Mila's Reckoning

Chapter 25

Gino

"Mila, I swear I got out of there as quickly as I could," I shouted, throwing my keys on the counter. I emptied my pockets as I waited for a response.
"Mila," I called, but there was no response. I saw that the bedroom door was closed, so I snuck over and opened it; hoping she hadn't fallen asleep.
Mila was lying lifeless on the floor, backside up. She was wearing a white lace top that was stained with red, her underwear pulled down to her ankles. Her hair was ratted against the back of her head, with a patch of blood holding it up.
Shaking, I ran to her side. I flipped her over as gently as I could. Her neck had a faint line across it, but her face was nearly untouched. I reached for her neck and checked her pulse; it was strong.
"Oh, Mila," I cried.
Then I looked down, and saw where the blood had come from.
Mila had been raped.
I screamed, waking myself up.
I looked around, realizing that I was in my bedroom. This was the third time tonight that I had tried to sleep, but was awoken by my dream; or rather, the memory. I was drenched in sweat, and decided that I'd rather just stay awake than to see Mila like that again.
Mila was lying peacefully next to me in bed, almost as if nothing had happened to her a mere few hours ago.

---

"Mila, ask me anything you want," I said, tightening my fists together. She had just woken up about an hour ago, and was eating breakfast in bed. Elena was in the living room trying to stay quiet.
"Okay," she said, taking a bite of toast, "who are you?"
I guess that's an interesting place to start. Although Mila knew me better than anyone else, she felt as though I were a stranger.
"I mean, I know the Gino Goretti who is a business major at the U. But, who is the Gino Goretti that has a pack of men at his will-call during such an emergent event," she asked, avoiding eye contact. I hated that she couldn't even look at me.
"Truthfully, Gino Goretti is no one. But the Goretti family has a deep history with a specific crime organization that I can't exactly say," I said, pacing around the room.
"And by deep history, you mean you're a family of criminals," she asked, almost nonchalantly. "And the guy," she paused, motioning toward her body, "who did this - he's an enemy of yours," she asked.
"We don't have a clue who it is, but anyone who comes at a Goretti like this is most definitely an enemy," I finished, pausing to see her reaction to all of this. I was ready for yelling, hitting, anything. I knew she needed to get it out.
Instead, she didn't respond, she just continued eating her breakfast. I knew that Elena had to give her some pretty strong pain pills, but I didn't think it would have her this far out of it.
"Could you give me a minute," she asked, motioning for me to go out the door.
"Of course babe, just holler if you need me," I said, stepping out of the bedroom and closing the door. I let out a sigh of relief. I knew that I would have to go into much more detail when Mila was off of the medicine, but for now, she knew enough to have a few answers for herself.
"How is she," Elena asked from the couch.
"I wouldn't really know, those meds you have her on are making her pretty loopy," I said, sitting down next to her. I put my hand on my forehead hoping to shield my face from Elena.
"And you, baby brother," she said, "how are you?"
"Well, I'm the son of a mobster whose girlfriend was just brutally beaten and raped by someone we can't even begin to track, and my girlfriend is so far out of it that she barely realizes what's just happened," I said. Saying it outloud sounded crazy, almost as if this was some sort of Lifetime movie or something. But instead, this was my life. How could this seriously be my life?
"I know, I know," Elena said, pulling my head to rest on her shoulder.
"He's dead, Elena," I said, "whoever this guy is has no idea the kind of unmerciless pain that is headed his way."
"Oh, I'm well aware of what a Goretti man would do to anyone who came at his woman like this, Gino," she said. "Just give Paap time to track the scum down, and all will be okay, baby brother."
"Elena, could you come in here, please," Mila called from the bedroom. I got up to go with her, but Elena motioned for me to stay put. I watched Elena gently tap on the door, and step into the room.
I grabbed my phone to call Paap. It rang and rang, but no answer. I called Lenny, knowing he would answer.
"Len, what's going on? Do we have any intel," I asked.
"We've got nothing, G. We're working on getting the surveillance tapes from the complex, but as of right now there aren't any leads," Lenny said.
"I need a name, Lenny. The sooner, the better," I said.
"I know you do, cousin. I'm working it from my end, I promise. Any word, you'll be the first one to know," Lenny said, and then he hung up.
I leaned my head against the back of the couch, my head pounding. I wished more than anything that I could turn back the clock to the first day of biology, and that I would have just asked front-row-girl to be my lab partner. If I had, Mila would be at home with Bob preparing for law school. She would be on a fast track to being a lawyer, and I would be at home in Carltown hating my life.
Deep down, I wanted to think that I would turn back time if I could. But the thought of not knowing Mila shattered me. I'd still be running girls through the apartment, and on my way to Carltown to pick up my life as a mobster. That thought made me cringe because I would be just like my father.