Status: j
He's Strong. He's Hot. He's Foreign. (And He's in the Mafia?)
Revelation
“What is it?” I asked as he sat down beside me, his hand still molded with mine.
“I don’t know how to tell you this” he said, his voice pained. I stared intently into his eyes that would not look back at me.
“What is it?” I asked, trying to keep my voice as soft and placid as possible. I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as he buried his face in his other hand, his eyes closed.
“You wouldn’t believe me” he whispered, “You would think I’m lying, that I’m trying to lose you on purpose, darashya before I tell you, you must know I am telling you this because I love you and I’m tired of keeping secrets from you”
“You can tell me anything, Peter, I swear” I said, my voice cracking slightly.
“The hotel is not my family’s only business” he said, gripping my other hand, his eyes still dejected, “Have you ever heard about the mafia Janey?”
“What you mean like in the Sopranos? Damn that’s some nasty shit, within the first five minutes of watching that show two guys were stabbing this other guy in the back of a restaurant” I asked, thinking of Tony Soprano and the Godfather.
“What would you say if my family was…kind of like that?” he purred, moving some hair away from my face.
“What the hell are you talking about, Peter?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
“My family runs an underground business that helps…pick up the income I suppose…when the hotel is not doing so well” he explained, “My brothers and I are assassins, trained personally by my father, this business has been in the family for nearly 3 decades”
“You have to be kidding me…oh my god” I muttered, my hands immediately out of his hold, “Peter oh my god…”
I could not think at this moment, I could only feel confusion all around as the strong, protective image I had kept of Peter came crumbling down. This could not be true, I was still dreaming, except my dream had turned into a nightmare. The first thought that popped into my mind was that he killed people. Peter killed people, taking lives that weren’t his to take. For a while, that seemed the only coherent thing that ran through my head.
“He killed people…Peter killed people”
“I have to go” I whispered, standing up and heading towards the door, thinking I would stop by Rachel’s, just to make sure she wasn’t a part of the mafia too.
“I cannot allow you to do that, Janey” Peter murmured, a tight grip coming over my arm.
“Let go!” I shrieked, trying to yank my arm out of his hold with no avail.
Peter flinched at my words as if I had just smacked him across the cheek, even though I wasn’t sure what good that would do.
“Please don’t be like this darashya” he said, “I’m not going to hurt you”
“I don’t understand…” I stammered, “Why do you do this?”
“I have no choice sweetheart, if I didn't serve my father I would shame the family name, I don’t expect you to understand” he sighed, his face calm and understanding.
“Peter I don’t know if I can go through with this…please I just need some time alone” I whimpered, not even trying to twist my arm out of his grip anymore, just begging he’d take sympathy.
“Jane you don’t understand, I can’t trust you not to…” he said, but I cut across him angrily, “You can’t trust me?! We’re getting married Peter! That’s what this relationship is all about!”
“We are getting married?” he raised an eyebrow, finally letting go of my arm. I stared at him, trying to see through his face of stone into what he was really thinking.
“I really don’t feel like talking about that right now…I need time to breathe, please can I just go for a walk? And if you can’t trust me then…why would you want to marry me?”
“You can understand my worry about having you walk around New York by yourself when you have just been told my family is a part of…illegal activities…especially when you walk by a police station…” he reached out a hand and brushed some hair away from my face. I shivered at his touch; his fingers were freezing cold against my hot skin.
“I promise I won’t tell a soul Peter…please I did to arrange my thoughts…please…please” I whimpered, breaking out into tears.
“Jane, you have no idea how much this hurts me, how about we just sit down and talk?” he soothed, stroking my hair, “Don’t let this change us”
“But you know it will!” I exclaimed, “You’re in the fucking mafia for Christ’s sake!”
In a flash, Peter’s hand was over my mouth, his other hand gripping my waist, pulling my back against his chest, “Just a word of advice…don’t run around screaming out my family’s private business”
I let out a sob under his hand, which caused him to quickly withdraw.
“Please sit down darashya, we must talk further about this” he purred, taking my hand and leading me back to the couch.
“I don’t know what there is to talk about” I stuttered, my eyes not meeting his.
“My sweet, there is a lot to talk about” he said, smirking slightly, holding my cheek in his hand. I closed my eyes, reveling at his soft touch. I was so lost in his caresses that I almost forgot about the situation at hand.
“You like it when I touch you like this, don’t you?” he whispered, running his fingertips over my cheek.
