Chapter 2
11:15 AM March 2nd 1990, Russello Villa
"What you doing there?" Dante asks curiously as he enters Armando's office.
"Fixing this lamp before Russello notices it's gone" Armando answers. The broken remains of the said lamp are spread out in front of him on his desk.
"Shouldn't a maid be doing that? I mean it's what they're paid to do" Dante says raising an eyebrow.
Armando frowns, "Russello has fired most of the maids one by one and replaced them. The new ones always tell him about when Joey brakes something."
"Joey broke it? What is up with him?"
"I don't know" Armando grumbles. "But yesterday he knocked a picture off the wall and the frame broke. Russello was furious. I'm afraid if he found out about the lamp he would skin the kid alive."
I flinch at the thought. Of course the two men don't notice since they don't know I'm listening. Over the past couple weeks the ceiling vents have been my favorite place to be. Nobody knows I hide in them yet, so I can spend hours up here without anyone finding me; plus I love being so high up. At first I would only sit and avoid Madre and Padre, then crawl out when they left the room. The last couple days though, I've been exploring the maze of metal. That is how I came across a vent overlooking Armando's office.
"Do you think he's mad about the baby?" Dante inquires. "My niece caused a lot of problems when her sister was born because she was jealous of all the attention the baby was getting. Maybe Joey's going through the same thing."
Armando shakes his head, "No. Honestly I don't think he has even noticed Jasmine being here. We all treat him the same as before and he barely sees the baby since Emily is always with it."
"Maybe that's what he's jealous of?"
"Now you're being ridiculous" Armando rolls his eyes. "We both know how scared that kid is of his parents. He'd rather die than spend five minutes in the same room as either of them."
Dante sighs, I can sense that he agrees with Armando's comment. "What other explanation do you have then? Joey didn't start doing this crap until recently. What, now he just goes around breaking things for the fun of it? He's not that type of kid. I would know, my nephew is like that and he is way different than Joey."
I frown. I hate it that they think I broke the lamp, I didn't. In fact I haven't broken anything that they've blamed me for. It's not my fault. The stuff just falls over and apparently I'm the reasonable assumption as to why. Then to top it off, I get punished for it almost every time. The only time when I'm not blamed is when it is only Madre or Padre and the baby with me when it happens. Madre and Padre only get angry at me when other people are around.
"I wish Pippa was here, she would know what to do about Joey" Armando says as he and Dante begin gluing parts of the lamp.
"When is she getting back from maternity leave?" Dante questions.
Armando's frown deepens "She's not. Russello told Pippa that her services are no longer required."
"What! Who's going to look after the kids? Does Russello expect us to? Half these men don't even know how to handle each other, let alone a baby and a five year old."
"Apparently Emily will be taking care of Joey and Jasmine for now on. She's embracing the stay at home mother lifestyle."
Dante stops his work and looks up at Armando in disbelief. "Seriously? Since when has she ever been interested in being involved with her children? She and Russello barely have barely spent any time with Joey since I've started working here; and when they do it isn't the most nurturing experience for the kid."
"I don't get it either" Armando grumbles. He stares at the broken lamp for a while. "I hate this. I hate it here. The way Russello does business, I mean yes we are considered a mob which isn't the most normal way to make money but…how Daniel works is just strange. He goes through business partners like water and sucks them practically dry. Everyone who works with him knows what they are getting into but they all still agree…I don't get it. I don't know if I'm disgusted by it or more confused. It's driving me crazy just thinking about it, I just don't understand. Then how he and Emily treat Joey and now the baby. When I first started working here, I didn't care. But watching it for so long…I mean they're not even my kids but I feel sorry for them. Yesterday Joey had the biggest bruise on his arm from where Russello hit him when the kid knocked over that picture. My father was always tough on me and wasn't afraid to hit me when I did something wrong, but not as often as Daniel. I hate it…I don't know how much longer I can stand it here."
"You and me both" Dante agrees. "Didn't know you cared so much about the kid."
Armando shrugs, "I've known Joey since he was born and besides Pippa, I have probably spent the most time with him. I taught him how to read, took him on boat and car trip, put him to bed at night. He's a good kid, strange but good."
"Strange?"
Hesitating first, Armando explains "Sometimes when I talk to him…it's like he knows what I'm thinking before I say it. Not all the time, but every so often. It's weird…he can always tell when I'm lying to him."
