back with us? That way you can return once everything is finished, an-" my mom ranted as she grabbed my dad's arm from my pushing.

"Mom, it's fine, I'm going to be fine, besides, everyone knows everybody in this town, I'm safe, I promise." I opened the front door as they exited unwillingly.

"Your mom's right, you could stay ov-"

"Guys, I already have a job here, I have locks, and I'm an adult, I'll be fine. The worst that can happen is that my neighbors bring over some cookies and annoy me, now go, leave me to enjoy my place." I chuckled as they looked warily at each other before agreeing and leaving with a kiss on my cheek.

"If you need anything, call, got it?" Dad called out as he walked down the empty hallway to the elevator. I nodded and waved them goodbye, waiting for the elevator doors to close before walking back inside my apartment and shutting the door behind me securely.