“This makes it hurt even more to know you could be so evil” I replied, opening my eyes slowly, thinking maybe I would awake from this nightmare and Peter would be in bed, waking up next to me, and everything would be normal.
But of course, my imagination could only take me so far. Peter was staring at me with sad eyes, his hand still stroking my cheek.
“Evil, darashya? We’re simply looking out for our family and since you are becoming a part of our family, we’re simply looking out for you” he simpered, “Is that so wrong?”
“No…you’re just trying to brainwash me…your family already makes a shitload of money in the hotel, don’t treat me like I’m stupid, Peter, I know what mobsters do…you traffic women and con people and steal from them…!” I exclaimed in a forced whisper.
“Oh sweetheart…you are so smart” he said, chuckling slightly. He idly moved stray pieces of hair behind my ear, a smirk playing around his lips.
“Stop fucking humoring me” I grumbled. Peter’s brothers would always make fun of me because of my southern accent, always perceiving me as under-educated and foolish. I never thought Peter would do the same.
“Congratulations Peter, you have found a woman that can only cook your desserts!” Dmitri snickered when I told him about my occupation, “Too bad she is too unintelligent to learn how to cook an actual meal”
“Janey I’m sorry” he sighed, kissing my cheek, “Spending too much time with my brothers is not beneficial”
“I don’t think being in a mafia is beneficial either” I muttered, collapsing against him.
“Just because it is not beneficial doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits to reap” he explained, holding my head to his chest.
“But not all benefits are good” I yawned, soothed by his fingers running through my hair.
“We could go back and forth like this for a long time you know” he said, laughing a little.
“So just agree with me and quit the mafia” I said, playing with the buttons on his silk shirt, unbuttoning and re-buttoning them absentmindedly
“It’s not that simple, Janey, you know that”
“You chose to tell me after we were engaged so I couldn’t run away, didn't you?” I asked, pressing my ear to his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.
“I’m very sorry about that, my dear, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to be honest with you” he purred, leaning in and kissing the top of my head, “And I guess I was scared”
After a minute of silence, I whispered, “I wouldn’t have left”
“Don’t be so sure” he said, ruffling my hair slightly.
“You wanna try my new brownie recipe? I think it’s the best one yet” I said, jumping up and heading over to the kitchen, almost slipping over my long pajama pants in my haste.
“Honey, why are you playing with perfection? Your brownies are so delicious I had to spend an extra hour at the gym to burn them all off” he laughed, following me into the kitchen, making sure I didn't slip.
“No, Peter, you need my pastries to fuel all that fucking muscle” I snapped, punching his stomach, hurting my fist more than I hurt his rock hard abdomen.
Peter went off to ‘work’ not soon after giving yet another exaltation about how great they were and how I was gifted and talented (blah blah blah). Honestly, I was looking for a critique, but when it had anything to do with me, Peter always stuck up for me.
“You can’t be serious” Rachel muttered, leaning back on the couch with an exaggerated sigh. I had invited Rachel and Diane over to tell them about my engagement.
“Are you positive he’s the one?” Diane asked with uncertainty in her face.
“He’s perfect” I retorted, “You guys said so yourselves when I started dating him”
“That was then, this is now, and now he’s just…scary” Rachel said, her lips thin.
“He loves me, Rachel, no matter what and he makes me feel good about myself” I said, earnestly.
“Ugh, there’s no stopping you is there?!” she exclaimed, standing up to leave.
“Have you ever thought you’re just jealous?” I stuttered, averting my eyes. Rachel was the type of person who continually slept with people she didn't know. Night after night, she’d go to bed with someone she didn't know. In the most twisted and tortured parts of my mind, I would think she was just jealous that I had a solid relationship with a guy that wasn’t a total douche bag. But I had never voiced these thoughts to Rachel, and I was already regretting doing so.
“You’ve done it now” Diane muttered.
“Jealous? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Why would I be jealous of your creepy overly muscled guardian? Jesus Christ Jane you’re 21 years old and he has you on a leash like you can’t even think for yourself! I don’t know about you but I want to live my life!” she exclaimed before storming out and slamming the door.
"You and Rachel just have different ways of thinking" Diane explaining, knowing what I was about to say. Diane was 26 and recently divorced. I usually went to her with my relationship problems.
"I want you guys to be my bridesmaids" I mumbled through my hands, "I was thinking I'd have the actual wedding here and like the Church wedding back in Kentucky tjust to please my family"
"Rachel will be fine sooner or later, you know how she gets" Diane said, smiling slightly.
