Chapter 1

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Chapter 1 May: Erin

I pull a brush through my hair and force the thick red locks back into a clip. I’m standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom of our dorm/apartment and any minute, Clarissa is going to knock. She needs a least an hour before a party to get ready. I adjust my top, black with spaghetti straps - one of the many things Vito bought for me for my fifteenth birthday last winter while we were all at Clarissa’s Father’s Casino in Chicago. It’s perfect for the weather here in California.

I slip on my heels. They are spikey and high because I’m short. I like to at least be in the same atmosphere as everyone else, not eye level with the shrubbery.

A knock sounds at the door, and I roll my eyes at myself in the mirror.

“Come on, Erin!” Clarissa calls out. “I need to get in there!”

“Okay! I’m coming,” I say, annoyed. “Sheesh, keep your Italian hair on!”

“I will, if you get your Irish butt out here!”

I swing open the door, and Clarissa is standing there in her blue robe and fuzzy hot pink slippers that at one time used to be cute bunnies. Her short dark chestnut hair is standing up in every direction. She clearly just woke up from her nap; she had wanted to be fresh for this evening. I had tried to sleep too, but I couldn’t. Sleep is not something that comes easily these days.

“You look gorgeous!” Clarissa says, eyeing my outfit from head to toe. “Did Vito buy you that top?” she asks, pointing a finger at me.

I nod my head. For my last birthday, Antonio and Vito took me shopping and bought me enough clothes to cover from here to my hometown of Palmetto, New Jersey.

“It’s hot! Too bad none of the guys will see you in it but Joey. And I won’t be the one to clean up the casino floor after Jake drools all over it just looking at you dressed like that.”

“Hurry up,” I tell her, dismissing her comments. “I don’t feel like waiting around for you all night.” I walk to the living room and let Clarissa have the bathroom.

I miss everyone: Antonio, Troy, Alex, Jake, and most of all, my sister, Megan. The time we spent together was fraught with fear and a few stays in a hospital bed, but we had some great times together too, like a family.

Troy I have known my whole life.  He is one of my family’s closest friend’s son.  His brother, Connor, is my ex-boyfriend.  Jake, Troy’s friend from Notre Dame, is really nice and funny. He knew how to make me laugh. Alex is an enforcer for Clarissa’s father’s casino, so he and Joey took turns guarding us.

And Antonio, well; I miss him and my sister the most. Antonio is like a brother to me.

Knock, knock.

Joey is at the door of our apartment-like dorm room to pick us up for the party. He came with us to school. It worked out well for him because he’s finishing up his degree by taking online courses. I think he’s having just as much fun as we are. Joey is like a brother to us in many ways. He makes us laugh and keeps us safe. He even sneaks us off campus and takes us to clubs. As long as we stay in his sight and keep out of trouble, he lets us dance and have a great time.

I open the door without checking to see who it is. This is a big no-no, but I know that Joey is supposed to be here.

“Delivery for Ms. Erin O’Neill.”

A man is at the door holding a bouquet of flowers that would put anything Martha Stewart could whip up to shame. The arrangement is three times the size of the guy’s head. Long stems of pink flowers, with baby’s breath, and some other white flower that I have never seen before.  I reach my hand out to take them.

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