Whispers of Redemption Pt. 01

Jeremy concurrently noticed the black bruise that circled her swollen right eye and the bluish coloring of the corner of her bottom lip. He clenched his fists as she buried her face in his shirt...crying again. He could feel tangibly raw anger pulsing through his being, signaling every organ every neuron to attack. Attack what? He didn't know. He unclenched one of his fists to gently run his hand repeatedly over her back, consoling her.

"Jeremy" She sniffed whilst stepping back and wiping at her eyes gingerly. "Please don't do-" It was too late though, she had let go of him and his body was full of vindication. He stormed out of the room half out of his wits as he cursed his father in Italian.

"Paul!" He roared irately plodding gracefully through the corridors of his father's mansion. He was about to start yelling again when his father strode out slickly before him with a champagne glass in his right hand and a gun in his left. Frankie stood to his left with a comprehensive look in his dark brown, yet shimmering eyes, and Marco stood to his right entirely stoic, and unfeeling. Jeremy felt his mother grab his broad shoulder with a violently trembling hand; he could hear her soft cries as she continued to beg him to calm down. A small crooked smile graced Paul's face and he slowly sipped the liquid within the champagne glass.

"Are you out of your fucking mind, Gianni?" Paul said broodingly as his eyes narrowed; he had the stance of a typical Italian boss and the voice of an angry man. Jeremy balled his fist and eyed Frankie and Marco. There was no way that gun in his father's hand was going to stop him...Paul was just going to have to shoot him.

"What's the gun for, Paul?" Jeremy taunted

"Why are you in my house, wreaking havoc and storming the halls as if you own the place? That woman behind you if my wife before she is your mother; she's my property before she's your mother, she's mine before she's yours. I swear to God I will shoot you where you stand if you ever forget that." Paul said coolly, all the while pointing with his gun-filled hand at Sarah, each time he did so she cried harder in fear.

"Then shoot me Paul because I've already forgotten." Jeremy growled, lifting his arms for emphasis. Paul glared at Jeremy before handing his glass to Marco and launching for him. The next moments were extremely slow and deliberate to Sarah as she watched her life crumble. Ray rushed to grapple Paul before he could make the biggest mistake of his life as Jeremy ushered his mother out of the way before heading shoulder first into Paul's gut. Ray grabbed the gun out of Paul's hand and Marco kept his trained on Jeremy. Paul, now lying on his back due to Jeremy's hard blow, struggled to wring his wrists out of his son's powerful grips.

"Come on, Jeremy. He's drunk; you know he wouldn't shoot you. Get up before you force Marco to do what he does best." Ray pleaded, placing Paul's gun in his own holster and helping Sarah to her feet.

"The next time you lay a hand on her I'll kill you" Jeremy said to his father soberly, keeping him pinned to the ground. Paul continued to stare at him furiously.

"I will kill you" He repeated through gritted teeth.

"You're already a dead man" Paul whispered. His breath smelled of alcohol and Cuban cigars. Jeremy felt Ray pry him off of his father and allowed the older man to do so. Paul got up, running his hands over his expensive nightwear. He grabbed his glass from Marco and downed the rest of what had to be some strong liquor. Jeremy didn't understand how Paul could look so composed and controlled while wholly drunk out of his mind. Paul eyed Sarah menacingly and stammered past them all, showing no portion of the composure he had forged before. Sarah rushed over to Jeremy running her hands over his face and his chest hysterically and she muttered half-crazed to herself in Italian. Jeremy held on to his mothers hands and Ray ordered Marco to get her some extra clothing from the guest room she frequently stayed in on nights like these.

"Get me some ice Ray" Jeremy said. He wrapped his arms around his frightened mother as she continued to tremble in shock.

"I shouldn't have agitated him, I knew better than that" Sarah defended her husband of thirty years. Jeremy tightened his hold around her concurrently suppressing another wave of wild anger.

"Don't you dare do that, don't you dare defend him" he said dryly.

"I don't know any better" She chuckled sadly at herself. After a few silent moments she gazed up into her suns fiery eyes seeing almost an exact replica of how her own father looked when he was younger.

"I thought he was going to kill you" She whispered "and I realized that if he did...I would be ready to go too" She finished teary eyed. Jeremy placed his hands at the sides of his mother's face, his thumbs brushing away her haggard tears; he noticed the gray that highlighted the pitch-black color of her hair and sighed.