by Ali D Jensen
I shove my knife into his leg and push him into the chair, letting the echo of his screams resonate within the office. Thanks to those nauseating videos, I know where he keeps his rope. Thank god for Nancy, she was instrumental in placing the cameras and backing up the video footage. I tie him up and call my mom and nonno to have someone sent out this way. Luckily mom was smart enough to bring a few of our men with her and is only a few minutes away thanks to her previously being notified of my expulsion. Hearing my conversation must have pushed his fear over the limit, because the acrid smell of piss permeates the air as I start to walk away. Just being in the same vicinity as this filth has me itching to pull the trigger and end his life where he sits but he doesn’t deserve such a swift end. No, he needs to pay for what he’s done. How many lives has her ruined over the course of his time here? On my way out, I warn Nancy to steer clear of the headmaster’s office until things have been addressed appropriately.
“Looks like you’ll need to be the interim headmistress Nancy. You know the job better than anyone else here. Just don’t go in there until after my mom and her men come clean up, ok? Oh, and expel Avery Arden for me, will ya?”
“You got Miss Salvatore!” She beams at me.
I know she must’ve been waiting for Clifford’s scumbag ass to be dealt with. No one is this happy to watch someone else carted off to die unless they knew how bad of a human being they were.
“Call me Alessandra, please. No need to be formal. See you later!”
I walk away as the bell rings for students to be dismissed for the final class of the day but honestly, I’m in no mood for AP English so I head out to my car instead. Plugging my headphones in I turn on some Hopsin and make my way outside, only to be bombarded by my guys. My guys? Huh, that’s an interesting concept... Matteo doesn’t even bother with pleasantries, he rips my earbuds out and practically yells at me.
“Where in the hell were you? Why weren’t you answering your phone? What the fuck Alessandra?! And now you’re what, walking to your car like you’re about to leave or some shit? You cannot disappear without communicating it to me, Cohen or Noah. Do you understand? I almost tore this whole building down brick by brick, and the guys were going just as crazy!” He glares down at me like this is somehow my fault and I feel the other two step up to surround me on either side. Like, excuse me for missing one freaking class bro.
“Um, first off. I don’t have to do jack shit for you. It’s not my fault you went all psycho because I missed one damn class. Second, I absolutely don’t have to communicate anything with you. Yes, as a courtesy, I could’ve let you all know what was going on but under no circumstance do I have to do anything, do you understand? I am not your property. I am a person, an extremely independent person at that. Stop trying to boss me around Your Majesty before it backfires on you entirely. If you’d like to calm down, I’ll let you know what all happened and we can game plan how to move forward.” I pause, waiting for his response. I get a curt nod but nothing more.
“It turns out that your pretty princess went behind your back to get me kicked out of school and now it’s time for me to handle things. I let you guys do it your way, but she outmaneuvered you so now it’s my turn.”
“What the fuck? Are you serious? What happened?” All three guys come at me at once. Feeling justified in my shitty attitude, I feel all the residual anger coursing through my veins.
“Well, it turns out that Avery has not only been sneaking around with the headmaster, but she’s also been using it as a tool to stay at the top of the social pyramid and keep her grades at the top of the class list. They were using each other, among other things”
I look into the eyes of each of my guys.
“Your little girlfriend tried to get the headmaster to expel me due to cheating on my tests and bullying other students into completing my classwork. Supposedly several students came forward to file complaints against me. What neither of them knew was that I have cameras covering damn near every inch of that office and I have enough live film documented and saved to put him in jail for the remainder of his life, and sabotage her into nonexistence. She’s going to regret ever coming for me, I promise you that. You’ve all tiptoed around her for too long and that’s done now. I cut up his face a little and stabbed him in the leg. He’s tied up in his office chair for now but mom and nonno’s guys are on their way to handle the rest. That fucker will be lucky to breathe his last breath beyond the day's end. P.S. you all might want to get checked. He was into some pretty nauseating shit and who knows how long it’s been going on.”
