CHAPTER 7: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

                                    

                                          
Chapter Soundtrack - Chapter 7: "Hold You In My Arms" by Ray LaMontagne
                          
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            I became very still, licking my lips and swallowing, my throat suddenly dry.  He was looking down, almost as if he thought he would find the words in the hardwood table.  I could tell that whatever he was about to say, it wasn't going to be easy for him.
                          
            He finally looked up at me.  "This isn't a pretty story, Athena.  There's no fairytale ending.  Not even close.  Are you sure you want to hear it?"
                          
            "Yes," I answered, not needing to think about it.  Learning more about Gabe was all I wanted at the moment, whether it was good or bad.
                          
            He inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly before beginning.  "My family and I have always lived in New York City.  My father grew up there.  I won't go into the details as I honestly don't know exactly how or why, but he got involved in the wrong crowd and eventually became what he is today.  My mother did grow up here in Sparrow.  Long story short, she took a trip to the city after graduating high school, met my father and never came back.  They had two sons, me and my older brother Isaac Jr.  Ikey was two years older than me and he was my father's pride and joy.  My father worshipped him."
                          
            "Did he not treat you the same way?" I asked quietly, detecting a note of bitterness in his words.
                          
            "No, but that was a blessing," Gabe declared.  "Under normal circumstances, I probably would have been filled with jealousy, but I never envied Ikey because I knew where his life was headed.  My father had started to groom him from the time he could understand about the business, which was early.  My mother tried to shield Ikey from the danger, tried to develop some other interests in him that she hoped he would pursue in the future.  She refused to see that nothing could keep Ikey from wanting to become like my father.  And my father, well, he was ecstatic he had a son who wanted to follow in his footsteps."  He scoffed at his own words, shaking his head as if he still couldn't believe the insanity of a father wanting his son to become part of the mob. 
                          
            I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. 
                          
            "Ikey began to do little jobs for my father.  Nothing major, just delivering and picking up packages, that sort of thing.  He was big for his age and looked a lot older than thirteen when he was found shot to death in the Lower East Side."  He stopped and looked at me intently. 
                          
            I could tell he was waiting for me to say something, but what could I say?  It's not like I didn't know how his brother had died.  It was in this very library I had first learned about how Isaac Valente Jr. had been brutally murdered.  Maybe it was hearing the words come from Gabe's melancholy voice that made it sound so much more heartbreaking.  "I'm so sorry, Gabe.  That must have been horrible for you and your family."
                          
            "It was," he confirmed, looking down again.  "My mother was crushed.  She stayed in her room for months, refusing to get out of bed.  My father took it even worse.  He had always been a ruthless man when it came to his business, but after Ikey was murdered, he became a cold person altogether.  He was obsessed with finding out who was responsible.  When he couldn't pinpoint it on one specific person, he sent a message to all the families."
                          
            "A message?" I whispered, afraid I already knew the answer.
                          
            "Let's just say no one with a brain would ever even think of making a move on the Valente family again."   The full meaning of his words was evident in his sorrowful gaze.