Amo 21, Greta 16
That morning Greta got out of bed at five like she always did. She dragged herself into her closet to change into a leotard and leggings, then went down to the home gym and started her stretches. Yesterday's events had taken a toll on her, and she stayed up half the night thinking about it. Between the engagement and Nevio, she could feel the tension on her body. Needing to relieve some stress, Greta was happy to practice.
Greta started to bandage up her feet and then pull her slippers on. She struggled to get her right shoe on as her hallux was slightly swollen. Despite the pain and discomfort that came from her big toe, Greta gritted her teeth and dove into her Fountaine pointe spin.
The music that played flowed around her twirls and pliés as she let the music take control and just danced. The stress in her life disappeared, and the pain in her right foot temporarily subsided, and she spun and kicked mastering her Fountaine pointe. Feeling pretty proud of herself, she went at it again, sidestep, turn, and jump!
When she landed, a searing pain shot up her leg. Greta fell to the floor, clutching her foot. She carefully peeled off the shoe and unraveled her bandages, which had turned even redder. Greta assumed she must have pulled a muscle, but it wasn't something she couldn't handle. Pulling herself up, she limped towards the door. Savio had come running out in only boxers with his gun at the ready, as his room was closest to the gym, "Dollface! What happened, I heard a bang. Are you okay?" Greta leaned on the door for support, "I'm not in danger, but I hurt my ankle," Savio put the gun down and scooped her up in his arms. He took her to the living room and laid her on the couch. "I'll get Fina. She'll know how to help you." He ran up the stairs into her parent's wing.
Greta groaned, and she placed one of Kiara's throw pillows under her now swollen foot and laid her head down. "I can't go to my party like this," She muttered under her breath.
After several minutes, she felt a hand touch her forehead. She opened her eyes and saw golden hair. "Mom, I'm hurt, and I can't get engaged looking like this!"
Serafina gingerly picked up Greta's foot and inspected it. "It looks like a sprain. There's not much we can do besides keep you off of it. That's going to be impossible! Do you need any ice?" Greta nodded, and Serafina went to gather some. After she put the ice on it, she felt a little better, but there was a much more pressing issue, "Do you think I'll be okay to dance tonight?"
"Greta, you are strong. Just be careful, and you'll be fine," Serafina gave her a reassuring smile. "We will figure something out," Serafina said, touching her daughter's cheek. "But just to be safe, we'll call the doctor." Serafina turned to walk away, then she paused at the door, "Happy birthday Greta."
Soon Remo walked in looking furious, and Nevio not far behind. Nevio quickly came to Greta's side, examining her feet. "Man Greta, it's a good thing you got a pretty face because one look at those disgusting feet alone would send any man running." Greta gave him an annoyed look and punched his shoulder. Nevio let out a small "ow" and rubbed his arm even though they all knew he had experienced far worse pain.
Greta watched as her father felt her foot. "I told you this would happen if you didn't slow down. You have to give your body a break; you have to let it rest. You sure did inherit your mother's stubbornness."
By the time the doctor arrived, everyone had huddled around Greta in the game room. All the doctor did was confirm it was sprained, recommended Advil, and told Greta to stay off it for a while.
Greta was not happy about the pain in her leg she had to deal with. It made walking up the stairs difficult, and she knew her high heels would be a big no-no.
About an hour before her party was to start, Amo and Luca arrived to go over more mafia business. Even on her birthday, her dad and apparently her future fiancé just had to work. She heard them talking downstairs, but she was in her room, finishing her makeup. She was swiping her lipstick on when Aunt Kiara walked in to check on her.
"Hey, beautiful! I know I said it this morning, but happy birthday!" Kiara walked over to hug her niece. "I came to check on you, fix your hair, and help tie up your dress. Your mother is putting the finishing touches on the decorations at the party mansion. Do you need anything?"
Greta looked at her leg and back up at her aunt with a look. "Well," Kiara sighed, "I can't help with that. But I can help you get dressed." Kiara helped Greta step into the poofy dress, and she cinched her corset closed. "Thanks, Aunt Kiara, and thank you for picking out my dress! I love it! I hope you don't mind that I went with the pink one!"
