A Mafia Bond

Chapter Two: Dinner with the Family

Bella Cullen

I left the bar as quickly as I was able, heading down the back alleyway past the backdoor of the butcher shop and old Mrs Wilson's flower store before I found myself back on our street. I looked across at the boarded up windows surrounding our apartment building, so many people had moved out whilst others had their windows broken and were simply unable or unwilling to replace the glass. It had been a brutal winter, there hadn't been a morning this week when some poor soul who slept on our street that night wasn't carted off in an ambulance or other. The fire down on main street had caused a flooding of rats putting people's noses right out of joint, as if these streets were bad enough already, the rats just added to the growing misery of it all. I wanted a better life for my family as I imagined they did too, but I wasn't about to silly myself with dreams, whenever my mind who wonder to a new life I was brought back to my reality quickly enough by a new fresh hell or bill we couldn't pay on time. There was always such drama, such heartache and one headache after another, this wasn't living it was merely survivin and I was getting better darn sick of it. I made my way back to our apartment keeping my head down, especially when a few unfamiliar faces past by me, there were too many new faces around these parts and people were getting nervous, rumours were growing everywhere like weeds of new gangs moving into our territories. I worried for what this meant for my family, we'd never lived anywhere else, this was all we knew, we had the bar and we couldn't just leave it all behind, we had roots here, family and friends, we didn't need anymore trouble round here, we needed to protect what was ours.

When I arrived back at the apartment my mom's coat and bag were gone from their usual hook by the door, she must have been on her way to the bar to help with the delivery now, I wondered if Edward would mention to her that I had left without a word. If he did share this with her, my mom would find someway of making her aching back my fault, remind me of my place in the family as the youngest and how hard my brothers worked to put food on the table. None of them were her blood I was the only one and yet I was her last priority in this life. I made my way down the small narrow hall towards my room and paused at the open doorway of my parent's bedroom, my eyes widening to the sight of Jessica's mother bent over their bed, my step father behind her with his trousers around his ankles. Neither of them noticing me too busy engaging in their deceit and sin. There were rumours about Jessica's mother these days, people were curious as to how they managed to get their new car when Jessica's dad had been laid off over a month earlier. I looked towards the nightstand, there sitting by a family photograph was a few wrinkled up bills, probably amounting to fifty to seventy bucks total. That was money we needed in the family pot and money my dad was using to ensure more Cullen's. Now that my mom was nothing but a dried up mare, I was painfully aware that my step father had gone out to ensure our family legacy would continue by any means necessary. I just prayed that my mom never heard of this, she was a magnet for bad men, she'd land up forgiving him of course, she'd go to the family priest and beg for forgiveness for not being enough for her husband and promise to do better. Then it would be my fault afterwards, no doubt having a daughter and not a son was only adding to her stress, stress that made her husband cheat.

There was just no way to win in this family unless you were the eldest son, for the eldest son could do no wrong, he only made the family proud, brought in the most cash and outshined his siblings. If only our dad knew how only minutes ago his golden child had threatened to bend me over and spank me for not doing as I was told. When I thought of what Edward got away with around here I could just spit fire, nothing stuck to him he was carefree, reckless and the worst of us all. He didn't deserved the praise he got, the respect of our siblings or the love of our parents, he needed a reality check that bringing in money didn't make him any better than the rest of us. But if he was bad than I was worse, especially given my recent acts at the bar, allowing my body to respond to my step brother the way it did, having no control over myself was shameful. He was my step brother, not one of the boys on the street trying to get my attention, he was my step brother and I should be ashamed of myself. But not half as ashamed as Edward should be, threatening to spank me was out of line, I was a grown woman and thinking that he could get me to scream his name was disgusting. I would never surrender to Edward, I'd never sink to his shameful level of brutality, I would sooner die then become anything like him, he was a sinful and cruel man who needed to be put in his place, instead of trying to put me in mine.

