Obeying The Cruel Mafia

NEFARIOUS.

CHAPTER TWO.

AMBER KITCHEN.

•••••••••

Laughing wholesomely at the joke Laura kitchen – my Mamá – made, I had to hold on to the kitchen counter to withhold myself from falling back. I had just gotten back from my work at the diner and was in the kitchen with my Mamá, preparing a simple dinner of Mac and cheese. "He really said that?" I asked, placing my weight on the refrigerator.

Mamá turned to me and smiled beautifully before nodding in affirmation. "He did," she said, hazel eyes filled with nothing but pure honesty. Mamá was beautiful, I got my beauty from her and people always said we looked like non-identical twins, the only disparity being that age was already presenting itself on Mamá's face. We had the same hazel eyes, curly brunette hair and lips. Sometimes I wondered if I resembled my father in any way, although I hadn't seen his picture before to ascertain my thoughts. "He told me he was going to get me stardust from the moon, and ever since then he never appeared in my presence. I'm guessing his aircraft is stuck in space."

"The male gender can be a joke sometimes," I added, chuckling as I crossed my arms around my small chest. "But I'm glad you never got with him, unless you wouldn't have had me and I wouldn't have had you as my mother."

Placing a lid over the cooking pot, Mamá turned around and sauntered towards me. I removed my weight from the refrigerator as soon as she reached me. Then she placed her hands on my shoulders and grinned widely. "You're the most beautiful thing that ever happened to me, Amber," she said for the trillionth time. "I don't ever regret having you, even though your father was a piece of s**t who abandoned you at birth."

Mamá never hesitated to bad-mouth father whenever she had the opportunity. She couldn't be blamed though because he had been the one to abandon, not only her, but me, during my birth. According to my Mamá, after my birth he carried me and placed a silver necklace on my neck before he abandoned us at the hospital, leaving my Mamá to raise me all by herself. I never knew my father and Mamá never gave me his name.

"I love you." She told me, pulling me in for a heartfelt hug.

I rubbed her back in comforting circles. "I love you more-"

The doorbell rang, cutting our hugs short. Mamá groaned frustratedly before breaking the hug and I couldn't help but giggle at her actions. "That's probably Graciela. She's the only one that can come by this time of the night, and I'm sure she came to borrow salt or even water," Mamá rolled her eyes, placing both her hands on my cheeks before placing a kiss on my forehead. "Check on the Mac, I'll be back, let me go see what she wants."

She left the kitchen, leaving me alone in it. I went to check on the Mac but there was still enough milk inside, it didn't even look soft yet so I closed the lid back and decided to go check on Mamá in the living room, but before I did, I brought out my phone from my pocket and texted Andrew — my boyfriend, telling him I'd gotten home. I didn't wait for his response as I placed my phone on the kitchen island and left for the living room. And in the living room, I got the shocker.

The visitor wasn't Graciela, and seated on a wooden chair was mother and standing next to her were three armed men. One was pudgy. The second looked brawny, bull-necked, and tanned, while the third one scared me. He looked intimidating, like the boss, and was built like a brick-shithouse. "Mother!" I yelled in horror as I saw them tying mother to the chair.

"Run!" She yelled back at me. Her hazel eyes were already filled with tears. "Run, Amber! Run!"

In as much as she ordered me to, I couldn't leave her alone. And even before I could take a step, the pudgy man was already at my front. A sick smirk adorned his face as he dragged me by my hair to the floor. I moaned involuntarily due to the pain I felt after coming in contact with the hard floor. I took my eyes up to Mamá and she was staring at me, lips paused, eyes filled with unshed tears and emotions I couldn't decipher. "What's happening, Mamá?" I asked. "Who are they and what are they doing in our hou-"

My eyes stung as a slap across my face shut me up, cutting my words short. The brawny one had slapped me, and I dare say, I was deaf for a minute because I could only hear arial statics. "Shut the hell up, tiny," he yelled to me, crouching to my level. He held a gun to my forehead and placed his hand on my chin, holding it in place before turning to the one I presumed to be the boss. "Casper, I think we've got her, but I thought they were two?"

"We've gotten one to appease the boss, so we shouldn't worry about the second for now," Casper passed me a blank look, stroking his chin. "I bet the mother would know where the second one is. Bring the mother close to me." He ordered.

I didn't understand what they were talking about but I remained quiet. My hands and legs were tied up and a dutch tape was placed over my mouth.

"Where's the second one?" Casper asked, grabbing my Mamá's face roughly as he forced her to make eye contact.

Mamá remained quiet and I thought she wasn't going to respond, until she did. "Go f**k yourself, you douchebag, because I'll be telling you nothing." My Mamá hissed through her teeth. She then threw her head back and spat on Casper's face.

I watched mutely as Casper slowly dragged his hand across his face, wiping off the spit that had hit him unexpectedly. My Mamá was audacious so I wasn't a bit surprised by her actions towards them. "I don't care if you're a woman, I'll hit you," he told her and I could hear the venom that dripped from his voice. "Now answer me while I'm still being friendly, where's the second one?"

Mamá showed him her teeth, and gritted words through them, "Read my lips. I am not saying shit."

"Don't say I didn't tell you." Casper said as he released a barrage of punches to my mother's face.

I tried screaming but my voice was swallowed back into my throat due to the tape over my mouth. Tears fell from my eyes as I tried standing up to help my mother, but I was pinned to the floor by the pudgy guy who kept laughing as Casper punched my Mamá, filling the air with the sounds of his knuckles hitting her cheekbones and jawlines. He was disfiguring Mamá's priceless face and I couldn't do anything.

Casper stopped after a while and my Mamá looked unrecognizable with blood dripping all-over her face. "So are you ready to talk?"

Just when I thought Mamá was finally going to give him the answers he needed, she surprised me by laughing loudly, like a crazy person. She shook her head and stared at me through her bloodshot eyes, she smiled. "I'm sorry, Amber," she sounded apologetic. "Sorry I couldn't keep you away from them. But whatever happens, I want you to live."

Who the hell were 'them'?

It would be a lie if I said I understood all what she was spewing because I didn't. All I wanted was for her to give them the answers they needed so they would leave and we would be back to living our normal lives.

"Answer me, you wench!" Casper yelled at my mother, straightening her head to face him. "I asked, where the hell is the second one?"

"And I already told you," my mother said, "I'm not telling you anything."

More tears spilled out of my eyes as Casper continued punching my Mamá. The punches went on for minutes and when he noticed Mamá wasn't going to say anything he glared at me and angrily, roughly, picked me up from the floor, placing a knife on my throat. "Now tell me," he said while my heart began to palpitate in petrification. "Where the hell is the second? Tell me or I will kill your beloved daughter."

Fear flashed across Mamá's face before a sick smile took over. "Go on. I'm sure you'd be dead in an instant if you do kill her," Mamá sounded so confident and sure that they weren't going to kill me. I, on the other hand, wondered if she was gambling with my life. "You can't kill her."

"You think?" Casper asked, pressing the knife on my throat and I felt a stinging sensation over there as blood dripped off it. "I'd kill her in five seconds if you don't talk."

Mamá remained unfazed.

"Five."

She only smiled.

"Four."

She stared at me sadly as the scent of something burning waffled into my nose.

"Three."

A lone tear fell off her face while I came to realize that it was the Mac on the gas that was burning.

"Two."

Her nose began to bleed heavily as her lips fell open.

". . .one."

The brawny man slit Mamá's throat.

•

•