Running From the Mafia Boss

I awoke to the sound of a monotone beeping. The lumpy surface I was laying on was as equally unwelcoming. My body felt stiff, as if I hadn’t moved in days. Wires snaked around my arms and up my nose pumping me with fluids my body wasn’t producing enough of. I struggled to open my heavy eyelids, but as soon as I caught sight of the bright lights above me I cringed away from a blurry yet very horrific memory.

I moaned as flashes of that night flew through my brain. The nightclub, being inexplicably drunk, the car and noise….a lot of noise. I shifted slightly feeling the wires constrict around me and hold me into place, I didn’t like this. My eyes opened and I lifted my arm to rip the horrible needle out but was stopped by a large hand.

“Come on Barbie don’t do that.”

I sighed in defeat and eased my head back onto the pillow.

“Hey Rowdy.” I said smiling over at the bulky man in a suit sitting on one of the hospital’s ugly orange chairs, “what are you doing here?”

He smiled back and leaned forward reaching out with one of his hands to stroke my hair lovingly. I closed my eyes again feeling sleep over whelming me although I pushed it away in favour of seeing Rowdy.

“I know kid. It’s been a good while since we talked huh” he said, his rough voice bringing back joyful memories of me as a child.

I nodded sleepily.

“Yeah you fucked off and left me” I teased peeking through my eyelashes to see him laugh.

“Mmm...” he hummed leaning his elbows on his knees so his face was level to my own. We were quiet for sometime, Rowdy stayed close by my side keeping watch over me while I drifted in and out of consciousness.

“Do you remember when we first met?” asked Rowdy staring blankly out of the window. I’d been awake for a few minutes now, I felt more lively and the drugs were beginning to wear off.

“Yeah, you were young about early twenties and you didn’t wanna get stuck with a little brat like me” I laughed but quickly stopped as a pain flooded through my left side. I gasped and clutched at my rib waiting for it to subside.

“Don’t strain yourself Barbie” he added worriedly sweeping his eyes over me.

“I’m fine” I answered shaking my head.

“Yeah I remember too” he replied changing the subject and rubbing his eyes, “you were the last thing I needed back then, the way I saw it I joined your fathers mob because I wanted to do something. I was violent and unforgiving and when I was given you to look after I thought “what the fuck am I supposed to do with this damn kid?”” he smirked.

“I tried everything to change assignments. I was late picking you up from school, I wouldn’t talk to you, god some days I never even turned up! But they all failed. And I just hated you even more because of it.” he continued.

“But then one day I was picking you up from your play school, you were only about 4 years old and I saw you getting bullied by these to boys…” he said recalling the incident that was lost from my mind, “and your face, you looked so scared, they pushed and pulled your hair but you never cried and you never shouted, you took it all in silence.”

“And I felt so angry and so guilty at the same time. It was almost like they were abusing my little girl not my boss’s, I felt guilty because I had always treated you horribly too. But again you had never said anything, you’d never complained or told your father, I guess after all that time trying to get rid of you, you had grown on me.”

He said smiling warmly down at me. His eye’s looked older than the last time I had seen him, he was older. When he’d left me I was about 13, my father didn’t think I needed him anymore so he sent him on another assignment. Although Rowdy and I had become good friends, he’d been more like a dad to me than my own father was. So when he left I was heartbroken and I began hating my father, I don’t think I ever fully forgave him for stealing my best friend away.

“I missed you Rowdy” I whispered.

“I missed you too Barbie” He replied kissing my forehead.

I cringed at the sound of my nickname,

“You still call me that” I sighed.

“Of course I do” he winked as the door to my room opened and in stepped my father. I took in my dad and the look on his face before throwing an accusing glance at Rowdy.

“I had to tell him you were awake kid, sorry.” he shrugged looking apologetic, he new what kind of shit I’d be getting now.

“Rowdy wait outside, I want to talk to Levi alone.” he ordered holding the door open.

“Sure thing boss.” replied Rowdy before closing the door behind him.

My father sighed deeply closing his eyes trying to calm himself. It was like the calm before the storm, he was probably going to wait until we got home to properly explode. I’d be stuck with 3 new bodyguards to watch me everywhere I go, even in the bathroom cause you never know I might sneak down the drainpipe.

“Levi.” he started pacing the space at the end of my bed, “you have to leave.’

“What?!” I asked a startled look creeping its way onto my face. I was really starting to feel my injuries now, my ribs were sore and I could see large purple bruises forming on my arms, I could only imagine what I legs were like.

“You heard me” he snapped not stopping his pacing, his brow was furrowed and he muttered to himself as he walked.

He was right I had heard him, I just didn’t understand why I had to leave. The heart rate monitor beside me startled picking up, filling the silent room with even more annoying monotone beeping. I was getting angry, the thing I’d inherited from my father, the only thing I’d inherited from my father was his temper. It was too easy or me to fly off the handle.

“Dad I don’t….leave where? You’re kicking me out because I got into a car crash?!” I said raising my voice.

“Of course not!” he cried, “although I should be locking you in your room for the next 5 years after you stole my Ferrari!”

“You never drove it, Jesus I wonder if you even remember how to drive a car” I scoffed, staring at the blank wall next to me.

“Levi, that crash, it wasn’t coincidental it wasn’t just because of a deer on the road or how your friend was driving the car almost 60 miles over the speed limit!” he said ignoring my attitude and coming to stand over me.

“Someone planned that, someone that’s out to get me, to get you.” he growled clenching his fist menacingly.

I was taken aback, I hadn’t been expecting this sudden change of topic. If he’d ignored my sniping then something must be up.

“Dad I dunno…I can’t….what do we do?” I stuttered feeling the fear set in.

It must have shown on my face too because he started whispering as if not to scare me.

“You have to leave, you have to get out of here and keep safe”

“But Dad…I’ve lived in that mansion all my life…I’ve never been out of it for more than 2 nights!” I said shakily, thoughts were rushing through my head. Images of me sleeping rough on the streets came to mind, I’d never been allowed to leave the mansion for long. It was a task just getting him to say yes to me staying over at Sarah’s house.

“You’ll stay with Rowdy,” he continued taking up his pacing again “somewhere else, somewhere safe, somewhere no-one will think to look for you”

I was still trying to get my head round things.

Leave? Leave England and everything in it? My whole life was here. What had my father done to make someone wanna hurt him so bad?

“No dad I can’t go…everything I know is here I can’t just…”

“Look Levi! You are leaving and that is fucking final, you’re getting on a plane to America with Rowdy tonight. If you refuse I’ll have you sedated and flown there unconscious.” He seethed planting his hands on the metal end of my bed I guess the whole, don’t scare her thing was out of the window.

His scary act didn’t do anything for me, I didn’t even flinch. I was his daughter, I was brought up to not let anyone talk down to me or tell me what to do. He’d always told me “you are a Ferrari and Ferrari’s take orders from no-one” and I’d believed it.

The heart monitor beeped a little faster telling everyone in the room how angry I was becoming. I leaned as far forward as I could, trying to get my face as close to my fathers.

“You do that then. Cause that’s the only way you’re gonna get me out of here without kicking and screaming.” I growled back hoping he’d think it wasn’t worth the effort.

He stood up straightening his tie not loosing eye contact.

“Fine.” he said walking toward the door and clutching the handle, “I’ll have a nurse administer the drugs” he sneered closing the door with a loud bang.
“FINE!” I yelled after him making Rowdy jump outside in the corridor. He peeked through the glass at me and caught my expression mouthing another ‘sorry’ before getting the nearest nurse.

God I hate my dad!