Chapter 5 5

I inhaled a big drag of smoke, holding the joint between two fingers and leaning against the toilet before bringing my knees to my chest. I blew out the excess smoke, a sigh of relief filling my chest as the smoke expanded throughout my lungs, making my brain calm down and my body unwind.

I stared at my bathroom wall, my mind wandering off and thinking about my oldest brother.

He was another person that Dimitri took away from me. He would've been turning twenty-six today, probably leading the mafia and being an asshole to everyone. He was already an asshole to everyone, even at the age of sixteen, and was ready for the role of being a don. My dad knew that he was ready, but it seemed like he didn't want to give up his role. He just wanted to fuck shit up more, even if it meant his family was in danger.

No matter how many fights my mom got into with him about how reckless he was, he never cared. He never cared how much it drained the life out of her to worry so much; he never saw the pain she held in her hazel eyes every day, but I did.

I saw how much she hurt over my father's decisions and how she tried to keep a smile on her face every day for me and my brothers. She always tried to make me happy, but all I ever wanted was for her to be happy. I didn't want her to be sad. It hurt me to see her that way. I would've rather had her leave me and find someone better than my dad if that was what was going to make her happy.

I knew now that my dad would have never let her leave, but even if she could've, she would have always stayed anyway, and it ended up costing her life. My father was never the best father. He cared more about my brothers than me, and he cheated on my mom many, many times, but I still loved him, and she still managed to put up with his shit.

"Happy twenty-sixth birthday, big brother," I muttered quietly under my breath, touching the necklace my mother gave me as I took another hit of my joint. My chest felt heavier with grief as I thought of my family, but, as always, it was quickly replaced with anger. Fiery rage.

Sometimes I wanted to cry, but I never could. All the memories of the times I cried and got beat for it or locked myself in a dark room for days filled my mind. I was taught that crying showed weakness, so I never did. No matter how much I wanted to, I never could.

Taking the end of the joint and putting it out on the counter, I stood up and left the bathroom to lie back down, hoping I could fall back asleep and not have a nightmare.

Even though Dimitri wasn't in my daily life anymore, he was still everywhere. I closed my eyes at night, in my dreams, and every time I saw a photo of my family, he was there to haunt me. It was a constant reminder of what he took from me and all the pain and torture he put me through over the years. He was always there.

Until the day I would make him take his last breath and he was no longer living on this earth, all the pain he had caused me over the years would never go away. Because of that, I wouldn't stop until he was dead.

I woke back up a couple of hours later to my phone going off, so I reached over to my side table and grabbed my phone, seeing about a million texts and calls from James, Dante, and Matt from our group chat.

I told those assholes not to put me in group chats, but they just loved to fucking annoy me.

I honestly don't know why I put up with their bullshit, I thought to myself as I opened their messages.

Group Chat-

James, Dante, and Matt

James: Wake your ass up, Anabelle.

Dante: We should go have breakfast together.

Matt: I'm down.

James: Anabelle, you're going to come eat with us, so get ready.

Matt: How was that date with that girl yesterday, Dante?

Dante: Shut up.

Matt: Aw, was she dissatisfied with the size?

James: Wait, I thought it was a guy...

Dante: Can you guys shut the fuck up?

James: Hey, it's okay, Dante. We support you.

Dante: Jesus, no, it wasn't a guy, and all we did was eat. You don't have to fuck a girl on the first date.

Matt: Whatever, dude.

James: Anabelle!!

Matt: Her ass is probably still sleeping. Let's just go to her apartment and get her.

Dante: Ha! You guys go ahead and do that, I think I'd like to live to see another day.

James: She won't kill us. I mean, I don't think she would.

Matt: Yeah, never mind. She'd probably shoot us and say it was an accident.

Dante: Exactly. Remember when she threw that blade into my arm? I'm not trying to piss her off again.

James: Pussies.

James: Why are you guys scared of her?

Matt: Don't try to deny that you aren't scared of her either.

James: I'm not... well, I don't think I am.

Dante: I think we all are; I mean, who wouldn't? She can kill someone with her goddamn heel.

James: Fine, maybe she could be a little intimidating.

Matt: Let's just go get her.

Dante: I'll call her.

Missed call from Dante.

Missed call from Matt.

Missed call from James.

Missed call from James.

Missed call from Matt.

Me: You guys are fucking annoying.

James: Good morning to you too!

Me: No, I don't want to have breakfast with you losers.

Matt: Too late. We're at your front door.

I groaned as I read Matt's last text. I didn't want to go eat with them. I knew they were doing it on purpose, they didn't want me to be alone today. I heard my front door open and close, their voices filling the hallway.

I knew I shouldn't have given James a fucking key to my apartment. I gave it to him for emergencies, but now I really regret it even though I rather it be him having it than the other two.

I heard a loud knock on my bedroom door.

"You better be decent, Anabelle, we're coming in!" Matt yelled and didn't even wait for me to answer before he opened the door. I had the blankets covered over my head as I heard them approach me.

"Come on, Anabelle, get up," Dante said.

"And don't give us some bullshit about you being tired. You tricked us once, but never again," James said as I started to feel the bed indent, indicating that one of them had taken a seat on the edge.