My room was the smallest in the entire apartment, my brothers had shared the bedroom down the hall until Jasper moved out and my parents were in the middle. My room was more of a shoebox than a bedroom but there were plenty girls I knew with half the size I had and a sister or two sharing their bed. I wasted no time collecting my school books while the moans continued down the hall, my step dad promising not to get her pregnant as he continued to get what he paid for. Jessica's mom would be carrying a Cullen in her womb by the end of the week and my step father knew it. I don't know why the men around here cheated on their wives, they were good hard working mothers who always tried to look good for their man while they got food on the table and squeezed out their legacies for them. I'd look at all these poor unknowing women and swear I'd never land up like them, I never wanted to marry anyone I just wanted to get out of Queens and make something of myself. I had just enough time to run a comb through my hair and apply a little roll on before I had to be out the door again, school wasn't exactly around the corner for me, I had to take two subways and then run about a mile just to make it in time for the bell. I managed to sneak past my parent's bedroom once again without notice and made my way back out the front door.

School wasn't easy, a lot of the girls I knew from home had dropped out, either they just stopped showin up or they got pregnant or their parents just needed them to work, I wasn't sure how I had managed to go as long as I had but I was grateful to be here. School was the only place I felt normal half the time, here no one knew just how bad things were at home, they didn't know how much of a push over my mom was becoming, or how many women my step father was screwing and best of all no one here demanded anything from me but my best. Some the teachers just didn't want to know you but those who did were often those who had also grown up the hard way, those were the teachers who demanded excellence from me, the ones who saw what I was capable of, I wanted the best for me too but like I said I wasn't a dreamer. Life was hard, family mattered above all and for me that's all I needed to know in the minds of my parents anyway, maybe I was a little more conflicted these days, I don't know.

The school its self was probably your idea of a nightmare, no doubt one day someone would make it out of here, go make themselves a big shot in Hollywood, come back down these halls and say those famous words "It didn't look this way when I was a kid" That's the truth no one ever tells ya, you grow up listening to people sayin how that buildin is gone and how there use to be a park there, then you grow up and before you know it, the city, the man, has taken away your childhood, ripped out from beneath ya like it didn't matter none. So if everything in my life was going to get stripped away from me anyway, what's the point in appreciating it now? So it would be all the harder when I lost it? I'd already lost enough already, I was young but already tired, broken and bruised, sick of the brown stone buildings, the litter, the stink of the steel mills and the reality that I aint gonna see anything prettier if I don't get out now while I still could, while I was still young and crazy enough to drop it all and just run for the door.

I sometimes thought about it, probably more I guess since Jasper moved out and started a new life for himself in New York. I knew my step father and if Jasper didn't send home enough money he'd be back by the end of the year and back behind the bar with the rest of us. Like I said I wasn't no dreamer, I just didn't know if I could take even one more day of the god damn reality of the hard life. I'd think about packing my stuff and disappearing in the night, leaving what I imagined was a heart felt letter to my mom, prayin to God she didn't send my brothers after me, I thought about rentin a little apartment, with flower boxes in the windows, maybe some nice pillows on the couch and one of those coffee makers. I guess I was a dreamer in a sense, I'd been hiding money over the past year, a couple of bucks here and there, kept it in an old biscuit tin in my closet with some pictures. I had enough to get out now, enough to get myself beyond New York even but I just didn't have the stomach to actually do it. This morning Edward had threatened to spank me if I didn't attend his match tonight, I couldn't even imagine what he might do it to me if he ever caught me trying to leave. However after this morning I was more terrified over my own feelings, I couldn't just forget the tightness between my legs that Edward had caused, how he made me catch my breath and how I had breathed him in like a welcomed perfume. If I didn't get out now then whatever happened to me this morning may just happen again and I couldn't allow that to happen.

Morning classes were a blur, every second I took my eyes off the blackboard I relieved Edward's threats over and over, I felt his hand upon my wrist, he could have broken it if he'd wanted but he didn't, his touch had been tender and out of character, I hated thinking about him in this way, it felt wrong because it was wrong. Edward had no idea he had this sudden effect on me, he'd be going about his day like this morning never even happened and I was left in this mess. When lunch finally rolled in I was relieved, I got myself a tray and loaded a few items onto it and pocketed the rest before making my way over to the same table as Jessica and Angela who were talking amongst themselves as I took a seat across from them. Jessica was quick to end their conversation upon my arrival hushing Angela who rolled her eyes in response before tucking into her lunch.

"Is Edward boxing tonight?" She asked me before I could even take my first bite.

