Episode 5

Elio had been awake most of the night. The conversation with his mother and siblings had gone better than he expected. They hadn't gotten upset at any time, he expressed his feelings fluidly.

Despite this, the decision he had made had robbed him of sleep. The Di Marco family was one of the most dangerous, he had already rejected the opportunity once, he didn't know if they would tolerate a second one.

He immersed himself in his thoughts, creating different scenarios of what might possibly happen. He leaned back on his bed and raised his knees, which were still wrapped in the white sheets.

A heavy sigh escaped his pink lips as he closed his eyes, resting his hands on his knees and intertwining his fingers.

He continued thinking, going over the same issue for a fortnight, it was like having a weight on his shoulders that wouldn't let him move forward, it robbed him of sleep and all the peace he had in his life. That was it, Vicenzo Di Marco was a tempestuous storm reaching the quiet meadows of his life, devastating everything in its path.

Three knocks on the door woke him from his thoughts. He climbed vaguely out of bed and walked to the door, Anna was on the other side.

"Brother." Annalise knew her older brother perfectly well, just by looking at his face she knew something was wrong. Her brows furrowed in concern, but before she could say anything, Elio spoke.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Elio changed his countenance to his usual one. He could see in his younger sister that face altered by worry, he surely had a frightful countenance. He hid it very well and yet Anna was certain that something was incredibly wrong, her brother very rarely showed that countenance.

However, she didn't want to interfere in his life until he wanted to tell her. Although he didn't seem to, Elio usually kept things to himself until the right time and he didn't like it at all when someone was prying into his private affairs.

"Good," she said smiling, "Mom says to come have breakfast."

Elio opened his eyes in surprise, looked at his watch and it read half past nine in the morning. Despite remembering every second of the night the appointment he had at the Di Marco house, he had completely forgotten to check the clock, the last time he did it was barely three fifteen in the morning; how fast could time fly by?!

"No, tell her I'm going out to do some things, I'll have breakfast outside."

He didn't wait for an answer and slammed the door shut, if Anna hadn't stepped back, the door would surely have smashed against her nose.

Elio grabbed the first thing he saw in the closet, he wasn't worried about whether it was the right clothes. Besides, why should he care? He was just quickly going to turn down that offer, which had sounded crazy to him in the first place.

He took a quick shower and dried his hair, albeit not evenly. He changed, dark, baggy clothes as he used to wear them. He grabbed his shoes, low-top boots with chains on the sides, he looked like an emo if you thought about it.

He ran downstairs, his family was gathered like most Saturdays, having breakfast together while enjoying a pleasant conversation.

"Are you sure you're not going to eat anything?" Isabella was worried about him, she didn't like him leaving without eating anything.

"I'll eat on the street. See you later, I won't be long... I guess."

He whispered the latter, as he ran towards the door hoping that somehow he could get there on time.

Elio didn't have a car and didn't know how to drive, so public transportation everywhere. However, the location of the Di Marco mansion was out of town and there was no transportation to get him there, a taxi could at least drop him off a little closer. It was a remote residence with extensive grounds, the area was private so it would take him a while to get there. As it was a private area, he would have to walk in, surely that would be a problem if he wanted to get there early.

As he turned the corner, to run to the bus stop, a black car was parked and a man in a suit was leaning against the passenger door.

Elio continued on until he heard his name and stopped turning back, the man had called him.

"Young Elio, boss Gabriele Di Marco sent for you, please get in the car, I will take you to him."

Elio swallowed hard and, in almost robotic movements, approached the car. He had actually been hoping to calm his nerves on the way to that place, but now he was getting into the car that would take him without delay to the meeting place.

He had thought about proposing a new location before, but would a mob boss really listen to the demands of some random kid? Even he thought that idea was ridiculous and stupid.

The car sped down the asphalt. Elio had the feeling that his breathing was in tune with every meter and kilometer traveled.

He decided to calm his nerves and look out the window. He hadn't even paid attention to the surroundings as he was so self-absorbed. When he turned his gaze outward, the road he had initially noticed was totally different. The cars, the houses next to each other, the people walking down the street, and the buildings, were left behind, now, before him was quite the opposite. The trees on the side of the road that seemed to stretch as the car moved forward and the tranquility of not hearing the hustle and bustle of the city disconcerted him for a moment, how long had he been sunk in his thoughts, nerves invaded him and his chest began to beat much faster.

"We have arrived."

