Page 20 of Bought By the Mafia

When I entered the park, I slowed my walk down to a leisurely stroll and breathed in the fresh air. I was feeling free again. The invisible binds in my mind, slowly untangling. There was something about weekday afternoons, in particular this one, that I like. The bright sun, the warm weather that wasn’t too hot, or too cold it was just right. I closed my eyes and took it all in. The cool breeze, the warm sun the—I bumped into something that felt like steel and rubber. My eyes flashed open in time to see a cycler fall to the ground with her bike on top of her right in front of me. Fuck! I rushed over to her, afraid she had sustained injuries. “Oh, I’m sorry!” I said as I tried to help her up. “I wasn’t looking.”

She didn’t look like your typical biker. Not with her pink and white beach cruiser that matched her distinct candy pink helmet and her white floral dress. As she was brushing off dirt from her dress, I lifted her bicycle from the ground. One handle was broken, and the chain had dislocated. From the corner of my eye, I saw Mickey closing the distance, looking concerned, and I discreetly gave him a thumb up to stay away.

“Are you okay?” I asked the cyclist. She finished wiping off dirt off her dress and straightened. She looked to be about my age and had a heart-shaped pretty face and voluminous brunette hair that fell to her shoulders. If I wasn’t feeling bad, her bruised cheek made me feel even worse. “I’m so sorry,” I added.

“Oh, it’s fine. Your hand, however.” She pointed to a scratch on the side of my left hand. I didn’t know I was injured until she pointed it out. It had a bruise, but it wasn’t bleeding. Her bruise, however, looked like it would swell.

“You should let me help you clean your wound. My place is nearby,” I said.

“It’s fine,” she said, taking her bike, but as she did, she stumbled and I had to hold her before she fell.

“Let me help,” I said and gestured to Mickey to come over. Johnny got up from the bench where he was sitting and also made his way over.

“My friends and I can help you to my apartment and I can take care of that wound. It’s the least I can do.”

She looked around and saw the two men coming over. “If I’m not putting you out of your way?”

“Not at all,” I said to her as Johnny took hold of her bike and started fixing it. There was nothing that could be done about the handle, but the chain could be restored.

“Mrs. — I mean Simona,” Mickey said, drawing me away from the woman. “What is it?” I said to him. “I don’t think we should bring strangers to the apartment,”

“Oh, come on. Do you think she’s a spy?”

He shrugged.

“Well, I don’t think she is. Besides, I thought I was the one who makes the calls here?”

“Craig has a first aid kit.”

That sounded like a good enough compromise. Taking her to the concierge desk was just as good and didn’t make me feel like a moron for leaving her alone after causing the accident. “Fine,” I conceded.

Mickey went over to the woman and held her by the waist to help her walk. It looked like she might have bruised her knees as well, while Johnny took the bicycle. “Thank you,” the woman said as we helped her walk back to the apartment building. When we arrived, Mickey and I helped her down onto one of chairs while Johnny went over to Craig to ask for a first aid kit.

“You really shouldn’t have done this,” the woman said again.

“If it makes you feel better, I’m only doing this to make myself feel better.”

She chuckled. Mickey came with the kit and some towels which I used to dress the woman’s wounds. After I was done, I helped her stand, and she thanked me once again. “Do you want to grab a cup of coffee?” she asked. Coffee? “Since you went above and beyond, now I feel like I should thank you.” I wasn’t thinking about spending some time with her any longer, but now that she suggested it, I was down. “Sure, why not?”

A few minutes later, we were sitting in the cafe two blocks down, with coffee in our hands. Mickey and Johnny were three tables away, sticking out like two sore thumbs, but it didn’t bother me. Allison, her name was Allison, was so cool and interesting and kept entertaining me with fun stories. We came in for a cup of coffee and an awkward chat and ended up ordering two slices of cakes, more coffee and having a pleasant afternoon with a stranger.

After finishing one story about her college hijinks, Allison said, whilst glancing over at my two bodyguards, “Sorry to ask, but are you famous?” I shook my head, knowing why she was asking.

“I only ask because of your…”

“It’s a long story. My husband is important, that’s why.”

“H-husband?” Her demeanor, which had been bright all along, darkened for a second and I thought I saw a wash of sadness, but then she brightened again. I thought it odd, but I could have misread it.

I put up my hand and wiggled my ring finger, showing her the diamond ring on it. “Newly married,” I said to her. She took my hand and held it to inspect the ring. “Wow. I figured you were rich, but you must be rich rich. “

“My husband is.” Gio is practically a billionaire, but telling her that somehow felt like bragging.

Allison continued to examine the ring, titling my hand to the light like a jeweler. She could not look away and the longer she held my hand, the tighter the hold got until I snatched my hand away from her grasp.

I was no longer feeling like I was with an old friend. The mood had shifted and I don’t know when or how it happened. I no longer felt like I wanted to spend more time with her. Something about her was raising my hairs and following my instincts I said, “I think I should leave.” I didn’t have anywhere to go except back to the apartment, but that felt better than being here.

“Did I do something wrong?” Her tone sounded sweet and apologetic, and it made me feel like I was being rude. I shook my head. “No. It’s just that I had a thing planned and I might miss it if I linger for too long.”

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