10| Cereal

Chapter Ten

Alessio

As of late, alcohol no longer has that burning taste that should make me wince at its pain. When I drink whatever strong substance I dug out, I should be in pain like any normal person. My eyes should be watering. My throat should be burning so much that I want to claw at it. I should want to throw up. But, instead, I don't.

But, to be more exact. I don't need to throw up because whatever bottle I was given, which is most likely the most expensive one, does nothing to my body other than getting me drunk. A blissful feeling that makes it hard for me to think about things such as my daughter. But, I can only focus on the furry of New York lights that I can't quite decipher.

And the man outside who I'm not sure is even real. One moment he's dancing through the street, and then he disappears and reappears as if he was never gone.

I am quite drunk, I think.

Because only a drunk man would think about the way alcohol does not burn going down when the love of your life just told you she would let another man fuck her for a baby. Or see a naked dancing man. Either way, I am, in fact drunk.

Yes, because a sober man after that kind of information would be angry or even in tears. So instead, I decided that a bottle of alcohol will drown out the thoughts that my Alice would even consider having another man's child because I won't give her one.

And why would I give her one? So she would be happy and could forget about our daughter. No. I will not impregnate her for such a selfish reason. I am not ready for another child when grief still lingers in my heart. I do want more children-badly. But, not now, not when my daughter has only been six feet under for a little over six months.

God, Annabella, you were my baby girl.

"Wow. I never thought I would see Alessio Russo crying under his desk," Leo says.

"What are you doing here so late, Leo?" I ask as I take another sip.

"Oh, I was just checking my many cameras in the office, and I see a certain someone, also known as you, never leave his office, and it is now ten at night." He takes a seat next to me under the desk. "So, care to tell me why? Oh, and don't say overtime because I know you breezed through a week's worth of work in three hours."

I chuckle and take another gulp. Of course, I did after Alice said that to me. I filled my head with work, and there are no nearby missions, so I can leave for a week. And even if there were for some fucked up reason. I can't even bear to leave her after that announcement she told me today. I leave her and some sap in her bed fucking her.

I would rain hellfire and kill everyone in my sight if that happened.

"What happened, friend?"

I turn my attention to Leo. "You know. I liked it better when you were on my hit list."

"Tsk tsk, friend. I was never on your hit list. I was on your ex-fiances. And if I were killed, you would not have this rewarding career. Now, enough with your drunken yammering. What happened?"

"Alice, she's trying to get pregnant again." He says nothing-this is the first time Leo has nothing to say. Because he knows as much, I do how idiotic, and crazy that is.

"Are you serious?"

"Very. And that is why I was gone for eight weeks. I thought Alice was finally coming around. We went to the beach, and she started smiling and being somewhat happy again. But, it was all ruse to get me into bed so I can. How do I say it? Plant my seed inside of her. And then I found out, and of course, I got mad. And you know what Alice says to me after I tell her no?"

"What?"

"That if I don't get her pregnant, she will find another way to. Another way! Can you believe that?"

"And what does that mean?"

"That she'll fuck someone else. And the city of New York does not need me to witness something like that." There will be Hell everywhere I walk if that happens.

Leo takes the bottle from my hands, and I'm too drunk to stop him. "Stay in one of my hotels for tonight and tomorrow sit down and talk to Alice. I'll call her and tell her where you are."

"No need. I'm not going back there."

He grabs my arm, getting me up from the floor. "Shut up, you big oaf. You and Alice are going through something, and you guys are so madly in love that you guys breaking up would be the loss of the century. So come on," he says, and I walk with him as he holds up my body. "You know," he mutters. "I've done this too many times than I would have liked, Alessio. Next time ask Damien or Tara."

~

When I wake up, I expect a few things. I expect a leg thrown haphazardly over my own. A small hand on my chest and a piece of hair tickling my chin. None of which are there accompanying me. There is one thing, though-a headache. One that hurts so much that I feel like a train has hit me three times over. "Fuck," I curse under my breath.

My clothes are still on except for my shoes. I turn my attention to the room. To be more exact, I'm in a hotel-hotel Nebula-the Morte family's very profitable front to all their underground illegal work. I remove the blanket from my body. On the dresser sits clothes, medicine, and water.

