Corrupted Values

Chapter Eleven - In The Shadows

When we come in, I see Nico sitting on a stool at the counter in the kitchen. He turns around when he hears us come in.

“So? Are we going?” he asks with his hands out wide.

“Of course,” Remi says with a cocky smile. I roll my eyes in response.

“Could we stop at my place so I can change though?” He asks, pulling at his shirt.

“Sure,” Remi answers. I walk down to my room and quickly put on a short, body-con, blood red, spaghetti-strap dress and put my long hair up in a high ponytail before I go knock on Remi’s door.

“Come in.” A cheery voice calls out from the other side. I make my way into her room. Remi’s wearing a short, light purple, sparkly, body-con, off-the-shoulder dress. I look around Remi’s room while she finishes curling her hair. She has a bright purple accent wall while the other three walls are white. She has her queen-sized bed against the purple wall. The blankets and pillows mixed and matched purple and white. Above her bed she has her name spelled out on a neon light up sign. She has a big white rug on her light wood floors. While to the left of the door she has a small desk with a laptop and nick nacks. Along the wall to my right is a white dresser with a light purple lamp on top. In the right corner next to her windows, that are covered by sheere purple blinds. In the corner of her room she has a standing white mirror.

My room is a little different. My room goes to the right while hers goes to the left. My walls are a light blue. The headboard of my bed is against the wall to the right. I have grey nightstands on both sides of my bed with matching white and blue lamps on each side. My bed has light grey pillows and a light blue blanket. I have a grey rug that runs the length of my room and under my bed. I have a grey dresser along the wall to my left. While I also have windows along the far wall, they have sheer grey blinds instead of purple.

“Ready to go?” She asks as she turns off her curling iron. I nod and smile before we both walk out. When Nico sees us come out, he gets off the couch and we all make our way downstairs.

“I call shotgun!” Nico calls out.

“No!” I yell while running for the car, but Nico is faster than me. We playfully push at each other, trying to get to the front seat once Remi unlocks the door. Nico gives up and begrudgingly sits in the back. I happily sit in the front before turning and sticking my tongue out at him, making us both laugh.

“You guys are children.” Remi says, rolling her eyes as she gets in. Nico and I brace ourselves as the car starts moving. Quickly, we make our way to Nico’s house as he gives Remi directions. We stop at a gate with a speaker box. Nico rolls down the back window.

“Can I help you?” A man asks through the speaker.

“Open the gate,” Nico commands. The gate opens and we pull into the driveway of a modern two-story house. I guess when you're the right hand to a mafia boss you end up getting rich. I think to myself. We park in the driveway and all hop out of the car. We walk up to the big glass door and a woman opens it.

“Hello. Welcome home Mr. Garcia.” The woman says, smiling. Nico nods and walks through the door, guiding us in.

“I’ll just be a minute. Nina should be around if you want to look for her.” He offers before walking around a corner. Nico’s house is very big and beautiful. Everything is modern and clean. Remi and I walk through open double doors into a big room that looks to be the living room and you could almost fit our whole apartment inside it. It has all white walls, two grey couches with mixed-matched white and light grey pillows. Along the wall to the right are two big black book shelves and in between them is a huge flat screen TV.

“Hey girls!” A voice says, startling me. I turn to see Nina standing behind us.

“Hey,” Remi says with a smile.

“Hi Nina.” I say as I walk over to her.

“Woah! You girls really dressed up to come over.” She says, making us laugh.

“We just stopped by to let Nico change before we go to the club. Would you want to join us?” Remi asks eagerly.

“Oh sure! I’d love to get out. I’ll quickly change.” She replies before almost running out of the room. Soon, Nico comes out and we tell him Nina’s coming. He runs to find his sister and we hear yelling for a few moments before Nico emerges into the room again, rolling his eyes and slumping onto the couch. Remi, Nico, and I sit and wait for Nina to finish up.

Ten minutes later, we’re all getting into a black SUV and heading towards the club. I’m glad Nico insisted on us using one of his drivers tonight. Before too long, we stop outside a club. I can hear the loud music from outside. We all get up and Nico guides us in the back entrance. We walk in and I feel the loud music radiate through my body. Remi grabs mine and Nina’s hands as she drags us to the dance floor, leaving Nico behind.

