Mobster (BWWM)

Chapter 44

I lay in bed with the covers over my head and my earbuds, blasting one of my favorite songs.

"Kelly, it's late. You need to wake up and eat breakfast," Marco told me as he shook my arm.

I removed the covers and looked at him. "I'm not hungry. I can't believe that you'd tell your cousin that I slept with your dad. That was none of her business." I snapped at him.

"Kelly, I said I didn't tell Sofia anything. I only confided in Aunt Anna about it. Aunt Anna must've told her. When you left me, I was hurt, I was upset."

I watched as he clenched his jaw.

He continued speaking, "I was so furious with you, Kelly, that I didn't care anymore. I'll talk to Sofia about this. I will not allow anyone to disrespect you. Not even my cousin that I love so much."

"Marco, please, don't say anything to her, okay? I just want to forget it. Just leave it as is." I sat up and removed the earbuds.

"Well, if that's what you want, then I won't say anything to her." He assured me.

"Thanks. Do you have Andrea's phone number?" I asked, softly.

"Yes," He answered. "I do, but I don't keep in touch with her, Kelly. You don't have to worry about her anymore."

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that. I trust you. I guess I allowed jealousy to get the better of me. I just wanted to call and apologize to her. I was rude to her and after Sofia told me that she was a single mother who was struggling to make two ends meet, I felt so bad for getting her fired. I know how hard it is to be a single parent. My dad was a single parent and sometimes, it was hard on him even though he worked two jobs." I smiled as I remembered my dad.

"I understand," He said nonchalantly and gave me Andrea's phone number. "Kelly," He touched my hair, "You don't need to feel bad about anything."

I nodded at him. He was right but I still felt bad about it.

I dialed the number and listened as it rang. A few seconds later, a man answered in Italian.

"Hello, do you speak English?" I asked.

"Yes!" He shouted in my ear. "Who is this?" He demanded.

"I'm Kelly, Marco's girlfriend. Sir, I'm calling to speak to Andrea. Is she there?"

"She doesn't want to talk to you. Why do you want to speak to her after what you people did to her? Leave Andrea alone! Tell Russo to go to hell and leave us alone!" He yelled before hanging up.

"What did he say, Kelly?"

Marco asked as he saw the sad look on my face.

"He said that Andrea didn't want to talk to me and I should tell you to leave them alone."

"Kelly, just forget about Andrea. What is done is done and I don't feel sorry for letting her go." He sat next to me on the bed and held my hand.

I rested my head on his shoulder and nodded.

______

A week Later.

I remembered my slain aunt on her birthday. She would've been forty-three years old today. My dad was three years older than her. Even though they were three years apart, they were very close. I was still far away from healing and finding closure.

Loren and I went to their graveside today to put flowers there. I think their death made me stronger and braver. Loren said she cried as she remembered the last conversation that she had with Aunt Macy. They were arguing and Loren said she didn't even tell Aunt Macy that she loved her. She also said she'll never forget Aunty Macy's voice telling her that she loved her more than everything else in her life.

I felt so sad and horrible as I remembered how she died. I didn't want people to remember her as the woman who was raped and burned. I wanted them to remember her as the kind, loving, funny, and beautiful soul that she truly was.

I heard footsteps invading my thoughts. I looked around to see Marco standing behind me.

"Kelly, are you okay, Bella?" He genuinely asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," I replied as I looked at the portrait of my aunt, my dad, Marco's mom, and his grandfather hanging on the wall beside each other.

"What do you remember the most about your mom and your grandfather?" I asked him.

"My mother was a very happy person regardless of what that monster was doing to her. She was very beautiful inside and out and she always had a smile on her face. She always looked on the bright side of things. I also remembered her as very kind and loved to help others." He said and swallowed.

I knew that he missed his mom so much.

I squeezed his hand as he spoke, "My grandfather was a no-nonsense person. He was very wise and he loved his family."

I looked at him and we both smiled at each other.

"What do you remember the most about your father and your aunt?" He asked as he looked at me.

"What I remembered the most about my dad is that he was a workaholic. He never took a day off. He would give you the shirt off his back. His friends would say whenever they went to the bar, my dad would buy everyone a drink whether they asked him for it or not. My aunt was a people person. She was very friendly and kind. You would just meet her and she would be talking to you as if she knew you from way back when. That's how she was." I smiled warmly as I thought about Aunt Macy's facial expression when she was approached by a teenager on the street trying to hit on her.

Marco wrapped his arm around my neck and I held onto his arm.

"Their spirit will always be with us even when we don't even know," I said to Marco.

"Funny thing, that was what my mother said," I thought I heard him say.

"Huh?" I asked.

"I was just saying that you're right. Their spirit is always with us."

"Okay," I said, softly.

We stood there holding each other as we remembered our slain relatives.

________

I woke up in the middle of the night and realized that Marco was not on the bed with me. I went downstairs to the kitchen to get a glass of water. I looked into Marco's office but he wasn't in there. I took a chocolate but before I could put it in my mouth, I was attacked. Someone poured a liquid substance on my head. It ran down my face and went into my eyes. It burned me uncontrollably. The chocolate fell from my hands as I turned around to face my attacker but I couldn't see anything or anyone. My skin felt like it was on fire. I screamed for help as I felt my skin coming off my body.

_____

A\N: Thanks for supporting, beautiful people. I appreciate you all. The next chapter after this one, will be the last chapter. Then the epilogue. It's been a journey but I love this book. My favorite character is Mr. Russo, of course. Thanks again, and happy holidays when it comes. Remember to help anyone that you can. ✌️✌️