Revival [The Lake House Sequel]

Chapter 10.

Justin

"So..." I said, trying to wrap my mind around everything. "You're a in a mob."

"If you want to put a title to it, yes." Richard replied. We were six hours in to our eleven hour car trip to Arizona. The first few hours were mostly just awkward silence but then Richard felt the need to brief me on just what this trip was for. "I got involved when I graduated high school. I was a lot like you. I felt depressed and out of place. There was no one to pay for my college tuition. So I clutched on to the one thing I could find."

"Are we even Italian?"

Richard laughed. "You're not, I am. My mother was. But the Mob isn't like what you see on TV."

"You kill people."

He doesn't even bother with denial. "I've done what I've had to do to live."

"Did Mom know?"

"Yes, but she wasn't happy about it." Richard sighed. "Do you remember, when you were younger, you never really saw me much?"

"Yeah, and I was really confused when we had to move in with you because I barely knew you. But Mom said you had a lot of money and we had close to nothing. You were willing to take us in."

"She didn't want me near you too much when you were really young. She was worried I'd have a bad influence." I heard the bite in his voice. "But I promised her that I would keep you away from my world until you were old enough to make your own decisions."

"You kept me from your world. So why did you keep me away from the real one?"

"I think that's self-explanatory." When I'm quiet, Richard sighed, "Not just anyone could know about my business and if there was any chance that they could find out, I didn't want you getting dragged down too."

I turned to look at him. "So then why did you get your men to break into Ana's house?"

Richard shifted in his seat. "That was a reckless mistake that I made, I've apologized."

He hasn't, though. "She would have still loved me even if she knew."

That comment is disregarded. "Are you hungry? We'll stop for something in a few minutes."

--

We weren't staying in a hotel like I originally thought. When I went to Maine with Anthony and Henry over a year ago, I spent five days straight in a small hotel room that smelled like cigarettes.

I'd never been inside of a mansion before. It looked like a museum from the outside, complete with a huge fountain on the front lawn and two men stationed at the front door.

"Wow," I let out a laugh.

Richard was smirking. "It's all a little dramatic, I know. Just be polite, they're letting us stay in their home."

An older man emerged from the front steps, looking completely normal with his greying hair and perfectly fitted suit. He looked more like a lawyer than a mobster.

"Richard," He grinned at Richard like they were best friends. "It has been much too long."

They shook hands, Richard smiling like I've never seen. "Dimitri, this is my nephew Justin. He'll be accompanying me on this trip."

I shook Dimitri's hand, trying not to wince at the crushing pressure on my knuckles. He had an intimidating grip, as if he were trying to challenge me through his handshake.

"I've heard about you for years." Dimitri said. "I have to commend Richard for his responsibility. When he became your guardian, his focus became solely you and I always respected him for it. I look back wish I would have done the same for my family."