Awakening the Mobster (2 page)

“4a, 4b, and 5a, 5b,” she says with false cheerfulness. Shit, we’re not together!

Erin and I sit down in the seats in front of Antonio and Vito. The third seat by the aisle is vacant. More and more people file onto the plane, seats filling up. The sound of belts clicking and bags sliding across the plastic overhead bins fill the cabin of the plane. Erin’s head is resting on my shoulder as I watch all of the hustle and bustle before take-off.

No one sits down next to us. There are only a few more people loading. The jet engines roar to life.

“Find another seat,” Antonio mutters from the seat behind me. I turn my head and peak to see the tall guy with glasses scurrying down the aisle towards the back of the plane.

Did that guy have 4c?
I’m too tired to care.

“Fuckin’
chooch
,” Vito murmurs.

*****

Rushing air hurts my ears, I’m falling. My arms and legs flail as I plunge downward. I can’t stop myself. I panic as I watch blue sky and clouds surround me. I’m helpless to stop myself. The air ends, and cold dark water envelopes me. I open my eyes, but I can’t see—everything is murky and dark. I try to push up, but I don’t know which way that is.

I can’t breathe. The water is crushing my chest. I have an uncontrollable urge to take a deep breath, but if I do I’ll inhale the ocean.

Hands encircle my ankles. I scream into the water. It’s a muffled nothing of huge bubbles. I try to kick the hands away, but they hold on. The hands move up my ankles to my calves, then to my thighs. They grab me by the waist and propel me up. I break through the surface of the suffocating water, choking and sputtering. I focus and Antonio is there bobbing in the water smiling at me with rays of the sun shining behind him.

I jar awake. Sweat makes my shirt stick to me, and my limbs are heavy. Arms are around me.

“It’s okay,” Antonio whispers. “You were having a bad dream.”

“Ugh.” I rub my head. It’s throbbing like little men are hammering on my skull. I squint to look at him. He is positioned against the window with me in his lap.

“Where’s Erin?” I ask in a panic. Antonio points behind him.

Chapter 2

Scootch (sk-oo-ch): a pain in the ass!

Antonio:

Vito and I moved the girls when they were both fidgeting in their sleep. I carried Erin and placed her in my seat, and then settled in next to Megan, molding her body to rest over mine. My beautiful Megan lies crushed tightly to my chest. The soft white skin of her neck calls to me while I watch her sleep. I restrain myself from trailing kisses across it. I finally wake her when she started kicking.

Erin lies sprawled across two seats behind Megan and me with her legs in Vito’s lap.

“Does your head hurt?” I ask her.

“Ugh, yes...bad,” she says, and I push the button above us for the attendant. “How long ‘til we land?”

“Not long.”

An attendant comes down the aisle and stops at our row.

“Can I help you?” she asks.

“Do you have any aspirin?”

“Of course.” The attendant leaves.

I massage the back of her neck with my hand, and she moans. I reflect about all that Megan has had to endure over the past two weeks. I want to rip someone’s fucking head off just thinking about it. Her fucking father did this to her. Megan didn’t grow up knowing this shit—beatings, money, hits. Patrick,-the-fuckin’-cleaner-O’Neill. I didn’t see that coming. The son of a bitch tried to make me out to be the bad guy. And all along he was chopping up Pop’s clients who didn’t pay.

This makes me in awe of her though. I haven’t met many girls that could take it. I’m thankful that Megan isn’t bowed over in a catatonic ball like her sister. Her father has put her and Erin through hell, and it truly pisses me off.

“Here you go.” A cheery attendant returns with a small white packet and a miniature glass of water. She hands them to Megan.

Megan gracefully gulps down the pills and then returns to resting against me.

“I had an awful nightmare,” she says into my chest. “I was falling, then I landed in the ocean.”

“It was just a dream,” I soothe, brushing her hair with my hand.

“It was so real,” she shudders in my arms. “But you pulled me up to the surface of the water.”

“I’d swim the Atlantic for you. In fact, I’d do anything for you.” I say straight into her eyes.

I tip her head up by her chin and gently press a kiss to her lips. Megan shifts and snakes her arms around my neck. She kisses me back, greedily, like she was looking for something and found it.