I merely nodded in response and took a bite of what was supposed to be mac and cheese, it was more like mac and mac, I don't think anyone would actually call this stuff cheese. I found I couldn't look Jessica in the eye, her mom was sleeping with my step dad and I had saw them together, I'd never be able to look at her the same way again. Poor girl had no clue, she wasn't protected from the streets but she always believed her problems would always be solved because she believed my brother was in love with her, maybe he was for all I knew, I just knew that like my step dad Edward didn't have just one girl in his life at a time, there was always another and another.

"I'm gonna go tonight, I got that top from Angie's display window"

"The sequence one?" Angela asked

Jessica nodded in delight, smiling ear to ear.

"That thing cost fifty bucks, you expect us to believe you can afford that thing?"

"I'm gonna return it tomorrow, plus I nabbed a pair of my mom's heels to go with it"

"Jess" I stopped to shake my head "He aint worth your time"

"He's your brother, you put down your own now?"

"You're trippin" Angela was quick to agree with me

"Look I ain't disrespectin him I'm just sayin you know he aint worth all this effort"

"He's different with me"

"You think you're the only one on his radar?"

"I will be in that top and heels. He'll come home with me tonight"

"So what if he does?"

Jessica took a bite of her apple before responding "Sometimes he spends the whole night"

"And what about all the other times?" I asked before giving a small shrug "He ain't gotta a lot of debts to collect in the middle of the night hun"

"Girls got a point" Angela said as she chewed on the straw of her drink.

"Well you do you and I'll do me" Jessica said then her eyes fixed on mine.

I tossed my hair over my shoulder then before putting down my fork.

"Look I don't know what you think is gonna happen tonight but he's got plans for after this fight"

"You are so lying. What plans?"

"Business"

"Well I'll change his mind"

I looked over Jessica's shoulder then seeing Rosalie Hale leaving her table of friends to empty her tray and I decided to take my chance to finally speak with her. I made my excuses to my friends and made my way towards Rosalie, tray in hand as I came up along side of her.

"Rosalie right?"

"I don't know you"

"Emmett's kid sis" I explained

"Isabella?"

"Just Bella"

Together we emptied our trays into the line and made our way out of the cafeteria side by side, bags slung over our shoulders. Rosalie looking around us before turning to face me stopping me dead in my tracks.

"Look it ain't true what people are sayin about me" Rosalie explained

"I don't make a habit of listenin to gossip, it's harder to remember, the truth comes easiest"

Rosalie fought back a smile then, she knew the life too she had that look in her eye, she was sick of it and so was I. And now that she had confirmed the rumours about her being pregnant weren't true, I felt I had finally gotten a victory.

"Emmett is a great guy, but I'm not naive, he's probably got a lot more girls just like me"

"Like you? Do you own a mirror?" I asked

Rosalie was a knock out, she had beautiful blonde hair all down her back, she had good skin, she maintained her eyebrows unlike a lot of the girls round here, she didn't have her chest out on display and she kept it real. My brother couldn't ask for better and I could see now why he had given up all the other girls he was seeing and kept it real with Rosalie, one on one .

"So what's the deal with chu?" Rosalie asked

"What you want me to tell you? How many hours I work or how many guys I aint got after me?"

Rosalie smiled this time, it was nice to have someone appreciate my humour for once.

"Emmett says you work at the hairdressers on Ashley?"

"It's my Aunt's place, I just wash hair and make coffee, still it's ten bucks in my pocket a week so" She shrugged

I decided to pull the trigger then and just dare myself to believe for a moment.

"You ever think about leavin?" I asked

Rosalie's eyes locking on mine as I did.

"What you mean like...get out of Queens?"

I looked around us then nodding my head as I did.

"Yeah" Rosalie answered quickly and we looked at each other once again.

"Me too"

After school I made use of my time on the subway, doing tonight's homework and making notes for what I believed I would need for tomorrow nights, I always had to take advantage of all these small moments, my life was many things but what it wasn't was quiet, so I found the lease crowded cart and parked my butt in the back. The cart reeked of urine but at least the lights stayed on for the duration of my ride, I gathered up all my books and was quick out of the cart and into the fresh air. I couldn't wait to get home, to eat some dinner and maybe even grab a nap before heading to the bar that night. Edward's match hadn't crossed my mind all day, not until now as I climbed the steps to the sidewalk, stopping dead at the sight of Edward waiting at the top. Others made their way around me but kept clear of Edward, I would have done the same seeing the look in his eye. I however didn't have the luxury of ignoring him, I climbed up the last few steps Edward turning to face me, towering over me as always, I hated what a shadow he cast over me.

