Chapter 4
When Jon and I arrived at my house, I picked up the key from under the mat and unlocked the door
"You want anything to drink?" I asked Jon as I threw my backpack on the ground of the foyer
"You got any beer?" called Jon behind me; I laughed a bit at him and searched the fridge for beer
My aunt knew I drank from time to time, and she was cool with me drinking, as long as I drank at home
"We have Heineken and Smirnoff, pick your poison" I told him showing him the bottles
"Get me a Heineken, Smirnoff is not my kind of drink" said Jon, walking over to me and getting the beer bottle
"Let's go see if anything is on TV right now while we wait for Joe and Colby" I suggested while we made our way to the den
"Speaking of Colby, I do feel like shit after I heard of how his dad died, I didn't think he'd speak of the incident so freely" Jon stated, taking a swig of his beer
"He was angry, my best guess is that he finally decided to let it all out, the bad thing though is pretty much the whole school knows and Mrs. Lopez will be placed in a bad light from now on" I supposed, drinking my beverage
"He told us what happened on the day of his father's funeral, his mom came clean to him that day and from that day on, Colby has hated his mom ever since, Colby admired his dad, he looked up to Mr. Lopez because he always believed in him when his mom doubted him, Joe and I met him a month before the incident, so we didn't know much about Mr. Lopez, but whenever Colby mentioned him, his eyes would brighten up and he would talk so highly of him, whenever his dad came clean to him about the cheating, Colby was disappointed in him because he thought he loved his mom, but Mr. Lopez came clean to his wife, and he was a man about it, but Mrs. Lopez couldn't bring herself to forgive him and she denied him the idea of taking marriage counseling, so she decided to pay him back by betraying him the same way, only she slept with his own brother in their bed, it was the night of the anniversary, and from what Colby tells me, his dad wanted to surprise her with flowers and chocolates, but when he opened the door and turned the lights on, he saw his own brother with his wife, he got upset and started beating his brother into a pulp, but halfway through the beat down, Mr. Lopez began having a heart attack, Mrs. Lopez called an ambulance, but they had arrived 2 minutes too late, he was already dead when the paramedics arrived on their front door, Colby was asleep when his mom woke him up to tell him, he was devastated"
I sat there listening to Jon tell Colby's story in shock, I couldn't believe he had been through such an ordeal
"Colby is a tough guy on the outside, but on the inside, he is a helpless child, when his dad died, a piece of him died as well, but when he met Joe and me, I noticed he was more upbeat, more happy and more optimistic about life, he just can't bring himself to forgive his mom, and he can't even look at his uncle without kicking the shit out of him, I remember one time when Colby had invited us over for dinner on Thanksgiving at his Aunt Lillian's place in Akron, and we were in the guest room playing a video game when his Aunt Grace called us down to eat, we were all making our way to the dining area when we ran into his Uncle Chris, when Colby saw him, I swear on my life that all sanity left him as he tackled the man to the ground and began pummeling him, we were near the stairs and Colby pushed him down, and his uncle went barreling downward, but Colby wasn't finished apparently because he ran down the stairs and kept punching him, me and Joe tried to separate him, but in his anger, Colby socked me on the nose and he punched Joe in the eye, everyone noticed what was going on and raced to get Colby away from his uncle"
Jon paused for a moment to take a drink of his beer before he continued
"His mom was angry and demanded he apologize to his uncle, and Colby just laughed and told her it would be a cold day in hell when he would apologize to the guy, he doesn't even acknowledge him as a family member anymore, to Colby, Chris Lopez will always be the man that tore his family apart"
I stayed silent for a moment to let what Jon had just told me sink in; Colby's life was much more complicated than mine, to say the least
"All I can say is, I'm glad he has you and Joe in his life, it seem s to me that you boys keep him grounded"
"Yeah, I mean with my mom, it's a straight up hate-hate relationship, we never got along and it's pretty obvious we never will, but Joe has the opposite relationship with his parents, he has both of them in his life, they are very supportive of what he does, but Colby and his mom, they had a good relationship in the beginning, but his mom fucked it up because of one mistake his dad made that could've been easily fixed"
I placed a comforting hand on Jon's shoulder "I kind of know what you are going through, I don't have the best relationship with my mom or dad right now, which is the main reason I moved out here with my aunt" I sighed, running a hand through my black hair, wondering if I should tell him why I moved out here
"How bad can your parents be? It's not like your parents are criminals or something, right?" Jon teased, placing an arm around my waist
"If only you knew, Jon" I thought, lowering my head on his shoulder, should I tell him the real reason I left Houston? I only met him, Colby and Joe today, but I felt a strong connection with all of them, especially Jon
"Jon, I think I should be completely honest with you, the real reason I left Houston was-"
"Hello? Ana Maria, Joe and I are here!" Colby's voice rang out as he banged on the front door
"I'm coming" I walked over and let Joe and Colby inside, they were both carrying two large brown paper bags
"Hey, what's all this?" I asked
"This is the stuff we will need to initiate you into our little group" Joe replied as he placed the bag on the living room floor
I felt like I had to tell them the reason why I left Houston; I realized that I wasn't being completely honest
"Ana Maria, you okay? You look like you have something on your mind" Jon replied, placing his hands on my shoulders
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, when I released my breath and opened my eyes, I sat down and spoke
