Page 2 of Vows of a Mobster

“Maybe we should sink it with the boat?” I suggested in a low voice. I wasn’t sure why we were whispering. There was nobody around for miles. Who would be crazy enough to be caught out in a storm like this?

“No, it is best we throw it overboard and then sink the boat in another location.” I didn’t understand the logic, but nodded nonetheless. I learned quickly that she knew more about this stuff than me. And it was nothing like the movies.

My teeth chattered from the cold, making my face muscles hurt. The despair that had been brewing within me since this fucked up mess started was threatening to spill. I felt as if I was on the brink of madness, but I desperately tried to hold on to my sanity. On the inside, I was pulling at my hair, pondering how I found myself in this mess, but on the outside none of it reflected. Just constant shivering from the cold.

It will be over soon. It will be over soon.

I bit into my lip, as I looked at the body laying at my feet. If this wasn’t falling from grace, I wasn’t sure what was. From the cop’s daughter, politician’s stepdaughter, to the dead body sprawled in front of me.

“Are you ready?” I asked her, although I’d rather leave the body here and let it sink with the boat.

How in the hell would we carry it and walk on the slick deck without falling overboard?

“Yes, we’ve got this.” I didn’t think so but I wouldn’t argue with her about it now.

“Hold tight to the rail,” I told her. “If you lose balance, drop the body. Do not lose your grip. It is the only thing keeping you from going overboard.”

“I hate boats,” she murmured. Funny, because I thought she would say she hated dead bodies. I couldn’t comprehend how the thought of the dead body didn’t bother her. I became queasy each time I even thought about picking it up again.

None of this was ever supposed to happen to someone like me.

And yet, here we were. Here I was.

We both bent down and picked up the body wrapped in the white sheet. It was heavier this time, with weights wrapped around the legs and upper body of it. Tears were flowing down my face and there was nothing I could do to stop them. I just kept going, leaving the safety of the cabin to go back on deck, back out into the storm so we could throw the body overboard.

We both grunted with the weight, holding on to the rails at awkward angles.

“It’s okay, don’t cry,” she gritted as she carried her side of the body, while at the same time trying to hold on to the rail.

“Don’t let go of the rail,” I whimpered through the sobs. She was stronger than me. The sea was enough to make her green, but the sight of a dead body was no big deal to her.

This was so fucked up. I could picture myself already behind bars, wearing some unflattering jumpsuits. I had never seen the seriesOrange is the New Blackbut maybe I should have so I’d know what to expect.

We struggled all the way to the deck, dropping the body a couple of times. The wind howled as the thunder rolled through the sky. It felt like God himself was scolding us, ready to punish us. The boat swayed with the waves and we right along with it. With each step closer to the side of the boat, I shook harder and this time and it had nothing to do with the cold.

“Ready?” she asked me and our gazes locked.

No, I wasn’t ready.

Instead, I just nodded and we pushed the body overboard. The wind howled so loud, I never even heard the splash as the body hit the surface of the ocean.

Without another word, we both watched as the ocean waves swallowed the body into its depths. All the while, it rained as if the sky was crying.

One

Mateo

Two Years Later

“This will be so much fun, Mateo,” Angelica’s voice was rubbing me the wrong way today. I’ve only been seeing her for two weeks now and already she was clinging to me like glue. With both hands wrapped around my bicep, she kept trying to rub herself all over me. She wanted me to hold her hand but that wasn’t me. In fact, coming to see the ballet show wasn’t me either.

We were at the Boston Opera House. My father and my uncle were both donors so it wasn’t my first time here, but this was certainly not my choice of place for relaxation. My goal was to take Angelica to dinner, fuck her, and then leave her. That was my idea of a perfect relationship.

I must be getting grouchier in my old age.

“Have you ever taken a girl on a date here?” She beamed, questioning me. She knew I hadn't, and in fact, it was her that had arranged this so technically, I wasn’t taking her on a date. She was taking me, except that I was paying for it. Not that I cared about paying an astronomical amount for ballet tickets or dinner, but I would have preferred to have had dinner first.

Goddamn it. It was a long day and watching people twirl on the stage wasn’t something I wanted to do right now.