"You're late" He claimed

"What are you doing here?"

"You didn't answer me"

"Well you didn't answer me either"

With that he took a step towards me closing the already small gap between us and putting me completely on the edge as I turned away from him.

"I didn't catch that" Edward said his forehead almost against my hairline.

I remained silent for I knew better then to talk back to him when he was this way. Keeping my eyes to the ground Edward gradually backed away making me sigh in relief for the space. My heart had been racing from the moment I saw him and the closeness wasn't helping me, it was making it worse and bringing back memories of this morning. I studied his face finding no sign of any hesitation or remorse, not even a hint of that arrogant smirk that always got him into trouble of some kind or another. I wasn't about to let him know that he had gotten to me, not a chance.

"Thank you" I replied trying to keep my voice level

"Move" Edward instructed and I quickly turned on my heels and followed along side him.

He hadn't ever done this before, it was almost as if he wanted to catch me off guard or he was going to use this time to get back at me for walking out the bar this morning and leaving him with the delivery.

"Jessica is going to your match tonight" I shared wanting to break the silence between us.

Edward looked my way but didn't say a word which I hated. He was hard to read at the best of times but when he was silent he was impossible. Those who knew Edward exchanged their respects but like a trained dog I just minded my own business wanting to get to the apartment with as little drama as humanely possible. My heart was practically beating out of my chest and yet with every step I was growing all the more tired, how could he cause such a reaction from me? Normally he just ignored me, he took nothing to do with me and that was just the way of it. So why was he acting this way now? What had changed? I was so relieved when we reached the steps of our apartment building, finally I was home and could distract myself with helping make dinner and pretending to do homework when I was actually catching up on some very necessary sleep. When I left here this morning I had witnessed my step father having sex with my friend's mom and now I had to go on in here and pretend like everything was as it should be. For all I knew my mom could be having an affair of her own and right now I felt so far removed from my family that I just didn't have the strength to deal with my own feelings.

We lived on the top floor of a sixth floor apartment building, the hallways were a hideous hospital green with blood red stair railings, the ceiling lights were always flickering, the entire building always smelt like someone was cooking cabbage and every floor had a bucket somewhere catching dripping water. Edward collected our mail and I walked ahead of him suddenly wishing I was behind him instead, I could hear him close behind me, if he was trying to intimidate me it was working and he knew it. Edward was a dangerous man he collected debts, he always always packing heat and he always got the job done come hell or high water, that's who he was. I had made the mistake of pissing him off and now I was paying the price, he was making me wait for the punishment, he wanted the fear to consume me, to cripple me and I just wanted it to be over.

I stopped dead and spun around to face him making Edward smirk in response, he bit his lower lip shaking his head, his eyes fixed on mine.

"You don't want to be doin that, little sis" He said before I had the chance to say anything first.

He edged closer to me and I stepped backward catching my leg on something and feeling Edward grip my wrist and bring me to him to stop me falling. I looked over my shoulder to find I had almost tripped on Mr Mill's newspaper, I returned my attention to Edward who didn't look at all impressed.

"You should be more careful"

"It's a newspaper not a-"

With that I heard the undeniable sound of a hammer being pulled back on a gun, within a second I felt the cold steel of Edward's glock beneath my chin.

"Edward" I pleaded softly squeezing my legs together suddenly feeling that orange juice I had at lunch weighing heavy in my bladder.

"You have no idea of the dangers out there"

"Or in here" I said swallowing hard, my mouth now very dry indeed.

"Are you scared of me, my sister?"

Edward reached up for my chin then sliding his glock into his belt behind his black his eyes not leaving mine.

"Or do you need another lesson in reality?" He asked next

"You just pointed a gun on me, I can't imagine it get's worse than that"

"Do you think it gets better?" Edward asked his eyes widening making my lip tremble.

He released his grip on my chin bringing it down to the bottom of my neck with firm but not painful pressure, my eyes never leaving his as he looked down at my neck.

