Becoming a DeMarlo

5: "Just complicated."

Chapter 5: "Just complicated."

As if he knew I'd throw a fit, Elijah walked away just as fast as he had uttered the words, leaving my mouth wide open.

What else did I not know?

With the hall now empty aside from a few guards, I didn't have any choice but to head back into my room, wondering what the fuck was going on with my life.

My oldest brother is an asshole, and the youngest one is a drunkard. 

Perfect.

I felt frustrated knowing that there were probably more things that I didn't know about this family.

Curiosity (and a bit of boredom) got the best of me, and I googled the DeMarlo family. I didn't even have to add in the location after the surname, as the web page instantly spat out results. 

The anxious within me grew as I realized that the majority of them were crime reports linked to the DeMarlo family. 

I read them all. And the more I read, the more concerned I grew. 

My "father" was in the drug business, so I wasn't particularly naive when it came to crime, but this was a whole new level. 

Men being beheaded, warehouses being burnt with people locked in, women coming home to their husbands hung — over a hundred cases like these all "linked back to the DeMarlo clan", yet not a single arrest. 

I couldn't find any real information on the people in the family, just crime reports and open cases.

It was enough to scare the shit out of me.

When I heard loud knocks on the bedroom door, my heart skipped a beat.

"Uh..Come in!"

Charlie popped his head in.

"Hey, champ. What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Charlie teased.

I gave him a stale laugh and closed the laptop.

"I'm fine."

"Good. You ready for that tour I promised you?"

I couldn't concentrate on forming a reply when all I could think about were the case files and crime reports I had just read.

Charlie seemed nice, but I had known him for just a day.

What if he wasn't really all that great?

"Earth to Maya," Charlie called out, pulling me out of trance. "You sure you're okay, kid?" he asked, a concerned look taking over as he stepped closer. 

I immediately scooted back on the bed, surely raising Charlie's suspicions. 

"I'm fine," I repeated, but it was clear that Charlie didn't believe me.

"You're not. Tell me what's wrong," Charlie ordered, resembling Elijah.

Elijah. 

Elijah was surely capable of these heinous crimes. 

"Maya, did you hear me? I asked what's wrong," Charlie repeated, moving closer.

What is wrong, what is wrong, what is wrong?

What isn't wrong?

"You-You didn't tell me about Jasper," I blurted out.

Yes, that was safe. Talking about the crimes was not safe.

Or so I thought.

Charlie, however, grimaced. 

"You met Jasper?"