Heat: A Mafia Doll Retelling

Chapter 15: Pain

(Not edited... you should kind be used to it by now... sorry :-( )

Brooklynn was still crying pathetically into her pillows hours later.

All of her makeup had smeared into the crisp white of her comforter. It was a mess and she was a mess and she didn't know what to do with herself until it was finally time to try to go get Stefan back.

For the past few weeks she had been so busy doubting her relationship with him because of Franco that she hadn't even been aware enough to notice that he was in danger.

Franco stood outside her door.

He tried to stay away like the Boss had told him to, but he couldn't. Not when he could hear her crying when he passed by her door.

Franco knocked on the door gently and got no answer. The sound of her tears continued without a break. He was about to turn away and leave her be longer... but then he realized that that wasn't the type of person he was.

He sucked it up and opened her door.

He would have assumed it was locked but obviously she had been too distressed to remember to lock the door.

Franco's heart ached when he saw her curled up with a few stained pillows littering the floor. He loved her too much for it not to hurt when he saw her in this condition. He closed the door behind himself and walked to her side. Her sobs rang throughout the room even though her face was buried in her pillows.

His hand climbed onto her back and he tried to soothe her as best he could.

He sighed when he realized his attempts were doing nothing and suddenly a small wave of anger ran through his body.

"Stop."

Brooklynn heard his tone and her sobs quietened down.

"I said stop," Franco said before forcefully grabbing her arm and forcing her on her back. A gasp escaped her lips as she was suddenly looking up at his face. Franco's eyes softened slightly when he saw her swollen and red eyes.

His jaw hardened after a moment and he pulled her up until she was sitting. He pressed his forehead against hers momentarily. His hand climbing up to bury itself in her hair.

"Do you think this is okay?" He asked her harshly.

Brooklynn didn't understand what he meant, her confusion showing in her eyes.

"You are in the fucking mob, Brooklynn. When things get tough we don't sit around and fucking cry about it," He reminded her.

Brooklynn looked down and nodded.

"I don't like the punk. At all... you know that. You brought him in so you're going to get him back out. What kind of hope does he have if his only chance at surviving is laying here crying her fucking eyes out, huh?!" Franco asked her.

Brooklynn felt shame consuming her.

He was right.

This wasn't what she was taught. Sitting here and crying wasn't going to help Stefan. It wasn't going to do anything.

She lifted her hands and began trying to wipe away her tears.

Franco's fingers untangled themselves from her hair and instead the traveled over to her cheek and gently stroked it.

"Remember what you told me a few years ago after I told you what my dad did to my mom when I was a kid?" He asked her.

Brooklynn nodded slowly. Ironically enough they had also been in her room that night when she was sixteen and he was nineteen. She clearly remembered the painful tears in his eyes when he told her all about how cruel his dad had been and how he felt guilty about his mother's death because according to his father it had been all his fault... if he had never been born his mother would never have stopped loving her father and his father would have never became violent.