The Don's Damsel

PLAYLIST FOR THE BOOK - https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoNBmGuFJko7pakarfhivRlKhdv4WhMTK&si=U6muZkLQZYd1_5ZK

The call with my mother ended quickly. A simple okay from myself, and then I hung up. I don't like her calls. Not the ones like that.

"Babes?" Ethan pulls me to him. "Are you okay?"

"Mum needs me. I need to meet her at Bocca Felice." His head tilts, and a knowing expression covers his face.

"Okay, well, I will meet you there shortly. Then you can let me know what happens, okay?" He looks at me, and I nod as his arms pull me in. With my head resting on his chest, I breathe deeply.

"I wish she had just told me on the phone." I don't understand her sometimes.

"Stop panicking; you have no idea if it is bad. Look, get sorted, go meet your mum, and I will be through in an hour, okay?" He stands waiting, and I nod.

He's right; I need to stop panicking.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

My fingers rap against the chair. My mother never summons me unless it is terrible news. Strangely, she has summoned me to a restaurant, which means this is a big hit.

God, mum, couldn't you just tell me on the phone?

I hate waiting, when she called and said I had to be here in an hour, I rushed. Now, though, two hours later, nothing. My fingers continue to tap against the chair quicker.

Maybe it isn't bad if she's late? I feel sick. I don't know if it's the nerves from not knowing and waiting or from the amount of alcohol I consumed last night.

Resting my head forward, I take deep breaths.

One - Nothing is fixed

Two - Everything can be changed

Three - I can survive

Four - It's normal to feel like this

Five - Sh*t, what was five? Five - I still have my freedom.

The chanting seems to work, and my hands begin to steady. Hearing the creak of the door, I turn to it.

"Rose?" So this is big, as my sister is here. It has to be. I watch as she walks over and sits down, facing me. Her face is soaked. Turning to look outside, I don't see rain.

Tears, my body shudders, and I swallow loudly.

"Rose?" God, it's bad news. Where is Mum?

"Mum's dead." My world drops; sucking in a breath, I feel like someone is squeezing my lungs, not allowing me to draw a breath.

Each attempt I make fails.

"One - " I stop, this is fixed, this is f*ck*ng fixed! I can't change this. Grasping the table, my fingers dig into the wood, slowly numbing my fingers.

"Dad called, she left the house and..." Her words stop, I don't want her to continue.

One - F*ck, what can one be now?

"She drank too much. From the sounds of it, she had seizures and just died."

No. No. No. Sitting, I shake my head. No. No. No. I didn't even say bye! I didn't even say bye. I just said okay, I just said okay! My head falls forward, my chest heavy as I struggle to breathe. Grief and Anxiety don't mix, not at all.

"Lucia." Her word is muted, swimming through the sea of noise my pulse is causing in my ears.

There is a warm feeling suddenly around my shoulders.

"One - You can keep going. Two - You can survive this. Three - It's a small bump. Four - This feeling is normal. Five – Your mum loved you." Ethan's words slip through my mind.

He kept repeating it until I could focus again, his arms staying around my body. Looking up, Rose is still there.

"I will come back with you two. I can't face going home yet." She tries to smile, but her lips don't match her command.

Goodbye mum.

Fighting back the tears, I stand. Walking out, I stop.

"I'm going to get freshened up, actually." I turn and make my way towards the door. The sound of gunshots has me hiding; my eyes look around as I hear the screams of people. The screeching of wheels pulls me from my daze, a daze I wish I had stayed in.

My eyes fall on Rose and Ethan, their bodies unmoving. Crawling over, I grab them. Screaming, I shake them.

"Wake up!" The words screamed from my lips as I pull on Rose. "We are doing it together. Our own world, our own life. I need you so we can do it again!" My head falls forward. "You promised, you promised we would do it together." Crying, my hands refuse to let them go.

The sounds around me become distant noise as I realise everyone is gone. Everyone I loved, everyone who meant something. Gone.

I had promised her I would do it; I had promised we would make this world our own. My fingers slowly peel away from her body as I feel someone dragging me away.

Fighting against the grip, I get pulled back further and further until there aren't faces, just two bodies.

Please wake up. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I took so long to move and respond.

I'm sorry, Rose, this is my fault. It should have been me. It should have been me.

I look at the pathetic, useless man before me. If you can even give him the title, man. He thought he had worked things out. He thought the loyalty I bestowed on him was unchangeable and nothing would destroy it.

Well, you're fucking wrong.

Drawing in the silken smoke, the taste of Daiquri hits me; as I breathe out, the cloud of smoke surrounds him.

"You burnt the loyalty I gave you. Nothing can bring that back." Rising from my chair, I take off my jacket, folding it and placing it on the chair.

His eyes watch warily as I remove my tie and roll up my shirt sleeves. Sucking in the silken smoke again, I lean into his face.

"So, you can try to earn it back. Get in the ring." His eyes widened, and I dropped the cigar to the floor. Stepping down on it, I wait, watching his every move.

The roll of his throat has me smile. It's slow and shaky, and he's trying to hold himself together and not swallow so loudly.