“I don’t know how to tell you this” he said, his voice pained. I stared intently into his eyes that would not look back at me.
“What is it?” I asked, trying to keep my voice as soft and placid as possible. I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as he buried his face in his other hand, his eyes closed.
“You wouldn’t believe me” he whispered, “You would think I’m lying, that I’m trying to lose you on purpose, darashya before I tell you, you must know I am telling you this because I love you and I’m tired of keeping secrets from you”
“You can tell me anything, Peter, I swear” I said, my voice cracking slightly.
“The hotel is not my family’s only business” he said, gripping my other hand, his eyes still dejected, “Have you ever heard about the mafia Janey?”
“What you mean like in the Sopranos? Damn that’s some nasty shit, within the first five minutes of watching that show two guys were stabbing this other guy in the back of a restaurant” I asked, thinking of Tony Soprano and the Godfather.
“What would you say if my family was…kind of like that?” he purred, moving some hair away from my face.
“What the hell are you talking about, Peter?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
“My family runs an underground business that helps…pick up the income I suppose…when the hotel is not doing so well” he explained, “My brothers and I are assassins, trained personally by my father, this business has been in the family for nearly 3 decades”
“You have to be kidding me…oh my god” I muttered, my hands immediately out of his hold, “Peter oh my god…”
I could not think at this moment, I could only feel confusion all around as the strong, protective image I had kept of Peter came crumbling down. This could not be true, I was still dreaming, except my dream had turned into a nightmare. The first thought that popped into my mind was that he killed people. Peter killed people, taking lives that weren’t his to take. For a while, that seemed the only coherent thing that ran through my head.
“He killed people…Peter killed people”
“I have to go” I whispered, standing up and heading towards the door, thinking I would stop by Rachel’s, just to make sure she wasn’t a part of the mafia too.
“I cannot allow you to do that, Janey” Peter murmured, a tight grip coming over my arm.
“Let go!” I shrieked, trying to yank my arm out of his hold with no avail.
Peter flinched at my words as if I had just smacked him across the cheek, even though I wasn’t sure what good that would do.
“Please don’t be like this darashya” he said, “I’m not going to hurt you”
“I don’t understand…” I stammered, “Why do you do this?”
“I have no choice sweetheart, if I didn't serve my father I would shame the family name, I don’t expect you to understand” he sighed, his face calm and understanding.
“Peter I don’t know if I can go through with this…please I just need some time alone” I whimpered, not even trying to twist my arm out of his grip anymore, just begging he’d take sympathy.
“Jane you don’t understand, I can’t trust you not to…” he said, but I cut across him angrily, “You can’t trust me?! We’re getting married Peter! That’s what this relationship is all about!”
“We are getting married?” he raised an eyebrow, finally letting go of my arm. I stared at him, trying to see through his face of stone into what he was really thinking.
“I really don’t feel like talking about that right now…I need time to breathe, please can I just go for a walk? And if you can’t trust me then…why would you want to marry me?”
“You can understand my worry about having you walk around New York by yourself when you have just been told my family is a part of…illegal activities…especially when you walk by a police station…” he reached out a hand and brushed some hair away from my face. I shivered at his touch; his fingers were freezing cold against my hot skin.
“I promise I won’t tell a soul Peter…please I did to arrange my thoughts…please…please” I whimpered, breaking out into tears.
“Jane, you have no idea how much this hurts me, how about we just sit down and talk?” he soothed, stroking my hair, “Don’t let this change us”
“But you know it will!” I exclaimed, “You’re in the fucking mafia for Christ’s sake!”
In a flash, Peter’s hand was over my mouth, his other hand gripping my waist, pulling my back against his chest, “Just a word of advice…don’t run around screaming out my family’s private business”
I let out a sob under his hand, which caused him to quickly withdraw.
“Please sit down darashya, we must talk further about this” he purred, taking my hand and leading me back to the couch.
“I don’t know what there is to talk about” I stuttered, my eyes not meeting his.
“My sweet, there is a lot to talk about” he said, smirking slightly, holding my cheek in his hand. I closed my eyes, reveling at his soft touch. I was so lost in his caresses that I almost forgot about the situation at hand.
“You like it when I touch you like this, don’t you?” he whispered, running his fingertips over my cheek.
“This makes it hurt even more to know you could be so evil” I replied, opening my eyes slowly, thinking maybe I would awake from this nightmare and Peter would be in bed, waking up next to me, and everything would be normal.
