Caught In The Middle

Mrs Marcus Pressler

When I got to school, I was earlier than usual it was only teachers that were already here. I went straight to the library and went through all my books until it was time for my first class and I was a little late for it.

When I walked in class everyone was just staring at me, others in amazement and others in disgust. I did what I did best and ignored each and every one of them and took my seat next to Arianna who couldn’t help herself but smile from ear to ear.

“Hello Mrs Pressler” she whispered and I pushed her

“stop it” I said and she laughed while I heard someone in the corner whisper that I had balls to be hanging with Marcus, these people didn’t even know the type of person he was.

But wait a minute did I?

“I thought I was supposed to pick you up today, you totally bailed on me” she said

“s**t, I completely forgot, I am so sorry Ari I just had to catch up on some school work” I said in my defence

“Fine, but you owe me...big time” she said and I nodded in agreement

The rest of the day was pretty much the same with people giving me stares and staring at me constantly, but no one had the guts to even approach me I had a reputation for being mean when I wanted to be. So the whispers continued while everyone wondered what my business with Marcus was Arianna on the other hand was just too happy to have insider information on what was going on.

After school Arianna and I headed to our cars and I was a little disappointed to see that the black suburban was nowhere in sight.

“See I told you he wasn’t coming” I said trying to hide the disappointment in my voice

“Well you lose nothing either way, don’t be disapp....” she stopped talking and trailed off probably spotting Rob

“I hate it when you do that; can’t you finish a sentence when you see Rob?” I asked annoyed

“oh no its not Rob I see its...” she turned me around and I was now facing a red Ferrari parked directly in front  of the school entrance and my mouth dropped open. I couldn’t believe it, he actually came, I wanted to jump for joy but had to keep my cool

He was carrying a bunch of red roses, he was dressed formally as usual and causing a scene just like the day before.

“Well girl are you going to stand here and drool with the rest of us or will you go to your man?” Arianna teased

“He is not my m...” before I could even finish speaking she had started pushing me toward him, I could’ve easily stood my ground and refused to go but I wanted to go with him. His eyes lightened up immediately when we reached him and he stood up straight, he looked nervous.

“Hello ladies” he greeted us

“What are you doing here?” I asked as if I didn’t want him there

“I told you I am very persistent” he said with a smirk

”and I am very stubborn” I said and Arianna nudged me and he noticed and immediately turned his eyes to her, his eyes softening up and he smiled

“And who is your lovely friend?” he asked as he kissed the back of her hand lightly, I know I shouldn’t have been because Arianna was my best friend, but I was very jealous.

“I am Arianna, her best friend and you better take care of her and...And don’t kidnap her” she said embarrassing me

“Don’t worry I wont” he said chuckling “so will you come with me?” he asked turning his attention to me and my legs acted against my will to run and carried me inside the open car.

While inside the car I could see the other student gathering and staring at Arianna as she said God knows what to Marcus before laughing, nodding and then walking off. When he got in the car I stiffened

“So where are you taking me?” I asked as be fastened his seatbelt and started the car.

“Anywhere you want to go” he said and I couldn’t help it but blush but I had to hide it.

We drove around town for a little while, it was a little bit awkward because we were silent the whole time and it was like we both didn’t know what to say to each other. I kept stealing glances at him admiring how perfect he was, his hair was perfectly sleek and he looked so handsome while focused on the road. I kept pinching myself to check if all this was real, how could I, a normal high school girl with the most boring life find herself attracting the country’s most feared man. Could he really be in love with me or he just wanted to sleep with me and dump me. I mean I was in high school and the last thing I needed was an angel like man wooing me and making me lose focus.

“we are here” he said and I realised that I had been so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even realise how far we had gone or where we were, if this man tried to do anything to me how on earth would I escape?

“What is this place?’” I asked looking out the window and scanning my surroundings carefully. We were in some kind of garage and there were a lot of cars in it.

“This is the garage in my house...” he said proudly not realising how panicked I was

“Why would you bring me here?” I asked him

“To introduce you to my mum obviously” he said as he got out of the car and came to my side to open the door for me.

“What, no way am too young for this s**t” I said refusing to get out of the car, and he laughed at me hysterically.

“Am just teasing you, come one out it’s a joke” he said holding out his hand

“Well it not funny ok” I said jumping out of the car and ignoring the hand he was offering me.

His house was beautiful didn’t see much of the private driveway because I was so lost in my thoughts but the cars in the garage looked to beautiful and expensive. We walked out of the garage and onto a large extra parking area that was right outside his garage.  He led me to the main entrance of his house which had huge grass doors, the house was a mansion and it was like paradise compared to where I stayed with my mum.

“How big is this house anyway?” I asked as I looked around at the trees surrounding the house

“it’s got 7 bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a 2000 bottle wine cellar with a sitting area, a theatre room that has a bar and two rows of theatre sitting, the master area is 1500 square feet and hosts a private gym, a huge kitchen and pantry, a potion that includes a barbeque area and a hot tub next to the pool.” He said proudly folding his hands, he was clearly showing off and I was a little disgusted

“Ok I see” I said as I made my way into the beautifully decorated house that had mosaic style tiling. He gave me a full tour of the house and ended with his master bedroom as if to say ‘this is where the magic happens. As we were in his bedroom I wondered how many women had the privilege of seeing this place and how many had slept on that bed.

“Don’t worry you are the first woman that I have ever brought here” he said with a smirk

“I didn’t ask but since we are confessing you are also the first man I have let take me to his house” I also confessed honestly and he blushed

“I am glad to hear that, not that I was worried because I intend to be the last” he said “would you like anything at all?” he asked

“Some water will be just fine” I said and he held my hand and led me to the kitchen and he wasn’t kissing when he said the kitchen was huge, and by the looks of it he probably had his own private chef. For a Mafia the house sure looked empty, no bodyguards or any staff.

“So where is everybody?’ I asked

“I asked them to give me some privacy today, I didn’t want to overwhelm you with strange people roaming around” he said as he handed me a bottle of sparkling water, and I was flattered that he even thought of that.

“So what kind of a person are you, you say you want to be with me and yet the only thing I know about you is that you are a Mafia and you seem to know everything about me. How is that possible?” I asked

“Well I know all about you because I am interested in you, and I am a man who takes my interests very seriously and I am also a simple man. People see the tough exterior I portray as they should but that’s not a side of me I want you to know. I want you to know that I am a human being that is capable of feeling and what I feel for you I have never felt for another. I want you to give me a chance to show you that I can be the perfect man for you although I know very well that I don’t deserve you. You are innocent and I am stained with the blood of many but trust me none of them were innocent they were all deserving. I want you to know that you can count on me for everything including protection, as long as I am alive no one will ever even attempt to harm you” he said

“That’s the thing Marcus, I am in high school and I don’t have that any enemies and I don’t do anything that may cause me to fear for my life” I said

“But you have no idea the type of dangers girls face day in and day out” he said with worry

“I understand that but this is still a lot for me to take in, I mean just days ago I was just a normal teenager preparing for college and now here I am with...you” I said playing with my fingers and he reached for my hands and held them tight

“Tell me you don’t feel the same way and I will walk away. Look me in the eye right now and tell me you don’t want me as badly as I want you” he said and I hesitated to answer him because love becomes more of a reality the day you admit to the one you love that you truly do love them