The Unknown Family

Meals

L I V I A N A

"JEALOUSY
TURNING SAINTS INTO THE SEA
SWIMMING THROUGH SICK LULLABIES
CHOKING ON YOUR ALIBLIS

BUT IT'S JUST THE PRICE I PAY

DESTINY IS CALLING ME
OPEN UP MY EAGER EYES
'CAUSE I'M MR BRIGHTSIDE!"

We both sat there laughing as the song came to an end, holding hands like we had been during the song.

"I love that song!" I happily sigh as I lean back in my heated seat.

"That's our song." Xavier says as he raises our linked hands and kisses my knuckles.

When Xavier and I first met, he knew only a small amount of English. Ironically, he learnt bits of the language from sitting in on mafia meetings with his brother, so he understood things like: guns, drugs, cocaine, heroine, bastard, dickhead, beat, torture.

And at the time, Mr Brightside was my favourite song, so I used it to start teaching him English.

That made it our song.

So, for our two years in captivity, I taught him to be fluent in English, I know the majority of Spanish.

"Thank you for taking me to the jewellers this morning." I smile as I kiss his cheek.

"Of course mi amor." He smiled back as he pulled out of the parking space and drove further down the road.

This morning when Xavier asked what I wanted to get Theo for his birthday, I knew straight away what to get him. When I told Xavier, he saw all the emotions swimming in my eyes, and agreed to take me immediately.

He did ask what the engravings meant, sensing I didn't wish to talk about it.

The only people I've told about what happened are Theo, Megan and Josh.

Theo because he deserved to know, as it was his family too.

And Megan and Josh because they've been there every night I was at their house, waking me up from a nightmare and holding me in my sleep and sitting with me as I cried in front of the gravestones that haunt me in my sleep.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked Xavier for the hundredth time, hoping our intel is genuine.

"My friend is very reliable with his resources mi amor, I don't doubt him." Xavier tells me, honesty dancing in his eyes.

"Okay..." I responded, still wary of the situation.

T H E O

"Happy birthday Theo!" Everyone cheered at the end of the song once again as I was handed a cake knife.

I cut out the first slice of my Peppa Pig birthday cake, my family happy I accepted the cake and my friends understanding why I wanted Peppa Pig.

"Here Alec." I said as I passed him his slice, a bit confused at the sadistic grin that rested on his face.

What can I say? He's weird at times.

"So Theo, you're eighteen now." Vito starts, "Are you ready to start working in my mafia and not Liv's?"

"I will brother, when she's here to take over for herself." I answer him, laughing at the sight of Giovanni who took a Peppa Pig sticker and stuck it to his three piece, totally black Armani suit like the ex mafia Don his is.

"Really Dad?" Luca laughs as he sees Giovanni doing this.

"What? It's been over a decade since I've had a reason to wear Peppa Pig stickers." He responds, a genuine smile on his face.

In the past two and a half years, despite losing Liv again, Giovanni and I have built a father-son relationship.

He's now very open with me and the rest of my siblings as he went into further stages of stepping down as the Don. He spends lots of time watching movies with us and playing basketball in the garden since he's got the body of a thirty year old.

"So tonight at the club, be careful. I don't want a call saying you've been in a bar fight and I need 2to pick you all up from the hospital." Rina says in her motherly tone.

Giovanni and Vito leave all the warnings and lectures to her, since she's probably the scariest when she's in angry mother bear mode.

They only intervene when we're injured or it effects our life and life style.

"Yes Rina." We all respond together, used to these briefings by now.

"Right, finish your cake and off you go." Vito told us as he took a sip of his whiskey.

We did as we were told and all finished our cake in record timing, ready to go clubbing without having to sneak out of the house.

Going to the club was me, Jake, Ian, Alec, Logan, Josh, Miles, Leo and Luca.

Nina and Megan are having a girls night and Andrea has to do inventory at warehouse seven.

"We'll see you in the morning!" I shouted back as I left the five star restaurant with my friends and brothers following or walking with me.

"BE CAREFUL!" We heard Rina shout back, still worried for our well being.

We all started to walk across the empty street, since the barriers that block the road go up at nine o'clock to stop car accidents with drunk people leaving the clubs and bars.

"Wait a second, I need to tie my shoe." Alec called as he reached down and started doing his lace.

We all stood on the pavement in front on the loud, music blasting club as he tied his shoe lace.

As he tied the final knot, a car engine sounded not too far away, and the headlights shined down on Alec, showing his figure in a crouched position.

The car came barrelling down the street, and Alec stood up in a hurry, ready to run before he got hit.

But he was too late, the car ran him over.

We all stood there in shock as he screamed on the floor.

But we started moving once we saw the passenger emerge from the vehicle.

He was tall, over six feet, he had black hair and dark brown eyes, tattoos going up and down his arms and hands. He picked Alec up and flung him in the back seat.

Then the driver took off as we chased after the car.

The car that held our injured friend inside.