Some things are worth running for

When I come back to the room she's still sleeping. How she can sleep in this sleazy motel room is beyond me; I could barely even make myself touch the covers. I guess that's what watching too much CSI does to you. To be honest I wouldn't be surprised if someone died in here because it definitely smells like it.

The smell of the bagels I just went and brought back help disguise the stench of the room though I'm sure the smell will stay on my clothes all day which is unfortunate but I guess that's the price you pay when you go on the run.

It wasn't meant to be like this. We were supposed to get away clean, Before anyone noticed.

The plan was just grab the money and run. Not grab the money and get busted by my brother's bodyguard, and it was definitely not the plan to shoot him.

Growing up in a family shrouded in death and mayhem wasn't as bad as it could have been I have to admit, and having my twin brother by my side at all times helped. Crime families aren't as glamorous as people make them out to be. One day you would be talking to a family friend and the next you are finding out that your father had him killed for talking to the Feds.

But when our father died I thought it would all change, which was stupid of me. Being the female half of the two of us I didn’t even get a look in at taking over the family, but I always saw my brother as a better man than our father. I guess the power went straight to his head because he became just like him, Killing without mercy.

I left. He knew I never wanted that life, so he didn't fight me when I told him I wanted to go.

I made it as far as Spain before he called me home. Apparently, he met someone. And apparently they were getting married. I was only gone a month. A month. But love is love I guess and when you are the head of one of the most powerful crime families in the country, you don't waste time because you could lose it all in a heartbeat.

When I got to the wedding party I saw her and she wasn't what I was expecting that's for sure. Of course I knew she was going to be pretty (that was a given) but I was not expecting that. She took my breath away.

I pretty much avoided her after the initial 'Hi, how are you? Nice to meet you,' but that didn't stop me from staring. She was out of both our league by a long shot. It's just that he’s so... gruff and from what I saw of her she was gentle and kind. Not someone I would see him with. Polar opposites. She deserves someone better. Someone that wouldn't get up in the middle of the night just to go beat someone to hell with a baseball bat.

I love my brother. I really do. And I find myself feeling horribly guilty for falling in love with his wife. But I can’t help it. When I'm around her I just feel better. She makes me better.

The first time she kissed me we were in the ladies room of our family restaurant. Of course when we got back and slid into the booth my brother couldn't help himself. “Why is it that girls always go to the bathroom together? I don’t understand. Is it really that terrifying in there that you need backup? Is it trolls?” I can’t help but roll my eyes but I can see her tense up out of the corner of my eye. “Okay firstly; you need to lay off the Harry Potter marathons you nerd and secondly girly reasons that you don’t get to know about, we are mysterious creatures.” He snorts and throws a scrunched up napkin at me then goes back to talking to one of his friends.
She still seems tense when I look at her so I put my hand under the table and lace our fingers together, she relaxes and smiles at me.

The first time she told me she loved me we were at our birthday party that my brother throws every year. They had just been arguing over something. Drugs, guns...I don’t even know. He had asked me to go check on her to make sure she was okay.
When I got to their room she was on the bed crying. I didn't say anything to her I just sat down next to her and grabbed her hand and she intertwined our fingers as she put her head on my shoulder.

“I love you. I thought I loved him. I was wrong, God I was so wrong. But I ca- I can’t do this any more. How do you tell your husband that you are in love with his sister?”

I kiss her and lean my forehead against hers. "You don't."

The next day she is running up to me with a huge grin on her face telling me she has a plan. That we are going to run away together. That we will travel the world, She was so excited. “ I'm thinking Belgium. I saw this movie once about Bruges and it is so beautiful. It has all these medieval buildings! Oh! and maybe after that we can go down to Paris! I know it’s cliché but it would be so romantic. And then maybe Rome? This is so exciting! The whole world is ours.”

I tell myself that it’s not really stealing, technically it is the families funds, part of it is rightfully mine anyway. But the adorable look on her face while she is shoving wads of cash into a huge duffel bag removes any doubts I have. That is until my brothers latest bodyguard walks in.

His eyes go straight to her, I don’t think anyone has ever looked as guilty as she did in that moment and if he wasn't going for his gun I probably would have laughed.

The 7 years of self-defence training my father put me through payed off because before I know it my foot is swinging around to knock his legs out from underneath him and the gun is going off. I swat the gun out of his hand and swing around and run to her to make sure she isn't hurt. She's fine but she is staring at my arm, I look and there is blood trickling down my arm. I kiss her and tell her I'm fine.

I grab the bags because there is no way no one heard the gunshot and we really needed to get out of there. I quickly try to fit a few more stacks into the bag and that's when I hear another gunshot. I'm pretty sure my heart actually stopped until I turned around.

The bodyguard is on the ground and his leg is bleeding.

“What the fuck was that?”
“He shot you.”
“It’s barely a graze...I told you I'm fine.”
“He shot you...”
I walk up to her and lean my forehead against hers and smile “I love you, but we really need to go like now.”

And were running, we get to the car and don’t stop until we're out of the city. We keep driving until we find a motel, she makes a joke about how it looks like the place in a horror movie she watched last week and I insist that we keep driving but she can see that I'm tired and it’s after 12 so she tells me that it is highly unlikely that we escape the mob only to be murder by a serial killer that wants to wear our skin.

I'm relieved when I walk into reception and get handed a key by a sweet old woman. “Here is your key dear, every morning my granddaughter and I put on a complimentary breakfast starting at 5:30am. You girls should feel free to come down and join us, there will be tea & coffee as well. We hope to see you there and enjoy your stay!”

When we get to the room I just throw myself on the bed and she lays down beside me, slinging her arm over me and we were both out before we knew it.

When I wake up it is just before dawn. I sit up on the edge of the bed and look back at her. How someone so graceful can sleep like that is beyond me. There are limbs all over the place and her face is squashed into the pillow and it is adorable.I don’t have the heart to wake her so I go to the bathroom and wash my face (making a mental note to shower when I get back to get the smell of the motel off me) before heading to the door.

I look back at her from the door. I think if my brother knew how in love with her I am he might forgive me but I don't think I care because today I am hopping on a plane with her and never looking back.