"Sure you're not just a bad liar?" Dante jokes.
"I'm serious. Daniel's the same way. One of the reasons I hate working so closely with him. It's like he can read my mind…I have no privacy inside my own head."
Dante sends a concerned look, "This job is getting to you Armando. Makes sense, you've been here the longest. I would have gone crazy too, I hate it here so much. Why haven't you quit yet?"
"Whenever I try to leave, Russello somehow convinces me to stay. My god, I've only been here for six years and I've tried to quit dozens of times. He just comes up with some excuse to my problem that for some reason makes me okay with it."
"Six years? That's all? Beside Russello you're top dog around here. How did you manage that in only six years?"
"Daniel tires of his people quickly. Even when I began working for him, the most senior man had only been working for him for five years. Russello trains them for a few years then send them off to work in one of his foreign branches."
Dante straightens, "That explains a lot. A few days ago I was told I am getting transferred next month."
"You got a transfer!" Armando exclaims. "Damn, I've been waiting for mine. I was hoping I would be next to go."
"Apparently Daniel wants me to go head the henchmen for a new branch he's forming who knows where. I don't care where he sends me, I just want out of this crazy train."
"Why haven't you left yet?" Armando asks.
Dante sighs, "My family has been working for Russello for years. My father was one of his first men along with my uncles. Then my older cousins on my father's side joined when they turned eighteen same as Georgie and me. You're my only cousin from my mother's side who joined though."
"Ran from my father's company to get away from crazy bosses only to walk right into this" Armando grumbles. "Your family worked for Daniel's father?"
"No" Dante shakes his head. "My father said he worked for Daniel."
Armando stops gluing the lamp and slowly turns to give Dante a shocked, confused expression. "That can't be correct. I have worked with Daniel for years, right next to him. So have you. He can't be more than twenty five, looks younger than that. The few time I've had to wake him at night because of an emergency, I would have sworn he were still in school."
"I think the same. I've questioned my father thoroughly though and he is sure he worked for Daniel. Maybe it was his father and they share a name" Dante suggests, finishing the part of the lamp he was working on and moves onto the next piece.
Armando stares at the lamp for a while thinking before restarting his work and mumbling, "Yeah that must be it."
I can feel the uncertainty in both of them, each not quite knowing what to think about what was just discussed. It also confuses me. Now that I think about it, it is strange how young Padre looks. Almost everyone who works for him looks older than he does. Whenever he is wearing a suit, he looks a bit older and is well built like the older guards. But facially he looks as young as the newer guards. Same as Madre now that I think of it. She looks as old as Sophia the maid who was just hired. Sophia said she is eighteen. Madre has to be older than that, doesn't she?
The office remains quiet while the two men finish gluing the lamp. When they finish, both stare at it, lost in thought. Armando asks Dante emotionlessly
"When are you leaving for the transfer?"
"Few weeks" Dante answers with the same emptiness.
"Any idea where you're going?"
"Not officially. But from some rumors I am thinking Portugal. A good long ways away, thank god."
"Lucky son of a bitch."
1:51 AM March 31st 1990, Russello Villa
The halls are filled with shouts. About what, I'm not exactly sure, but it has the guards running around frantically. Almost every five minutes one zooms by, I can feel their fear and intensity projecting out of them. I sense a couple guards standing outside my door.
But the thing I feel the most is terror. Not my own, Jasmine's. Her room is a few down from mine and I can feel how frightened she is from here. The shouting and loud noises are freaking her out greatly. I thought a guard would go in and check on her, but so far I haven't sensed one do that. Suddenly some gun shots go off somewhere close by. The loud sounds scare Jasmine even more. Why won't anyone go and comfort her? This is so annoying.
Most of the time I don't sense Jasmine's emotions too much at night, even though our bedrooms are close. So she must be very scared for me to feel it flowing off her this much. I guess I could go check on her if nobody else will.
Opening the door to my bedroom, I am met by the faces of two angry guards. They are new ones, so I don't know their name. One of them yells at me
"Get back in there! Are you crazy?!"
He grabs the door and slams it shut. I hear the door click; I'm locked in. Oh well, I tried. A guard can make sure Jasmine is fine.
