The Mafia's Young Wife

The debt

The debt

"Mrs. Maria please help!" I knocked on the door of my neighbor's house. Mrs. Maria. She was a struggling nurse with a son. She'd once try to talk to my mother about abusing drugs but my mom said hurtful words to her so she stopped trying. I wouldn't be surprised if she ignored my cries for help.

"Mrs.. Maria!" I cried out one last time before turning away. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't afford a hospital right now.

I heard the door unlock causing my hope to go up as well. I wiped my tears and as the door opened, I was met with the unimpressed look of Mrs. Maria. She'd once told me to get help from the police but I was too chicken.

"Mrs. Maria—"

"—What do you want, my son is sleeping."

"Please help me, my mother… she's not responding."

"Take her to the hospital, why bother me here?"

"Please just take a look at her and prescribe some drugs. She's never slept this deeply before. Please come over and look at her."

Mrs. Maria sighed and hesitatingly moved towards me and closed her door, "Let's go."

I gave her a grateful nod and led her into my house.

I pointed to my mom who was on the couch and Mrs. Maria quickly moved towards her. She felt the pulse around my mother's neck before pulling a strand of her hair and putting it under my mother's nose.

"She promised to stop doing drugs but when I got home, she was hypervillating on the floor. I helped her to the couch and checked the room and saw leftover drugs. After a while she became unresponsive. I thought she was asleep but she's never slept this deeply before."

Mrs. Maria brought her head down to my mother's chest and after a minute passed, she started pushing against my mother's chest.

"Hurry and go to my house! There's a resuscitation box right on the top shelf in my living room. Hurry up and bring it right now!"

I fled out of the house to Mrs. Maria's to get the box she needed and rushed back. As soon as I got back, she grabbed a plug from the box and placed it over mom's chest.

One… Two… three

The plug was used three times before Mrs. Maria took the box away and sighed.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Leah."

My eyes clouded with tears as I realized what Mrs. Maria was trying to say but I still asked as if I didn't understand. "W-what are you trying to say, Mrs. Maria?"

"She's dead. You should call 911, have her taken to the morgue, and prepare for her funeral."

I did not know what to say.

I moved towards my mother and looked at her face that was now devoid of any feelings except the slight lines of wrinkles around her eyes.

Mrs. Maria looked at me and sighed. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and called the emergency line. She told them what had happened and they said they were on their way.

Pending the time the ambulance came, I showed Mrs. Maria a seat and gave her a glass of water.

"Are you okay?" Mrs. Maria asked after some time passed. I almost laughed at her question but I didn't because I knew it was from good intention.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I opened my mouth to speak and my words came out harsher than I intended. "She lied to me."

A second passed before I added, "She promised to stop taking drugs if I didn't go to Med school. And this morning I… forfeited school and stood in line all day, all for us to eat something good, only for her to overdose on drugs and leave so suddenly…"

Mrs. Maria placed a comforting hand on my back.

The sudden knock on the door made me sigh, "That must be the ambulance,"

"No, it's too early. They should arrive with a van at least, but go check."

I walked over to the entrance of the door and opened it revealing a gruff man I'd never seen before, and behind him was a shorter but equally intimidating man.

"C-can I help you?"

"Get out of my way!" I was pushed aside while the strange men invited myself into the house.

"Now where the hell is that pathetic b***h? Paul, look around."

I immediately rushed after them while I saw Mrs. Maria give me a questioning glance as the men approached the living room. When they saw my mom lying on the couch, the taller man went over and grabbed her by the chin. "So you can lay here on the couch in peace after taking my money, huh?!"

"What are you doing?!" I rushed over to the man and attempted to stop him but he pushed me aside while shaking my mother's body with force.

"What are you doing?!" Mrs. Maria yelled.

"The b***h owes me money!" He said while grabbing my mother's face.

"Well she can't pay you now cause she's dead!" Mrs. Maria yelled and that seemed to stop him for a second. "Dead?" He muttered.

"Yes," Mrs. Maria said, "I'm a nurse." She replied to the man and that seemed enough to stop him in that instant.

The sound of the sirens filled the air and Mrs. Maria looked at me, "The paramedics are here, I'll go and meet them."

I nodded at her.

While Mrs. Maria left, the tall man stood in front of me, causing me to feel like an insect he could easily crush with his feet.

He crouched down in front of me and lifted my chin so I was looking in his eyes despite my tear-filled eyes. "Since your mom is dead…" he let go of my chin and whispered near my ear, "you'll have to take over her debt and pay for it if not you'll be sorry, understand?"

He moved away from my ear and stood up as the paramedics entered the house.

"Let's go Paul, we'll come back another day." The tall man and his accomplice turned to leave but they were blocked by the paramedics.

"Who are you two?"

"A friend of the deceased. We came to offer support to her kid but it's late now so we're leaving."

I looked at my mother's unmoving face.

She really was dead.

However, she left me so many burdens. And I couldn't even be mad at her because she couldn't even hear or see me anymore.

The paramedics took my mother and I rode with the ambulance to the hospital.