“I guess I’ll just see you around?” I hear Nico yell out from a distance. I laugh as we come to an abrupt stop in the middle of the dance floor. We all smile at each other and start dancing. I glance around the room when someone at the bar catches my attention. It’s Marco and he’s got a slutty looking girl pressed against him. His eyes land on me for a split second, then he leans down and whispers in her ear before he walks out of my sight, leaving the girl standing alone at the bar. She takes a shot and runs after him. That was weird, I think to myself, before I look back towards the girls to see them getting cosy against each other. Nina has her arms around Remi’s neck while Remi has hers around Nina’s waist as they dance together. I feel someone walk up behind me and I turn my head to see Nico. I laugh up at him while he looks disgusted watching his sister dance with someone in such a way.

“What are you laughing at?” He asks in a playfully annoyed voice.

“Me? Nothing.” I say shrugging and smirking. He rolls his eyes in response.

“Want a drink?” He asks, offering his arm.

“Sure.” I answer, wrapping my arm around his. He walks me to the bar and I climb onto a stool.

“What can I get you?” A woman asks across the counter.

“A cosmopolitan, please,” I answer.

“A D&S for me, darling.” Nico says before looking at me again.

“A D&S?” I ask, furrowing my brows in confusion.

“Dark and Stormy. It's a dark rum, ginger beer, and lime juice mix.” He says, smiling.

“Sounds gross.” I say and mimic gagging. He rolls his eyes and we laugh. I look over to see Remi and Nina still dancing. I smile seeing them have fun.

“My sister looks happy.” Nico says, catching my attention again. I look over to see him smiling as he watches his sister.

“She does.” I say in agreement. We sit and continue talking. Nico seems kind and genuine. He may not be a good person, but in another world I think we would have been good friends… maybe even in this world we could. He may not be a good guy, but he has a gentle heart. We continue talking for a while before Nina and Remi come to join us. We continue to drink and talk while Nina shares embarrassing stories about Nico and it quickly becomes a competition of who can get who more embarrassed between them.

“Ya well at least I didn’t pee my pants while I was stuck in a tree two feet off the ground because I was too scared to climb down!” Nina says, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows, smirking. Nico’s mouth falls open.

“Nina! You promised you wouldn’t tell anyone, and by the way, it looked a lot higher from up there!” Nico sternly says back.

“Wait, is that story true?” Remi asks, looking at Nico.

“Damn look at the time, it’s already one in the morning. We should get going home.” He says before downing the last of his drink, standing up, and rushing towards the door. Remi, Nina, and I laugh hysterically at his actions. Once we all catch our breath we start walking towards the exit. As we near the door, a woman runs into me from behind trying to get past.

“Sorry…” She says. I look to see it’s the girl from before that was with Marco. Her eyes are puffy and has mascara running down her now red cheeks.

“Cecilia? What happened?” Nina asks, crossing her arms.

“Marco.” She answers, trying to stop her crying.

“When are you going to realise he doesn’t want you? You need to get over this crazy obsession.” Nina says, rolling her eyes.

“He does want me, he just doesn’t want to admit to his feelings!” She snaps back before wiping away her tears and walking off.

“Come on. Nico’s waiting for us.” Nina says, looking at us. Remi and I follow her out to the SUV and get in. The vehicle swiftly makes its way to our apartment building before we come to a stop outside the front door. Remi and I both get out.

"Thanks for inviting me.” Nina say before hugging Remi and I.

“Anytime.” Remi says, winking at her. Nina blushes and gets back in the car.

“Remi, your car can be driven back by one of my drivers. I just need your key.” He says to Remi.

“Oh okay.” She says thankfully before taking it off her key ring and handing it to him before she goes inside.

“Thanks for taking care of me, Az.” Nico says, smiling down at me.

“Well, I couldn’t just let you die could I?” I say, crossing my arms and smiling. Nico laughs.

“And don’t worry, your secret's safe with me,” He says sincerely.

“Thank you.” I quietly say back. Without another word, he gets back in the SUV and I watch as they drive down the road. I turn to walk inside when a voice stops me in my tracks.

“I’ve been waiting for you.” The deep voice says. I look over and see a tall figure standing in the shadows.

“Who are you?” I ask nervously. I feel goosebumps cover my skin and my blood runs cold. He takes a step towards the light.

“Sergio Selvera.” He answers and my eyes widen.