Amore Mio

X. Girl Next Door

Neilson’s POV:

Sitting there, I lit the cigarette between my fingers, bringing it to my lips. Exhaling the smoke, my eyes lurk upward, seeing blood dripping down his bruising face, ears listening to the agonizing screams for mercy. The single light in the room annoyingly flickers, all four cement walls blocking out any available sunlight.

I stand up, moving the chair back, creating a loud, squeaking sound. The guys hold him in place as I pace towards him. Grabbing a handful of his hair, I tilt his face upward, causing him to cough out blood. “Where is he?”

“N-New York,” he replies in a thick Chinese accent.

I smirk, “And the stuff?” I questioned but didn’t receive a response. I can tell he’s out, as his eyes were staring at me, but he was moving around, unable to stay in one area properly. Inhaling a deep breath, I place the cigarette down and slam his head on the table. “I said, where is the f*****g stuff!”

“W-With h-him,” he whimpers.

I release him and glance at the guys. “Make sure he never performs on any woman again,” I said, and they bow down to me, understanding my underlying message.

He shakes his head, sweats blistering everywhere. “P-Please d-don’t! I told you where he is!” he shouts, spitting out blood.

“And that makes you a traitor. I hate traitors,” I said, waving my hand back. The guys take the signal and drag him to the corner of the room.

I hear a low whistle turn towards the door seeing Drew and Marvin. A guy came up, handing me a clean towel to wipe off the blood from my face. I can hear a desperate scream behind me, foul mouth begging for forgiveness. He is a Chinese triad member, and here he is praying for sympathy, spineless coward.

I throw the towel away, ears ignoring the scream, and unbutton my bloody shirt, putting on the new one. “The little girl from next door leaving must have struck you,” Drew said, an annoying smirk on his face. I can see his eyes lurking behind me, face grimacing, mouthing out an: “Ouch.”

“Shut up,” I mumble, walking out of the basement.

Three f*****g months, she left for three f*****g months without telling me in advance. I grab my phone, seeing no replies or phone calls. Marvin hung over my shoulder and shook his head. “Still desperate, waiting for your Angel to reply?”

I ground my teeth together, attempting not to punch his face.

“Be careful what you say, Marvin, the guys have been over the edge. He beat up a guy for asking who wants a muffin the other day,” Drew said, body faking a shudder.

“I swear one more word for you two, and I’ll make sure you will end up like that guy,” I said.

They place both hands downward, covering their d***s, and I stomp into a room, slamming it shut. Inhaling a deep breath, I dial her number standing there waiting for her to pick up, but it got to voicemail again. I ran my fingers through my hair, pacing back and forth until I heard a low beep. “H-Hey Alice, I was wondering if New Jersey is okay? You haven’t replied to any of my calls and messages, so I’m worried. I hope everything is alright. I miss you.”

Pacing around the room, I hear a buzz and turn on my phone.

Angel ♡: Everything is okay, and I’m safe. Thanks for asking.

Inhaling a deep breath, I clench the phone. I grab a lamp, letting out a scream of frustration, and throw it across the room. Sitting on the couch, I ran my hands through my hair, messing it up. The door creaks open, revealing two assholes who clearly enjoy my misery.

“Wow, you’re in deeper than I thought,” Drew said

I look up at them, seeing pity written all over their faces. “What do I do? It’s been almost three months, and all I got was short messages from her once in a while. What if something happened to her?” I said, knowing she is safe, after all, she contacts everyone except me.

Fuck, she even gave Drew a call the other day, during our meeting. He avoided me for three days after that. For f**k sake, she had been messaging Drew and Anthony, keeping them updated on what had happened in New Jersey. When the f**k did they even exchange contacts?!

“Well, it’s obvious she is avoiding you,” Marvin mumbles.

I shot him a glare, and he looked elsewhere.

“Do you think, maybe she saw what happened between you and Misha three months ago?” Drew said.

Misha is the daughter of the Russian mafia that I casually f**k around with whenever I start thinking about Alice in a non-brotherly kind of way. Roughly three months ago, after that incident with Alice in my bedroom, where I almost lost control and stuck my d**k inside of her, I called up Misha.

I wasn’t thinking straight and took her back to my house, something I never do since Alice lived right next door.

***

Stumbling inside my bedroom, our lips were attached tongues tangling as I attempted to forget all about what happened this evening with Alice.

Alice Lee, the only girl I’ll never touch. She is too innocent, too pure for a guy like me. I don’t deserve her at all. I shouldn’t even have any odious thoughts for her; she is merely a child, after all. But, the sickening part of me can’t stop thinking about her.

Yeah, a child you continuously think about whenever you masturbate ever since she hit puberty; that annoying voice popped up in my head again.

I pushed Misha down on the bed, and she pulled my tie downward, crashing our lips together. I can feel her fingers lurking downward, taking off my belt.