I caress her back with my hands and part her lips to make the kiss deeper.
Oh, how I love this sweet girl!
My heart is slamming in my chest. I raise my hands to her thick mane of wavy red hair, and I am lost. No hum of plane engines, no attackers, no hurting people.

Thump, thump.

My chair snaps forward twice. I swivel my head and give Vito a brutal stare. Megan shifts away from me dazed. He’s lucky he’s my best friend because, if it were anyone else, I would rip their fuckin’ head off.

Vito points to Erin, who is now awake and watching us make out through the space between the seats. Her face is discolored and vacant.

I get the message loud and clear from Vito and nod to Megan.

“Your sister’s up,” I say.

Megan twists around and taps Erin’s knee.

“You okay?” she asks.

No response. But Erin unclasps her seatbelt and stands. Megan snaps up too.
What is she doing?
Erin leaves her seat and walks to the back of the plane. Megan follows her.

“What the fuck, dude?” Vito asks me. “Keep that shit to a minimum. People were rubberneckin’ to watch you.”

“I don’t give a shit!” I huff. “She’s mine.”

“Well, her sister’s already zoning the fuck out, she doesn’t need to watch that shit too.”

“Fine,” I concede.

“Hey, does that
chooch
Troy even know we’re coming? He’s going to be pretty surprised when Megan shows up with us.”

“I hope Patrick told him,” I say, my blood starting to boil. “That pansy better keep his hands to himself when it comes to Megan. Memories of them together at the fire hydrant have been seared in to my brain.”

Vito laughs, “That was one...hot...fuckin’ show.”

“Thanks ass-wipe,” I mumble, and he laughs harder.

Turbulence makes the plane dip and shake. I do the opposite of the little red sign that reads, “Please fasten seatbelt.” Megan and Erin haven’t come back yet. The plane isn’t that big, but, when I check up and down the aisle, I don’t see them.

I motion to Vito and point towards the front. I knew they had headed to the back of the plane originally, but I wasn’t taking any chances, weird shit happens on planes all the time.

Even with the warnings over the speaker system to sit down, Vito and I walk the aisle in opposite directions.

At the galley area I find them, Erin is in a jump seat by the bathroom throwing up in a federally-regulated barf bag. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Megan in another seat in the corner by the huge aircraft door. The sound of the engines is much louder back here.

The big brother twitch finds me again. I lean over a panting, green-faced Erin, and kiss the top of her head. I can feel Megan’s eyes on me and glance her way. She is smiling broadly at me. She is so fuckin’ pretty!

One of the flight attendants takes Erin’s bag and hands her a new one. Vito stands in the aisle at the last seat watching the scene. His face has an unfamiliar expression. I can’t pin point it. He motions me over.

“Shouldn’t they give her something?” he asks. “She’s gonna dehydrate.”

I shrug my shoulders. The crackle of the loudspeaker sounds again.
“We will be landing in South Bend in approximately ten minutes. Please take your seats. Make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened. And as always thank you for flying with us!”

Megan gets up and helps her sister to stand. We walk single file back to our seats. The girls sit together again as we land in Indiana.

Down the passageway and out into the terminal, it’s like we landed on foreign soil. I am totally out of my element. This is not New Jersey, and it makes me uneasy. Even the faces of people in the airport seem to have a different shape and context to them. I have a burning need to get my hands on a weapon. It would comfort me.

Vito is on high alert, too. It is crowded and, for all intents and purposes, we are on alien ground. My Mafia education kicks in, and I will have to rely on only that until I can get my hands on a piece. That will be my first order of business once we settle in.

We rent a car. Vito wants to rent two sports cars to tool around in. I nix that idea and rent a black Porsche Cayenne SUV. Definitely more practical, and with the money Pop gave me, we can afford to be extravagant and comfortable.

I pull the vehicle to the curb. I pop the rear door, and Vito loads the luggage in. I jump out to help.

“Wow, this is ‘mob-ish.’” Megan deadpans.

“How does the saying go, ‘If the shoe fits...?’” I trail off, smiling at her.

Erin’s complexion isn’t blotchy and red anymore. It is a perpetual grayish-green. She sits in the backseat, and Megan sits next to her.