Knowing I won't be able to fall asleep with all the noise, I decide to put in a movie. There are a few more movies on my bookshelf than usual. Armando must have gotten me more, or at least told someone to get them. Looking over them all, I notice that all the new ones are animated. I pick out one with an orange cat on the front with dogs in the background. As the movie begins, I hear another round of gun shots sound from somewhere in the villa.
Another wave of terror hits me from Jasmine. This time she doesn't settle down like she did before. I can't even pay attention to the movie she is scared so badly. Sighing I look around the room for another way to get to her. Above my bed is an air vent. I haven't explored that one yet, but I have been inside it so the door is loose.
Now to think of a way to calm her down. She's scared of the noises, so maybe I could find something that will distract her from that. The movie I'm watching has music that would buffer the noise, but I don't think she has a TV in her room. Last time I was in there a few weeks ago there was only a table, some chairs, a crib, a cd player, toys and some diapers. A cd player! I could play some music on that.
My bookshelf has a few cd's that I have collected. My favorite is one Christopher gave me. The opera Semele by Handel. That one also has some soothing songs that would comfort Jasmine. I grab the cd case and head to my bed.
It only takes a couple minutes for me to climb my bedframe and jump into the vent. After doing it for a couple months, I've become pretty good at it. I take the metal tunnel going left since that is the direction Jasmine's room is in. Slowly I begin crawling, listening for when I get closer to Jasmine's cries.
As I round a corner, my face hits something. I close my eyes from the pain, then slowly open them back up. It turns out I didn't hit a wall as I expected, but instead a man. A big man with yellow hair and a metal mask. He is wearing a dark blue outfit with metal sleeve looking things. My heart begins pounding.
"Who are you?" I whimper.
His eyes narrow, "Sportsmaster. You must be Russello's brat." He sound's funny. Like the man Padre had over a few months ago. I think Armando called him an American.
My body begins to shake, "Why are you here?"
A sound of amusement escapes the man, "Well kid. I came to kill your dad. But I have time for one more."
Panicking, I scoot back only to hit the vent's wall. The mean man crawls closer, how does he even fit in here? As he approaches I whimper "Leave me alone." The man stops, his eyes look like they are in a trance. I continue to beg "Go away. Please…don't hurt me. Just leave the villa, leave us all alone. Go away, please. Just go away."
Sportsmaster stares at me for a while, his eyes still in the trance. Suddenly he snaps out of it. I flinch waiting for the man to strike, but he doesn't. The metal face man begins scooting away from me. He turns and crawls the direction from which he came, leaving me alone. When he is out of sight I let out a sob I was holding. I cry for a few minutes, then pull myself back together. The man didn't hurt me. Why? I don't know, but I'm thankful he didn't.
I hear Jasmine's cry a few feet away, coming from a vent door. Returning to my mission I crawl over to the opening, still clutching the cd. It takes a few tries but I finally get the vent open. Luckily there is a table underneath me, so I drop down onto that. I am just tall enough to close the vent again. I notice that quite a few items are laying around the room, fallen from the shelves.
Jasmine is in the crib, crying. Gosh, why does she always do that? Do all babies cry this much? I sigh then walk over to the cd player. I place the cd inside then press the skip button till it reaches track fourteen. At first I don't hear the music, the shouting outside is still loud, so I turn up the volume. As I do, Handel's Where 'er you walk fills the room with charming music. It is one of my favorite songs.
It must be Jasmine's too. Because a little while after it begins, her cries turn into whimpers. Not great, but better that the loud sobs she had before. I still feel bad though. Walking over to the crib, I feel that Jasmine wants a bit of comfort. I'm not tall enough to pick her up out of the crib, but I can stick my hand through the bars. I gently place my hand on her belly. Almost immediately her tiny hand grabs onto one of my fingers. It's weird. Her hand is so small, it feels like the time I got a pen cap stuck on my finger. I use my thumb to lightly stroke the hand. It takes a while, but Jasmine eventually calms down. By now the noise from the guards has settled down, so the room is only filled with Handel's music.
I don't know how long I stand there with Jasmine. At some point she falls asleep, but I don't move. Afraid that if I take my hand out of her clutch, she will wake and get upset all over again. I don't want to deal with that a second time. So I stay where I am, the music keeping me entertained while I watch the baby gently breathe. It is the first time I've been alone with her. When she's asleep, Jasmine's not too bad…has she always been this cute? Pippa used to say I was an 'adorable' baby, she'd probably say the same about Jasmine. The baby has some of Padre's sharper facial qualities, but looks a lot like Madre too. They both have softer eye and mouth shapes compared to Padre and me. I wonder what Jasmine will look like when she's older.