Suddenly, the blanket got thrown off me, and I groaned in annoyance, opening my eyes to look at all of them. James sat on the edge of the bed, with Matt on one end and Dante on the other, as they all stared at me. They all wore their usual attire, slacks and black dress shirts, which was what they usually wore when they were working at the restaurant too.

Dante had dark brown eyes and brownish to black hair that was always styled in gel, unlike James, who always had his hair all over the place, but it suited him. Matt, on the other hand, had honey-blond hair and eyes that were also that same color.

"I'm not going, ustedes pueden ir a empujar la comida por sus traseros," I muttered in Spanish. (You guys can go shove the food up your asses.)

"Oh my goodness, Anabelle," James complained, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair, "Don't be so difficult."

He sighed and stood up, coming around to stand next to me as he pulled my arms up, making me get off the bed. I yelled at him but he just dragged me into my closet and told me to get ready before closing the door. I sat on my closet floor in protest for a good fifteen minutes before getting ready.

I decided on a black mid-thigh dress and black heels, with my curly hair down and a little makeup on. I grabbed my strap that held my guns and blades, strapping it onto my thigh. I could never leave the apartment without it.

I walked out to the living room and saw them sitting on the couch with the TV on. I don't even think that they heard me come into the room. Dante had a bag of chips in his hand with his legs on the coffee table as James and Matt sat next to him.

I didn't know what the hell they were watching but they seemed very interested in it. I rolled my eyes. I can't believe they didn't hear me. They were supposed to be trained fighters and they didn't even know that I was behind them right now.

Fucking idiots.

"Get your feet off my table." I fumed at Dante suddenly, and they all jumped, not realizing I was right behind them.

I smiled, amused that I just scared the shit out of them.

"Shit, Anabelle, you can't do that," James told me in an irritated tone, and I smirked.

"Took you long enough," Matt stated, acting like I hadn't just scared the shit out of him too.

"You guys can't do this shit either. I could've killed you guys, and you wouldn't even have known," I said breathlessly.

"And what the hell are you guys watching?" I asked, looking at the TV and almost laughing at the scene in front of me. Of course, they were watching some kind of novella.

"Really?" I asked them, but I saw James rolling his eyes, and my amusement faded.

"Don't roll your eyes at me," I told him, and then Dante stood up and turned the TV off. I frowned at them.

"You guys are no fun," I mumbled.

"Now let's go and I'm not paying," I added as I walked towards the door, grabbing my phone and keys as they followed behind me

"Dude, you're like the richest out of all of us," Dante muttered. It was true, but it didn't mean I was going to pay if they were the ones who invited me.

"Do I care?" I asked as we walked out to the hallway, and I turned to lock the door.

"You should. You underpay us," Matt stated and I rolled my eyes at him.

"I think I get paid pretty well," James said, leaning against the wall.

"So, you're saying she pays you more than us?" Matt asked, gesturing towards himself and Dante.

"I pay you all the same, okay? Now shut up before you guys don't get paid at all," I fumed at them, and we started walking down the hallway.

And of course, with my luck, the couple from the other day walked down the hallway as well. Matt and Dante walked in front of me while James stayed beside me as we made our way to the elevator. The hallway was big enough for all of us to not have to scoot over.

The boyfriend eyed me again, giving me a look that he probably shouldn't be giving me while he was next to his girlfriend.

God, how disrespectful men were.

And his girlfriend, again, like the last time, didn't even notice or maybe she did but she didn't want to say anything to him.

That's exactly what my father did to my mother, always cheating right under her nose or looking at other women the way he was supposed to only look at her. That always hurt my mother, the way my father treated her when it came to other women. I always hated my father for making her feel like shit.

He should have respected her more I mean, for fuck's sake, she was the mother of his children. He could've at least respected her for that.

I shook off whatever anger was building in my chest as we walked into the elevator and down to the cars.

We got to the restaurant twenty minutes later and it looked busy, but they sat us down almost immediately. I sat next to James, Matt sat in front of me, and Dante was next to him. The restaurant was bright, with glass square tables and white tablecloths. The chairs were also white, matching the floors, but the wallpaper was black, which made everything look classy.

"Where'd you guys find this place?" I asked them while we all scanned the menus.

"I don't know; I just heard good things about it and wanted to try it," Matt said, and I nodded.

The waiter came to our table, asking if we were ready to order, but I didn't look up at him. I was only paying attention to the menu, but something stopped me. I tensed at the familiar voice, wondering where I had heard it before. I couldn't think of where, so I looked up, and the waiter was already staring down at me like he was also trying to figure out if he knew me.

About a minute passed before he finally spoke.

"Do I know you? I feel like I know you." He asked me as the realization hit me about how I knew him.

He was at the club last night. The one who said, Boss,.

He had brown hair and dark brown eyes. I wondered if he was related to the other man who was there. They looked like they could be brothers, the only difference being that his brother was ten times hotter, if they were actually related.

"I don't think so," I lied, and I didn't hesitate while doing it. He nodded his head, still not looking away from me. I took my eyes off him and scanned the restaurant looking for anyone else I saw that night at the club with him, but really, I was also trying to see if the other guy was there though I didn't see him anywhere.