Living In The Past

So am I

He stayed silent for few seconds. It was unbearable.

"If the guy in your apartment really is your brother, than..."

He stopped in the middle of his sentence, visible tensed about the subject.

"Than ?" I asked.

"Than you're the son of a very powerful mafia leader"

I was shocked. No, I was beyong shocked. Even more than when my brother pointed that gun on Ash.

"And..." Ash started.

He was keeping me in suspens ! It was insufferable !

"So am I" he finally finished.

"But I quit way before talking to you I swear" he quickly added, like he was trying to justify himself.

I stayed silent for the next moments, processing everything. Me ? Son a mafia leader ? That was science fiction.
I was less surprised by Ash being a mafioso. He did look the part.

"Are you ok ?" He hesitantly asked, visibly impatient to have my reaction.

"I don't ... know. Don't worry, I'm not jugding you, I'm just a bit lost" I clarified.

We stayed there for few more moments.

"It that the shady past you wasn't ready to talk about ?" I finally asked, my brain starting to think again.

He sighed, and clenched his jaw once again, more tensed than before.

"Unfortunatly, it's only the tip of the iceberg" he slowly admitted.

He walked toward the entrance of the house, not saying anything else. I followed, and after taping a code, we entered the huge villa.
The inside was very modern and luxurious. The first room was a hall. We went to a big living room, where a leather sofa, a huge TV screen and other things like that where placed.

"So this is a safe house ?" I asked.

"Yes, how do you know ?"

He seemed surprised.

"I watch series, I read books" I explained.

Silence again. I was trying to think, but it seemed that my synaspes weren't connected.

"So you know my brother ?"

"Well, let's say we fought each other multiple times. But I had no idea he had a brother" Ash admitted.

"It's a small world" I replied.

"We need to keep that information a secret for now. I don't know how my father would react if he knew" he told me.

"I'm going to meet your father ?" I asked, worry filling my voice.

"Yeah, I sent them a message when taping the code, he should be here in the morning. Do you want to take a shower ?"

"That was a smooth change of subject" I told myself.

"Yes please"

We went upstairs, where the bathroom was. He gave me new clothes, too big for me of course.

"I'm sorry, I have nothing your size. We are not used to have"

He stopped his sentence again, visibly scared of offending me.

"Little scrawny guys ?" I finished, smiling.

"I was going to say cute little guys" he replied, smiling as well.

It was great to see him smile. I knew he had a hard time explaining the situation, but still did it. I felt I knew him a bit better. The fact he was part of the mafia wasn't disturbing me. Not really. I told myself 'we all make mistakes, and he certainly lived his entire life in this environnement. Plus, he quit'. That helped.
I took a long hot shower, trying to shower away the day I lived. I was so lost in my life. That was maybe why I wasn't that disturbed about Ash's past. I needed someone I could count on, since everything was falling around.
When I got out, I heard someone playing piano at the end of the corridor. I slowly walked through it, and stopped at the doorway, looking at Ash playing.
He stopped soon after my arrival, and turned around to look at me.

"How was your shower ?" He softly asked.

"Good, you play very well"

"My father, despite being boss of the sweden mafia, cares a lot about me. He wanted me to be educated, and added piano lessons to my schedule when I was younger"

"You're from Sweden ?" I asked, very surprised.

"I was born there, but left when I was four"

I loved it when he was talking about him. I learned so much about him in one day. He was vulnerable, showing me his scars. And I wanted to help him.

"Let's get back in the living room"

It was late, and when we sat on the sofa, I placed my head on his shoulder, and sank into sleep. His scent was everywhere, it was like a drug.
I woke up, blinded by the sunlight going through the room, and immediatly noticed a man, sitting on a footstool on the other side of the coffee table staring at us. I was still in Ash arms, and sat up straight as fast as I could, waking up the gorgeous boy next to me.

"Don't worry" the stranger softly said before I could say anything myself.

"I just like to see Johan in peace like this. I missed him so much" he added.

'Johan ?! Who the hell is Johan ?!' I asked myself, trying to act as neutral as I could.

"Father, you know I don't like this name" Ash, or Johan, mumbled.

"Well, I can't help it. It's the name your mother chose for you" he replied.

'Ash real name is Johan ?!' A voice inside my head exclaimed.

"Oh, you didn't know ? I'm sorry" Ash's father said right away.

I didn't know where to be. I trully wanted to disappear.

"And you are ?" He asked me.

"Father, this is Adam White. Adam, this is my father, Ryan Peterson" Ash explained.

'Johan Peterson ? That's you're real name ?' I wanted to ask, but contained myself.

"Nice to meet you" I shyly said.

Ash's father smiled.

"The pleasure is all mine. So you two are a thing ?"

"Father !" Ash exclaimed.

"I'm sorry I just curious. I haven't seen you in so long ! You changed so much. You even got more tatoos" the man explained, smiling.

I could see he really cared about his son. It was stunning. He wasn't anything like sweet from the outside. He was really terrifying, but not with his own son, which was sweet.

"Why are you here ? I hope you didn't get into too much trouble"

I didn't say anything, and let Ash explained. He filled his father in, explained we had troubles with the Coleman's mafia.
'Wait Coleman ? What is this name ?' I was even more lost than before his father arrived.
The front door opened, and soon, a gorgeous woman came in the room. She seemed furious. I looked at Ash, or Johan I don't know, and he seemed rather unpleased by her presence.

"Well, hello 'husband', what owns me this pleasure ?" she sarcastically said to Ash, insisting on the world 'husband'.