Page 11 of Sinful Bargains

I rolled my eyes. “Not happening. But if anyone’s getting shoved in a trunk, it’s the two of them.”

We laughed as we started walking toward class. Enzo was a lot like me. He was the first friend I made when I arrived on Staten Island, and, honestly, he was probably the best friend I’d ever had.

“Where’s Michael?” I asked Enzo, glancing around the hallway.

“Who knows? Probably off playing teacher’s pet somewhere, kissing up so he doesn’t have to do homework or something.” Enzo shrugged.

The two of us were laughing when Michael strolled up next to us. “What’s so funny?” he asked, squinting at us.

“Nothing, teacher’s pet,” Enzo said with a smirk, elbowing me in the ribs. I fell over, letting out a laugh I couldn’t hold in.

“Teacher’s pet? Really? Not this shit again.”

“I mean…” I started, grinning.

“Let’s be real, Michael,” Enzo added, “you were definitely in there trying to earn extra credit.Again. The only kind of extra credit I want is with that new nurse we got. You know how many times I’ve been to the nurse’s office this week? And it’s only Tuesday.”

I snickered.

Michael shook his head, smiling despite himself. “Okay, for the record, I was not kissing up to anyone. I was helping Mr. Richards fix the printer. It’s not fair that the teachers are here to give us a good chance at a better life, and they barely have proper working equipment to do so.”

Enzo dramatically moved his hands back and forth, mimicking Michael’s rambling on.

Michael rolled his eyes. “And for the record, Mr. Richards said I was the most helpful student he’s ever had. I’ve fixed the printer for him twice in a week.”

“Oh, now he’s bragging,” I said, clutching my chest like I’d been offended.

Enzo pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. “We’re so proud of you, Michael.”

The three of us laughed, earning a few side-eyes from kids passing by in the hallway.

Michael was the second friend I made when I came to StatenIsland, and Enzo introduced us. The two of them had been best friends since they were kids, practically since diapers. Michael differed greatly from Enzo and me, but he balanced us out. Michael was calm, collected, and serious, while we were hyper, impulsive, and always messing around. But every now and then, he’d crack a joke with us.

He had big dreams and the brains to back them up. As for me? I was just skating by, barely passing my classes with a C average. I didn’t know where I wanted to go or what I wanted to be. The jokes masked the feelings I had inside—the anger, the sadness. It was easier to pretend I wasn’t feeling those things. That I didn’t close my eyes and watch my mother shoot my father dead, right in front of me. A secret I couldn’t tell a soul. Every day I kept it locked away, it gnawed at me.

“You know, Louis did say something interesting,” I told Michael and Enzo, trying to gauge their reactions. “He said Joey’s in the mafia. I always thought the mafia was fake. Is that shit real?” I asked them, watching as they exchanged a knowing look—one that immediately gave them away. They knew something I didn’t. “Hey! Don’t leave me out of this!” I shot at them. “Is it real or fake?” I demanded.

Michael shrugged. “I mean, honestly, how would we know?”

“Yeah, it’s not like anyone’s confirmed it,” Enzo added.

“But you know something, don’t you?” I pressed. “Something I don’t.”

“No, we don’t!” Michael said quickly, throwing a glance at Enzo.

Enzo shifted his weight. “Nobody’s ever said to me the mafia is real. Now, whether or not I believe it’s real or fake. Well, that’s a different story.”

“Well?” I asked, pushing him further. “Do you believe it’s real or fake? And don’t look at Michael!”

Enzo hesitated for a moment. “I think it’s real.”

I turned to Michael, my eyes narrowing. “Yeah, so do I,” he added, confirming what I already suspected.

“And Joey? Do you think he’s in the mafia?”

“Maybe if you didn’t spend all your time flirting with Mia and laughing at Enzo’s stupid jokes, you might find time actually to read the papers. That’ll give you all the answers you need.”

And just like that, I added one more thing to my to-do list—figuring out if the mafia was real.

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