Suddenly there is an angry shout from down the hall where my room is, breaking my thought process. The guards begin running around again. Dang it! Hopefully Jasmine won't hear it. The door to the room bursts open, revealing a frantic guard. He sighs in relief when he spots me, then calls down the hall
"I found him! He's in the baby's room!"
Footsteps run down the hallway. Armando appears in the doorway next. He rushes into the room and crouches down in front of me. While patting me down for injuries, he urgently asks "Joey are you okay? What are you doing in here?"
"I'm fine Armando" I whine, pushing his hands away. "I felt Jasmine crying so I came in here to calm her down. Nobody else would."
Armando turns to the guard and yells "Is that true?"
The guard shrugs, "We didn't hear anything from the hall."
"She was crying!" I argue. "I felt it from my room."
Armando slowly turns his head back to me, his expression a confused frown. "Did you say felt?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"You didn't hear her crying?"
I roll my eyes, "No. I told you I felt it." Armando's frown deepens and turns a bit freaked out. "What's wrong Armando?"
"You…you felt her crying?"
"Yeah."
"What do you mean you felt her crying?"
I frown "I don't know. When I was in my room I could feel waves of her fear hitting me. You know like when you're talking to someone and can sense what they are thinking and feeling. It just pops into your mind. I could tell the loud noises where scaring Jasmine, so I came in here to play the cd Christopher gave me. Look it worked" I say gesturing to the still slumbering Jasmine. Armando's frown doesn't lighten at my explanation though, instead his eyes widen and become scared. "Are you okay Armando? What's wrong?"
Armando takes in a deep breath, "You can read minds?"
"Huh?" I ask, scrunching my face in confusion.
"Of course he can't Armando." My blood freezes as I turn and see Padre's tall figure in the doorway. "That is ridiculous thought, isn't it Armando."
Armando's expression falters. He stares at the ground for a second before answering "Yes. That is ridiculous." He sounds like a robot. Padre continues
"There is no way a young boy or anybody could do that."
"There isn't" Armando agrees in his mechanical voice. After he says it though, his stoic expression falters back into the freaked out frown.
Padre walks into the room. He tells Armando, "Go do another check over the house. I'll put Joey back to bed."
Doing as he is commanded, Armando stands and hurriedly makes his way out of the room. Padre snatches me off the ground and carries me to my room. The guards we walk by in the hall give us shocked looks as we pass. It is rare that Padre even looks at me, let alone carry me. When we enter my room, Padre closes the door then drops me on the bed.
"You got a bruise yesterday, correct?" he asks.
"Wha…What?" I stutter.
"I hit you yesterday, hard enough to bruise. I saw it on your shoulder" he snarls.
I quickly nod my head, remembering the hard slaps he gave me when a vase cracked. It wasn't my fault. All I remember is Jasmine crying, then hearing the crack. Next thing I know, Padre is yelling at me then hits my shoulder.
"Show me" Padre hisses.
Shakily, I pull up the sleeve of my shirt. I don't know what he is expecting. That happened yesterday, the bruise was gone when I woke up this morning. Maybe he wants to give me another? I tense at the thought, I don't want to be hit again.
Padre grasps my shoulder and inspects it. I wait for him to realize that there isn't a bruise as he hoped for. Then I hear Padre…laugh? This scares me, he never laughs. I was sure he didn't find anything funny. He chuckles
"Looks like you're not as big of a disappointment as I thought."
He lets go of my shoulder, smiling with a scary grin. Then without another word, Padre leaves the room, never dropping the unsettling smirk.
5:34 PM April 6th 1990, Russello Villa
For the third day in a row, my dinner has been spent in silence. I'm not sad about this though, glad actually. After Jasmine was born, Madre and Padre have tried looking more like a 'close family' so we have been eating together. I hate it, the entire time I am too afraid to move or say anything. But Padre has had business the last couple days and Madre doesn't like eating with just me. So I have enjoyed eating my meals in peace.