There was that infuriating voice inside the back of my mind telling me to stop. That what I’m doing is wrong, but I ignored it and tugged off her dress, revealing a hot matching pair of red lace underwear. She ripped off my shirt and threw it beside the lamp.

“Neilson,” Alice’s moaning voice echoes inside my mind.

Shutting my eyes, I shook my head in an attempt to forget about her. How she was laying in my bed earlier this evening with her legs spread open for me, revealing a soaked pair of white underwear. How her dress was creased entirely, straps falling off her milky shoulder, messy hair covering up her gorgeous brown orbs.

It was as if she was begging me to dirty her.

“f**k!” I shouted, getting off Misha. I sat on the edge of my bed, running my fingers through my hair, knowing I’m in deep s**t.

I can hear Misha scoffing at me. “It’s that little girl from next door, isn’t it?” she said in an amused tone as she lit up a cigarette.

“How did you-”

“Neilson, we have been f*****g around for nearly two years, and I’ve heard you moaned out her name a few times,” she responded, rolling her eyes in a dissatisfying manner.

My eyes blasted open, and I turned towards her. “What?”

“You know when you’re drunk, you don’t hold back, do you? It’s funny how you always manage to remember to slip on a condom but forget the name of the girl you’re f*****g,” she said, exhaling some smokes.

I sat there, staring at her as she crushed down her cigarette. She stood up and grabbed her dress. “It’s a huge turn off when you’re screwing me, but screaming out another girl’s name when you c*m,” she pulled on her dress.

She grabbed her heels and purse, walking towards the door. “By the way, your blinds are open,” she said before walking out.

My eyes widened more than earlier, and I rushed towards the window, seeing the light in Alice’s room turning off. I released a deep breath. “Good, she is asleep; she didn’t see anything,” I mumbled.

The next morning, I saw her, and she looked as beautiful as ever. When we finished talking, I was determined to make her mine. Of course, I’m not going to be a pedophile creep about it. I’ll tell her I like her, and then if things go well, maybe she will agree to my two-year plan. We can take it slow, and I’ll wait two years for her.

***

The one thing I didn’t expect was for her to fly off to New Jersey the next day.

And it’s been three f*****g months where she had been giving me the cold shoulder. She rarely replies, and she never calls.

“Guys, what if I did something wrong, and she is mad at me? Oh f**k, what if she did saw what happen between Misha and me.”

Marvin rolls his eyes. “You’re starting to sound like one of those clingy girls.”

I pull out my gun and aim it at his head. “I’m going to f*****g kill you,” I said.

He placed two hands in the air in surrender.

“Calm down,” Drew said.

I threw my gun down on the table and ran my hands down my tired face. I wonder what the reason for Alice’s avoidance is. Is it Misha? Did I say something wrong? Did she pick up my feelings for her and thought it was creepy?

“Look, she is going to come back soon, right? Just tell her how you feel,” Drew said.

“And maybe if you’re lucky, she won’t call the cops on your ass,” Marvin includes.

I grab the vase and throw it at him.

His fingers fumble as they attempt to grab the gun inside his pants, “Are you trying to kill me!”

"Not try, I am,” I reply, grabbing mine from the table.

“Hey!” I turn towards the door to see Anthony. “Marvin, for the last time. Leave Neilson alone,” he said in a stern tone. We threw our guns down on the table, eyes glaring at each other.

He takes a seat beside me, arching a brow at all of us who sat down. “So, any intel regarding the missing merchandise?”

“It’s in New York being shipped to China,” I reply.

Anthony nods, “Drew, I need you to take over. Neilson, you’re done.”

I shot my head towards him. “What the f**k do you mean done?”

“Look, Neilson, for the past three months, you have been snapping at all of our guys. They are f*****g shitting their pants just looking at you. I want you to go back to working at the company, and when you finally get your head out of your ass, you can come back,” Anthony said in a calm voice without any room to argue.

“Anth-”

“Do you know how much mess you created when you broke things off with Misha? You may think it’s simply f*****g around, but Misha didn’t. The f*****g Russian mafia is hot on my ass, trying to find you, and why? Because you had to f**k around with his only daughter than dump her for your f*****g obsession over that little girl next door. Get your s**t together,” Anthony snapped. He walks out of the room and slams the door shut.

“Neilson, he didn’t mean that. Anthony has been kind of over the edge because of the Russian mafia and Japanese yakuza. They have been all over his ass saying he isn’t fit to take over the group,” Drew said.

Releasing a deep breath, I stand up and walk out of the room. I knock on a door receiving a: “Come in.” Twisting the knob open, Anthony sat there doing paperwork, a cigarette laying between his lips. “What is it?”

I scratch the back of my head, taking a seat in front of him. “Sorry, Anthony, I just-” I stop, not sure what to say.

What should I tell him? That I’m crazy over my 15 years old neighbor and how I keep getting wet dreams about her for the past three months, that’s driving me insane particularly, since I haven’t gotten laid ever since she left.

