Raising the Mafia (Chapter-2)

“He needs anger management,” I said to Val as he sat behind his desk, barely paying any attention to me. He never took Luca’s temper as seriously as I did, but I was stuck between a wall and a hard place. Things had gotten out of control and Luca was slowly losing any kind of emotion he had in him.

Val only mumbled, “You’re overreacting.”

Unbelievable. Was he not seeing the things I had been seeing?

“Of course you would say that, but our eight year old son keeps weapons under his bed, for god sakes.” I raised my voice, “If someone upsets him, he threatens to pull a knife on them. Do you have any idea how many complaints of aggressive behavior we’ve received from his school?”

Val sighed heavily and closed his laptop before looking up at me with little interest, “Weapons are used to protect, so if he keeps them under his bed he’s just trying to stay safe. The threats are just a childish lash out, I will talk to him about the words he uses with people. As for the school, they can take their opinions about my son and fuck off.”

He was truly impossible. Val seen no bad in Luca whatsoever, if anything he was proud of the courage and strength that Luca carried himself with. The Acerbi strength. It was exactly how he wanted Luca to be raised.

“His teacher called and requested to see us when we pick the kids up today,” I told Val, knowing very well that Luca was up to no good again and we would be told.

Val rarely came to pick up the kids from school, he had wanted them home schooled but I urged for them to have some kind of normal routine in their lives and eventually he agreed. It was coming back to bite me in the ass now, though.

Val stared up at me with a slightly irritated expression, “I told you it wouldn’t be good to send them to public school.”

“I don’t need an I told you so right now, I need you to come with me and discuss the issues that our son clearly has.”

“Elaina,” He said my name loudly, almost in a warning tone.

Val was completely done hearing me claim that Luca had issues, him raising his voice was his way of letting me know that. By the time Val would see what I was seeing it would be too late and Luca would be too far gone to repair.

***

At 3:00 Val and I walked into the school where both Luca and Ariella attended. Kids were running everywhere, preparing to go home and laughing with their friends in the hallway while pulling their jackets on.

I couldn’t help but smile, this was what I wanted our kids to experience - having friends and being happy without violence getting in the way. Once I spotted Ariella leaving the classroom with her friend Poppy I was reassured that public school was a good idea. She was smiling and having a conversation with Poppy that best friends do, something that she wouldn’t have if we isolated her.

“Ari,” I said her name as we approached her.

“Mom! Dad!” When she spotted us, she eagerly ran over and gave hugs before beginning a rant about her day, “We’re learning fractions and I really hate it. Ms. Bebster said that if I don’t catch on after the next lesson I may need a tutor.”

Ariella was a bright young girl, she struggled just like any other child her age whereas Luca was extremely advanced. How he managed to get that way, I had no idea.

“Maybe your brother can explain it for you,” I suggested before looking around for Luca.

Ariella continued to talk to Val and I looked through the crowd of kids running around laughing, searching for my mischievous little boy. I walked forward a few steps past the line of book bags and peeked inside the kids’ classroom that was now empty.

When I turned around, through all the happiness in the hallway, my eyes landed on the little boy standing against the wall and watching everything unfolding around him. Luca stood on his own, his arms folded over his chest and standing in a place where he could view the entire hallway. His eyes were focused and peering at the kids in an extremely frightening way.

It was as though I were watching a lion staring at the rest of the animals in the jungle. Lions are the rulers - which is exactly what Luca wanted to be, to prove.

“Luca, honey...” I made him aware of my presence.

His eyes met mine and like a switch, his entire demeanor changed. The stern, murderous look disappeared and he simply smiled, “Hi, mom.”

My son is a psychopath.

“Hey, baby...” I managed a small smile as I approached him and knelt down slightly, “How was school? Your teacher called and said she had some concerns.”

“It’s all lies, mom.” Luca answered me in a serious tone, “These people are plotting against me. Ms. Bebster always stares at me and It drives me insane.”

I was surprised by how calm he was when explaining this, he made it sound like he was being victimized here but I knew better. Any time this happened he would start with a speech and give me the puppy eyes that I melted for. He was a mastermind at eight years old and I was terrified to see what he would be like at eighteen.

“Your dad and I are going to speak with her now, okay? Stay here with Ari and just wait for us...”

I stood back up and looked to see Val approaching us, he adjusted his tie before taking my hand and guiding me to the classroom where an older teacher sat at the desk, clearing the clutter that covered its surface.

When she noticed us enter, her light eyes met us and greeted with a smile, “You must be Luca’s father... I’ve met Ms. Elaina, it’s truly a pleasure to meet you as well.”

“Of course not under these circumstances,” Val answered curtly before walking over to her desk and taking a seat on top of one of the children’s desk in front of her, “So, tell me about the issues you’re having with my boy.”

Val got straight to the point, he had no mannerism whatsoever and I was sure that Ms. Bebster knew that this was where Luca got is arrogant behavior.

