Snow White is a Gangster (Published under Cloak Pop Fiction)

Chapter 11: Melancholy of the Past

Chapter Eleven: Melancholy of the Past

Tres stopped the car beside the sidewalk and lit a cigarette. I tried to open the window but it was automatically locked. I looked at him exasperatedly as he smoked. Does he plan to suffocate us?

"You are very careless, reaper. You could be dead as soon as you pointed a gun on her," wika niya habang naninigarilyo. Pinilit kong hindi langhapin ang usok. Was this the punishment he was talking about? Lung cancer?

"He tried to hurt a leader of Mafia Freniere. I was just doing my job," seryoso kong sagot.

"You haven't realized it yet, right?" Wika niya na ikinakunot ng noo ko. "That girl is valuable. She's very important to Giovanni. She's even more important than you. You are a valuable Reaper, of course, but that girl is very important."

Pinilit kong hindi ipakita ang sakit na kusa kong naramdaman sa pagkukumpara sa amin. I wondered if this would ever stop—this pain. I had walled my heart in a cage of ice and yet he could always hurt me in the worst of ways, whether he knew it or not.

"I see. The girl must also be so important to you because you are protecting her in the absence of your brother." I didn't know how those words got out but it was too late for me to bring them back. He was already smirking at my direction.

"Are you jealous, my Reaper?" He asked in voice that was dangerously sweet. He'd never been sweet to me and now that he was doing it, I realized that I hate it. He was treating me like one of his nameless, faceless flirt buddies. I felt insulted. He was putting me on the same level as those girls. I am a Reaper! I'm not just any girl!

I reined in my frustrations. His treatment of me had never been better, anyway. It shouldn't matter now. I should learn to let it go. Ignore it, then.

"I still need to check the Mafia grounds," I managed, wishing he would just let me go.

"You have another task, Reaper."

I sat up straighter. Now he was getting down to business. Good, then. Reaper tasks were always good. "What is it?" Pormal kong tanong. Now that we were back to our usual Mafia boss and Reaper relationship, I felt relieved.

"You are ordered to watch Summer Leondale."

I processed the name in my head. Right, Summer Leondale. That Montello Girl. Giovanni's girl. I knew it had something to do with the seasons. At least now, she wasn't just a nameless face. Wait... did Tres meant what I think he meant?

"I can't do that task. I'm a Reaper, Tres. I'm not a babysitter," tutol ko nang mapagtantong mabuti ang utos.

"It's a mission, reaper. Sir Algernon Freniere personally assigned you to this mission," wika niya.

I could not believe this! Why me? Of course, I could not say that to my boss. I struggled to keep my face expressionless. "How about the Hunter, Sir Maximus Brown? They seem to know each other. Or... maybe Forest?" I had nothing against that girl but I didn't want to be around her. I was just not comfortable with her. She seemed like trouble.