The Mafia And His Queen

Chapter 5

~ Roxie ~

When Vanessa pulls up next to my car, I don't even wait for her to fully stop and park. I jump out of her car and run up the stairs to my apartment.

Rose left the door unlocked so when I got to my apartment, I threw the door open and ran inside. Rose was standing outside of the restroom door trying to open it.

"What the hell happened?!" I anxiously ask while trying to catch my breath.

"I was in the living room watching television and I heard her scream so I got up and went to her room. I guess she was having a nightmare because her eyes were closed but she kept screaming. When I finally woke her, she jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom. She locked the door so I couldn't get in but she kept calling for you." Rose told me in a panicked voice.

I put my ear to the bathroom door and I could faintly hear Lily sobbing. Knocking on the door, I call out to her, "Bubbles, can you open the door for me please?"

"Mama?" She asks with a hopeful and shaky voice.

"Yes, baby. It's mama." I tell her gently, placing my hands against the door.

I could hear shuffling on the other side of the door as if she's standing up but then it goes silent for a moment. She's probably debating whether she should open the door or not.

"I promise, bubbles. It's only me." I reassure her, trying to calm her down with my voice.

I look back at Rose and then at Vanessa, who came in right after me and they both nod their heads. The two of them turn and go into the living room to give us some space.

The sound of Lily's footsteps nearing the door grabs my attention. She unlocks it before running back to the other side of the restroom. I open the door slowly and walk towards her where she's curled up in the corner.

Sitting down next to her, I pick her up and hold her in my arms while she lays her head against my chest.

"Mama, it was-" She began saying but I didn't let her finish.

"Shhh... I know, baby. It's okay now." I whisper while running my fingers through her hair.

I knew all too well that she had a nightmare about what happened that night. I didn't need to ask her and I wasn't going to. I wasn't going to ask her just to have her scared thinking about it again.

So instead of letting the memory linger in her head, I sang her a song while continuing to run my fingers through her hair to help her forget... even if it's only for a little while.

I sat there on the bathroom floor with Lily in my arms, rocking her side to side while singing her favorite song and massaging her head, trying to rid her of the pain and headache I know she got while crying.

Vanessa walks in about five minutes later and I look down to see that Lily's eyes are closed. I look back up to see Nessa with a sympathetic expression on her face as she speaks, "Was it about-"

"Yep." I cut her off, not wanting her to repeat anything just in case Lily isn't asleep yet.

"I'm sorry for what you both went through. You two didn't deserve that." She tells me sincerely in a low voice.

"Yeah, well... you can't change the past. All you can do is hope for a better future." I say to her before getting up off the floor with Lily and walking into the hallway.

A yawn escapes my mouth, "I'm going to lay down with her in my bed." Vanessa nods her head and I think to myself before adding, "Also, I'm not going to work for the rest of the week. I'll call Lucky to let him know and then I'll go back on Monday."

She raises her eyebrows in shock, "But today was your first day. How are you just going to take a week off after only one day of work?"

"Easy, I stay home and not leave. I told you already that Lily comes first before anything and everything. If they fire me, I'll just get a new job. I still have enough money to keep us stable while I look for a new job." I tell her sternly so she knows that I'm not joking.

Nessa lets out a long sigh and says, "Okay then."

Turning around, I walk down the hall and go into my room. I close and lock the door before laying Lily down on my bed and getting in after her, tossing the blanket over us.

She snuggles in closer to me and I wrap her up in my arms again. Resting my chin on the top of her head, I take in a deep breath and close my eyes before letting sleep take over.

The week quickly goes by and today is now Monday. Lily only had about two more nightmares after the last one. She was doing a lot better, getting back to her normal self so I decided to finally go back to work.

I told Vanessa that I would meet her there. After I put Lily to bed and stayed by her side for a couple of minutes, I said bye to Rose and took off.

When I got to the bar, I immediately got wrapped up in a huge hug by Vanessa. She squeezes me tightly in her arms and asks with a soft voice, "How is Lil's doing?"

"She's gotten better." I let her know and hesitate before asking, "Did boss say anything?"

She pulls back and shakes her head, "No, I don't even think he noticed you were gone. Although, he's never seen you yet so that's probably why."

I sigh in relief, "Okay, good. I didn't want to have to deal with anything else."

My relief is short-lived when she shrugs her shoulder and says, "Unless he did notice you were gone and he just decided to wait until you returned so he could give you a proper punishment."

I freeze in my spot and look at her with shock flashing over my face. Punishment? What does she mean by that?

Lucky came over to us from the other side of the bar before I could utter another word. He throws a quick glance in Nessa's direction and says to me, "Hey, shortcake. How are you doing? You didn't tell me over the phone why you suddenly needed to take a week off."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It was a family emergency." I tell him while rubbing my temples. "I'll try not to do that again."

"Okay, well... I'm glad that everything's alright now. So you're good to get back to work again, right?" He asks me with a concerning voice.

I smile a little at him and nod my head, "Yes, I am. Luckily it's not very packed tonight."

"You're right. Here, you can take these drinks to table four." Lucky replied while handing me a tray of drinks.

I grabbed it from him and began working. Around the ending of my shift, I was counting some of the tips I made while standing by the bar.

Lucky appeared in front of me and blows out a low whistle, "Wow, you made a good amount tonight."

I playfully roll my eyes at him and say, "Yeah, although I'm sure it was just because of my outfit."

He laughs and crosses his arms over his chest before shrugging his shoulders, "At least you got some tips, right? Also, if anyone tried messing with you, either I or one of the bouncers would take care of it."

I smile and thank him before he walks away to a man who was flagging him down at the end of the bar.

Just as I put my tips away, someone spoke in my ear from behind me, "Hey, sexy. Why don't I get you a drink?"

"Nope, I'm working." I immediately reject him while mentally rolling my eyes.

Great... another dusty old pervert. I turn around and see a cute guy around my age standing in front of me. Okay, definitely not old but he could still be a pervert.

"Hmm." He hums to himself as his eyes roam my body. "I'm pretty sure I'd know if you were working here."

I scrunch up my nose with disinterest while saying, "Yeah, no. Now can you leave me alone, please?"

He smacks his lips and asks, "Are you really going to play hard to get?"

"Seriously?" I scoff at him before shaking my head. "I'm not playing hard to get. I'm just not interested and as I've already said, I'm working."

I turn away from him and move closer towards the bar. His arm instantly wraps around my waist as he shouts, "Hey, wait!"

I react on impulse and grabbed the beer bottle that was on the bar top in front of me before turning around and then smashing it on his head.

"f**k, you stupid b***h!! What the f**k is wrong with you?!" He yells at me extremely loudly while holding a hand to where the bottle connected to his head.

I jump back from his loud tone and move away from him. My heartbeat picks up speed and I see everyone gathering around us, staring my way but I didn't care that they were looking at me. I took a few more steps back until I bumped into a hard body.

I immediately stopped and then turned around slowly. My eyes moved up the man's body until I was met with the face of a man that I had never seen before. A very attractive man.

He was breathtaking, no doubt about it. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, showing off the tattoos on his chest and neck. Black disheveled hair sat on his head perfectly.

His sleeves were rolled up and although he has many tattoos on his arms, his veins were still clearly visible. I saw his caramel brown eyes widen a little before he quickly made his face blank again.

He said nothing for a while. He just stared at me with his arms crossed over his chest while I stared back at him. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit intimidated by him.

Finally breaking the silence between us, he spoke in a deep and authoritative voice, "What the hell do you think you're doing starting s**t in my club?"