I drive while Vito rides shotgun. Vito uses his phone to put in the address of the campus.

“Pull in here,” he says.

I navigate into the parking lot of a convenience store. Vito gets out and goes in. I turn in my seat to check on the girls.

Erin is staring into space, and Megan is looking at me. She shoots her eyes to Erin, deliberately, letting me know without words that she is worried.

The passenger door opens, and Vito slides back in. He has a box of saltines and a large bottle of Gatorade. He opens the saltines and tosses one in his mouth. Then he reaches diagonally behind him and waves the box at Erin.

With effort, she reaches into the sleeve of crackers, taking a few. Slowly, she puts one in her mouth and chews. We sit there waiting and watching Erin. She never looks anywhere but out her window.

Vito then twists the top off on the Gatorade and hands it to Erin. Either she doesn’t notice or doesn’t want it. Megan takes it from Vito’s hand and holds it under her sister’s nose. She won’t take it.

“Come on, Erin, have a small drink,” Megan pleads quietly. Erin remains unresponsive.

Vito unclicks his belt and gets out of the car again
. What ishe fucking doing now?

He opens Megan’s door. “Why don’t you ride next to Tonio?”

Megan gets out and sits next to me while Vito buckles in next to Erin. He whispers to her. Then Vito reaches forward and motions for Megan to give him the Gatorade. Erin drinks it. It is only a couple of sips, but at least it is something.

I pull out of the parking space and get back on the road to Notre Dame.

“So, this is cool. You get to visit the college before you come here next year,” I say to Megan to fill some of the silence in the car.

“Yeah,” she responds quietly.

I take her hand in mine, and Megan leans her head back and closes her eyes.

*****

The campus is huge. I thought it felt foreign here in Indiana, but nothing could have prepared me for the Gothic European buildings.

Vito gives me directions from the backseat to
O’Neill Hall,
where Troy is living. The irony of the name is not lost on me.

Large stone structures, with church-like pillars adorn all of the fancy structures. It’s another country right here in America. Students carrying heavy backpacks flood the sidewalks and step right out into the street without looking.

O’Neill Hall is on the other side of the campus to where we enter. It is slow going amongst the pedestrian crowds. Megan sits up and watches. There is a small smile on her face. I can see it in her profile.
Is she happy that she’s at the campus, or happy to see Troy? Fanabola!

“Tonio, turn right here,” Vito directs me.

Chapter 3

Bombaleed (bom-ba-lead): messed up! or poor quality.

Megan:

The Cayenne rolls to a stop at a four story pale brick building. A large sign on the door reads,
O’Neill Family Hall
. Some distant relatives must have donated some serious money for this place. My heart is pounding, and I’m not sure why. Seeing Troy is important to me. The thought didn’t hit me until I saw his dorm.

Troy has been my best friend for a long time. I tell him everything. He’s like the big brother I never had. I need him. We have had some great times over the years. He has been such a big part of my life. He has kept me grounded to my Irish heritage.

I turn to Erin from my seat. Antonio has already stepped out of the car. She looks like she’s going to cry again. Vito holds out his hand to help Erin out. She takes it.

Room three-twenty-three is of course on the third floor. We ride in the pristine elevator in silence. When I picture college dormitories, I imagine something dirty or messy. Not this immaculate and modern building.

Antonio’s face is hard. I’ve seen that expression before. I give him a reassuring squeeze of his hand. I cringe at the thought of how many times his hands have punched or hit someone, or snapped a limb. The same hands that offer me reassurances and kindness.

The four of us are a sight. We look like we’ve been traveling for days not just the morning.

I step up to Troy’s door. I raise my hand to knock, and the door flies open. It’s a girl...a tall girl with long blonde hair. She’s rumpled and is adjusting her shirt.

“Hi,” she says and then walks past us. “Bye,” she says and throws a cute little wave over her shoulder. Which I immediately think is directed at Antonio.

I gaze into the room. It’s small and neat. Troy is lying on the bed,shirtless, his arm is thrown over his eyes. In a matter of seconds, he sees me and jumps up. Troy’s face is hard, just like Antonio’s. I am still processing the girl leaving when Troy walks to me in the doorway.