*Sarah*
“What took you so long? I thought you said you were close thirty minutes ago?” Jason asked with a tinge of anger in his voice. I have just arrived to pick him up. He wore a black trousers and a blue top. I smiled at him, thinking of the best way to reply to him without taking offense to the tone he used with me.
“Is that the first thing you say to a friend you haven’t seen for so long?” I opened the car trunk, and he placed his luggage inside. I closed the trunk. “Not even a hug?” I asked, waiting for him to pull me into a hug like he always did when he saw me, but the hug didn’t come.
He scoffed and walked to enter the car, leaving me standing by myself. It took a while for me to wrap my head around what just happened. Jason has changed. I clenched my fist, trying to contain the anger that was brewing within me.
Don’t get it twisted. He wasn’t the one I was angry at. It was Lucia. That bitch changed everything. I walked around the car. I opened the door and stepped inside, sitting behind the steering wheel. The car was cold. “Congratulations on taking out your uncle,” I said. Jason was now the new mafia boss in his territory.
“Hmmm,” was his shirt reply. “Let’s get going,” he says.
I turned, staring at him; I was surprised at his short response. He sounded like he didn’t want to speak to me. I wonder what I did; well, I would never know if I didn’t ask.
The place we were in was busy. I watched from the glass as people walked in and out of the airport. “Are you waiting to pick someone else?” Jason asked me. He was still looking ahead. “Did I do anything wrong?” I asked him, my voice was low and soft.
“Are you going to drive on or not?” He asked, still not looking at me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I couldn’t stand his attitude. My hands around the steering wheel tightened. “If I did something wrong, it would be better if you tell me so I can apologize. I hate this vibe right now,” I said, hoping he would turn and maybe tell me what I did to make him this mad at me.
And he did turn, but his eyes didn’t hold the type of emotion I had expected. They shot daggers at me. “Move the fucking car right now,” he commanded. The air around me dropped again, and I swear I felt chills run through my spine.
Jason had changed.
He was never like this. Though he grew up in a mafia home, he was calm, soft, and sweet. This Jason beside me looked like a different guy. Maybe it was because he is now the boss. Maybe he was always like this, but he never used this tone for me because I was his friend. Maybe he spoke to me like this because he thinks I was careless with Lucia.
Sigh.
Too many, maybe.
I ignited the car and drove off. The drive back home was quiet. Jason had his eyes glued outside all through. I tried to bring up different conversations, but he didn’t seem interested and never contributed to any of the discussions. When I pulled in front of my house, he stayed in the car, observing the surroundings for a few seconds.
Three armed men were stationed outside. He finally stepped out. One of the men walked to the car trunk to bring out his luggage, and I swear I saw his lips move to the side as if the house was a little over his expectations or something.
“I’ll show you your room,” I say, walking forward with him moving behind me. He looked stressed from close up like he had been awake for days without sleeping. We walked through the stairs as I led him to his room upstairs.
Steve was nowhere in sight, and there was no sign of a blown car outside. Maybe he was still taking care of the car and other things I had asked him to. I stopped in front of a room, my hands on the doorknob, and then I turned to my back. Jason was right behind me. I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.
I must have Jason to myself. If he slept with me, he was going to take responsibility, and even if he finds Lucia, he will be too guilty to go back to her. I smiled as I opened the door. We stepped in.”This is your room. Hope you like it.”
“It’s not bad. You found a nice spot, I must say.” This was the first statement he made that didn’t feel like he was speaking to an enemy or something. “I’m glad you like it,” I said.
I walked to the window to open it. The room was right opposite mine. “How have you been, Jason? It seems like you’ve been avoiding that question,” I finally asked. Jason walked to stand beside me, looking out of the window. Cold breeze rushed into the room. His hands moved to his pocket, and he brought out a pack of cigarettes. He picked one from the box and held it between his lips.
“I’ve been fine. The old man is gone, and everything seems to fall in the right place; well, only Lucia is left. Once I found her,” he placed the box of cigarettes back into his pocket and brought out a lighter, “I’ll take her back with me, and we’ll…” he paused again to light the cigarette. He took a long drag and brought out smoke from his mouth and nose, “… get married. I’ve always wanted to make her my wife. That is the only way to keep her beside me forever,” he said, taking another long drag from his cigarette.
There was a twitch in my stomach when I heard him say that. How does he manage to take everything back to Lucia? I growled within myself. The thought of him getting married to Lucia repulsed me. I wasn’t going to allow that. Never.
“How far have you come along in searching for her?” He asked. I swallowed the anger within me.
