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CHAPTER 74
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Mafia High CHAPTER 75
Gabriel“Franko,” Theo said to warn the group of a potential problem.Armando Franko had given me shit last year but was too pussy to back it up with his fists. He and his crew had just entered the hall. Their hangout was at the opposite end from us. We enjoyed pretending neither side watched the other even though we always watched. Armando had a reputation for fighting dirty when he did fight.No one complained to me when they tangled with him so I’d never given a damn. I would deal with him early this year. I refused to have his shit hanging over my head. We’d settle it one-on-one or with our crews. Either way, Armando would limp away if he was lucky.The bell rang and I watched Isabella’s pink flamingos break up and head to class. I glanced at the schedule on my cell while Isabella went the opposite direction from the class I had. Brando had first period with me and we headed over together.We walked in and I immediately noticed Rosa in the back corner. Brando saw her too and went
Mafia High CHAPTER 76
RosaI’ll admit I was having fun. Gabriel was off his game and I’d gotten him there. He tore out of class as fast as he had in first period. I handed in my test, not caring that the teacher would shake his head when he saw my score. I dumbed myself down when I needed. I could pass every class and never open a book. School would be boring if I didn’t spend the time writing code in my head. That didn’t happen in classes with Gabriel but he would never know that.I didn’t rush after him. I knew where he would be in five minutes.I passed Isabella in the hall.“Rosa,” she called which surprised me and I stopped.“The girls want to have a get-together in my dorm tonight. Could you find some place to go?”Most of her friends tittered which ground on my nerves. I didn’t miss the “my” dorm remark and I knew she didn’t mean her bedroom.“I don’t know, Isabella; my friends are coming over to sage the rooms to get the bad spirits out. I’ll see if they’ll wait until you and your crew are gone so
Mafia High CHAPTER 77
RosaGabriel was standing outside the door to fifth hour, talking to one of his crew when I walked up.“You can’t seriously have this class?” he asked when I went past him.“Afraid I do. Who on earth would put you in accelerated English? You can barely speak pig Latin.”He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at his schedule.“Fuck my life,” he said.“It won’t be so bad,” I told him with an insincere smile. “I read the syllabus and we’ll be working on definite and indefinite articles along with phrasal verbs. If you put the word fuck in every sentence, you should at least pass.”He stared at me like I had two heads. My victory was sweet. I turned and entered the room. My ass might have had just a bit of extra swing. Gabriel took the seat next to mine. This was getting to the point that he had to be suspicious.“If you don’t have a pencil, just ask and I’ll loan you one,” I told him sweetly.He didn’t blink while he studied me. The teacher came in and took roll. Gabriel never st
Mafia High CHAPTER 78
GabrielI’d had Rosa in every single class. I might not be school smart but I wasn’t stupid. Rosa did not have Home-Ec which was a senior requirement for the female students and Phys-Ed was missing from my schedule. There were rumors about Rosa’s brother and his hacking abilities. The rumors weren’t tied to Rochester but I doubted he left the academy without trying. I was sure Rosa hacked the schedules which put her computer abilities up there with her brother.Why would she align my classes with hers? It made no sense. If she wanted to make my life a living hell, this would work. I always thought she just wanted as far away from me as she could get.It was Thursday and I’d survived another day of blue balls. Me and the crew headed to the gym for a workout. Our school didn’t have sports unless you counted fighting. We practiced bare-knuckle carnage, not boxing, but today was about weights and muscle. We cranked the music up and made the freshmen get lost over the next two hours. When
Mafia High CHAPTER 79
GabrielI got to my hands and knees and spit blood onto the grass.“Gabriel, don’t move.”“Fuck that. I’m getting out of here.”I had no other thought but to get away. The threat was gone but I still needed to move.“I’ll help but stop trying to do it by yourself. Come on.”She placed an arm under my shoulder. It hurt and I sucked in a loud breath.“Don’t stop,” I told her. “Get me out of here.”“Your dorm?”“No.”I leaned against her and got my feet beneath me, then stumbled and went back down. It fucking hurt but I couldn’t tell you where at this point.The next try I was able to stay upright, if unsteadily.“I have a place if you can climb stairs.”“K.” It was the best I could do.I don’t know where she led me until we entered a side door into the school rotunda. She went to the stairs that took us up to the library. It was still early enough for the library to be open, but I only heard silence and I didn’t see anyone around.I couldn’t handle the climb and knew it. She moved past
Mafia High CHAPTER 80
RosaI have no idea how I got myself into these situations. It happened regularly, though no two were ever the same. I’d dreamed about Gabriel Caruso since I was a freshman. My fantasies were vivid images of him and me doing things that could never happen because he had a fiancée. I’d changed all his classes which he figured out on his own. I shouldn’t be surprised. A rocket scientist wasn’t required to follow the trail I left. Now I had to come up with an explanation that sounded legit.He stayed quiet while I thought about a good answer.“Tell me again why you changed my classes.”Okay, so he wasn’t staying quiet about it. I still didn’t have an explanation that would keep him from knowing the truth.“The truth is, I, um, you needed a break.”“You tried that one.”He jerked slightly and I knew something hurt. Hell, it all hurt; it had to. His face was a mess of swelling and bruises.“I felt like torturing myself,” I finally said. “Don’t say it’s a lie because it’s the absolute truth
Mafia High CHAPTER 81
GabrielI woke up cold and achy, Rosa no longer beside me. She was gathering items into her backpack. The sun wasn’t up.“Why the rush?” I asked.“Does anyone know where you are?”“Fuck.” Brando would be pissed and I didn’t really give a damn right now.“I bet they’re going crazy. When will they report that you’re missing?”“Never.”“What? Why?”“The last thing they would do is go to staff. At Rochester, they’re like the cops. My crew has already started looking for me, that I can guarantee.”“Where will they look?”“Don’t worry, they won’t look up here.”She tried to hold back her exasperation, but I could hear it in her voice even if I didn’t understand why it was there.“Will they go to Isabella?”Shit. I tried to get up and everything hurt.“Help me stand,” I told her.“I’m not in my dorm and you aren’t in yours. We are both missing. At least check your phone.”My hands went to my pockets and I couldn’t find it.“It fell during the fight, had to.”“You mean the ass kicking because
Mafia High CHAPTER 82
RosaRochester could be a dangerous place as Gabriel getting his ass kicked proved. I was smart and traveled in the shadows when I came out at night. Maybe it was this time of the morning and the utter quiet that gave me the creeps. The academy had once been a church and there were stories of ghosts and other things that went bump in the night. I’d seen none of it and didn’t have time for an overactive imagination.The phone was in the grass on its side. I scooped it up and turned to hustle back to the library.Brando blocked my way.I didn’t know him. He was huge and he always had Gabriel’s back. The unpleasant expression on his face told me this wouldn’t be fun.“What are you doing?” he asked.My brain went into scramble mode. I tucked the phone under my shirt and tried to make the movement appear natural.“Sneaking back from a good time,” I said cheerily. “What are you doing?”He took a step closer and placed his hand out.“Turn over Gabriel’s fucking phone. Where is he?”“Uh—”He
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