Page 6 of All Your Lies

“He suffers from short-term memory loss, where he forgets what happens after ten seconds.”

“Fucking rude.” Jenna pauses while looking confused. “What were you saying?”

“You—”

“Kidding. So that’s the premise of the story? What a bore.”

“No, it’s about a woman who loses her memory after an accident and can’t remember anything the day before. This guy meets her and falls hard, only to find out she can’t remember him the next day. He spends the movie trying to get her to remember him.”

“I’m not even the main character?” She frowns.

“Not this time.” I laugh. “It’s a good movie, though.”

“Does she ever remember him?” she asks. Something close to hope enters her eyes but is gone in a matter of seconds.

“Yes and no. He makes a tape for her to watch every morning to remember who he is. He never stops trying.”

“That sounds exhausting.”

“It’s always worth it for the right person.”

“Geez, you’re sappy this morning. Don’t touch me. I don’t want to catch it.” Jenna makes a cross with her fingers as if to ward me off. I roll my eyes at her silliness.

“You’ll fall in love one day and totally eat your words. I can’t wait.”

“Fat fucking chance. Okay, back to the point. We’re going out tonight.”

“I’d rather stay in. Maybe—”

“No. You’re coming. Be ready by eight. They stop letting people in at nine.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Fuck if I know. Just be ready.” Jenna swats my ass and saunters past me.

As I sit down for my lunch break, I can’t help but marvel at how quickly the day is passing. The thought of being free from this place and having two days off in the sunshine and not in a cubicle is making me restless.

My mom’s influence and connections helped me land a job at a local non-profit even though I lacked experience and formal qualifications. She’s a generous supporter of this specific charity that helps children in need, and when my mom reached out to them, they couldn’t refuse.

I also didn’t refuse when my mom brought up the idea of me working here. It felt like a way to atone for my future transgressions. Sins I’m still grappling with. Helping people in need now only to snuff out the lives of others later.

It’s kind of fucked up for me to believe working here will somehow cleanse my soon-to-be bloody hands.

It won’t.

Nothing will.

The path to becoming the head of the Rossi Family, following my father, is fraught with opposition and difficult battles, each one testing my resolve and resilience. Many in the other families are vehemently against a woman leading. The consensus is my cousin Vinny, a powerful and established made man, deserves the inheritance. I need to prove to everyone, including myself, that I have what it takes as one of the first females to lead. The enormity of the task ahead is daunting, and I dread it.

This is part of the reason I’m here at the job that Jenna considers my “fake job.” I want to relish in the simple pleasures of a normal nine-to-five before being thrust into life-and-death situations. Experiencing normalcy unrestricted and unburdened is my goal.

The insistent buzzing of my phone jolts me from my reverie, so I quickly fish it out of my handbag.

Jenna

Just had the most mind-blowing massage.

Alexa