The teacher cleared her throat before placing her hands together on top of her desk, “Luca is a very smart boy, he truly is but he refuses to show it. He has a habit of watching the children in a very... creepy manner.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You called us here because Luca is creepy?” Val chuckled in disbelief, “That’s quite judgmental for a third grade teacher.”

“Mr. Acerbi, I assure you that is not what I meant,” Ms. Bebster began to defend herself, “It isn’t just that. He’s insistent on getting his own way and he has left bruises on students from grabbing their arms in such a rough manner.”

I looked at Val, waiting for some smartass remark but he never gave it, instead he answered a simple response, “I will talk to him.”

“I really hope you know that I care for Luca’s well-being, but I also need to consider the children that he is intimidating on a daily basis,” She explained further.

I answered her this time instead, “Of course, Ms. Bebster. We’re very sorry for his behavior and we will do our best to resolve it immediately.”

When we stood up and shook hands with Luca and Ariella’s teacher, my eyes glanced at the door, noticing Luca standing there with his chest heaving in anger. His hands were rolled into fists and when he caught my glance he turned and walked away.

It was moments like this one that worried me, the things I noticed that Val simply ignored but it was more than Luca’s behavior that worried me - the look he gave was one that I could see a murderer wear, he was someone who set his own rules and if someone didn’t follow them, they would pay drastically.

***

The following week everyone sat around the table enjoying dinner together. It was one of the few normal things we did as a family and I truly enjoyed it. Since we moved out of Val’s family mansion we lived in a large house alone, just our immediate family and I preferred it much more. The privacy was amazing and it was also better for the kids.

I always hated having handfuls of people walking around and having to share a home, this was much more comfortable and oddly enough I felt safer with less people surrounding me.

This evening in particular I made Val’s favorite meal, his grandmother’s special spaghetti and meatball recipe. It was different than a regular spaghetti dish, filled with Italian spices and fresh meat for the meatballs. Val loved it and it usually put him in an amazing mood which was always a plus.

“Did either of you think about an extra curricular you guys would like to try?” Val asked the kids, attempting to engage them in dinner conversation.

Ariella instantly put her fork down and beamed at the question, “Well, daddy. I want to enter dance classes and maybe next year I’ll try gymnastics... Or I can do them both. But that’s really up to you since you pay for it.”

I couldn’t help but smile at Ari’s enthusiasm, she was the sweetest girl and had such a big heart. It was strange to have two children who were complete opposites, “That’s really good ideas.”

“I want to enter an archery class,” Luca spoke up, “I know about most weapons but I think a bow and arrow would be a fun choice of torture.”

I choked on my spaghetti as Luca spoke, my eyes widening at his words. Quickly, I pulled myself together and sat up straight, clearing my throat, “Sweetie, it isn’t about that... It’s supposed to be something fun that you’ll enjoy.”

Luca grinned at me, “Trust me, mom. I’ll enjoy every second of it.”

“Hm...” Val stared at Luca thoughtfully, I could see the expression of pondering on his face, “I’ll have to see if there’s classes for children your age.”

I was prepared to question his decision further but the sound of the phone ringing forced me away from the table. I excused myself and headed to the living room, taking the phone in my hand and trying my best to focus, “Hello?”

VAL.

I was relieved when Elaina had left to grab the phone, it gave me a chance to interact with Luca and see where his mind was without her hovering or insisting that he was crazy. I set my fork down and looked at Luca, “What made you consider archery?”

“The sharp objects,” Luca answered me without hesitation.

Unlike Elaina, I was proud. Luca had the mind of a strong, future leader and this is what our family needed. Maybe he was ruthless for his age but he never crossed lines with his anger, he usually showed it verbally. The most he had done was grab a few people, but no one had gotten permanently hurt.

I nodded my head, “Nice choice, kid.”

“Doesn’t he have enough weapons?” Ari asked me, seeming displeased with my acceptance of Luca’s choice.

Chuckling lightly, I smiled at her and raised an eyebrow, “Do you have enough dresses?”

Ariella leaned back and gave me an extremely snobby look for her age, “That is not fair, I don’t kill people with my dresses.”

“Kill?” I asked Ariella, my brow arched at her sudden choice of words, “What is that supposed to me?”

Just as I asked, Elaina walked into the dining room. Her demeanor was different and she seemed like she had seen a ghost. She was pale and quiet which concerned me deeply, Elaina was never quiet.

“Sweetheart?” I asked her, standing up quickly and placing my hands on her arms, “What’s wrong?”

Elaina looked at me, her eyes wide with terror and then the words came out of her mouth, “Ms. Bebster died... Apparently she experience heart failure after digesting something she was severely allergic to.”

My hands dropped and without a word both Elaina and I looked towards Luca who had his eyes focused on us.

His face expression was straight and after a moment of complete silence he spoke. His words even caused me to question him and his mental state in that moment.

“What a shame.”

And then he continued to eat.