Belonged to the Mafia 18+

045: What Are You Trying To Say?

045: What Are You Trying To Say?

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"Judy. Judy, wake up."

Nagising ako sa mahinang yugyog sa balikat ko. Pupungay-pungay ang mga matang rumehistro sa paningin ko ang imahe ni Valence. "Val..." sabi ko kasabay ng paghikab nang nakatakip ang kamay sa bibig. "Bakit?" Inilibot ko ang paningin sa paligid. Nagsisimula pa lang sumikat ang araw at halos madilim pa ang kalangitan base sa nakikita ko sa floor-to-ceiling na salaming bintana.

"I have something important to say before I leave," aniya.

Ilang inat pa ang inabot bago ko napagtanto ang sinabi niya. Napahinto ang mga kamay ko sa ere. "Ano kamo? Aalis? Sino?"

"Ako. May kailangan akong gawin."

"Ano ba iyon at ang aga-aga mo akong ginising? Ano iyang suot mo?" Bumangon ako. Pinasadahan ko ng tingin ang suot niya. Naka-pormal na black suit siya. Ang tanging puti lang ay iyong polo shirt na panloob. Nalukot ang nuo ko sa seryosong ekspresyon ng mukha niya.

"I'm going somewhere dangerous. Logan and Jo will take care of you while I'm gone."

Tuluyang nawala ang antok ko. Awtomatikong l-um-anding ang kamay ko sa dulong manggas ng coat niya. Bahagyang nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa dalawang baril na nasa holster na suot niya. "Saan ka pupunta?!" may kataasang boses na tanong ko.

Humugot muna siya ng malalim na hininga at saka ibinuga iyon kasabay ng pagbagsak ng balikat niya. He wouldn't meet my eye. "I promised you I won't leave your side. But even when I'm not actually around, my thoughts will always be with you." He pull his sleeve away from my hand. He turn his back on my direction.

My chest started to thump in an abnormal way. I felt a pinch of pain to my heart as if he was just telling me this can be our last moment together. "W-wait!" I jumped out of bed to block his way to the door. "Ano ba'ng pinagsasasabi mo?"

"I'm a mafia, Dove." He held the back of my head to pull for a kiss. A kiss that tells me goodbye in some mysterious way. "You're new to this world. You know nothing."

"Then tell me what's going on! Why do you have guns?! Are you going to kill somebody?!" I pull back from him. Waiting for an acceptable reasoning.

He met my eyes finally. Then an ounce of fear brought shivers to my spine. My heart skipped a beat. Not because of something romantic. But something far dangerous than I could imagine. He took one gun out from under his left arm. He aimed it at me.

Surprised, scared, and haunted, my legs lost strength. My butt kissed the carpeted floor. I can't move. My body froze seeing the gun's end is pointed at me--to my head. There's a lump in my throat. I have no power to speak a word.

"I'm trained to aim at people just like this. I'm used to seeing my victims' blood splat everywhere. I know how it feels to kill someone. My hands are stained. So is my soul. You are never going to meet me in heavens in the afterlife. But..." his hand holding the gun adducted. "...you can at least watch over me from above as I rot down in hell." He sat on the edge of the bed. He put his elbows on his knees. Crouching he began telling me a story. "When I was little, my father never really bat an eyelid to me. For him, I was just a necessary child meaning to grow up to follow his footsteps. Deniska, my mother, was just a pawn to bring me to this world. Learning about the Family was suppose to be when I turn 13. But I was too caught up trying to be the best son he could ever have I even put my nose to something I shouldn't have. I was 10, mother was not home, I secretly sneaked and rode the car he was on to one of our warehouse. There I found what family business is. There are illegal drugs ready for delivery. Jo was holding a bloodied man down his knees.

"Turns out he was a mole. He's forcing the truth out of him whether his name reached the authorities yet or not. When he refuse to talk, my father--who knew all along I was there watching them beat the FBI agent--turn to where I was hiding. I was so scared of him I thought I shit my pants then. He ordered Jo to bring me to him. When I was there, the poor agent's blood smell was crawling up to my nasal. It was nauseating. He was dying. Dying for the sake of justice when in fact, he killed my mother just a few days ago before he fell to the hands of my father." He looked at me with pain and disgust for himself. "D'you know what I did?" He placed his gun to his temple. "I took my father's gun... and killed him without second thoughts."

After his story, he stood up and walked towards the door. Before he disappeared in front of my eyes, he said, "I'm never going to let you get away from me. So don't worry about me. Worry about yourself." Just like that he left me on verge of crying on the floor.

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