"It was a good call. Pink is your color." Her aunt told her as she finished tying her dress closed.
Greta wanted nothing more than to twirl in her big pale pink dress, but she tried to save her strength for the party. Instead, she just swayed her hips. "Can we show Dad before we pin up my hair?" Greta asked. Kiara nodded and hooked arms with her niece, and together they walked out to the top of the stairs. At the bottom of the grand staircase stood her father, Uncle Nino, Luca, and of course, Amo.
Remo looked up at her, "Bellisima Principessa, happy birthday! You look all grown up!"
"Thanks, Dad!" As she spoke to her father, her eyes self-consciously wandered to Amo. He was looking at her with a strange look on his face. She gave him her most regal smile, and in return, he hurriedly looked away and started talking to Luca.
"I'm not going to head downstairs just yet. I still need to do my hair. I just wanted to show you my dress," Greta said, feeling like a princess. "I'm trying to avoid walking up and down the stairs more than I have to," Greta explained.
Amo scoffed, "You can't walk downstairs in heels, yet you can do ballet all day long?"
"Amo you really should learn to enunciate, no one can hear you when you mumble," Greta turned, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and walked back into her room, leaving Amo nettled.
Nino had explained Greta's injury from that morning, and he knew it would be hard for her to dance until it had healed. Five minutes before they left for the party, Amo leaned against the railing casually, waiting for Greta to make an appearance. He was confident he would get her to agree to his father's wishes, but adding the charm early in their relationship would help ensure his success. That moment came soon after, as he heard the rustle of long skirts at the top of the stairs. He looked up and saw her standing there, preparing for the pain of descending. Half of her black curls were pulled neatly up and away from her face, and a few near-perfect tendrils fell off her shoulders. A slight blush was on her face, matching her pale pink dress perfectly. Greta looked more like a queen before a coronation than a sixteen-year-old girl; she took his breath away.
"Amo," Greta sighed in annoyance, not happy he wasn't where he was supposed to be. "You're supposed to be getting in the car with everyone else." Greta looked frazzled and nervous.
"I was waiting for you, Twinkle Toes," He teased, "A princess should never walk down a staircase alone, especially not while injured." Amo ascended the stairs, and without missing a beat, he picked her up bridal style and carried her down the steps.
"What are you doing? How did you know I was hurt?" Greta asked, hooking her arms around his neck.
"I'm carrying you, what's it look like I'm doing?" Amo laughed, completely ignoring her second question. Greta looked at him with amusement in her eyes as Amo reached the final step and put her down. "We have a birthday to celebrate, m'lady." He offered his arm to her as if he was indeed a prince and not the future mob boss of New York. Greta stared at him suspiciously but graciously accepted.
Together, they walked outside to the waiting cars. Amo opened the door for her and bowed in an exaggerated fashion. "Your chariot awaits." He said with a laugh as Greta sat and pulled her skirts inside the vehicle. Remo was giving him another death glare from the rearview mirror. Greta gave Amo a small wave and said, "See you at the party." And with that, he shut the door and walked to his own family's car.
When they finished the short drive to the party mansion, Greta saw some of her friends and went to talk to them. The ballroom was cleared out, and there were several tables scattered around and a big space in the middle for dancing. A DJ had set up speakers with pop music blasting through the entire room. Guests were arriving, and many started enjoying the food or giving Greta soft hugs and engaging in conversation. Not long after the party began, the DJ announced the birthday girl and boy would be opening the dance floor with their first dances with their respective dates. She looked around the room in search of Nevio, but he was nowhere in sight. Was he going to miss their party?
