Little Mafia Boy - Chapter 1: Chapter 1

{Mikhail}
"Mikhail! Hurry! The stupid sink won't turn off! Mikhail!!" I woke up to my dad yelling.
We ran a flower shop downstairs that was connected to our home. It was a shabby little place but it was cozy. It looked a lot better when mom was still alive to manage everything. She died two years ago from cancer. She would always say that the flowers healed her so she spent most of her time at home. The cancer had progressed too far and mom knew she didn't have long to live. Despite that, she would live every day with a smile on her face. When she died, dad and I promised to keep the shop open in her honor.
I got up from the bed and walked to the mirror. My maroon eyes reflected back at me and reminded me constantly of my mothers. I got my black hair from my dad. "Coming!" I yelled back down.
"Hurry up!"
I checked the time on my phone and sighed defeatedly. It was six in the afternoon. I had only meant to take a small nap after school. Lately I've been studying past midnight to get ready for my exams. I hardly have time for myself or my friends. Dylan got angry at me yesterday because I came straight home after school. My friends have been trying to get me to hang out these past couple of days. Apparently, my brain will rot and flow out every hole in my body if I don't take a break.
However, I can't just take a break whenever I want to. I have responsibilities. Aside from my studies, I also have to help out with the shop. If I left everything to my dad he would probably end up killing the flowers and selling our home for booze. Then all of moms hard work would be all for nothing.
I changed quickly into some clothes and tied a green gardening apron around my waist. I took my phone downstairs with me as I pushed my hair around instead of actually making an effort to style it. I jogged down the stairs two at a time until I reached my dad. He was next to the sink trying to get the water to turn off. The handle had been broken for weeks now but we don't have the kind of money to get it fixed. He was wiggling around the handle as if that would magically get it to turn off.
"You're going to make it worse." I sighed and pushed him aside slightly.
He stepped out of my way and smiled at me, "What would I do without you, Mikhail?"
"You would probably drink away your life leaving mom frowning at you from the heavens." I said and opened the bottom cabinets and crouched down to look at the pipes.
"You're so mean to your dad, Miki." He said calling me the pet name he always used when I was younger. I rolled my eyes. I could already picture my dad sulking with his arms thrown over his chest as I focused on the task at hand. I found a small red dial at the pipes and spun it around a couple times. The water stopped and my dad screamed in satisfaction. "Aha! I knew you could do it!"
"We need to call someone to fix it soon." I said standing up and closing the cabinet doors.
"If we had the money." My dad said clapping me on my shoulder as he grabbed the bucket and headed to water some flowers.
"You mean if you would stop wasting all our money on booze then maybe we could get the entire store fixed."
"Miki, you promised you wouldn't yell at me today." He said with a smile on his face. "Your birthday is in two weeks. Where do you want to go? I'll take you out to eat or-"
"Don't you dare waste a single cent on me or your stupid alcohol addiction. We have bigger things to worry about. Like paying bills and keeping the store in running condition. This place is falling apart!" I said attempting to keep my voice down. The reason I told my dad I wouldn't yell at him this week is because I have exams and I'm already stressed out. I thought I would be too tired to yell at him but sometimes he tends to get under my skin.
"It's your birthday-"
"It's just another day on the calendar. Don't make a big deal out of it." I insisted. I walked behind the cash register to check if we had any money left inside.
Thankfully, there was still a twenty dollar bill and a few singles inside. I grabbed the twenty and looked towards my dad. "Mikhail, don't be like that. Your father works hard, you know?" He said speaking in third person.
"Yes, yes." I said not really paying attention to him. Work hard? If losing our money on gambling, drinking, and sex is working hard then I must be doing it all wrong. Even when he gets a loan from sharks he ends up waisting every single cent. "Go, buy detergent. I'm doing laundry tonight and we ran out yesterday." I said.
He held out his hand but before giving him the money I said, "Only detergent. I expect to see the receipt when you get back with the exact change. Got it?"
"Okay, okay, Mikhail. I understand. You do remember that I'm the adult, don't you?"
"I wasn't made aware, no." I raised my eyebrow at him and shook my head, "If so, please start acting like my father and not my son."
"Right. Okay. I'll be back in a few."
Reluctantly, I gave him the money and watched as he walked outside and lit his cigarette. I was absolutely against him smoking. Especially because the smoke could kill all the flowers but my dad insisted that he needs a smoke everyday. I've managed to get my dad to cut down to only one smoke a day compared to the whole pack he would go through in a single sitting.
I wasn't an idiot, though. I knew why he did it. He still wasn't over my moms' death. He still wears his wedding ring on his left hand. I've already told him that he should try looking for a girlfriend or something. Someone to distract him from his sorrow. He called me heartless. Of course, he was very drunk and apologized the next day.
I know that I'm difficult to get along with and since I don't wear my emotions on my sleeve, lots of people find me heartless. However, that's not the case. Of course I feel things. I'm also human. I just don't let a lot of things affect me or show on my face like they do other people. I've always been like this. Even before my mom was diagnosed with cancer and when she died people called me a monster for not crying at her funeral. As if my sadness amounted to how many tears I shed at her lifeless corpse.
I didn't think it was necessary to cry. She died but she was always smiling. Not a day passed by that she didn't glow like the sun itself. My mother would be sad if I cried so I simply didn't and I still haven't.
I shook my head as I looked out the windows. We lived in a poor neighborhood. Most of the houses nearby looked just as bad as our shop looked. The house upstairs was in a slightly better shape. I often had to wipe the windows of graffiti from the neighborhood kids.
It wasn't unusual for the houses or people on the street to get robbed. Most of my friends came over in large groups so they wouldn't get robbed and eventually stopped coming. I was fine with it. I didn't care who saw my living arrangements. It wouldn't change how I was still smarter than most of the people at school. I knew where my priorities laid and didn't waste time on 'popularity'. I definitely wasn't ashamed either.
I started cleaning up what I could and got ready to close up the shop. It was already golden hour outside as the sun was setting. I wiped down the tables and cleaned up the water my dad sprayed on the floor with the mop.
I stretched my arms over my head and then I leaned my upper body on the counter. I propped my elbow on the counter and held my head up with an open hand.
I needed to go upstairs soon so I could finish the report that was due the next day. My dad still wasn't back so I checked the time on my phone. Thirty minutes had passed and he still wasn't back. I closed my eyes for a few seconds and I heard the door bells chime, "Jeez, does it really take that much time to go out for detergent, dad?" I opened my eyes thinking it was my dad coming in.
"Not your dad, but try again." An unfamiliar voice said.
I saw a guy dressed in a suit. He had gloves on and was smoking. He had his hair gelled back and was standing there with a lopsided smile on his face. The first thought that ran through my mind was that he was definitely a loan shark coming to collect. He had one women standing next to him. She was in all black but looked like she could really mess someone up if she had to.
The second thought that ran through my head was I wonder how much time this will take up. I still have to study.