"I appreciate everything you guys are doing for me, accepting me into your group of friends and making me feel welcome, but I feel like I should be completely honest with all of you, I'm going to tell you the real reason why I left Houston"
"Why do I get the feeling she's going to be dropping a major bomb on us?" asked Colby as he took a seat on the couch, Jon and Joe sat next to him
"Here goes nothing, I guess"
"My parents are David and Amelia Rodriguez-Medici, they are the most powerful mob bosses in all of Texas, and I am their only daughter, Ana Maria Rodriguez-Medici, I left Houston because I wanted to escape all the blood that my parents had on their hands, all the blood they spilled to give me the life they never had, they've killed so many people in the name of love for me, but I just couldn't live with all the guilt that was consuming me, all the murders they committed and all the crimes they've done, it was all too much for me, so I left, my parents were angry that I chose to leave after all they had supposedly done for me, but I couldn't handle being there, seeing them come home in dried blood every night, so my aunt Elizabeth allowed for me to come live with her here, she knows of what my parents do, she's my dad's sister and although doesn't agree with what my parents do, she still covers for them, because she can't bear to see her brother in a jail cell, I honestly thought that I wouldn't make any friends by coming here, but you three proved me wrong, and we've only known each other for a few hours but I feel like I've known you guys my whole life, Jon, Colby and Joe, you guys have been amazing and sweet towards me, I can't thank you enough for your kindness, but I felt like I couldn't be a part of your group unless I was honest with all of you, so there it is, I understand if you guys want to leave, I will not place blame on all of you if you walk out"
I was shaking as I stared at the guys, their faces blank and void of any emotion
"Guys" I pleaded, tears beginning to brim in my eyes "Please say something, anything"
Jon got up and walked over to me, I began to think that he was going to say goodbye to me, so I immediately dropped my gaze onto the floor, letting my tears fall freely
"Ana, please look at me" whispered Jon
"I can't, I'm too ashamed of myself to do so" I whimpered
I felt Jon's hands gently lift my head, but I still couldn't look at him
"Open your eyes, sweetheart" Jon pleaded
I finally did as he told me, then I felt his arms envelop me in a hug
"Don't be ashamed, sunshine; you have no fault over the actions of your parents"
"Ana, you're a wonderful girl, we aren't anyone to judge you for what your parents do, you may be their daughter, but you are not a criminal like they are, you're a sweet, innocent, loving and caring person" Joe put in as he walked over to me and pulled me into a hug
"It doesn't matter where you come from or what you come from, a friend is a friend above all" Colby spoke as he patted my shoulder
"So, you guys still want me to be in your group?" I asked meekly as I broke away from the hug
"Yes" the guys said in unison
"Let's get started then, shall we?"
Colby then ran to get the bags and began to take out the items that were inside them
While Colby got prepared, I went to the kitchen to make the guys a sandwich, knowing they were probably hungry again
"Ana Maria, you got a minute?" asked Jon as he showed up in the kitchen
"Hey Jon, what's on your mind?" I wondered
"Look, I wanted to ask if you would probably, I don't know, I know we just met not too long ago, but I really like you and-"
"Jonathan Good, are you asking me out on a date?" I was in shock, but at the same time, I was doing my happy dance inside my head
"Well, yeah I mean, if you don't mind, it's cool if you don't want to go on a date with me, I just-"
I was smiling at how nervous he sounded, so I decided to shut him up the only way I could think of at the moment
I kissed him, on the lips
Boy, who knew Jon was such an amazing kisser?
When I pulled away, I smiled widely at him and winked at him
"I'd love to go out on a date with you"
Jon then gave me a hug and kissed my cheek
"Thank you, Ana Maria"
"Hey guys" we heard Colby calling us from the living room, Jon and I walked into the living room and saw that the living room was covered by the blinds, making the room semi-darkened
"It's time" Joe replied
Jon gently pushed me towards the middle of the living room and Colby had me stand in front of him
"Ana Maria Rodriguez, you are here today because you have proven yourself worthy of being a member of our group of friends, you are a person worthy of being a member of The Shield, we are a group of brothers, not of blood, but brothers in arms, we look out after each other, protect one another when one of us is in danger, you Ana Maria Rodriguez, have the qualities of being a member of our group, do you accept to be a member of The Shield?"
I looked over Colby to look at Jon and Joe, who smiled at me as both gave a thumbs-up
"I accept to be a member of The Shield" I told Colby
"And do you accept to protect and support your brothers in any situation, good or bad?"
"I accept"
"And finally" said Colby "Do you accept to always stand by your brothers no matter what comes our way?"
"I accept"
"Then Ana Maria, on behalf of myself, Colby Lopez and my brothers, Jonathan Good and Joseph Anoa'i, I'd like to welcome you to our family, The Shield" Colby smiled at me as he gave me a hug and then pulled away, motioning for Joe and Jon to come over
"Welcome to The Shield, Ana Maria" said Jon as he gave me a rectangular sized box enveloped in black wrapping paper
"What is it?" I asked, looking at the box
"Open it and see for yourself" Joe answered, so I sat down on the couch and made waste of the wrapping paper and opened the box, inside was a black zip up hooded jacket, and on the back there was a design, the heads of three evil looking demon dogs in a circular motion, I took it out of the box and put it on
"You look really good in that jacket, Ana Maria" said Colby, patting me on the back
"Thanks"
Joe then wrapped me in a hug "It's good to finally have a girl in our group" Joe said, messing up my hair as a big brother would
Finally, Jon made his way towards me and threw his arms around me, hugging me as tightly as he could, I then placed my arms around his neck, inhaling his scent, which was intoxicating, but I wasn't complaining
"Welcome to The Shield, doll" was all he said before he leaned down to kiss me