Lonely Together

18

MARIAH

The drive to meet my mother and sisters wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, thanks to the amazing invention of podcasts.

As soon as I parked in front of the restaurant, I texted Valentino to let him know that I had made it before grabbing my bag and heading into the restaurant.

"Ri Ri!" My oldest sister Dalia exclaimed as I took a seat at the table across from her and my mom.

"Hey," I smiled at all of them, feeling great almost instantly in their presence.

To my left was my sister Taylor who was 29, while Dalia sat across from her and was 31. Although they were two years apart, they looked like twins and probably never went a day without hearing it. They had the same reddish-brown skin, big doe eyes, and pearly white smiles. They lived completely different lives however, as Dalia had been married to her husband since they were 21 and already had five kids while Taylor was gay and absolutely refused to ever have kids.

"Anything new in your life? What's going on girl?" My mom inquired, taking a sip from the water that the waitress had brought us.

"Well...you all know Myles moved out which was a bit dramatic, but we're over it now. Also, I got promoted at work and now manage people below me as well."

"That's excellent honey! You'll be editor in chief in no time," my mom said with a wink as Dalia prepared to ask a question.

"Talking to any guys? What happened to that Daniel guy?"

"Ugh, Daniel was months ago and he was the worst," I told them, stalling from telling them about Valentino. I considered lying, but they would know immediately. "I am actually talking to a guy though...it's been almost two months. We've been having fun so far."

I found that it was best to give them vague details that left them satisfied instead of divulging completely. They had a way of getting in your business.

"What's he look like?" Taylor inquired, turning to face me as they all now had their full attention on me.

I opened my phone and showed them a picture that he and I had taken the night before, my heart racing as I thought back to what went down in his car.

"Girl, he is fine," Dalia practically shouted as she took the phone from my hands to look at him while my mom gave me a thumbs up and a smile.

For the rest of brunch, we gossiped about people in my hometown, talked about our memories together, and talked about our current lives. As Dalia talked about her kids, I could only think about how glad I was that I didn't have any to deal with—even though I loved my nieces and nephews.

After we finished eating, we did some shopping together in the stores beside the restaurant before we all went our separate ways to do our own things.

"Don't be a stranger," my mom said as she held me in her embrace, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too, ma."

In my car, I quickly checked my phone to see a text from Valentino from hours ago after I told him I got there safe.

'Come over when you get back?'

'Of course'

When I got back to the city, I went straight to his place. When he buzzed me up, I immediately rushed into his penthouse, shocked when I  didn't see him waiting there.

Suddenly, he popped out from one of the corners and grabbed me, making me scream in fear.

"Don't scare me like that!" I whined, smacking his arm and pushing him away.

"But it was so funny," he laughed, his accent making my knees feel weak as he pulled me into his embrace. "How was brunch?" He asked as we moved over to the couch, with me sitting on his lap.

"Good. I showed my mom and sisters a picture of you."

"And?" He inquired, willing me to continue.

"They thought you looked horrendous," I laughed, making his shake his head a roll his eyes. "Joking. My oldest sister said you were fine, but the other one didn't care. My mom just gave me a thumbs up."

For the next hour, we stayed in each other's embrace as we simply talked about whatever came to mind. That was one thing that I enjoyed about Valentino—he held great conversation. So many of the other guys I had talked to were so boring when it came to conversation, even if they were good in bed. I was glad that Valentino possessed both qualities.

Suddenly, we were interrupted by the sound of his elevator dinging. His building had excellent security and people could only come up if he approved them with the doorman.

"Hands up! Police!" A bunch of voices shouted suddenly, making the breath hitch in my throat as I did what they said.

I became terrified when I saw the sheer amount of them and the fact that they all had their guns pointed at us. Valentino however, didn't look scared at all, just pissed.

"Valentino Santori, we have a warrant for your arrest. You're being charged with one count of racketeering," one of the men spoke, stepping forward and grabbing Valentino harshly.

Valentino complied and put his hands behind his back as the man handcuffed him, completely avoiding my eyes as I kept my hands up in surrender.

"What's your name, ma'am?" One of the officers inquired as he moved to approach me.

"Don't answer that," he said to me, finally looking me in the eyes. "She didn't do anything. She didn't know anything."

Surprisingly, they listened to what he said which made me even more confused. After cuffing him, they sat him back on the couch beside me as more of them began ransacking his house as they searched for god knows what.

His phone began to ring on the couch beside him, his mother's name popping up on the screen.

"Can she answer the phone for me?" He asked one of the officers who nodded.

I answered the phone and put it on speaker so that he could hear.

"Niño, your father and brothers just got arrested! Valentino, I need to you to come here," she said frantically, sounding as if she were crying.

"Mama, I'm in handcuffs right now," he said nonchalantly, making his mom let out a cry as she spoke in another language through the phone. "Meet them at the police station."

"Okay."

Just as she hung up, I watched as some of the officers walked into the room with a few guns in their hands, claiming that they were evidence.

"Valentino...what the hell is going on?" I asked him, now shaking with fear as I was finally able to comprehend what was going on around me.

Just as he opened his mouth to respond, the officer watching us let out a laugh and said, "You really don't know? Sweetheart, your boyfriend is in the mafia. His father's the boss and he's apart of it all."

My eyes widened in shock as I listened to the man's words, unable to even look at Valentino. I felt sick to my stomach, I had been falling so hard for this guy and now I was finding out he had lied and was in the damn mafia.

"Stand up, Santori."

Valentino followed their orders and stood to his feet, letting the police officer grab his arm and move him towards the elevator.

"Mariah, I was going to tell you. I promise...I was going to tell you," he said, his voice breaking as they pushed him into the elevator, the doors shutting slowly as our eyes locked for one last time before we were separated.