As I finish up the chicken the chef made me, Armando walks into the dining room. I'm worried about Armando, he hasn't been doing well over the past week. His usual neat hair looks unkempt and it doesn't look like he has shaved the past few days. The suit's he has been wearing lately have progressively gotten more wrinkled and messy looking. I have also noticed he is always lost in thought, looking off into the distance. Armando has barely said anything to me the past few days, in fact he has barely looked at me. When he does it is with confusion, disbelief and sometimes fear. I wonder what that is about. Armando stares at me from the doorway. After a few minutes, he dashes over to the table and sits next to.
"Armando are you okay?" I ask, unsteady from his odd behavior.
"Yeah Joey. Yeah" he answers frazzled. "I just want to know how you are doing."
I frown, "I'm fine."
"Good, good" he stumbles. My senses are telling me something isn't right. Armando doesn't feel the way he normally does. His presence is fuzzier. "I wanted to ask you about what you told me the last time we talked. Remember that night?"
Nodding I answer "Yes."
"You said you can sense what people are thinking and feeling. That is how you knew about how upset Jasmine was, even though she was a few rooms away."
"Yeah. I felt how scared she was."
Armando pauses and stares at me with shocked eyes. "How does that work?"
"I don't know it just pops into my head. Doesn't that happen to you?"
"No Joey it doesn't" he answers.
I frown even harder. What? That can't be right. Maybe Armando isn't feeling well. "Are you sure you're okay Armando? You have been acting funny ever since that night."
"I'm fine Joey" he tells me. But I don't believe him.
"Really? Because you look…"
"I'M FINE JOEY!" Armando yells at me. I flinch, not liking being screamed at, especially by Armando. He has never raised his voice at me. Seeing my reaction, Armando frantically begins trying to comfort me, "No Joey…Really I'm fine…it's okay don't be scared."
Jumping out of my seat, I back away from Armando. He's frightening me. Armando gets out of his seat and kneels down in front of me. When I back away farther, he crawls after me "Come here Joey…Don't be scared…Remember it's me Armando. You can trust me."
"Go away" I whine loudly. A guard walks in, a concerned expression on his face. It grows to confusion when he sees what is happening.
"Sir…what are you…?" he begins.
"LEAVE! I HAVE THIS HANDLED!" Armando screams at the guard. The guard hesitates, but leaves. The apprehensive look never leaving his face. Armando turns back to me "I just have a few questions Joey. That's all…"
"Leave me alone!" I cry. Terrified of how Armando is acting. The haziness of his presence is freaking me out. It's as if Armando is unwinding, his being coming apart at the seams.
"No…no Joey. Please just tell me…was that night the first time you sensed someone's emotions or thoughts? Please Joey…answer me" he babbles frantically.
What is wrong with him? Why is he acting this way? "No it wasn't" I answer, figuring if I answer Armando's questions he will eventually go away.
"How often does it happen?" Armando asks, crawling closer.
"It's always been this way. Why doesn't it happen to you?"
"Nobody else can do that Joey."
I try to process what he just told me. But I'm too scared to think. Instead I ask "What happened that night? Why were the guards yelling?"
Armando is obviously not happy about me redirecting his frazzled list of questions. But he answers "An assassin snuck into the villa. We were trying to get to him before he killed your father."
"You mean the man with the metal mask?"
Frowning Armando asks "You saw him?"
"Yeah" I nod. "He wanted to kill me too. But I begged him not to."
Armando's eyes widen, "And he just left you alone?"
I sob, "Yea…yeah."
Armando's hand grabs onto my arm, he asks in a craze "What happened?"
"I…I just told him to…to leave me alone. Then he left" I stutter.
"How did you convince him not to kill you?" Armando whispers in amazement.
"I…I" I can't talk through my tears.
"HOW DID YOU CONVINCE HIM JOEY!?"
"I don't know!" I scream in fear. "I just told him to not to." Closing my eyes, I sink down onto the ground terrified. Next thing I know, I'm scooped up into some arms. Armando carries me out of the room and practically runs through the halls of the villa. He isn't carrying me like he usually does, it's looser, less stable. As we make our way through the villa, people give us strange looks. When I realize where we are going, I begin screaming "NO! Put me down! Armando please! Let me go!" I don't want to go into Padre's office. Its scary being in there, especially since I know Padre is working in there right now.
Armando doesn't listen to my cries. He doesn't put me down when I begin struggling and kicking. The entire way to the office, he clings onto me making sure I don't get away. Why is he doing this? Did I do something wrong? We reach Padre's office and Armando bursts into the room, something he has never done when entering a room Padre is in.
