ready to lose, c

Before he could call it a shame and turn back, the door swung open – it wasn't Clemente, but it was one of his cousins. Jamie wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Bad he decided, cringing as Angelo threw the package into the apartment, half expecting some sort of bomb to detonate and level the whole half the island. No, worse, he was being pulled into the apartment too, and he stumbled forward helplessly. His hands hovered by Angelo's bunched in his shirt, as if he'd made a move to paw at it and then decided that would be rude.

"Uh… no…? I'm just—uh, I should... get... going..." His resolve faded and his protests trailed off as how hopeless it was to resist sunk in. Martinellis were all too persistent, but Jamie was all too yielding.

Nobody would miss him at home anyways. Primo would say oh how nice, spending time with the family.

"Uh... is Clemente... around?" Jamie tried, glancing around the apartment.

ANGELO MARTINELLI

Jamie glanced uneasily towards the package, then back at Angelo, who seemed thrilled for the company. Not that Jamie was much company, as passive as an armchair. A frown tugged at the corners of his lips, and he shook his head slightly, as if he had a single resistant bone in his body.

He could never say no.

"Er, okay, I'll stay…" Then again, it didn't matter did it, whether he was here or at home. Martinellis were Martinellis and they always made Jamie's stomach churn and his set his nerves on the edge no matter where or who. Angelo was closer to his age, but none the more relatable for it.

"What did you have… planned?" He stepped further into the apartment, hands clutching at the fabric of his jeans, bunching it and rubbing it nervously. Jamie doubted this would be any fun. Not on his part.

ANGELO MARTINELLI

Despite being cousins, Jamie didn't know much about Angelo. He was older, and he'd never had much interest in getting to know Jamie either, though he seemed awfully excited to have him here. Jamie preferred to spend as little time around family as possible, though that rarely ended up happening. He was too polite to refuse. He went along silently, like a handcuffed prisoner, as Angelo brought him to his room.

The door shut behind him with a sort of finality.

His mouth fell open to say something, but couldn't form any words. He just stared, wide eyed and utterly terrified, mostly because he knew that he couldn't change his mind and turn back now, that nobody was going to let him do that. He made a few incoherent noises. He mouthed a prayer, the first that leapt into his mind.

Ave Maria, piena di grazia, il Signore è con te.

It figured, Angelo didn't like to read books or play video games or see what was on TV. He was a Martinelli, of course not.

Tu sei benedetta fra le donne e benedetto è il frutto del ventre tuo, Gesú.

Jamie eyed the container he'd taken from the fridge, a familiarly coppery stench reaching his nose. He had never been phased by gore, but he felt light headed. He felt regret, and it made his knees weak.

Santa maria, Madre di Dio, prega per noi peccatori, adesso e nell'ora della nostra morte.

His heart was pounding, hard, as if it was trying to tear itself from his chest and make an offering of itself.

"Amen." He hadn't realized he was speaking aloud now.

ANGELO MARTINELLI

Most of Jamie's expressions were veiled pretty heavily behind his apathetic exhaustion. He usually looked some mixture of bored and confused, as if he wasn't really sure where he was and what he was doing but he wished he was. But he knew where he was and what he was doing right now, he was only too aware of it, and he even looked vaguely horrified.

He was frozen in place as he watched Angelo, though he tried to jerk away, too slowly, when Angelo grabbed his hands. They were warm and sticky and bloody and Jamie felt like he'd dug the heart from whatever animal it had come from himself. These thoughts would probably populate his nightmares, fuel his hallucinations.

Jamie couldn’t squeeze out any words. He just nodded tersely. He could only hope this wouldn't work.

ANGELO MARTINELLI

For a moment, Angelo's eyes went wide - a mixture of emotions overcame him, excitement, shock, and perhaps an underlining fear as the room turned dark. He had never expected for this to actually work, he expected a rather, well uneventful night. He clenched Jamie's hand and looked at him, a small nod towards his younger cousin, a sign that they were going to be alright, though Angelo wasn't all that sure of it himself.

The whispers sent shivers down the teenager's spine, and his eyes, now at their regular size focused on the figure that appeared before him. So, this was Satan? It wasn't like Angelo was disappointed or anything, he just expected something a tad... bigger. "It, uh, worked didn't it?"

"I'm Angelo, and this," his head turned to gesture to him. "This is Jamie." He placed his free hand out. expecting a simple handshake.