Amo appeared beside her just as the first notes to the song she had chosen for the first dance played. She found being pulled into Amo's arms was as natural as breathing. The previous times Greta had danced with him were from so long ago she couldn't honestly recall them, but she did know there was no way it could have been like this. One of his arms wrapped tightly against her waist, holding her closer than he ever would have when she was younger. Their waltz was flawless. Even though she didn't dare look away from him, she could feel the eyes of all the guests upon them. The song ended opening up the dance floor for others almost as quickly as it began. Then her father stole her away from Amo for the second dance. The first hour of the night was everything Greta had wanted, except for her missing brother. She danced twice more with Amo and worked hard to ignore her twinging leg. It was when the adults began to drift off away from the main party room that Greta found herself resting at a table, enjoying the food and the company of her friends.
It was while Aurora was asking Greta where she got her dress that she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Nevio walked through the doors, a girl on each arm, his tie loose and over his shoulder, and the top two buttons of his white shirt unbuttoned. The girls wore too much makeup and looked a good deal older than the cocky boy beside them. Abandoning the girls at the door and walking to the center of the room, Nevio raised his fists in the air and yelled, "Happy sixteenth birthday to my sister and me! Get ready to party!" Then as if he had given the DJ a signal, the music changed tempos, and the party turned into a bit more of a club scene. The delighted screams of the partygoers were near deafening.
Girls surrounded Nevio and started dancing with him. Amo, observing the scene around him, quickly concluded that most of the women who had joined the party with Nevio were around his own age. There were quite a few boys of varying ages as well, and some older men Amo assumed were the guest's bodyguards. There was still the small group of girls who had been sitting and talking with Greta at her table, and Amo almost felt bad for her. What had started as a party with her as the center of attention had quickly morphed to being all about Nevio. Even Greta's guests seemed to only have eyes for her brother. Amo started to make his way over to see if she needed anything when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was one of the women Nevio came in with. Her dress was skin-tight, her eyes sparkled with excitement, and her hair cascaded around her bare shoulders in a flirty manner.
"What's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" She asked, with a hand on her hip.
Amo rolled his eyes and said, "Nothing that involves you."
The unnamed girl scoffed and sauntered off. Amo started making his way towards Greta again when he noticed she vanished from her original spot. He cursed the annoying woman under his breath for distracting him and began searching for his soon-to-be-betrothed. It was easy to spot her, her dark hair and light pink dress had her standing out amongst party goers. While most of the girls were wearing lovely dresses, Greta stood out looking like a queen on the dance floor. His future queen, who was dancing with a boy. She looked happy as they spun around. She was laughing and talking to him with a grin on her face. Amo felt his blood start to boil as a protective rage stirred up inside him. 'Had he not taken all of his mother's advice? Had he not turned on the charm for her? He had spent the night acting the prince the stupid child had asked for. Now she would get to see the killer known as the Sandman, for that boy would not wake up when he got through with him', that was the single thought that circled his mind while he was marching up to the dancing pair with clenched fists.
Greta was having a wonderful time dancing with Angelo, one of Nevio's friends from school. He wasn't her prince, but she doubted Amo would notice. She had seen him talking to another girl, but she wasn't going to let that ruin her night, she was determined to make the most of it and have fun anyway. She had a dance partner and her best friends, after all. She was doing a good job of ignoring the pain in her right leg, which had gotten worse little by little all night. Now it jolted every time she put too much weight on it. She ignored it, though, as she was having so much fun dancing and had been through worse. Angelo spun her out, but when she moved to spin back in, she found herself in the arms of someone much taller than Nevio's friend. She looked up and saw Amo with a smirk on his face. "Where did Angelo go?" She asked him. Amo shrugged and said, "He knew what was good for him and went dancing with someone else."
Greta snuck a peek behind her prince and saw Angelo near the punch bowl, holding his eye. "What did you do? Punch him?" Greta asked with rising anger as they spun to the music.
"He's lucky if that's all I do. I don't want other guys' hands on you. We may not be engaged officially yet, but our fathers already shook on it. The rings and the party are mere formalities. You are mine Greta Falcone, and soon every man in Vegas will know it."
Greta had mixed feelings about being called 'his.' "I don't belong to you Amo Vitiello, and I never will. We may be married one day, but I will always belong only to myself. You cannot officially lay claim to my name until a ring is placed on this finger." She held up her left hand and shook her ring finder. You can't tell me who I can and can't dance with unless you're willing to abide by the same rules yourself."