"You'll find out tonight"

"I told you I'm not going anywhere with you"

"Yes you are"

"I'm not a little bitch" I finally snapped my patience finally running thin.

I wasn't the type to swear, so when I did it made an impression, Edward's eyes shifted upward as his smirk returned.

"You're right, you're not a little bitch, you're just a sad little virgin"

With that I raised my hand up to strike him across the face but he caught my wrist in time, but I quickly attempted to use my left hand instead which sadly did not escape his grasp either.

"Who you savin that for huh?" Edward asked refusing to let me go.

"You are sick" I hissed through my now clenched teeth making him snigger at me.

How could he possibly know I was still a virgin? Not a single one of my friends was a virgin, he saw the girls my age around the street, some of them even had their first kid already. Being my step brother didn't give him insight into my life, he didn't know me, he'd probably struggle to tell you what colour my eyes were because he didn't look at me when I spoke to him. This was my secret, my purity, my innocence, the thing I was saving for the right guy and I hated that Edward of all people was aware of it, hadn't he caused enough damage already today?

"You still didn't answer my question" Edward pressed my arms against his chest "Who you saving that maiden voyage for?"

"That's none of your business"

"You thinkin you aint my business now?"

"Is that the part where you pretend you care about me?"

"Look at you thinkin you somethin"

"More than you could handle"

With that Edward looked down at his vice grip upon both my arms before returning his gaze to me. I swear he could hear my heart beating in that moment I know I could.

"You wouldn't have kept a hold of that little treasure if it wasn't for my help" He explained

"Oh really?"

"That's right"

"So what should I thank you huh? Give you a reward?"

Edward then twisted my arms around my back locking our bodies together as I attempted to free myself from him.

"Depends on the reward" Edward said putting an immediate end to my struggles as we locked eyes once more.

You could hear a pin drop in that hallway as Edward released his grip, both his hands moving around my front and brushing down my ribs before he made his way around me and over to our apartment door, unlocking it and letting himself in, leaving me alone in the hall.

What the hell had just happened?

When I finally made my way into the apartment I found my entire family was home which was a rare thing these days, normally one of us was always at work or off dealing with some business or another. I dumped my stuff in my room before washing my hands and joining my mom in the kitchen to help cook dinner. My grandmother would be visiting next week which meant my mom was working on her signature pasta sauce so my grandmother wouldn't slap her for as she would it 'shaming god by shaming the food' So while my mom worked on the sauce I took care of everything else, starting with setting the table in the sitting room. When I entered my step dad and Edward were talking by the window while Emmett lay across the couch watching the game.

"Hey I talked to Rosalie Hale today" I told him as I began working on the table.

"What she say?"

"Just trash about you and your man boobs"

I got out of Emmett's way as he attempted to grab me and quickly made my way to the other side of the table.

"So what did she say?"

"Not much it was just in passing. I think she likes you tho"

"So I hear"

"What's wrong Emmett? No I love you yet?"

"Shove it"

Twenty minutes later the meal was ready to be served, after my step father led us in a blessing we tucked into our food.

"Isabella I'll need you at the bar tonight" My mom said after passing me the rolls.

"Ok" I quickly agreed in delight hoping Edward had heard her.

"Actually sweetheart, a few of the men from the docks are coming up for a game, so I won't need Bella at the bar" Carlisle said then.

"What?"

"I've had it arranged for a while. We're closing the bar at eight"

"You think we can afford a night without any money comin in?" My mom asked him.

"Mom" Emmett groaned

"No you listen to me, you think you can make a quick buck instead of a sure thing?"

"Don't tell me about my business ya hear" Carlisle warned her before slamming his palm into the table.

I attempted to stand up and leave the table but stopped when my hand was grabbed from beneath the table, turning to find Edward was staring at our family as they continued to argue amongst themselves while I tried to free myself from his grip.

"What are you doing?"

"Sit down" He commanded, his voice low and confident as his eyes met mine.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" I asked him.

Edward got in my face then for but a brief moment that went unnoticed by our family.

"The one who will claim the prize" He told me

With that Edward's eyes lowered down to my seat causing my jaw to drop and my legs to lock together as a result.

Did he just claim the right to my virginity?