2

Ava Martinez

~•~

I was reluctant to listen when my papa asked me to return home for Thanksgiving weekend. It was my first year of med school and I didn’t want any distractions.

Papa didn’t take no for an answer, so I had no option but to fly back to Spain to spend the weekend with my family. Little did I know that everything was about to change.

I was upstairs studying when my mama yelled at me to join them in the living room. They were watching a movie together. My papa always made sure he spent quality time with the family whenever he was around.

His job made him move around a lot and he made sure to use the time he had with the family effectively. I let out a subtle sigh and closed my books.

I didn’t have a good relationship with my parents while growing up, so I always tried isolating myself from them. The only adult I was comfortable around was my Abuelita.

It was a lazy day for me and I hadn’t done anything throughout the morning, so I stayed back to brush my teeth before going downstairs to join them.

As I walked down the corridor, I heard a loud noise coming from the gate. I paused at first because it sounded like a gunshot.

The TV in the living room was still playing but my family who were laughing and chatting before had become silent. The only thing I could think of doing was to run downstairs to see if they were okay.

Just as I was at the edge of the stairs, I heard another gunshot. But this time, it was inside the living room. I froze and took a step back.

I clutched my heart in shock as I peeped into the living room to see my mama’s lifeless body lying on the sofa. Hot tears poured down my cheeks as I realized what was happening.

My mama didn’t deserve to die. Yes, we had our bad days but I wouldn’t wish death on anyone. Why didn’t my papa try to fight them and protect mama?

The next thing I knew, another shot was fired at my papa and I gasped in disbelief. I couldn’t see who the shooter was and I had no idea why they would kill my parents.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to run downstairs to stop them. But I didn’t have the courage, I was still in shock. It felt like I was in a nightmare and I wanted to wake up.

I watched as my parents got murdered. I thought they were going to leave my siblings but my heart broke when I heard two more gunshots.

After a few seconds, I heard footsteps walking towards the front door. I couldn’t stay back, I tiptoed downstairs to the living room but ran back when I heard the shooter's voice.

“Stop or I’ll shoot you too!” One of them commanded and I froze. I turned around slowly to look at him. I wanted to see the face of the person who murdered my whole family in less than five minutes.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw who it was. “Please, don’t kill me!” I pleaded. I recognized him. He was Ruiz Giovanni. I had seen him on several occasions and I had heard a lot of rumors about him.

But from what I just witnessed, they weren’t rumors. Everything they said about him was true. He moved closer to me and stared at me for a few seconds.

“Kill her and let’s get out of here.” The other guy suggested but Ruiz shook his head and lowered his gun. I recognized the other guy too, he was Lorenzo.

My papa had tried his best to keep me and my siblings away from the mafia world. He wanted to protect us from his dark underworld.

But as I grew older, my curiosity got the best of me. I began to snoop around and found things I wasn’t meant to know. My papa had no idea that I knew he was part of the mafia.

I remembered seeing Ruiz and Lorenzo at business meetings with my papa and I knew they were rivals. But I also knew they had formed a truce which made it more confusing as to why he would murder my family.

“What is your name?” Ruiz asked as his eyes raked over me from my head to toe. I was shaking and I couldn’t respond. What did he even want with my name after he just killed my whole family?

“If you won’t do it, I will,” Lorenzo said impatiently and brought out his gun but Ruiz stopped him. “Ruiz, what are you doing?” Lorenzo asked, his voice filled with frustration.

Ruiz grabbed me by my hands and walked down the stairs while Lorenzo trailed behind us. My heart sank at the sight of my family's lifeless body in the pool of their blood.

“Leave me the fuck alone!” I yanked my hands from Ruiz’s hand when I realized he was taking me to the front door. “You monster! You killed my family? Why did you kill them?”

I still believed it was just a nightmare and I was going to wake up soon. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be!

“Watch your tone, young lady,” Lorenzo warned but I didn’t flinch. I fell to the ground and tears streamed down my face as though it was a waterfall.

My papa always made sure the security at the house was really tight, so how did they get inside? My mind was racing with different thoughts and questions.

I crawled to the sofa where my parents lay in their pool of blood. I tapped on their body several times to wake them up but they were really gone.

When I started pinching myself so I would wake up from the terrible nightmare, Ruiz finally spoke. “I’m sorry about your family, but your father deserved it.”

My father deserved what? To die? There wasn’t even an ounce of remorse in his words. “You’re a monster and you will pay for this?” I said in between sobs.

He walked closer to me and took my hands but I jerked away from him. “You’re coming with me.” He said and I twisted my head in confusion. “It’s either that join them.” He said in a husky voice as he pointed to my dead family.

His threat didn’t mean anything to me. What was the use of living anymore if my entire family was gone? I was as good as dead.

“I would rather die than go with you,” I replied in a grave tone. Ruiz and Lorenzo exchanged disbelieving glances but I stood firm, my eyes flashing with determination.