Padre is sitting at his desk. He looks up from his paperwork and demands "Armando. What is this? How dare you barge into my…"
"What is this!" Armando cuts him off.
Padre frowns, his eyes going from Armando to me then back to Armando. My heart feels like it is about to explode I am so terrified. Padre sets his pen down on the desk slowly and ask carefully "What do you mean?"
Armando points to me, "How can he read minds?"
"We discussed this. Don't you remember? It is impossible…"
"Bull! You do it too" Armando snaps. "He told me he asked the assassin to leave, and he did. The only other person I know who can make people do things that easily is you. What the hell is all of this?!"
Padre chuckles, "You have clearly been working too much lately Armando. You have exhausted yourself into delusions. Why don't you go get some rest and forget all these ludicrous ideas?"
"Yes" Armando says in the robot voice he had before. "This is ludicrous…wait" his face returns back to being freaked out. "NO! I know this is real! You've been controlling me for years! How the hell are you doing it?!"
"I don't know what you are talking about…"
"Everything makes sense now" Armando says, dropping me. I hold back a yelp of pain when I hit the floor. He continues "How you manipulate your partners. You always know what me and the other guards are thinking. Why every time I try to leave, you somehow convince me to stay. You've been reading my mind and manipulating it! How the hell…" he looks at Padre. "What are you?" For the first time in days, Armando's presence clears, his eyes fill with understanding. It is as if Armando is slowly putting himself back together.
Padre remains stoic for a minute, then smirks. "Oh Armando. I was hoping you would make it a few months longer. You have been such a good underboss, the best I've ever had actually." His hand begins shuffling around in a desk drawer. "It's a shame you got so nosey. But you did do me a big favor. If it weren't for you talking to Joey, I wouldn't have figured out his abilities?"
"Abilities?" Armando frowns.
"Takes after his old man, so has his sister. I'll have much use for them when they are older."
"Jasmine can do this too?"
"No. Much better actually. I'm sure her abilities will be my favorite to use. Haven't you noticed all the things breaking since her arrival? Who knew a baby's cry can cause so many things to fall."
Armando's frown deepens, "How can she do that? I don't understand."
"You don't need to" Padre states. "I will miss you Armando, you were quite bright and had a lot of potential. I was hoping you would lead a branch into North America for me. But I guess I'll have to wait a while to find a suitable replacement."
"What do you mean?" Armando asks worriedly.
Padre chuckles, "Oh Armando, if only you weren't so nosy."
Shock and realization spreads over Armando's face. Suddenly he runs towards the door, but doesn't make it. A loud shot rings out. I see Armando's head break open as his body falls to the floor. Blood splashed on the wall behind him and is pooling around his still body. A scream of horror escapes my mouth. Nothing is there. Armando is just…gone. I can't feel his presence in the room, it's as if a candle was just blown out. The emptiness of the body terrifies me. No matter how hard I try to focus, I can't feel Armando. I let out another sob.
"Oh you're still here" Padre comments indifferently. Looking over I see him holding a gun and giving me a careless look.
"Why isn't he moving? Why can't I feel him?" I cry.
"He's dead. Get over it and get out."
Shakily I stand up, trying to compose myself. But I can't, I'm too horrified of what I just witnessed. Another sob escape me as I crumble back to the floor. I give up trying to fight it. Sob after sob pours out of me as tears fall to the marble floor.
Padre snarls "Did you not hear me! Get out."
A kick hits my side, knocking me over. I gasp for breath, but the hit sends me back into reality. Slowly I stand and make my way to the door. Stopping at Armando's body, I can't help but stare at the hollow carcass that used to take care of me. How can a person go from a giant ball of energy to nothing? Is this what death is? Nothing? The thought sends shivers down my spine. Against my best efforts a cry wheezes out of me.
"I'm not going to tell you again!" Padre furiously hisses at me. "What is wrong with you? Haven't I made myself clear? I want you out of my office now!"
My first instinct is to run out of the room, away from the terrifying man. But something is holding me back. Without looking at Padre, I nervously ask him "Why can I do all those things?"
"Excuse me?"
