The Mafia's Doctor

<-51->

>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O->
Laying down in the comfort of my bed, my train of thought was disturbed by the sound of my phone alerting me of a new message. I was expecting it to come from Giovanni. Surprisingly, it was Ila. Reading her name on my screen made my heart beat faster.

Ila: Matteo, can you come to my apartment? We need to talk about us.

With the intentions of replying, I began typing. I revised my 'ok' to 'okay' and then changing it altogether to 'alright'. My responses seemed unfit and I was wasting time on thinking about what to send. Instead, I chose to not reply and headed out.

"Where are you going?" Marcella asked as I ran into her in the elevator.

"Ila's," I answered.

"To snoop again?"

I frowned, "No. She wants to talk to me."

Marcella's face brightened, "Can I come? We can take Aiden and Giovanni and all go see her."

"No," I opposed.

Marcella got the hint and changed her facial expression to suggestive, "Oh, it's that kind of 'talk'."

I parted ways with Marcella and walked out of the house. I hopped into my BMW and rolled onto the highway. Despite it being night, there was traffic. The slow jam got me more time to anticipate and think about what Ila could possibly want to talk about.

I knew very well how I felt about her. What I didn't know was how Ila felt towards me. I thought the feeling I had for her was mutual. Whatever Ila felt for me wasn't strong enough to keep her from leaving the mafia and my side. Was she going to break up with me? I didn't see how that was possible for we never became official. However, I was afraid that that was the case.

I had spent two hours driving and contemplating by the time I reached Ila's apartment complex. Taking the stairs, I found myself at the door. I knocked, right under the peephole. Looking down, I noticed there was something wrong with the handle of the door. It was barely attached. Before I could take a step back, the door swung open and I was tackled to the ground by a man. I tried to push him off of me but I was pinned down.

"Hey," someone said as they called for my attention. Still struggling to get back up on my two feet, I looked up to see another man standing above me. He lifted his leg and brought it down. Painfully, his foot met my face.

<-I-L-A-<<<
A scream escaped my mouth as I fearfully watched Matteo be struck drown. At the man's kick, he went limp. The man who was securing him on the floor got off of Matteo to help the man who knocked him out. The two began to drag Matteo out of my view, going to the ground floor.

Stollo, in front of me, checked his wristwatch. He signaled for one of his men closet to him to come forward. Then, he looked at me while the man approached me.

"It's your turn," Stollo said, smiling. His words dropped all hopes of the approaching man coming to untie me.

<...>

I could feel my conscious waking. Even before I opened my eyes, I remembered the events leading up to that moment. With my eyes shut, I prayed that I wasn't in another basement.