Leo is one hell of the morning after accommodator. The women before Maria must have been taken care of quite well. I down the water and medicine and take my time in the shower. The longer I stand under this hot water. The longer I can put off going to see Alice. I can't get the words out of my head.

Alessio, if you don't want to do this with me. Then... I'll get pregnant some other way.

Alice, why? Why can't we grieve a bit longer? I want more children, but not now. Not this soon. I won't be able to take it. Because I know when I see our new baby, my mind will be filled with Annabella even more. I will miss her even more than I do now. And no child deserves that. No child deserves to feel like a replacement. They deserve one hundred percent, and I cannot give them that.

I can't even give Alice one hundred percent.

I put on the simple clothes Alessio dropped off. It's nothing but jeans and a t-shirt. How does he even know my sizes? Whatever, I'm not going to dwell on the things Leo knows. It's too much to even think about something like that.

I leave the hotel and take the long route home. My body fidgets as I park the car, and I finally get out. Alice is home. All the cars are here. So, there's no possibility she got a driver to take her. She is here all alone, waiting for me. Or, she is in there with someone.

I rush up the stairs and push the door open with a loud boom. Alice is sitting on the couch but not alone.

She is with that young girl before. The two girls are sitting on the couch with lunch in front of them, and an Ipad propped up for both of them to see. Why is she here? The young girl's eyes widen, and she holds onto Alice's shirt. Fuck, why is she here? How did she even find Alice? Is this a trick, some way for someone I killed to get revenge? Is this some type of mental torture.

I am an honest man with Alice. I tell her everything or as much as humanely possible without scaring the most gracious woman in the world. If she knew of my lifestyle of killing, she would leave me. Hell, she'll be scared of me and would refuse to even hear my voice. She would call me a monster.

Alice is too kind for a life of crime. And too smart to run headfirst into a life of it, either. No matter how much I explain it, she will never accept me coming home covered in blood. She won't delight in a conversation of some kill I made or how many people I managed to take down by myself.

She isn't like that.

In front of me in a small body is a young girl who will undo everything even more than it already is.

I eye the young girl-do not say anything child. "Who is this?"

Alice's eyes widen. She stands up from the couch and straightens her pants. "Um...her name is Aria," she says. "She's um... she doesn't have a place to stay, and I brought her back here."

"Oh," I say. Silence befalls us. Of course, she wanted to help Aria. She wants to help as many people humanely as possible. But why her?

Alice's phone alarm goes off, and she bolts, leaving Aria and me alone. I open my mouth to speak, but she's already speaking. "I won't tell her. So, don't worry about that. I'm not a snitch, and I'll be out of here soon enough."

That relaxes me. By the way, she speaks and carries herself-she's not lying. "And why is that?"

"Because one you didn't kill me earlier, and Alice is too kind for me to ruin her relationship. You know she gawks about you? I knew who you were long before you walked in. It was all a matter of when."

I look down at my feet. She gawked about me? "How is she today? What did she say?"

"Something along the lines of you being an amazing guy, and we have a lot in common. Why doesn't she know about you?"

"Because Aria, a woman like Alice, is too kind for the life I live."

She crosses her arms, "well, I think she will accept it, especially with the kind of guys you killed. I think they deserved it. They were bad men."

She is right but so wrong. Those men I killed were bad men-all the men were bad man some worst than others. But I am bad too. Just because I kill bad people doesn't make me some patriarch. I killed people for money because I was poor.

And suffice to say even now when I don't need to. I still do it because I enjoy it. Taking a life is as easy as putting on my shoes now.

I don't even lose sleep over it anymore.

Alice comes from the kitchen with a plate of cookies in hand. She avoids my gaze and takes her place on the couch next to Aria. I swallow my spit. "Alice...can we talk," I say. Her eyes widen, and then she looks to Aria and smiles.

