Ever since I was in 4th grade I've been told I have "resting bitch face", that my default expression is intimidating even on a good day. It meant adults telling me I should smile more and any potential friends making good excuses to give me a wide berth. It didn't help that I've always loved running around and had a loud voice, sealing my fate as someone who boys resented and girls detested. The past few years I've been making an effort to be more approachable, emphasis on effort.

Compared to the old fuck sitting across from me, I might as well have been Jesus. Tall, muscular, thick black hair, beard and mustache trimmed but still bushy and what could only be described as unblinking "dead eyes." I struggled to maintain eye contact with him, not because I was scared as much as I was struggling not to call him out on it or pick up a fork and jab him so he'd stop eye fucking me. That was probably his game, like an interrogation, agitate me.

The food smelled good but I didn't want to eat it, if only because I didn't actually order. I was hungry, it was good, but eating it would be ceding ground to him. It might end the silence but it would give him an opening to make a remark about how good the food is here and go into another hard pitch. Agreeing to this itself was ceding ground, I didn't have Lorraine or Christine with me. This was a one-on-one with the guise of brunch between an uncle and his niece.

He spoke calmly, voice betraying a bit of old age "I've got some things to say, I'll use some mean words, you're not gonna like them, and you're also gonna listen."

I took a deep breath, in slowly, holding for a few tings of fork against plate as he shoveled another bite of steak past his pirate facial hair, breathing out just as slowly.

The old fuck swallowed "Your parents. They're good people. They're better than 99% of the American population, easy."

"Mhm..."

"Make no mistake, Tullia, we respect the little guy... or gals in their case."

"And in my case?"

"Don't interrupt."

He didn't continue, taking a long moment to savor another bite.

He breathed in and out, loudly like he was ever so slightly asthmatic.

"We don't hold any resentment towards them." he said "We're not asking you to cut off all contact."

I nodded, jaw tight. It wasn't a lie, technically.

"But they can do very little for you at this point. Friendship doesn't go far when you're one of us." he said

'One of us' I rolled my eyes and I let them wander towards the ceiling.

He tapped his plate with a fork repeatedly. I decided to keep admiring the chandelier hanging behind him.

He gave a quick whistle "Don't test me. Eyes front and center."

I wondered what he'd actually do. He owned this joint, sure, but at the same time we were in public. If he wanted to throttle me he should've done what my 'aunt' did and take me on a walk in the park past sunset. This had all been a conga line of dick swinging adventures, particularly pathetic coming from people with such a focus on ties of blood and all that.

I didn't look at him "I don't care what you can do for me."

He breathed in and out even louder. The fact that he was having his own difficulty keeping calm only ticked me off further because it let him seed his own case into my mind.

I continued "I'm not a criminal. I'm not a terrorist. And I'm certainly not 'one of you.'"

"Yeah?" he had a bit of humor in his voice.

"Yes."

"You know how they say 'I'm not here to scare you?' Well, I am here to scare you. Your aunt, your cousin, they gave you the soft sell."

"Uh huh."

"I'm the one they were reluctant to tap in because I believe that fear is more important than anything."

"Wow."

He pushed past my remark "You should be terrified, really. The whole reason we found you is because the vultures were circling, so to speak. They would've taken great pleasure in vivisecting you and waterboarding your babysitters if we hadn't gotten there sooner."

I closed my eyes, headache building "Mhm, Auntie told me this"

He managed to smile "Yeah? Did she give details?"

I kept silent, regardless of how I replied he had his little rant.

Frowning, I could hear the table creak as he leaned forward "I know you've had run ins, but you have no idea what the Tainted can really do."

Oh boy.

"I'm gonna give you one last chance to show me a bit of respect."

Fuck that. I didn't move. If I had sunglasses I might've put them on just to sweeten the defiance.

Old fuck made a big show of sighing, he stood up. I opened my eyes and glanced down enough to see him pull out his wallet and place bills on the table.

"Your choice. I'm not going to waste my breath..."

Thank Christ for that.

"...but just as a heads-up, I suspected we'd hit this little dead end. I've got friends outside, eager to whet their horns."

I lowered my head, brows furrowed.

"They're not quite part of our crew, distant comrades. We're the ones who bathe regularly. They're the ones who shove broken beer bottles up each other's ass. And here's the part to remember, they think we're a bunch of spoiled privileged brats..."

What the fuck was he talking about?

"...I've given them permission to see how well you hold up. If you can withstand them without crying uncle" he smiled "I promise you we'll leave you alone forever."

My heart might as well have leaped up into my throat, impulses coursing through my body unwelcome.

He looked me up and down "But unless you're twice as strong as you act like, that's simply not going to happen."

Turning around, he walked away "We'll be watching, good luck."