But of course, my imagination could only take me so far. Peter was staring at me with sad eyes, his hand still stroking my cheek.
“Evil, darashya? We’re simply looking out for our family and since you are becoming a part of our family, we’re simply looking out for you” he simpered, “Is that so wrong?”
“No…you’re just trying to brainwash me…your family already makes a shitload of money in the hotel, don’t treat me like I’m stupid, Peter, I know what mobsters do…you traffic women and con people and steal from them…!” I exclaimed in a forced whisper.
“Oh sweetheart…you are so smart” he said, chuckling slightly. He idly moved stray pieces of hair behind my ear, a smirk playing around his lips.
“Stop fucking humoring me” I grumbled. Peter’s brothers would always make fun of me because of my southern accent, always perceiving me as under-educated and foolish. I never thought Peter would do the same.
“Congratulations Peter, you have found a woman that can only cook your desserts!” Dmitri snickered when I told him about my occupation, “Too bad she is too unintelligent to learn how to cook an actual meal”
“Janey I’m sorry” he sighed, kissing my cheek, “Spending too much time with my brothers is not beneficial”
“I don’t think being in a mafia is beneficial either” I muttered, collapsing against him.
“Just because it is not beneficial doesn’t mean there aren’t benefits to reap” he explained, holding my head to his chest.
“But not all benefits are good” I yawned, soothed by his fingers running through my hair.
“We could go back and forth like this for a long time you know” he said, laughing a little.
“So just agree with me and quit the mafia” I said, playing with the buttons on his silk shirt, unbuttoning and re-buttoning them absentmindedly
“It’s not that simple, Janey, you know that”
“You chose to tell me after we were engaged so I couldn’t run away, didn't you?” I asked, pressing my ear to his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.
“I’m very sorry about that, my dear, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to be honest with you” he purred, leaning in and kissing the top of my head, “And I guess I was scared”
After a minute of silence, I whispered, “I wouldn’t have left”
“Don’t be so sure” he said, ruffling my hair slightly.
“You wanna try my new brownie recipe? I think it’s the best one yet” I said, jumping up and heading over to the kitchen, almost slipping over my long pajama pants in my haste.
“Honey, why are you playing with perfection? Your brownies are so delicious I had to spend an extra hour at the gym to burn them all off” he laughed, following me into the kitchen, making sure I didn't slip.
“No, Peter, you need my pastries to fuel all that fucking muscle” I snapped, punching his stomach, hurting my fist more than I hurt his rock hard abdomen.
Peter went off to ‘work’ not soon after giving yet another exaltation about how great they were and how I was gifted and talented (blah blah blah). Honestly, I was looking for a critique, but when it had anything to do with me, Peter always stuck up for me.
“You can’t be serious” Rachel muttered, leaning back on the couch with an exaggerated sigh. I had invited Rachel and Diane over to tell them about my engagement.
“Are you positive he’s the one?” Diane asked with uncertainty in her face.
“He’s perfect” I retorted, “You guys said so yourselves when I started dating him”
“That was then, this is now, and now he’s just…scary” Rachel said, her lips thin.
“He loves me, Rachel, no matter what and he makes me feel good about myself” I said, earnestly.
“Ugh, there’s no stopping you is there?!” she exclaimed, standing up to leave.
“Have you ever thought you’re just jealous?” I stuttered, averting my eyes. Rachel was the type of person who continually slept with people she didn't know. Night after night, she’d go to bed with someone she didn't know. In the most twisted and tortured parts of my mind, I would think she was just jealous that I had a solid relationship with a guy that wasn’t a total douche bag. But I had never voiced these thoughts to Rachel, and I was already regretting doing so.
“You’ve done it now” Diane muttered.
“Jealous? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! Why would I be jealous of your creepy overly muscled guardian? Jesus Christ Jane you’re 21 years old and he has you on a leash like you can’t even think for yourself! I don’t know about you but I want to live my life!” she exclaimed before storming out and slamming the door.
"You and Rachel just have different ways of thinking" Diane explaining, knowing what I was about to say. Diane was 26 and recently divorced. I usually went to her with my relationship problems.
"I want you guys to be my bridesmaids" I mumbled through my hands, "I was thinking I'd have the actual wedding here and like the Church wedding back in Kentucky tjust to please my family"
"Rachel will be fine sooner or later, you know how she gets" Diane said, smiling slightly.