The Mafia's Maid

Chapter 11

Leah POV

I drew the last line of the drawing and leaned back in my chair. After I finished crying, I decided to draw. It always helped me control my emotions when I was younger, so why wouldn't it now? I used to draw with my mum all the time, but when she died, I never had time to use it on myself. I always had to take care of dad, because he was incapable of doing it himself without mum.

Whenever I drew, I was in another place. All of my worries faded away as I drew. I go off into my own world and I always forget that I am actually drawing until I finish. Somehow my brain just does the drawing itself, and I just let my hands do the work. 

I leaned against my chair and observed the paper. There was an eye taking up most of the space on the paper, and inside the pupil, there was a dark figure trying to claw its way out. There were pencil and eraser shavings scattered on the paper, and I wiped them off. I lifted the book slightly to get a better look at the drawing but was distracted by the clock on the desk behind it. The red numbers flashed '6:34 pm', causing me to look outside the window. It was indeed dark, and it was my turn to cook dinner with Amelia tonight. 

I set the book back down on the table, noticing little smudges on the side. I scrunched my eyes and looked at my hands. 

"Damn it." The sides of my hands were coloured with led and stained the paper on the edges. I stood from the chair and made my way to the connected bathroom. I washed my hands thoroughly and dried them on the hand towel hanging next to the sink. I left the bathroom and saw somebody holding my drawing pad, looking at the sketch I just finished. Her bouncy red hair fell over her shoulders as the shadows of the desk light showing her curious eyes scanning the paper.

"Amelia," I said. She jumped lightly on the spot, her curious eyes taken off the paper now focused on me. She let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Goodness, you scared me. Again." I chuckled lightly, brought back to when we first met.

"Sorry. Again." We laughed, and I walked over to her. She looked back at the paper.

"Did you draw this?" She asked in awe. I nodded my head slightly. She looked at me, then back at the page.

"It's incredible!" She gaped at me. I smiled gently and took the book out of her hands. 

"Thank you. I learned from my mum." I closed the book and set it in the bottom drawer of the desk. I turned back to face her. "What's up?"

"Oh, I just came to get you so we could make dinner. It isn't a one-woman job, after all." I smiled and walked out of the room with Amelia in tow.

* * * * *

Vlado POV

I stood by the dining room doors, waiting. Clarke was right. I had to apologise and I had to do it soon. I tapped my foot nervously against the floor as my stomach flew with butterflies. I was scared-no, petrified. I knew I was in the wrong, and Leah had every right to storm out on me, but I was just scared out of my mind of the thought that she wouldn't forgive me.

The sound of shoes clicking on the floor pulled me out of my thoughts. I snapped my head up to see Leah carrying two trays of food, making her way to the dining room. She looked like she was in a daze as she walked closer and closer.

"Leah." Her eyes blinked up at mine, and she stopped walking. As I scanned her face, I saw that she was both scared and angry. And she chose to act on her anger. She began walking again and ignored me. She strode past me into the dining room, and I followed.

"Leah, please listen to me." I pleaded as I followed a few paces behind her. She scoffed, setting the trays on the table.

"What's there to listen to?" Ok, I deserved that.

"I just want to apologise." 

"And I just want you to leave me alone, but we can't all get what we want now, can we?" She seethed, still not turning to face me. I felt myself start to get angry, but I pushed it down and focused on Leah.

"Look, I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry." Leah was silent as she continued setting up the table for dinner. Not knowing what else to do, I stared at the floor, just waiting for her response. After a few moments, she sighed.

"Please leave." I snapped my head up. She still had her back to me, but she was no longer placing anything on the table.

"Leah, please just-"

"Please leave." I was cut off. Leah just stood there, hands on the table, waiting for me to leave. Well, I wasn't going to do that. Not without a fight. 

"No," I stated, remaining where I was.

"Vlado, please-"

"No." I walked over to her, my footsteps echoing in the room. Leah snapped around to face me, her face full of fear, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. I stood in front of her, and took her hands in mine. She stiffened.

"I understand that you are mad at me. I understand that I shouldn't have acted that way. And I understand if you don't want to forgive me. But I just want you to know that I am sorry." Why the hell am I acting like this? I am a mafia boss, and here I am, begging for the forgiveness of a woman. But then again, this woman is Leah. And I was in the wrong. 

I searched Leah's face for any signs, stopping on her eyes. She stared at the floor,  looking like she was in a battle with herself, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was probably just a few minutes, she looked up at me. Her face was blank, and I was scared that I couldn't read it. Slowly, a small smile made its way onto her face.

"Ok. I forgive you." I felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders when I heard her say those words. 

"You do?" I had to make sure she wasn't playing with me. She rolled her eyes playfully as the smile on her face grew bigger.

"Yes!" I couldn't stop the large grin on my face. I quickly leaned down and wrapped my arms around her to hide my large smile. Leah was stiff for a moment before she slowly wrapped her arms around me. 

"Thank you so much, Leah," I whispered. My back was arched to reach her thanks to our large difference in height. She rubbed a hand on my back.

"It's ok, you didn't mean to." She hesitated. I rocked the two of us gently, holding onto Leah before she let me go. I felt myself feel sad when she let me go, but I brushed it off.

"I have to get back to helping Amelia." She said quietly.

"Right." I nodded. "Well, I'll see you later then." She gave me a smile.

"Yeah, bye." She waved.

"Bye." She walked out of the room, leaving me alone. I stood in place for a moment, before the smile came back onto my face. Thank god. I don't know what I would do if Leah didn't forgive me. My stomach rumbled faintly.

I looked around the room, searching for nonexistent people. I turned to the table, plucking a carrot stick from the bowl and popping it into my mouth, before walking out the doors. Hopefully, she wouldn't notice.