“Very well.” I paused, not wanting to say anything about her from my lips again. “How did you kill your uncle? Come on, give me the full details without leaving anything out,” I said, walking away from him to the mahogany shelf at the side, which had all kinds of alcohol and drinks. “What trick did you play?” He lets out a low chuckle.
“You sure you want to hear it?”
“Every bit of it,” I said. “care for a drink?” I asked, and he turned. “Of course,” he said.
Yes. This was the Jason I wanted. The Jason who was less obsessed with Lucia. The Jason who didn’t stare at me like I was the enemy.
“What did you do?” I sat on one of the three chairs around a table. I opened the bottle of vodka and poured in his glass first. His eyes watched my every move as if he was afraid that I’d poison him if he dared to look away for the briefest second.
He walked to sit on the second chair. “Here,” I handed his glass over to him. I had already heard what he did to his uncle, but I wanted to hear it again from him if that would make him stop speaking about Lucia for a moment. “The old fool thought he could escape my wrath, but he couldn’t. I tricked him, poisoned his drink, and pinned it on his most trusted friend,” he let out a small laugh.
“It was fun to watch how he turned on his friend immediately. You see, trust, there is a very thin line between friends and enemies. My uncle was quick to turn on him, and seeing that my uncle attacked him, Thomas wasted no time in returning the favor. I watched from the side as they tried to kill each other. My uncle was very proud and never listened to Thomas’ explanation. You know he had a temper. Well, that was all I exploited-making him turn against all his friends.” A big smile formed on his face as he spoke.
He looked so happy and proud of his actions.
“I can still remember the pain and shock on his face when I killed him. How he begged for mercy, how he cried and cursed, but I listened to none,” his voice changed, anger coursed through his veins, “he never listened to Lucia then, so I didn’t listen to him. The only sad part about it was that Lucia wasn’t there to witness all this; she would have been very happy, just like I was. But I made sure to take pictures and videos; she won’t be missing any part,” he said.
For a moment, I thought I was sitting with a psychopath. The eerie smile on his face. The weird look on his eyes, the way he moved his lips, and how he gulped on the drink. All this should have scared me, but it didn’t.
It made me want him more.
I wanted to have him. Those lips on my neck as he sucked on it slowly. I wanted those eyes that were glued on his glass to be on me as his hands work magic on my breasts. My nipple hardened at the thought, and a moan almost escaped my lips.
“… that is why I need to find Lucia as fast as I can,” his voice brought me back from my reverie. I don’t know what he said before he made that statement, but I didn’t want him to think about Lucia, especially when he was with me.
“Why do you like Lucia so much?” I couldn’t help but ask him.
“I don’t think I owe you any explanation,” he said. I gulped down all the drink in my glass. I poured another one and gulped it down. And another, I kept up until I felt a little tipsy. He just stared at me without stopping me.
I closed my eyes. He knew perfectly well how to ruin my mood. The sky was dark, but the room was lightened by a white bulb. I felt hot between my legs, and I wanted him to touch me. “What about me? Have you never thought about spending your life with me?” I asked.
I didn’t know if it was the influence of alcohol or if I was speaking. But I wanted to know what he thought about me.
“You should be happy I haven’t run a knife through your head for not taking proper care of Lucia,” he said.
I scoffed.
“So you truly are angry at me. But it wasn’t my fault. Nothing went according to my plan, and I only have myself to blame. I’m filled with regrets,” I said, closing my eyes to think of all those times I’d have killed Lucia, but she had escaped and was still alive.
“You have our longtime friendship to thank, and I’ll be glad you have regrets. It shows you aren’t plain stupid.” He says.
“But why Lucia?” I gulped another glass. “Why? What’s so special about her anyway? You can get other girls, including me, if you want. You’re handsome, rich, and smart,” I said. The drink had completely taken over, and everywhere was suddenly blurry.
“I think you’ve had enough to drink,” Jason said. He stood up. I had to crane my neck to see him. “I already have my men around the city searching for her. I should find her within a week.” He said. He walked forward, “And pray she is in good condition, Sarah; I don’t know what I’ll do if she isn’t.” He said, and I watched him walk out.
I was mad with anger. Three bottles were already on the floor. I took the fourth, opened it, and placed it in my mouth. I gulped it as fast as I could. When I could no longer take any more drinks, I flung the bottle on the wall, shattering it-the drink splatter.
“ahhhhhhhhh!” I yelled, pushing everything on the table to the ground. “I would kill you, Lucia, even if it means killing myself,” I vowed.