Good Luck Girl (Mafia Novel) on hold

Chapter one

"Bye, dad!", I yell before closing the door behind me. Waiting for his answer is useless, as he is probably too busy with his work.

I hoist my blue schoolbag over my shoulder, and start walking to class.
As my feet hit the pavement, the nerves are really starting to get to me. What if they don't like me? I know I really shouldn't care about what they have to say about me, but I want to have a friend for once. Do not get your hopes up Amara. Well, I guess I should just go and see for myself what it is going to be like. Maybe this year will be different. Most of the time, I just don't fit in. The other people are a bit more outspoken then I am, and think it is weird that I don't talk a lot. Most of them do not even try though. And me being the shy one automatically leads to having no one to talk to.

I am ripped out of my thoughts when all of the sudden I hear a scream. "Help, he-" The scream, that sounds like it's coming from a woman, is cut off. Where in heavens did that came from? It sounded like someone was in a direct need for help.
My eyes look around frantically, and spot an open door to a house. With furrowed eyebrows, I hurry my way there.
No one leaves his door open here, all of your stuff will be stolen if you do. My legs go on automatic pilot and run towards the door. "Hello?", my voice comes out really quiet. Maybe she did not hear me. My right foot takes a step over the threshold, which my left follows. The house looks pretty from the inside, very different than the outside.
The outside looks just dirty and poor.
"Is someone home?", my voice quivers. I do not like this, it feels scary. Never been a fan of horror movies, and this is exactly how they all start. Maybe I should just go back outside and get someone else to come with me.
Who? It's not like you know someone. I am just about to leave the house when a stumble is heard. I think it comes from the living room. She is probably injured or something.

Walking around the corner to the living room, I am terrified with what I see. "Stop!", a yell leaves my throat.
My hands fly to my mouth to prevent more words coming out my mouth. Although, I really should have thought about that sooner. Five men are standing around a boy, with one of them pointing a gun at him. The boy looks no older than ten, and has tears rolling over his cheeks. Another man holds a woman in his arms who desperately claws at his hand covering her mouth. My body, frozen from shock, is suddenly pulled towards the man with the gun. My lips wobble, and tears from fear escape my eyes. I notice one of the men is dragging me to the other with the gun, who seems to be the scariest.

"Let her go", he demands. The man behind me lets go of my arms, which I quickly embrace myself with. "What are you doing here?", the man with the gun asks me. Still frozen from shock, I stay silent. My eyes wander to the boy, who looks at me with a devastating, terrified look. "Y-you can't shoot that b-boy", I whisper. The stranger smiles at me with raised eyebrows, "and why not?".
With widened eyes I look at the stranger, "he's just a b-boy. What d-did he do to you?". The man who's holding the woman snorts, "just kill her already, boss. She has seen too much anyways".

"Shut the fuck up. I am not going to kill her", he says while he gestures for me to come closer. I shuffle forward, until I reach the armed stranger. His finger lifts my chin up, so that I look him in the eye. He's fairly tall compared to me. Makes me look short whereas I am not. "What is your name?" Should I tell him my real one? No. But he looks dangerous, I would not want to find out what he does with liars.
"Amara", I whisper. The feeling of fear only heightens when he strokes my hair. His other hand still has the gun pointed to the boy in the middle of the room.
"I won't kill the boy", he pauses, "but then you have to do something for me, okay?". With frantic movements, I nod my head up and down. He smirks and looks to his men, "let the boy go. Make sure the woman knows she has one more day, or she dies, and the boy is without a mother".
What?

While just about to shake my head, two arms go under my armpits and pick me up. My bag hangs painfully in my elbow. I notice that the armed man has picked me up, and I start to trash in his arms. "Let me go", I protest. He takes a hold of my bag, and throws it to one of his men. "Stop trashing around. Remember what you agreed with. You would do something for me, and I will let the boy live. Or do you want me to kill the boy anyway?", he whispers in my ear. I shake my head, scared what he will do.
"Words, darling."
"I d-don't want that", I stutter. "Good. Now relax. I promise I won't hurt you", he says. I don't believe him, but what can I do? I don't want the boy to die. He looks so scared. How can a person even hold a gun to a ten year old's face, and not give a crap? Surely this man can't be trusted.