The Mafia Queens

Chapter 13- Trust

"Leo?"

"Hey, CJ, I was wondering if you had a spare room. The gang house sounds like a brothel right now."
"No, you know, I don't think I have any space," she laughs, moving to the side, revealing the long corridor and two flights of stairs.
"Perks of being a Díaz, I guess," he agreed, "What are you up to, anyway?"

"Watching Spy kids before you so rudely interrupted!" she complained, poking him in the chest. Leo followed her into the home cinema, settling on the couch next to her.

The bowl of popcorn sat between them, as CJ curled into the arm of the chair, pulling a blanket over her. 
"Spy kids? Really? How old are you?" he teased.

"23, thank you very much, and old enough to be your boss. Plus, you're never too old for Spy kids."
"Touché."

Exactly one hour and twenty-eight minutes later, CJ was asleep in a ball, snoring lightly. Watching her, Leo turned off her TV, moving the empty bowl off the sofa. Once he had cleaned up, he picked up CJ's unconscious body, bridal-style.

When he reached what was hopefully her bedroom, he lay her down and went to the room next door to get some sleep himself. It's been a long day, he thought. 

☆☆☆

CJ squirmed in her sleep, attempting to stop the moving pictures inside her head.

"Help!" a young girl screamed, but no one came, "Please, I'll do anything!" Tears streamed down her face as she struggled against her bonds.

Outside the locked door, shuffling could be heard amongst low whispers, but the guards were too cowardly to act out against their boss.

"Mom! Dad!" her American accent was broken by her Mexican one. Suddenly, the door came crashing open.
"What have I told you about calling me that?" an angry man shouted at her. 

"S- s- sorry, sir," she stuttered, refusing to make eye contact with him, as her cheeks grew damper with every sob. A sharp pain hit her face as her father slapped her.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"  his frustration grew every second, "I told you that you're staying in this room, tied to this chair until you stop crying!" At the sound of the shouting, a small woman sauntered into the room, her face sickly pale and her body thin.

"Alicia, I told you to stay in bed: you're sick," his voice softened as he turned to the lady, "I said I would deal with this failure." He spat as he addressed his daughter. This only made her sobs louder.

"Julia!" he yelled. She flinched at the sound of her name.
"If you don't shut your mouth, I'll shut it for you," he threatened, pulling a switchblade out of his jacket pocket.

"Andrew," the girl's mother spoke up at last, "Threatening her will get you nowhere." Julia let out a sigh of relief.
"You have to follow through," she finished, snatching the knife from her husband and driving it into her 7-year-old child's leg.

A blood-curdling scream filled the air as she stopped crying, thrashing to escape the ropes.
"Come now, Cara," her mother soothed, "that wasn't so hard was it?" Cackling, Andrew and Alicia left the shocked girl in the room all alone as she lost consciousness whilst more of the thick red liquid seeped out of her leggings.

"CJ!" an unknown voice called. She felt herself shake in the metal chair.
"CJ, wake up!"

Snapping her eyes open, CJ shot up in her bed. Sweat dripped down her forehead and her lips and mouth were dry. Her eyes eventually focussed on Leo's concerned face close to hers.

"OW," she complained, her hands covering her eyes. Carefully, she removed two circular, latex discs from her eyes, and pulled her glasses out of the bedside cabinet. 
"You wear glasses?" Leo exclaimed in astonishment.

She simply nodded, unable to speak. He passed her a bottle of water which she gratefully accepted. 
"Why are you in my room?" she croaked.

"You were screaming and rolling about in your bed. I was worried," he admitted, "If you don't mind me asking, what were you dreaming about?" CJ bowed her head before deciding to come clean.

☆☆☆

CJ and Leo sat cross-legged on her bed.
"There's a lot of stuff you don't know about me, and some things I'm still not ready to tell you, but I'll do my best," she sighed.

"My mother was only 21 when she had me. She and my father were happy until I came along. They thought I ruined their lives since barely a year later she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Andrew was heart-broken; they were really in love until I ruined it."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Leo opposed, but she simply shook her head.
"As soon as I was able to speak, they began to take their anger out on me," Tears brimmed in her eyes but she bit her tongue, refusing to let them fall.

"Alicia became sick and Andrew became cruel. I was only allowed to refer to him as sir, and he personally trained me in the ways of the gang. The most prominent memory I have- the one I still have nightmares about today..." her hands trembled, and Leo grasped them to comfort her.

"I was crying. I don't know why, I just was. I must have been barely seven at the time. Andrew saw me and tied me to a hard metal chair in an empty room. I screamed and cried until I could barely talk and my eyes had dried out. But no one came."

"That was, until, I made the mistake of calling him," her voice dripped with disgust as she thought of him, "dad instead of 'sir'. I have never been as terrified as I was at that moment. During the one-sided argument, my ill mother came in, looking terrible after all the chemo." Leo nodded silently in understanding, allowing her to continue.

"The way she spoke, she seemed so concerned," her eyes darkened at the memory, "but it was all an act. She said threats would do nothing if you didn't follow through. Then, she took my father's switchblade and drove it into my leg." CJ moved to show a long raised scar on her upper thigh.

"They left me bleeding in that room. I would have died if Dennis hadn't saved me." She looked up to see Leo's face contorted into one of horror and anger. Surprisingly, he moved closer to her, enveloping her in a hug. She tensed at the unfamiliar feeling, but soon relaxed into Leo's warmth.

"He called me Julia," she explained, "That's why I changed my name."
"I'm sorry," he mumbled into her dark hair, "for how I acted towards you during your initiation. I shouldn't have provoked you." She shook her head dismissively.

"So, you see, now, why I never wanted to be a part of their gang. I was eight and already in more pain than any child should ever be in, and he just sent me off to England as soon as Alicia died. They never cared about me. And that hurt the most."