I’m still running hot after everything and it’s probably the worst time to get into it with the guys. I’m lashing out. They don’t actually deserve my jabs at their previous relationships with Avery. I know they care and that’s why they are so mad, but I don’t need Matteo in my face while Clifford’s blood is still warm on my knife. I need to decompress. I need to fight.
“C’mon Q, don’t be like that. You’re it for us, how many times do we need to tell you? Are you really mad about some girl we hooked up with before we even knew you existed?” Cohen looks at me with a hurt in his eyes that I don’t want to give recognition to.
Yes, for some unbeknownst reason I’m incredibly angry that they ever had that stupid bitch. I wish I could deny the ugly green goddess within my psyche but let’s be real. I’m jealous that she’s had them in a way that I haven’t and am not fully ready to. It makes me feel weak and stupid for even having these thoughts and feelings.
“I just need some time, Red. Can you give me that? A lot has happened today, and I just need to go home and be alone for a bit.” I look up and see each one of them staring back with a mixture of concern and frustration, and eventually resignation. They know not to push me right now and I am eternally thankful for that.
* * *
Thwap! Thwap! Thwap! It feels so good to hit the heavy bag. I needed this release. There’s just something so fulfilling about working out my muscles to complete exhaustion. Throwing up a few more kicks against the heavy bag, I decide to move on to the speed bag. I still feel an energy buzzing throughout my body though and I know I won’t be able to settle until I run it out. I feel a deep-seated need to wear myself out until I collapse, and my brain just shuts down. Today was a lot, and not even because of the mafia vibes running through my veins but I didn’t expect to feel so many more feelings to hit me about the royals. Rushing to my room, I grab my running shoes and a lightweight jacket. I send a quick text to mom to let her know that I’m leaving the estate to run the hills between us and the rest of civilization. Throwing my earbuds in and blasting music on shuffle at full blast. I start running down our driveway and by the time I make it to the gate, the guards are on high alert. They seem to be unaware of the fact that I am going running but now that they see me, it would be pretty cool if they could open the gates. I slow to a stop so I can speak to them since my obvious running attire isn’t telling them to open up.
“Hey, can you let me out? I’m trying to get in a run.” I huff out. I pull out my headphones when the guard starts to talk, and I realize I can’t hear him.
“Miss Salvatore, we can’t let you go out alone today. We received word from your grandfather that there’s been a threat issued. He didn’t say if it was directed towards you or not but as a precaution, we’ll have to escort you back into the house. Call your grandfather as soon as you can please.”
I level them with a look and start back towards the house. Looking at my phone, I realize I have missed texts from nonno, Cohen and Noah.
Nonno: Stay indoors and call me as soon as you can.
Cohen: Q! I’m coming to you. Stay in your house.
Noah: Alessandra, something has happened. Matteo is in the hospital. We are coming to see you. Please lock yourself up in your room. Set the alarms.
I call my nonno as soon as I see the texts. Confusion coloring my tone as soon as he gets on the line.
“La mia luce, I’m glad to hear your voice. A
re you in the house?”
“No, nonno. I’m walking back inside now. I wanted to go for a run but the guards at the gate wouldn’t let me through and then I got your text. What’s going on? Noah texted that Matteo is in the hospital. What happened?”
“Matteo went home after school and someone shot him, the boys had come home shortly after him and found him in time to call an ambulance, but he is in critical condition and needs significant medical attention. The boys are on their way to you. We haven’t figured out who the immediate threat is and with you as a potential target, I need you to stay with them. They will go to the ends of this earth to keep you safe and I know Matteo wouldn’t trust anyone else with you. I have guards coming to stay stationed outside of the house. Your mama will be here with me. There’s enough food and drink here to last a month and we have full video surveillance set up so you can stay on top of Matteo’s prognosis after his surgery. You have full access to the weapons room and there’s an alarm control panel in each room. Oh, and you’ve been excused from school for the foreseeable future. I’ve already made arrangements for Clifford so no need to concern yourself with any of that nonsense further. Please stay safe Tesoro. Call me if you need anything.”