Anthony burnt out his cigarette and stood up, leaning against the table in front of me. “I know about your feelings for Alice. Hell, I watch her grow up too, but you have to remember. You’re part of the Italian mafia Neilson, and a girl like her doesn’t belong in our world.”

I swallow the lump inside my throat. “I know, but I just-” I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Anthony folds his arms. “Look, if you care about the girl, don’t chase after her.”

I know I shouldn’t go after Alice, or else I would put her at risk. If she weren’t living in the street filled with ex-Italian mafia members, she would’ve been in danger a long time ago.

Anthony pat my shoulder. “I’m going back to Italy soon. We are moving bases. The American government is onto us, along with the displeasure of Italian American gang, warning us to stop doing business on their grounds.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I want my right-hand man to go back to Italy with me. Plus, your father will be happy to see you again,” he said before walking out the door.

If I go back with Anthony, it means I would rarely come back here. It means leaving my mother, step-father, and step-brother.

Most importantly, it means leaving Alice.

A week swiftly passes, and I spend the day spinning around a chair at the company trying to get my head out of my ass.

Dribbling the ball, I shoot it inside the hoop.

Marvin wipes the sweats off his forehead. “How the f**k do you always manage to pass us?”

“I think you f*****g cheated,” Drew said.

I hear a loud door slamming from Nina’s house and turn around. There’s a silver car parking in the front, which belongs to Tyler. Nina shrieks when the passenger’s side opens.

I stand there, staring at the car as a pair of black heels step out. My eyes widened, seeing her black hair, dyed ash brown, and cut to her above her shoulder. She’s wearing a short skirt with a large t-shirt tuck inside and a pair of black shades covering her eyes.

“Pancakes!” Nina shouts and ram right into her while she releases sweet laughter that I haven’t heard in what felt like forever.

“Heads up.” Marvin threw the ball, but it merely hit my chest and rolled onto the ground.

Alice looks down and grabs the ball, sliding her sunglasses up to reveal her deep brown. I watched her as she walked up to me, heels clicking along with the beating inside my chest. She smiles, “I think I have your ball.”

“Alice.”

I grab her wrist, causing the ball to drop down onto the street and pull her into a tight hug. “I miss you so much, Angel,” I whisper into her ear.

I can feel her arms wrapped around me, and everything felt right again. “I miss you too, Muffin,” she mumbles into my chest.

At that moment, I knew I couldn’t leave her, my Angel.

When I hear a honking noise, my head lifts, seeing an unfamiliar old red truck. Alice got out of my grasp and rushed towards the car. The driver’s side opens to reveal this unknown guy, and she jumps into his arms.

“Oh f**k,” Marvin and Drew said at the same time.

I stand there, staring at them as they embrace each other.

Alice turns back towards me, then back to him, whispering something into his ears. He nods his head and leans against the car door while she walks back to me. She giggles, cheeks turning red. “Guess what, Muffin?” she whispers.

Marvin and Drew take a step back, looking at the ground.

“What?” I reply in a toneless voice, eyes staring at her, praying to whoever is up there he is not who I’m thinking.

“He’s my boyfriend," she squeaks, giggling while waving at him. He looks at her and returns her wave with a wink, chewing on the gum inside his mouth.

"Boyfriend?” I repeat her words, trying to wrap my mind around the idea.

She nodded and told me to come in closer. “Keep this a secret, but we had our first kiss not too long ago,” she whispers and starts giggling. Every word escaping her sweet lips stung, only fueling the fire that burned inside of me.

“Ready to go, sweetheart?” He shouts.

No f*****g way.

“Coming darling!” she screams back.

She grabs my hand, and the anger inside me vanished when I looked into her gorgeous eyes. The corners of her lips travel upward, giving me a broad smile. “I’ll see you later, Muffin?”

I merely nodded, unable to respond.

She went towards Nina and started squealing along with her. They talked about something, then Alice went back towards the guy jumping into his arms once again as he spun her around. I look at Nina, who folds her arms and shaking her head in a displeasing manner at me. That’s when I knew she knew about that guy but refused to tell me.

My eyes travel back towards Alice, seeing him whispering something in her ears, causing loud laughter to leave her throat. My knuckles whiten from clenching my fist too hard, and teeth gritted to remain silent as she peck his cheek.

Burning rage hissed through my body, demanding to release the violence dwelling inside. I stand there, watching her jump into his truck, turning towards me and innocently waving both hands in goodbye. My eyes refuse to stop glaring at the boy, who flinch lightly by my urge to kill as he quickly drives off.

Drew pat my shoulder. “You okay?”

Clenching my fist together, I can feel a surge of anger boiling inside of me as my mind replays what had occurred earlier. The demon inside of me was on the verge of exploding.

Alice is my woman, and I’ll be damn to let a little boy take her away from me.

“f**k, hide the guns,” Marvin whispers.

“I don’t need guns to teach that kid a lesson, not to touch what’s mine.”