Amo paused as the song came to an end and said, "You've made your point. But this," Amo held up Greta's left hand, "will be marked as mine by the end of the week, and you little girl should watch who you let near you or I will do a lot worse than leave bruises on them whether you like it or not."
He walked off the dance floor and into the crowd. Greta shook off the strange encounter, but some part of her felt giddy that he was protective. She took a breath and went to find her twin. She found him in a corner, making out with a girl she didn't recognize. His tie was nowhere in sight.
"Nevio Falcone, control yourself," Greta pulled him off the girl, "You promised Mom you wouldn't leave your clothes lying around tonight. Now stop kissing, and let's get some cake!"
Nevio looked at the girl and shrugged. "It's her party too. I'll call ya." And with a wink, he let his sister pull him to the table, holding their giant cake. When they reached the dessert table, Nevio pulled a knife from a holster under his pant leg and cut a big slice out of the back, plopping it on the plate Greta was holding.
"I think this is my favorite tradition," He said as he grabbed two forks and handed one to his twin. "Mine too," Greta replied as they started eating. The party continued in full swing while the two snuck away to a quiet area in the garden to eat their stolen dessert, and talk without the prying eyes of their guests.
"Nevio, why do you act like…ummm..." Greta trailed off, trying to find the right words without insulting him.
"A manwhore?" Nevio finished. Greta blushed and nodded apologetically. Nevio put down his fork and sighed. "I'm a made man now sis. I have been for a few years already. My life hasn't been easy since I was eight years old. I didn't have it as bad as Dad did when he was a kid, but God, Greta, I've done things. I've seen things. This life isn't easy for a man. I don't talk about it because I'm trying to protect you from knowing the truth." He took another bite of dessert and looked his sister in the eyes.
"I'm a monster, Greta. And it's only gonna get worse as I get older. Days like this, I feel like I'm allowed to act my age for once. And even then, I am constantly aware of everything happening around me. I'm ready for a fight at any time. I'm ready to protect you at any time. Sex and girls, it's the one thing I get to do for me. I'm the perfect soldier, and I will be the perfect Capo one day. At home and our birthdays are the only times I don't have to be those things. I just get to forget everything I've done and will do for just a few moments before I have to face the truth again. And even that will be taken from me one day," Greta felt her eyes tear up at the raw emotion in her brother's voice.
"The truth is, I'm not scared of much but I am terrified of losing you. You are the most important person in the whole world to me." Nevio took another sad bite of cake as Greta wrestled with herself in her mind. She wanted nothing more than to hug her brother, but she didn't want to make him look weak in front of the soldiers or the Vitiello's, should any of them venture out of the party. She decided to put a hand on his arm instead. "Nevio, I love you more than anyone in the world. You're the most important person in my life too. I promise that even after I move to New York, you will always be the most important person."
"I love you too, Greta."
They each took one last bite of cake before Nevio said, "Will you dance with me?" Grinning, Greta accepted, and the two made their way back inside.
About an hour later, the music stopped, and they heard an announcement that it was time for cake. Everyone gathered around to sing happy birthday to the young pair. Serafina gave a disapproving shake of her head when she noticed a portion already missing. When the singing began, Nevio stood up proudly and pretended he was directing an orchestra, and Greta shrunk back, trying to hide behind him. The singing was always her least favorite part of their birthday. After the awkward song ended, the cake got passed around, and the regular music started back up again.
It was nearing midnight, and the party was winding down. The DJ announced the last song and a slow song started playing. Greta felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Amo. "May I have this dance?" He asked, holding out his hand. Smiling, she took it, and they started swaying to the music. Amo held her a bit possessively but was careful to keep her at arm's length. She suspected it was because the adults had rejoined the party and could see her father watching them like a hawk. They danced in silence for the duration of the song, and right before the clock struck midnight, Amo leaned in and whispered, "Happy Birthday Twinkle Toes." He kissed her on the forehead as the clock struck midnight.