The chauffeur turned off the car and Elio, who had been taken by surprise once again, got out of the car in a robotic fashion, before him loomed that huge mansion surrounded by armed people. The doors, which were already large, now seemed huge to him. He felt so small and defenseless that the idea of running crossed his mind for a moment.

"Follow me."

The man walked over and opened the huge door, Elio followed close behind. Inside, a double line of men, some to his left and others to his right, greeted him kindly. If he didn't know they were mafiosi, they would pass very well for office people with very good manners. But, although they were polite, being surrounded by all those men made him feel much more threatened.

The first time Elio had gone, he hadn't paid much attention to his surroundings, now, looking more closely it was a very nice and cozy house.

The ceiling was high, the walls seemed very strong, it kept that warmth of an old house with the modernity of the world in those days. There were paintings by famous painters, and the decoration was exquisite.

As he followed the man who had brought him he kept looking around, somehow it was relaxing.

However, that tranquility that he had had for the moment, vanished like sea foam upon reaching that door that he did remember well; it was the library.

After knocking a couple of times, old Gabriele's voice was heard answering. Elio entered, trying to show control over himself and the situation, but the old man's gaze was piercing.

"I'm glad you came, I thought you wouldn't dare."

"Me too," said Elio without thinking.

The man smiled. Elio realized there was someone else beside him. Another man in a suit, who was very imposing just like Grandpa Di Marco and young Vicenzo.

Elio bowed in greeting, it was common for him, he didn't like physical contact with strangers and he had adopted the Asian greeting a long time ago. Old Gabriele motioned for him to take a seat in front of them, he hesitated for a millisecond before doing so, he simply had to say no and leave, however, he decided to sit down, he didn't want to be rude either.

"This is my grandson's father, Salvatore Di Marco," said Gabriele, pointing to the man beside him, "son, this is Elio Mancini, whom I told you about," he mentioned, addressing the man beside him.

"Nice to meet you, sir." Elio felt even more nervous at just getting a look of analysis over him. Apparently, the younger Di Marco's father wasn't happy.

"Elio, I see you're nervous," said the grandfather as he sipped some tea that had been served while they were being introduced, "you have no reason to be. Have some tea to relax."

"Yes, thank you." He obeyed and took a sip, it was a sweet, refreshing flavor, despite being hot, but it didn't burn, "I... I want to talk about the proposal," he mentioned, setting the cup down on the table.

"Are you in a hurry to leave?"

"No, not really. I just don't want to waste your time, you must be very busy."

Elio was a little more confident in his words, Vicenzo's father watched him as if trying to guess what kind of person he was. The answer he had given certainly surprised him somewhat, usually people would tremble with fear, so much so that their voice came out choppy and strange.

"I see. You're not a boy who wastes time, are you? Marcello, bring the contract." The man mentioned grabbed a folder and extended it toward the boy, placing it on the table in front of him, "if you read it you'll notice that everything I promised you is there. The clauses are much more beneficial to you than to us, sign it."

"I'm sorry Mr. Di Marco, I can't accept something like that," he said with a determined face and a look that showed confidence.

Gabriele's confident face fell at those words, was the boy really turning down his offer? He blinked a couple of times, incredulous, grabbed his chin and lowered his face in thought.

Although it was risky, he thought Elio had accepted, his family's debts were not few. Vicenzo's father was also surprised, what made that brat think that Gabriele Di Marco was going to take no for an answer, what had he thought?

He remembered that time, when he was still a boy and his father was in charge of the organization, a man refused to sell his house or work for them by storing weapons there. Gabriele killed him right then and there. That boy sure had guts to say no.

"I see. All right."

Elio was as surprised as Salvatore, Vicenzo's dad. His father, Gabriele was known for his bad temper and yet there he was, beside him, showing a genuine smile to the boy who had turned down his offer twice.

He turned to look at Elio and saw a smile of gratitude for accepting it. He could see that they were alike. Although Elio showed a bit of nervousness, his words came out so firm that you could tell he was an experienced negotiator. Without a doubt, Grandpa Gabriele had made a very good choice for his son.

"Thank you for understanding. Then I'll get going first, it was a pleasure Mr. Di Marco."

"The pleasure was all mine, Elio."

Elio couldn't help but give a surprised look that soon turned into a warm smile.

"Take care, son. If you change your mind, we'll be here. The driver will take you."

"That's not necessary, sir, and thank you very much."

...----------------...

The sun was not hot and the wind was very pleasant, Elio felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He had thought they were not going to take his decision well, but apparently they were much more reasonable than he had thought.

He could finally sleep peacefully, he could finally return to the quiet life he had, what could possibly go wrong?

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