Idk if i like this chapter

J e y r i

"Jeyri... " He went silent for a second and then spoke again, "Why do you have Matteo's phone? Is he close to you by any chance?" I could practically hear him trying to hold back his frustration, "he is..." I said, looking at Matteo and I heard Gio sigh, "I see... can you hand him the phone?"

"Okay,"

Matteo burst out laughing when I handed him back the phone but I could hear Gio yelling at him. Matteo held the phone away from his ear and brought it back once Gio went silent, "I hate to cut you off," he sighed, "I was just helping Jeyri out in her new bedroom, but I'll call you back when I'm done."

My eyes widened as he hung up the phone, "That sounds so misleading..."

"You play too much Matteo," Melanie said, shaking her head and he shrugged, "Did I lie? He'll call back- Ah, see?" His phone started ringing again and he picked it up, an amused smile plastered on his face.

'Wanna hear?' He mouthed and I shook my head but he put it on speakerphone anyway.

I just heard a trail of curse words coming from Gio and Matteo just looked like he was trying to hold back his laughter. "Calmati Gio, we both know you wanted to hear her again. You're welcome."

Gio let out a frustrated sigh, "Why does she have your phone?"

"Aw, it's really bothering you. Wouldn't you like to know? È sempre meglio con due ragazze." (It's always better with two girls.)

"Matteo," Gio's voice came out low and threatening. I have no idea what Matteo said to him but Matteo seemed to be very entertained by his reactions.

"Relax, I'm joking! Why did you call in the first place?" He asked, taking his phone off the speaker. He went into a different room and Melanie let out a relieved sigh.

"Swear to God, this man is going to get my shop shot up joking around too much."

"Why does he care so much... Giovanni I mean, I don't get it. One second he's either shooting me or threatening me and the next he's like-?"

"Concerned? Possessive?Sweet?"

"Somewhat...yeah. I mean we almost..." My voice trailed off and she nodded slowly, "I don't know... if he's anything like how Matteo was, maybe he doesn't know how to be himself and protect you at the same time so he's pushing you away. Their way of life is so much different from ours and we both know how dangerous it is. If people think you have any level of importance to him, they'll come for you. In his mind, I guess he's doing the right thing, which doesn't really excuse everything but you get me..."

When I didn't say anything she clapped her hands, "Look, I think you need to take your mind off of it, off from him at least. Just because he's confused about what he wants, doesn't mean you're required to help him figure it out or wait for him to decide whether he wants to kill you or bang you."

I sighed and rested my elbows on the countertop, "Is it bad that even though he's like that, I still feel curious? Like I don't want to stay away...?" I asked in almost a whisper. "It was scary in a way, yeah, but... it was exciting," I admitted, mostly to myself.

The logical thing to do would be to stay away, maybe live a long life, get rich and married, have kids, and chill for the remainder of life but I can't help feel bored by that thought when I see Melanie and Astarte... hell, even Hayley.

It's so terrifying but something fascinating about it. I'm just like him in the way, I don't know what I want.

Before she could say anything in response, Matteo came back into the room and held out his phone to me, "He wants to talk to you."

Why?

I hesitantly took the phone and held it up to my ear, "Jeyri?"

"Yes?"

There was a long silence and then he spoke again, "Nothing, just wanted to hear you once more, addio Tesoro." (goodbye sweetheart.) He hung up the phone and I stood there for a while before handing it back to Matteo who was grinning at me.

"How's that? Believe it or not, he's been sulking around for the past few weeks."

"That must suck for him..." I said, frowning and Matteo laughed, "It does indeed, but you can't lie, the both of you were equally excited to hear from each other. Your face lit up when you heard him speak."

"What are you his wingman?" Melanie asked, raising her eyebrows and he turned to her, "You need to get ready for the party tonight. I'm going to pick you up later-

"Who said I was going?" Melanie asked, crossing her arms and he smiled, "You will because. You. Love. Me. Right?" He repeated her words from earlier and she grinned at him, "Touché."

"You're coming as well Jeyri," he said, nodding his head. "It'll be... fun. I won't take any refusals-"

"What if someone notices me? Won't that fuck things up for your boss?"

He shook his head, "First of all, Gio isn't my boss, we're partners. Second, everyone there will be wearing masks, so no one will see our faces. It's a party for a bunch of rich assholes that want to let loose and do shit that would otherwise tarnish their image if word got out. No one wants their identity to be known at parties like these..."

"Sounds...chaotic."

He shrugged, "It is... very. I'm just taking advantage of that for my benefit. It's all the dirty sides of being rich you never see, money, drugs, guns, women... the mafia supplies them. I'm the balance in between that. But if anything... for the two of you it's just a party and depending on how you view it, a way to see both worlds."

Both worlds?

"Sounds interesting, doesn't it? I will pick the two of you up later on. This goes without saying but... wear something nice." He placed his card down in Melanie's hands as he walked up to her and planted a kiss on her lips, "I'm giving it to you to use. Buy whatever you need with it, addio."

Wait a damn minute...

My eyes widened when he just walked out after that and I didn't know what I was more shocked by, her lack of reaction or the actual action of him just casually handing her his card...

She chuckled at my expression and waved the card in her hand, "Guess it's time to go shopping."

"I-"

"In case you're wondering, he used to be one of those rich assholes he's describing."

"Used to be?"

"He's still rich but less of an asshole now, I wasn't having none of that," she said, laughing. "He used to swing his money around like it'd solve everything and it mostly did but, money really isn't everything. There are things it can't buy."

"Like happiness?"

She didn't answer the question when I asked, she just smiled and shrugged.

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Word Count: 1187

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