Deadly Nightshade by Sem Thornwood

Chapter 1

Isabella

I tried to adjust my daisy headband. Mia’s headband was perfectly in place, but mine was just not. She also looked much more comfortable in her fluffy white dress than me. Both of us were wearing matching outfits since we were the flower girls for Aunt Elena’s wedding. Everyone looked at us with admiration when we walked, but I knew most of it was for Mia. She was only four – a year younger than me – yet everybody talked about how beautiful she was.

Nobody talked about how beautiful I was.

I couldn’t blame them, though. I knew Mia was magnificent. Her eyes were the most beautiful and scary shade of blue, while mine was just dark. I didn’t even know what color my eyes were. They were so dark they just looked black. My olive skin and brown hair were similar to most of the other Italian girls. Mia, on the other hand, was paler than us, and her hair was black as night.

She looked like snow white.

I looked ordinary.

I was not jealous of Mia, though. After all, she was my best friend. Well, actually, my best friend was Alessio. My mother and Mia’s mother – who was also Alessio’s stepmother – were close, so I saw them the most.

I spent more time with Mia, but I was closer to Alessio. When I was sad, it was always Alessio who stole chocolate cookies for me. Maybe it was a little unfair to wait for Mia to do the same since she was only four while Alessio was eight years old. He never talked down to me because of his age, though. Not like my brother Salvatore did.

Salvatore and Alessio were also close. Salvatore was close with anyone. He was only nine, but he was the future Capo, so everybody admired him just like they admired Mia. Right now, he was busy playing grown-up with the oldest Mazzoni brother. Antonio Mazzoni. He was the only one I was not close with since he was so much older than me.

I looked around to find Mia. I didn’t like it when people paid attention to me, and when I was with Mia, they always paid attention to her.

Too bad for me because she was dancing with her father. I knew that she wanted to dance with everyone. For some reason, I knew my mother was going to force me to dance as well when she saw Mia dancing. That was the last thing I wanted.

I silently made my way to the gardens. I knew there were few adults outside smoking. Luckily my father was not among them. He was dancing with the very dull-looking bride. For some reason finding, happy brides were not easy. At least Aunt Elena’s husband seemed close to her age. He was not a very handsome guy, but they looked nice together. Better than most couples I have seen in other weddings.

Aunt Elena was always nice to me, so I hoped she will be happy in her new home. Mother said she will be, but I knew she didn’t always tell the truth.

When I was outside, I tried to hide in a dark corner without anyone seeing me. At this point, most of the guests were drunk, and they were deep in conversation, so it was easy. Since I cannot sit on the grass because of my white dress, I just stood there. Looking into the light of the ballroom. Mia would be shocked if she knew I ran away from the party.

She loved all the attention. I didn’t.

She didn’t understand me. That was one of the reasons Alessio was my best friend. Though Salvatore said, he cannot be my best friend because he was a boy. I find that very stupid, so I asked Mom. She said Alessio can be my best friend, but when people asked, I should say Mia was my best friend since it can upset her. I did just that. I didn’t want to make Mia upset.

“You should be inside.”

I jumped with the sudden voice. It was not a scary voice, though. It was a voice of a young boy. A young boy I was too familiar with. I turned to him and tried to make out his face even though I knew every line by heart. “I am bored,” I admitted.

Alessio chuckled. “Standing in the dark is more fun than a wedding celebration?”

I shrugged.

His face became serious. He looked much older than eight when he had that expression. His features were already hard. He had black hair like Mia, but his eyes were not scary. I thought they were the least frightening thing about him. They were a soothing gray color. I loved his eyes. They always made me feel calm.

It was hard to see the color in the dark, but I could see that they were narrowed. “What is the real problem?”

I was terrible at lying, or maybe Alessio was so good at seeing lies. I didn’t even try to lie again. “My mother is going to make me dance. I don’t want to.”

This time he smiled. I liked him better when he smiled. Boys in our circle smiled less and less when they got older. I didn’t want Alessio to become like my father and uncles. Always looking hard and cold. Never smiling.

He smiled now, though. He smiled and held out his hand for me. “Come dance with me then. It will be like a rehearsal.”

My brows furrowed. “Rehearsal for what?”

“For our wedding,” Alessio said. “When we grow up, I will marry you.”

I didn’t answer, just smiled. I took his hand and let him pull me inside and dance with me. He said that a few times before too. I didn’t know if I believed him, but I didn’t let myself think about it. I was too young anyway. I didn’t need to think about it.

I just smiled at him whenever he said it.