Page 32 of The Associate
I wonder who the guests are. I don’t want to sit around a dinner table, I want to go out and play. I had been having too much fun before I had to come back inside and now, I am following behind Dad with Mum at my side. She squeezes my hand gently every now and then.
The large wooden doors to the dining hall swing open and Dad’s voice is so loud, it echoes through the room. “Welcome to Murwood. It is an honour to have you all here on this night.”
Glasses clink together around me and the men all stand, the wives remaining in their seats. They all glance towards Mum and me, they look sad too, even behind their smiles. A hand on my shoulder guides me over to the chair next to Dad and Mum sat down on my other side.
“Now let us eat,” Dad says as the house staff brings out the food. I sit back in my chair, trying as best as I can to hide from everyone’s eyes focusing on me as I glance around. There is one set of eyes that stand out from everyone else.
Rico is sitting on the other side of my Dad and his eyes are always on me. He is a little taller than Mason, his eyes dark, and he is staring at me. It’s not like the times where he watches me outside playing, this feels different. The darkness in his stare sends an uneasy shiver through my bones. He has been doing things with my Dad for a few weeks now. Maybe Dad is training him?
I still want to hide, I don’t want to be in the room. It is too loud and I’m not feeling hungry but just as I reach out towards Mum, a plate is put down in front of me. There are vegetables and meat, mine has already been cut into small pieces and it smells yummy but it feels like butterflies are fluttering in my stomach.
“Just eat a little bit Sweetie,” Mum says. “I know there are a lot of people here but it will be over soon.”
I nod, taking one of the forks in my hand and stabbing it into a green bean. Eating the bean slowly, I glance around the table before my eyes land back on Rico. He smiles at me, not exposing his teeth, before mouthing ‘It will be ok’. Then he continues to eat.
Dinner goes by quickly, and everyone leans back in their chairs, full from the meal. Dad stands up, out of his seat, holding a glass in the air, tapping the side to draw everyone’s attention.
The room goes quiet and all eyes focus on him. “Tonight is not just about us working together, but a night for a big promise. One that I have not considered lightly.”
I watch as he steps out from behind the table, walking around behind everyone, the heels of his shoes clicking against the tiled floor as he walks around slowly. “Don’t do it Salvatore.” Mum’s voice is quiet. Scared.
I don’t know what promise dad is talking about but I want to know what it is, maybe I can help him with it. I want to make him proud of me.
He ignores my mother’s plea and continues. “I am promising my daughter’s hand to one of the boys here who has been training with me, learning about the organisation. He is a strong boy and shows a lot of potential, and I am sure all of you will be most welcoming to him.”
“Well, Salvatore, spit it out,” one man at the end of the table says.
“Who is he?” calls out another.
“The young boy that will come on as my second is Ricochet.” My father points to Rico and my mother’s eyes widen. She reaches over to me, taking my hand in hers.
The men are clapping and the women gasp. I am looking around at everyone. I don’t know what’s going on, but Mum is scared so I am too. Dad has his back turned to me and he is talking to a man. Mum quickly stands up from her seat, pulling me by the arm and running out into the hallway towards our bedroom.
“Marie!” Dad calls out. “Get back here now!”
“It’s ok baby, we will get you out of this,” she whispers. “I promise you that I will not let this happen.”
She rushes into my bedroom and tells me to sit down on the bed, then rushes out again, locking the door behind her. I listen as she closes her bedroom door. “Marie!” Dad calls out again.
I climb down off the bed and hide on the other side but he continues past my room. The doors to the room next to mine open with a bang. “You are making me look like a fool in front of the other families, Marie!”
“I’m sorry Salvatore, but you cannot just spring that announcement on me and not have me react the way I did.” This is the first time I have ever heard Mum angry.
To my left is Chess, my Cheshire Cat teddy. I take him in my arms and snuggle up to him. Dad is the one who does most of the yelling. I am scared.
The yelling continues, the sound of glass breaking on the ground and things being thrown at the wall. He is very angry; I want to go in there and hug him because I know that would calm him down. Cuddles always calm me.
Tears escape my eyes and all I remember is Dad yelling, Mum crying, and the world around me going quiet as I fall asleep.
Chapter 10
Mason
What in the actual fuck did I just get myself into? A fake marriage to my boss’s daughter, just so she can kill him with my help?Well fuck!is all I can think right now.
It had been a few days since we had our little coffee date.
I start thinking of ideas of what I can do to prepare her for it all. What do I need to teach her? She can hold her own in a fight, given the way she handled those college frat boys at the bar earlier in the week. All I need to do is help make her fighting skills cleaner.