“Wait, so I can’t go see him at the hospital? He can’t be alone right now. Where’s his father? The boys should go stay with him if I can’t. Nonno, he can’t be alone, it isn’t fair.”
“Calm down mia nipote cara, it’s a live feed so he will know you are with him via video chat. His father is missing, and we haven’t heard from him, I fear he may have caught onto our snooping and may be responsible and has gone into hiding for the time being. Matteo won’t want the boys there if he feels you are in danger, but I’ll have guards stationed with him until the threat has been neutralized. Stay where you are, and Noah will set up the live feed as soon as he gets there. Ti amo, la mia luce.”
“Ti amo, nonno. I’ll speak with you soon.”
I enter the house on high alert, doing everything I can not to let my feelings swallow me whole. If I think too hard on how hurt my king is, I know I’ll fall apart and now is not the time. What in the actual fuck is going on? Why would someone target Matteo? I decide to take a quick walk through the house. Immediately I regret not arming myself for my run. I have a very bad feeling about this day and I just know that the trouble isn’t over yet. I head towards the kitchen to grab a knife. Something is off about the timing of everything. It’s too suspicious that the same day that everything went down with the headmaster and Avery, Matteo gets shot.
Click.
I hear the click of the safety on a gun as soon as I round the corner to the kitchen and when I look over, I’m honestly not even surprised to see Avery on the other end of it. It’s true what they say, you should never spoil your kids to the extent they expect the world to cower to their every whim. It only makes sense when they become this unstable. This girl probably never heard the word no until I showed up.
“So, you’re the reason Matteo is in the hospital then, I should’ve figured. And what? Now you’re here for me? You couldn’t control yourself after getting expelled, baldy?” I snark at her, holding tight to my calm bravado. I will not show this bitch fear.
“You are such a bitch, you know that? You come into my school. You take my men. You take my academic achievements. You act like the queen bee when everyone knows that that should have rightfully been my place amongst the student body. Since day one you’ve acted like nothing ever affects you. It’s not like you’re anything special. You aren’t even that pretty. Then you take my hair and get me expelled. All because of who your grandpa is? Puh-lease! That’s such bullshit and now you’ll know how it feels to have everything in your life fall apart, to have it all taken away. Matteo is as good as dead, you know, and no one even knows it was me. If he didn’t want me, then he certainly couldn’t have you. I’m glad I shot him. Once I get rid of you, the other boys will come crawling back to me and I’ll make them forget you or Matteo ever existed. I’m more of a woman than you’ll ever be.” She says, though her eyes are wild and crazy. She’s lost any ability to think straight through her own sense of injustice. She’s thoroughly convinced herself that she’s the one who’s been wronged. Despite shooting someone even.
I look into her eyes and keep her focused on me.
“Oh, you poor delusional thing. It’s like watching Mental Ward Barbie having escaped the strait jackets and padded rooms. You’ve even got the fake Barbie hair” I smirk.
“If you’re so dead set on killing me, then do it. Pull the trigger. You think you’ve got it so bad because you aren’t at the top of the totem pole at high school and you got dumped? Do you hear yourself and how ridiculous you sound? So what if you got kicked out of school. There’s only a hundred other prestigious high schools throughout the United States and you still have a rich daddy who can cover it all up for you. I don’t particularly care if you pull the trigger or not. Your aim is shit, based off of what I heard about Matteo’s wound. Not to mention the live streaming cameras stationed all over my house. The fact that you’re even here holding a gun in my direction means that you just signed yours and your family’s death warrants. My nonno is a head mafioso, you stupid, stupid girl.” I take a step towards her, shaking my head in mock disappointment at her utter lack of a brain.
