Psychopath (EDITING)

33

"Your father and I... Your father... He was my mentor," Stephan somnolently mutters, leaning back on the bench.

I'm unable to process everything yet, and my mind goes into overdrive. I feel my chest tighten from shock. 

"W-What are you talking about? M-my father would never..." I stutter, my heart filling with disbelief. Stephan starts to run his hands through his hair again, his breath coming out in long sighs.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way. Your father made me swear to never tell you about his connection to the mafia in order to save you from the dangers of it. But, I fucked up— and now you are in even more danger, so there's no point in keeping it a secret anymore..." Stephan groans. My heart starts to beat too fast, I'm unable to catch and steady out my breath. My hands are tightly grasped in my lap, turning from pink to white. My whole body feels numb as Stephan continues.

"Your father, Gregory. He was the one who taught me what it takes to be a leader of a mafia. He—" Stephan pauses to think, "When he was younger, your father was the leader of his own mafia that ruled over the majority of the northern sector across the US. Raining over from Washington to Michigan, and down all the way to Nebraska. He built the largest mafia ever, and was feared by all." Stephan pauses, his stressed hands swiping through his messy dark hair, "He was one of the strongest leaders out there, a legend in the business and was my idol. He could command a room just by standing. But, his brother, your uncle, Mulligan, betrayed him and sent all of his personal locations to the police. The police were able to take down his mafia, but they were never able to catch your father,"

N-no... H-He wasn't...

"That's when he came here. He tried to rebuild his life, marrying your mother and having you. But, his memories kept haunting him, so he came to me. We were able to supply him with our finest, if he trained some of my men." Stephan stops, swirling his drink in his hand. Still frozen, I stare right at him, letting his words settle right into my core. 

My dad did that, the alcoholic? Things slowly start to set into place in my mind. That explains why he was able to drink all of those high-class beers and liquors, since he literally had no money to buy it for himself.  That also explains why he would wake me in the middle of the night from his yelling and screaming. My dad was an insomniac, and it must've been his memories that were keeping him from sleeping.

"Your father," Stephan says, snapping me back into reality, "He would spend some time here and give me tips and pointers to be a great leader. It was your father that built me into a better leader, it's because of him that I was ever able to take over the majority of America's northeastern quarter, New York was the biggest obstacle that my ego pushed me to overcome and it was because of your father that I was originally able to keep and run my business here... but I'm not who I used to be." Stephan pauses, looking down at his hands.

"Before your dad died, he made me swear to him. That I would watch over you and protect you from people that might have a history with him. But—" Stephan's voice gets caught in his throat. My heartbeat starts to quicken again, as I clench and unclench my jaw. Then, I'm finally able to understand.

"You—" I mutter, as my body starts to shake.

"You saw—" Water starts to pool into my eyes, slowly falling down my cheek.

"Sarah, baby... I'm so sorry. I thought I was protecting you. If I stepped in, and did something, I would've ruined your only chance at a normal life. A life that your father wanted you to have." Stephan lamented, moving close to me.

"MY FATHER WANTED ME TO FUCKING BE ABUSED? HAVE YOU ANY IDEA WHAT THAT MAN DID TO ME!" I roared standing up, pissed off by Stephan's sorry excuse of an apology. I knew I was sobbing now, but I didn't care. This man could've saved me from that asshole. But he just fucking watched.

"You think I fucking didn't want to save you?!" Stephan shouted back, standing up too. I just slammed down my drink, and stared him directly in the eye. the amount of betrayal in that one moment was so overwhelming for me. First, my dad leaves me all alone, then this man let me be abused every single fucking day. 

"Sarah, there are things you don't know in the business. If I took you from him at that moment, I would've started a national war between different mafia groups and the military! You're fucking step-father used to be the attorney general of the fucking military! If he found out I entered into his home and stole you from him, then he would've broken the fucking alliance between us and them that we have spent decades building," Stephan growls out, making me physically pause for a moment. 

"I wanted to take you. I wanted to save you, baby. But, everyone said that I had to choose between you and the safety of millions. There were so many fucking nights that I wanted to just run to your apartment and take you. But... when you left him, I couldn't find you. I started to buy more territory, silently searching for you. And that night... when I finally saw you again— I hardly even recognized you. He broke you, baby. And I owe it to you and your father to help you live a new life. That's... That's..." Stephan mutters, his eyes strain down on my clenched hands next to my sides. 

"I fucking hate you. I—" My throat clenches up, my breath getting caught in it. A loud sob comes out of my mouth as the tears continue to stream down my face. I can see Stephan's face is torn, as he breathes heavily and looks down at his hands.

His flushed cheeks show that he is a little tipsy, but his heavy breathing starts to pick up again.

"Judge all you want, baby. Hate me, hit me, scream at me— I fucking deserve it. But just know... That I'm not going to let you go again. I'm not someone who apologizes for anything, but baby— I'm so fucking sorry." Stephan breathes out, his body tensing up and straightening. Staring at his face, I see that he is genuinely hurt by everything... But, I'm not going to be some fucking doll in his life that he can just fix. My mind starts to become clouded in anger and betrayal, that my hand instinctively raises and slaps him right across his face. Both of us freeze, and for a moment I feel incredibly scared. The hurt starts to build up again, as I bring my face right up to his, and spit out.

"Fuck you and my father. But—" I lose my words. I start to really think about what Stephan just told me. Choose between me and millions...

Ah, my motherfucking conscious! Just fuck off! 

My hands start to tremble again, and I loudly stomp away back to the bedroom. 

Stephan just stands there, the small red outline of Sarah's hand imprinting onto his right cheek. He just picks up the bottle of Grey Goose and chugs it down.