I work up the courage to face Padre. For the first time in my entire life, I turn and look Padre in the eye. With tearful eyes I ask "Why can I read other's minds? Armando said that isn't normal. Why can I do that? Why can you? How come whenever Jasmine cries objects begin moving? That's why things are falling and breaking all the time. How can she do that? What is wrong with us? Why can we do these thing?"
Padre glares at me. After giving me the kick, he had walked over to his desk and is currently leaning against it. The glare gains a hint of amusement after I finish my rant. After a long period of tense glaring, he challenges
"You think you deserve to know?"
Again, the first thought that comes to my mind is to flee. But I stand my ground "Yes."
"Guess what, you don't" Padre states. "Remember, I own you. You're my possession. Without me, you are nothing. I don't have to tell you anything brat."
"I want to know."
"When have I ever cared about what you want?"
"Tell me!" I demand.
Padre's expression turns from amusement to anger. His hand raises. Before I can move out of the way, the hand connects hard with my face. My stance is firm enough that I am able to remain standing during the slap. I take a moment to gain some strength again before returning my stare to Padre. Now anger is filling me.
"Hmm, got some bravery in you. When did that happen? You want a taste of the big Russello secret. Fine." Padre grabs the front of my shirt and yanks me up into the air. My feet dangle in the air as Padre hisses in my face "Our blood is special. We have powers that few in the world have. I have mastered by abilities, but I want more so I had to find a way to get more. Luckily I remembered a story my father told me. The story was meant to be a lesson, but I saw it as an opportunity. So I followed the steps needed to fulfill my goal. First step, find more power."
"Me and Jasmine" I say, suddenly understanding the reason of my birth.
Padre smiles evilly "Looks like you inherited some intelligence. Don't let that hurt you when you're older. Yes, you and Jasmine are here as generators. Eventually you and the blasted baby will come into use when you're older. For the longest time I began questioning if my plan was worth it. First you were a disappointment, not showing to have any powers. Then I almost lost my beloved Emily because of your damn sister. It took her forever to recover from the baby's birth. You should be glad she didn't die, because if she did life would be much worse for you. But she got better, then Jasmine started showing her powers, strong powers. I was thinking you were a dud, until the night of the assassin break in. Then I finally saw your worth, just in time too. If I had to wait any longer, I was thinking about a good way for you to have an accident. Now there is no need for that. I have my Emily and two power sources, everything is going according to plan."
My breathing at this point is heavy. I feel myself shaking. "You're a monster" I whisper.
"And you're a monster's spawn. Don't forget you are just like me, will always be. Nothing you do will change that. You're only purpose for living is to eventually give me power. I suggest you learn to accept that fact and stay quiet for the rest of your pathetic existence. The only thing you can do with your life is sit around and wait. That's the only thing you can and will ever do, you aren't meant for anything else. For your own sake, you should learn to keep to yourself." He drops me on the floor. I bite my tongue to stop me from screaming because of landing the same way I did when Armando let me go. The pain is worse this time. Padre growls at me "Leave."
This time I do as he says. I run. The fastest I have ever run before. Out of the room, through the hallways, into my own bedroom. The only place I know I can settle myself down, but I'm wrong.
When I reach my room, I crumble into a ball on the floor. I cry worse than I did before, letting all of today's events crash down on me. All I can think is
'I hate him. I hate him. Padre, no…Daniel. I hate him, I despise him. I hope he dies and goes to hell. I hope someone shoots him in the head, just like he did to Armando. I hate him. I hate him.'
My terror and sorrow reveals my anger. I can feel it flowing through me, my blood boiling like lava. How can someone be so…evil? Is power that important? My anger fills my body, causing me to shake even more. His words keep running through my head.
The truth of my existence crashes down on me. I am not a person, merely an object created for Daniel's sick plan. A possession that is in storage, waiting to be used for it's one use. I'm dispensable. There is no use for me outside the villa, this hell is my fate and there is nothing I can do about it. The bedroom walls begin shrinking in, my prison tightens it's hold.
OK. Hardest chapter to write so far. Don't know how you all are going to react to it. Please send me your thoughts, I'm really interested. Also feel free to ask me any questions you may have as long as they don't pertain to future plot spoilers. I will try to answer them. Thank you for reading :)
PS. Check out my new story, Figuring It Out Along the Way. I think it's pretty great. It's Superboy/Superman centered and is kinda like this story's prelude. Fluff with an eventual plot.