“Pull. That. Trigger. Bitch.” I take the remaining few steps closer, putting my forehead up against the cold metal of the barrel. She clearly didn’t expect such a bold move. Stepping back as realization sets in, the gun to fall out of her hand as it trembles. Her wide, shocked eyes start scanning her surroundings now that she’s realized how deep of a hole she dug herself and now she’s trying not to shit herself. I square up and get right back in her face.
“Huh, looks like someone isn’t as confident as she once was. You thought you could take out my king and get away with it? Nah boo. Now I’m going to make your life an ever living hell. I’m not going to kill you. No, I’m going to keep you alive and I’m going to take everything. You think what I’ve taken so far is bad? Just wait, I’m going to take everything you love, I’m going to take everything your family loves. Hell, I may even take away everything your friends love just to make them hate you. From now on, you are nothing. You’ll wish you were dead.” I turn from her bug eyed face like I’m going to walk away but throw a roundhouse kick to her head and watch her fall unconscious on the floor.
“What the fuck is going on?!”
Noah yells as he bursts into the kitchen with his gun raised. He must have heard the commotion on his way in.
“Why is Avery on the floor?” Cohen leaps into action as he takes in the scene before him, checking Avery’s pulse.
“She’s the one who shot Matteo. She came here to try and take me out on some twisted revenge plot because you guys broke up with her and then my getting her expelled. I handled it. How’s ‘Teo doing? Is he out of surgery yet?” I ask, waving off their concern towards the scene in the kitchen and focusing on what’s really important.
“Jesus, woman. You’ve had one hell of a day. Matteo’s fine. He was in critical condition when he got to the hospital, but the surgery overall went well. He got hit in the spleen but the worst of it was how quickly he was losing blood. A few more minutes and he may have bled out. He’s in recovery now and I can get the live feed set up so you’re the first thing he sees when he wakes up. You’ll need to call your grandfather in the meantime to let him know what’s happened and Cohen can go run you a bath. You need to relax and get some rest feisty girl. You’ve done enough for one day.”
Noah leans in to press a soft kiss to my lips and I allow myself to relax into it. The kiss I give back, showing my gratitude for his care for me.
“Ok pretty boy, let’s get this shit cleaned up first, then you and Red will need to join me. Set up a monitor in my bathroom so I can keep an eye on our boy, pretty please.”
I bat my eyelashes up at him and press another kiss against his lips.
* * *
This bath is literally the most heavenly experience. It overall took a few hours to clean up all of our messes and tie up loose ends. I couldn’t settle my mind until I called Matteo’s doctor and verified that surgery went perfectly, and his recovery was already on track. Now I’ve got a sexy naked auburn haired god rubbing out the knots in my shoulder and back muscles while my sexy naked blonde god rubs my sore feet. Between all of that, seeing my guy finally settled in the recovery room on the TV monitor and the magnolia scented bubbles, I feel an overwhelming sense of peace. Things have finally settled, and it feels like everything is going to be ok. It would be even better with Matteo here but I’m just thankful that he’ll be good to leave the hospital soon. Cohen takes on a large knot in my upper back and I can’t contain the moan that’s released from my lips.
“I wouldn’t mind waking up to that sound every day. Oh fuck, damn... Remind me not to move for a while.”
I hear the dark grumbly voice that heats me up all over whenever I hear it. My eyes snap open and up to the monitor. I damn near jump out of the tub to kiss the screen when I see that Matteo is awake.
“Oh! Thank god you’re finally awake! ‘Teo, don’t you ever get fucking shot again!” I blink up at him, my heart feeling too heavy for my body. I have to fight to hold back the tears threatening to fall.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you actually care about me.” He chuckles low and deep. A sound that shoots straight through my heart.
“Shut up. No one asked you. Just- ugh, just don’t get hurt again. It’s been difficult to be stuck here while you’re there.” I pout.