Million Dollar Mafia

Chapter 58

It had been almost a week and a half since Antonio had left me that night. I called his phone several times every day for a week. Part of me thought that maybe he had slept over at his office and was drowning himself in work. I tried calling the Brambilla's, but neither of them picked up my calls. I wasn't surprised when Mr. Brambilla didn't pick up, he was still carrying the weight of the Brambilla family gang. I was shocked to see Mrs. Brambilla missing my calls due to the fact that we would talk and how she's always trying to call me. Most of my nights I spent lying in bed, staring out the window with tired eyes. Some nights I spend watching tv, waiting for Antonio to walk through our hotel room door and join me in bed. What seemed like every night, I woke up screaming and crying because of the nightmares appearing in my mind. Most nights I had hour long worth of panic attacks. The room was always dark, so I felt like I was consumed in a black hole. Breathing was impossible, Antonio always calmed me down, but he wasn't here. Now I was alone, by myself, without the person I needed the most laying down beside me.

           - - -
Once again, I found my self drifting off into another nightmare.

My eyes fluttered open, I was in my room back in Milan. But my room wasn't my room now, it was the room I had when was a kid. The walls were a creme color, a mason jar full of flowers sat on my dresser. I looked down, I was in my bed, wearing my favorite princess colored pajamas. The moon hung high in the sky, I didn't know what time it was but I knew it was late due to myself being in bed. " Mommy?" I called out. I jumped off my bed and ran over to my bedroom door. I was about to open it, when I already found it slightly opened. " Mommy?" I whispered. A smile crept across my face, were we playing hide and seek? I giggled softly before pushing open the door and running down the hall. I walked up to the top of the stairs before making my way down them. " Mom!" I yelled out. The house was completely silent. I skipped into the kitchen, my mom had chicken middle soup on the oven.

Why did she have chicken noodle soup on the oven? It was almost nine pm, dinner was over.

" Mom! Daaaaad!" I yelled out, emphasizing the 'A' in dad. I looked around the kitchen, where was my family. The lights were off, except for the floor lights guiding me down the hall. I stood still for a few moments, I heard distant talking in our training room.

Walking down the hall towards our families training room, I listened carefully for the voices and grunting sounds coming from the training room.

" She's too young, she shouldn't be training with us," my oldest brother Emiliano said.

" She needs to be prepared for when she's older," my father said. He sounded angry.

The sound of a man choking on air caused me to pause in my tracks.

" Please, I don't know what you want from me!" An old man's voice pleaded out.

I slightly pushed the door opened and peaked through the crack. My eyes widened in horror as a man sat on the ground, with a busted lip, two swollen eyes, one black eye, blood smeared across his face from a bloody nose. Several broken fingers, a broken nose, and thousands of bruises covering his body.

" Where the hell even is she?" My father spat out sternly. " In bed, mom put her to sleep an hour ago," Adriano answered. " Go get her," my father said angrily. Without hesitation, Emiliano walked past my father and towards the door. I gasped softly and took several steps back, Emiliano got closer to the door. " She needs to see this," my father said.

Emiliano pushed open the door and flinched when he saw my little figure standing against the wall. Emiliano scoffed and smiled, " how long have you been standing there for?" " Not long," I said softly. Bending down, Emiliano bent down and picked me up. " Why aren't you in bed?" Emiliano asked me. " I'm not tired, and I wanted mom," I answered. " Where's mommy?" Emiliano chuckled, " dad wants to see you." My eyes averted over to the man I could now clearly see weeping on the ground. Emiliano walked back into the room and set me down beside my dad. My eyes immediately filled with tears when I made eye contact with the man bleeding on the ground. " I want mommy," I whimpered. My father cleared his throat, " stop crying snd stand up straight." All my brothers clenched their jaw and looked at my father. I whipped my nose on my pajama shirt sleeve and looked up at my dad.

Taking out a loaded gun, my father handed it to me. " Dad you can't be serious about this," Nicolo said stepping forward. I stared at the gun before looking at Nicolo. " She's six," Adriano said. My dad glared at both Nicolo and Adriano. " DON'T REMIND ME HOW OLD MY OWN DAUGHTER IS!" I flinched and stepped back as my fathers roaring voice filled out the room. The old man cowered into the ground. Emiliano sighed and folded his arms, " Thalia, take the gun." I looked at Emiliano then at the gun, " take it," My father said sternly. My small hands rose up and took the heavy, loaded gun. I almost dropped it due to weight, Adriano rubbed his jaw and tightly folded his arms.

" Aim it at his forehead," my father said calmly. I looked at the man, tears streamed down his face. " Thalia," Emiliano said. I looked at him, " shoot him," Emiliano said calmly, hating what was happening. I looked at the gun pointing ahead at the innocent man crying, on the verge of death, on the ground. " Where's mom?" I mumbled. " She's not here Thalia, shoot the damn man," My father said roughly. My lip trembled as I looked back at the man. Without further more, I pulled back the trigger as the bullet from the gun shot out of the model and blew through the man's forehead. I was slightly pushed back by the gun's strong force. I immediately dropped the gun and began to cry as blood sputed out from the man's forehead. " God," Nicolo said in disgust. Emiliano grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the door. " Leave her," my dad said calmly. " She shouldn't be seeing this dad," Adriano said. " I SAID FUCKING LEAVE HER!" My dad's yelled. Emiliano stopped and looked at my dad, " unless you want your six year old to have trauma when she grows up, let me take her back to her room." Tears burned my eyes, I kept my face buried in the side of Emiliano's leg. My dad looked back at the man, who was surrounded by a pool of his own blood. All my brothers looked at each other before looking at me. " Take her to bed," my father said softly but sternly. " I want mom," I whined. " YOU'RE NOT GOING TO FUCKING SEE HER SO GO BACK TO YOUR GOD DAMN ROOM!" My father roared. Emiliano swooped me up into his arms and carried me out of the training room. The last thing I saw was the dead man lying in his own blood, with a dark and deep bullet hole through his head.

I sprang up from my bed, screaming. My whole body was shaking and I couldn't breathe. My hands clenched the bedsheets and I pushed my back up and back against the headboards. The room was dark, I could still see the man bleeding to death with a bullet hole in his forehead. Pushing away all the blankets and sheets as far away as possible from me, my crying and hyperventilating increased. I felt so consumed, I felt so claustrophobic... I thought I was going to die. My chest heaved up and down as I attempted to compose myself. Shivers ran up and down my spine, my arms wouldn't stop shaking. I softly whimpered as my soul began to reunite with my mind and body.

Feeling normal again, I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths in and out. Straightening my legs back out, I rested my head back against the headboard. The darkness and silence was too loud for me to sooth myself. More tears streamed down my face as I shook my head, trying to get the images out of my mind.

The only thing that helped to calm me down was the feeling of Antonio's warm, strong arms embracing me. The words he said kept repeated over and over and over in my mind.

" It's okay. I gotch you, I'm not leaving, you're okay."