54

I gazed at it, my hand on his arm as I skimmed across the patterns curiously. "Yeah," Vincenzo replied quietly as I watched. "What does it mean?" I asked, my fingers outlining the patterns and swirls instinctively.

"Its just a quote that my father used to say."

I tensed up at the sound of his father. Vincenzo's father was a horrible despicable man who abused his family for years. He would constantly abuse Vincenzo's mother and even more when she tried to defend her children from him. It didn't always work and when she passed out, Alfonso Rossi would abuse his children.

Vincenzo had a sister. He told me that she was beautiful and kind and the funniest person he had ever met. Her name was Liliana and she was the youngest out of the Rossi siblings.

Once, Alfonso had beat the boys so much that they couldn't move. Due to that, they couldn't protect their only sister. She was only seven when she was attacked. That night, she ran away and hadn't been found since. Vincenzo never talked about her - it hurt too much that even him - a rich and powerful man couldn't find his sister. He gave up a few years ago.

The man was evil and almost beat Vincenzo's mother to death. Vincenzo saved his mother by killing his father - decapitating him. He burned the body in front of the whole mafia, and that was when Leonardo became the boss.

"I don't want to talk about it. ." Vincenzo said, looking away as I moved my hand away. I knew he was thinking of his sister. "I'm sorry," I said quietly but he didn't reply. Instead, he exhaled loudly saying, "I need a cigarette."

"N-"

"I know, I know," he told me, "cigarettes are bad for you and kill your lungs. I'm trying to give up." I smiled, "so you have been listening."

"I could listen to your voice over and over again everyday."

"I'm going to use the restroom," Vincenzo said, before standing and going to the bathroom. I placed the empty cardboard that the pizza was once in in the bin before going back to sit down.

I was about to pull out my phone when a voice came behind me. "Hey, angel, did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?"

Oh, great.

I turned to face a blonde guy with blue eyes and a goatee. I raised an eyebrow, "no, it didn't. I'm taken so piss off." I usually did say to guys that I was dating someone when really I wasn't mostly because I didn't want to date them. "Oh, come on!" He slurred, "you're with that guy? You could do so much better!"

"It's none of your business, now leave me alone," I said, about to turn again when he touched my arm which I yanked away. "Don't touch me!"

"Come on, baby, we can go behind the back. No one will notice," he slurred, smirking as I rolled my eyes.

"Listen here, pric-"

"What's going on here?" Vincenzo came out the bathroom, his face hard as he stood next to me, his arm around my waist. "V-"

"What are you doing with my girl?" Vincenzo asked in a cold tone.

He called me 'his girl'.

Calm down, Mia!

"Vince, let's just go," I said in a quiet tone, wanting to leave the situation badly.

"She wants to go with me, big guy, leave her alone," the blondie said, coming closer to Vincenzo.

"I think not," Vincenzo snapped, his eyes narrowed, "so why don't you go to whatever hell hole you came from, punk?"

"V. .lets just g-"

"Punk? Who you calling punk, asshole?"

"You." Then he punched him and the fighting began.

"Vincenzo, stop!" I screamed as he continued to beat the life out of the drunken guy. A crowd gathered around us but I didn't care, I had to stop him.

I was panicking, scared. "Vincenzo, you're going to kill him, please stop!" I begged, slapping his back but he wouldn't listen. "Vince, please stop!"

"If you don't stop, I'll leave and you'll never see me again!"

He stopped, breathing heavily as he looked down on the unconscious man. He stood, his fists bleeding as he walked over to me. My breathing heightened as he grabbed my wrist and led me out the bowling alley.

It was dark outside and we were waking to the empty parking when I yelled, "what were you thinking? You were going to kill him!"

He let go of me and stop, facing me. "That was the fućking point!"

"He was drunk!" I continued, "you don't go around assaulting people because they call you names!"

"He was disrespecting me, and you!" Vincenzo snapped back.

I noticed his eyes were bloodshot and I scoffed, "Are you high right now?"

He rolled his eyes, "yes, and it feels fućking good except you keep yelling and ruining it!"

I turned to walk away but he grabbed my arm and pulling me so I faced him. "You would kill a man to save your pride? Your name? What the hell, Vincenzo!"

"Stop it, Mia!" He yelled, angry. "You're not my mother."

"And you're not my body guard or boyfriend!" I screamed back, our voices echoing in the parking lot. "I don't need you to defend me or beat a guy up. I am my own woman!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing. "If you keep doing this - killing people constantly. ." I told him, "you're going to end up like you're father!"

Suddenly, there was a stinging pain in my cheek, I felt tears in my eyes as I fell to the ground.

What had just happened?

I was on the ground, my hand on my cheek as tears streamed down my face.

No. .he didn't. .

"Mia!" He said, coming closer but I shuffled away, causing him to stop. "D-don't come anywhere near me!"

Tears came into his eyes, "I'm sorry. .I'm so, so sorry. I don't know what-"

"I hate you!" I snapped loudly, wiping my eyes and attempting not to cry as a tingling feeling went around my cheek. His eyes widened.

"I hate you so much and I don't want to see you ever again!" I yelled, my bottom lip quivering. "I'm leaving and don't you dare try and follow me or find me!"

"I hate you!" I screamed again, angry bubbling in me. "How dare you touch me like that!"

"I don't want to see you! You are dead to me, Vincenzo! Dead to me! I'd rather die than see you again!"

I was sick of him constantly hurting me, treating me like dirt, walking over me. I was sick of him and I was angry. I didn't want to see him. At that moment I wasn't thinking clearly. I had let the anger take over me and was no longer in my right state of mind. I wasn't going to be with a man who cheated, who lied, who hit me.

"Mi-"

"No!" I yelled, turning around and walking away to God knows where. I wasn't even sure of where I was going but I was going anywhere where he wasn't there. I didn't hear him follow me and I was glad. I didn't - couldn't see him again. I had enough.

There were suddenly three loud bangs, echoing in the night.

I shivered and froze. I knew exactly what they sounded like.

I slowly turned, only to cover my mouth in shock before running towards him, kneeling beside him.

No, no, no!

"Vincenzo!" I cried, my voice shaky. "No, no!" I carefully lifted his head on my lap as his eyes starting to close. "No, Vincenzo!"

There were three bullet wounds on his body. Two in his chest and one in his stomach. He was losing blood quickly and getting weaker and weaker.

Guilt ran through me. I felt disgusted with myself - no longer angry. I didn't mean what I said. I was so blinded by anger that I wasn't controlling my words. I let them get the better of me.

"No!" I cried, tears streamed down my face as he coughed out blood, his beautiful eyes gazing into mine. "I'm going to call for help!" I pulled out my phone, my other hand covering one of his wounds as I tried to stop the blood from coming out.

I placed my phone on the ground, putting it on speaker as I called for the ambulance from the mafia.

I placed my hands over two of the wounds, stopping the blood. The ambulance was on its way.

"M. .Mia. ."

"Don't try to talk, baby. Try to relax," I shakily told him, taking off my jacket and pressing it against the wounds, my hands bloody. "I'm so sorry!" I sobbed as he coughed.

"I love. ." His eyes closed and he exhaled loudly. "No, Vincenzo!" I screamed, shaking him gently but he wouldn't wake up.

What had I done?