"Aria, can I meet you in my room in like twenty? I have to talk to Alessio." Aria eyes us and takes the plate, and goes up the stairs. I hate to say I felt better when the child who knew my darkest secrets were around. "I'm sorry," she starts. "I'm sorry for what I said. I shouldn't have said those things to you, Alessio." Alice can't hold back her tears, and I take those few moments before her tears hit the ground to hug her. "I-I just I'm just so fucked up right now." I engulf her in her warmth, and I smell the top of her hair. "Please forgive me, Alessio. There's so much I have lost, and I- I cannot bear to lose you too."

"I forgive you, Alice," I tell her. I forgive her.

We walk to our room hand in hand. Aria sits on our bed, and the plate full of cookies has dwindled down to a mere two. "I left you guys one," she says as she watches the television. I didn't notice, but she's wearing pajamas that I know we didn't have lying around here. Alice must have brought them for her.

"Aria, there were a dozen cookies on the plate," Alice grumbles. "God, I am taking you to the dentist tomorrow. I bet you have an ungodly amount of cavities." Aria's eyes widen, and I chuckle. "Oh, I don't know why you're laughing. You're going too."

"What?"

"Since I've met you. You haven't been to the dentist once. And just because you brush your teeth twice every day, Alessio doesn't always mean you have good teeth." And this is the Alice I know. The woman who spouts off orders as if it's nothing. She can stand in the middle of the room and fill it with so much love. "Matter of fact, we can all go tomorrow. And then after we can go somewhere. Aria, have you been to an amusement park?"

"No," she says.

"Les, tell everyone you won't be in tomorrow. We are gonna have such a fun day tomorrow," she squeals before rushing to the nearest computer, and I put on a fake smile because, as far as I know, Aria is leaving tonight.

~

Alice is sound asleep, and my usual bottle of water on the nightstand is gone. I click my tongue and walk down the stairs. In the usual empty kitchen sits Aria with a bowl of cereal. "I thought you were leaving tonight?"

"I am."

I eye the bit of cereal in her hands. "You were hungry?"

"A bit." I eye the box of cereal-it's my favorite. I walk around the island and take out a bowl and the milk hidden in the refrigerator. I take a seat next to her and take a bite out of the cereal. "So, how long have you been killing people?" Aria asks.

Aria's question should bother me how calmly she asks it. Like it's the most normal thing in the world. "Indirectly or directly?"

"Both would be nice," she takes the cereal and pours more into her bowl.

"Fourteen indirectly. I used to help mercenaries to distract people or put pills into their drinks. And when I turned sixteen and loss my boyish looks-I directly killed my first person. But, I helped so many mercenaries and people with killing that it barely fazed me."

"Cool. You know, I killed someone before," I take a bite of my cereal. I suspected as much. She held that gun too well in her hands. "He was trying to touch me in places I didn't like, so I stabbed him."

I tighten my hold on my spoon. How could someone try something with a child? "Good, he deserved it. Make sure you do that every single time Aria."

Aria lets out a small laugh. "Aren't you supposed to say I should tell an adult?"

"Yeah, tell an adult after you stab the bastard who tries to do that."

"You're a lot different than Alice. She's all sunshine, and you're..."

"Dark and gloomy?" She merely nods her head. " Yeah, you're not the first person to point that out. We're like that. Let's say she brings light to my life."

"I like Alice," she says.

"I do too."

"She's really strong."

"I know." Alice can bench press around a hundred pounds, and that's when she was just joking around. And I know she could easily knock out a person if she learned to fight.

"Do you think when I get older, I could become a killer?"

"You want me to be honest?"

"Yes."

"You have the makings of it." Aria only has a few options: prostitute, die or become a killer. And with her being so damn smart for her age.

I would bet she would be a killer, maybe one day working for me when she turns eighteen. I look at Aria as she eats her cereal. She's in deep thought, probably thinking and calculating how long before her descent down at being an actual killer. I give it five more years.

But, if she stays here with Alice, then she wouldn't have to. She could have a normal life. She could have something I missed out on and become some amazing thing Alice would introduce her to. She won't have to deal with weird guys, just young boys who forgot to shower.

"But...I think if you stayed here with Alice and me. You could have a normal life."

I don't mind if Aria stays with us, especially if I know it could create one less me in the world. Aria widens her eyes at me and stares down at her cereal.

I think I can trust her.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Okay but can we say how cute Aria and Alessio are.

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