A1: The Don (GirlxGirl)

Chapter Ten

A week had passed since I last saw Delaney, but we called each other every night and texted throughout the whole day. Every time my friends brought up her name, I would grin and my heart would skip a couple of beats. I was attracted to her and I wanted to become something more with her in the future, but I was trying to take things slow. We didn't have to label anything or see each other every day. I was content with where we were at and I think Delaney was too.

The cute good morning texts, the random phone calls and late night pictures was enough for now. Although, I admit I did miss seeing her and if I actually had time, I would stop by but I was too busy. Jimmy was punishing me for my speech by putting a sh-t ton of work on me. Work that didn't even match my status. One day, he literally made me stand on a corner in one of our hoods and sell drugs. That's chump work. He was trying to bring me down, but he couldn't. No matter how many curveballs he threw at me, I wasn't going to bite my tongue, especially when the gang is going to sh-t. Unlike him, I won't stand around and do nothing.

After doing my sh-tty duties for the day, I finally walked out of the safe house to enjoy my afternoon. I'm sure Jimmy would call again and force me to do something else, but for now it felt good to be free. "Hey!" As soon as I got to the door of my car, a frantic lady ran over to me from across the street. She had bags under her eyes, her gray stringy hair was messy and she seemed upset. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked around to make sure no one was pranking me.

"Hi," I said skeptically.

"I'm looking for my son," she cut straight to the chase. Her eyes were wide and desperate. She pulled out a picture from her pocket and handed it to me. "Ted Ricci. He's apart of this gang. It's normal for me not to see him for a few weeks, but he usually calls me everyday. It's been a week since he called me last and I just want to know if he's okay."

My heart sunk in my chest as my eyes shifted away from the picture and onto the ground. I knew exactly who her son was. Ted was an older guy, well into his forties but he loved to drink. He was wild and always got the parties started at the safe house. Everyone knew he was a good time. That's why it was devastating to hear that he was one of the five that died last week during the brawl. He loved to party but he wasn't the aggressive type, at least not with his own members. "You know him, don't you," his mother asked hopefully.

Why didn't anyone contact her and let her know that her son died? I didn't know if I could. A huge part of me wanted to lie and say that Ted was fine and that he had just left, but I couldn't. She deserved to know the truth, no matter how much it hurt. I handed the picture back to her and nodded my head. "I know him," I said lowly.

"Where is he?! Is he okay?!"

Shoving my hands in my pocket, I looked into the woman's blue eyes. From the look in mine, I think she could tell that what I was about to say wasn't good news. Her face bawled up and tears began pouring down her cheeks almost immediately. "I'm sorry, ma'am. Last week, a huge brawl happened and he didn't make it. I thought you knew. I just-I'm so sorry. Ted was a good guy."

The woman stood in front of me, sobbing over her son. She kept saying his name over and over again. Her cries were loud and they echoed through the streets. I tried to reach for her and place my hand on her shoulder, but when I did she pushed me. "You're all evil! You killed my baby," she screamed at me. As she continuously pushed me around. All she kept screaming at me was, "You killed my baby," as she slapped, pushed and punched at me like a punching bag.

All I could do was stand there and take it. She was emotional. She just lost her son and didn't know he was dead for a week. She had every right to attempt to kick my ass. When the lady calmed down, she dropped to her knees. I didn't know what to do. There was nothing I could do to bring her son back. I thought for a few moments before pulling out my wallet. I knew money wasn't going to help anything but it was the least I could do.