My Evil Boy Toy

Did you know why Matthew was absent today?" I asked Lucia

After the day that he was taken, he didn\'t come to school the next day and this was the seventh day that he went missing.

"You\'ve been asking me the same question every morning for the past seven days and like I told you, I don\'t know anything. Women of the mafia clan don\'t have a say in everything. We just follow. We don\'t ask questions." Lucia answered.

I took a deep breath and checked my phone from time to time, hoping that Matthew would send me a message. I was messaging him for the past seven days asking if he\'s okay but he never answered.

Almost a month has passed before Matthew suddenly showed up to school. I was so happy to see him but when he came back, he was a totally different person. His eyes were colder than before and his aura was darker..

When he walked inside the classroom, I rushed into him only to be stopped by some men. I frowned when I saw that those were the bullies on campus.

"Matthew, what happened? Lucia and I were so worried about you." I said, looking at him directly into his eyes.

He didn\'t say a word for a moment. At first he wasn\'t looking at me but when he met my gaze, I could see mixtures of rage, sadness and fear in his eyes. I could feel his pain just by staring into his eyes

"Nothing. I just needed to finish something." He answered in a cold tone.

"You know this guy, boss?" One of the men who stopped me asked.

I was about to answer him when Matthew responded.

"He\'s just a classmate."

I was shocked when he introduced me as his classmate and not his friend.

He walked past me without even looking into my side. He also didn\'t greet Lucia, as if he didn\'t see anything. I wanted to approach him but Lucia stopped me.

During lunch, Lucia and I went to the rooftop to talk about Matthew. I know she was worried but I felt like she was hiding something from me.

"So what happened to him?" I asked in a serious tone.

Lucia took a deep breath and answered. "He\'s a made man now."

I frowned. "What\'s a made man?"

"It\'s becoming of age for mafia men. They will have to start doing what the adults do. To be a made man, the first task is to kill." Lucia explained.

I didn\'t know how to react. As I sat beside Lucia, we kept quiet for a few minutes, thinking. Helping Matthew was my first thought, but then I realized Lucia was also a part of a Mafia Clan.

"Lucia, you said women of the mafia just follow orders. What kind of orders?" I asked.

Lucia\'s eyes became sad and her expression seemed distressed.

"Everything. Chris, one day I would be gone too like Matthew." She sighed.

"What do you mean?" I frowned.

"I would be married off to someone. If I\'m lucky, I might marry someone I know but if not, I might end up marrying some fat bellied old man." She continued.

"Lucia, I can\'t understand. Why would your family just let you marry someone you don\'t know?"

"That\'s how we were raised. Women of our clan were like properties and pawns. We can be a gift to another mafia clan to satisfy the men\'s needs or if we\'re lucky, a wife to another mafia boss to get an alliance." 

Lucia suddenly burst out crying. She was keeping it inside for a long time and it was the first time she told someone about it. I didn\'t know what to do so I pulled her into my arms and embraced her tight.

"Lucia, come with me. I will help you escape." I suddenly blurted.

Lucia was surprised, pushed me a little and stared into my eyes.

"Chris, it\'s not that easy. We will be hunted for the rest of our lives. I don\'t want to ruin your life. You have a bright future. You\'re going to be a doctor." 

I looked at her silver eyes and held her hands, kissing them.

"Lucia, I love you. I fell in love with you the first time I met you. I will never allow any other man to be your husband." I confessed.

I panicked when Lucia cried again. 

"Hey. I\'m sorry. Did I make you uncomfortable?" I asked, worried. Cupping her face.

She shook her head and smiled at me.

"I love you, too. I\'m just happy. And yes, I will come with you." She answered.

I was also surprised and was so happy from her confession. I pulled her again into my arms, tilting her chin up and slowly pressing my lips into hers.

Our lives at the university continued. Matthew was still coming to school but already had new friends. Sometimes, I wonder if he misses us because Lucia and I missed him. 

In our fourth year in college, the whole country was in uproar when the royal family announced the engagement of Princess Catherine Hulls to Matthew Forelli.

Lucia and I were happy for him so we planned on greeting him. We did everything to get him to the rooftop alone and we succeeded.

"What\'s the meaning of this?" He asked with a frown face.

"We wanted to congratulate you. It\'s been a while, Matthew." I greeted.

He didn\'t utter a word and just turned around to walk away from us. But Lucia rushed to him, holding his arm.

"Matthew please. Don\'t be a coward. Say it if you don\'t want us to be your friend anymore then we\'ll leave you alone!" She pleaded.

"Lucia, stay away from me. I don\'t want to be your friend anymore." He whispered.

"You\'re really a bad liar. We\'ve been together since we were kids, I know if you\'re lying or not. Just tell us what happened?" Lucia insisted, still holding on to his arm

Matthew sighed deeply and looked at me. There it was again, his eyes full of pain and loneliness.

"Chris, take care of her for me. She\'s like my little sister. And thank you for being my friend. Goodbye." He murmured then smiled at me.

That was the last time I spoke to him. That day, his smile wasn\'t forced. It was genuine but was also full of regret.