Have you ever felt your world shatter around you, so much that everywhere you step you feel pain?

Every time I stand in this God-forsaken cemetery, I am reminded of how my world shattered three long years ago. I was only 15 at the time, maybe full of hope.

At least, that's what the surface me showed, anyways.

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"Next up, on the mat, is everyone's favorite underdog, Gideon Yates!"

I remember the crowd cheering for me. I remember his gleaming smile on his face. My father was so proud of me. He looked just as happy as he did before mom passed away.

"Gideon! Remember to do your best! I love you, pal!"

All of a sudden, there was a ringing in my ears. My father, who was grinning ear to ear, now held a hand over his chest. The area around it was splotched in blood. People were running everywhere, the attacker ran out the back, and where was I?

I was powerless. I stood and watched as my father lay there, dying.

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The cold New York rain brought me out of my comatose flashback. I sighed, and took out my umbrella and walked away.

My father, when he passed, arranged his will to where I would get his life insurance money and my mothers, and half of it was wisely put in stocks. He wisely managed my money for me, and afterwards I was able to live in a high-rise apartment with enough money coming in every month from a mutual fund to help me pay bills and get groceries with a little money to spare.

I continued to walk down the sidewalk to try and fetch a taxi, and  a black Audi R8 pulled up right next to me. The window rolled down.

"Hey, Kid. The boss has another job for you if you're interested." 

His name was Lenny, and he was an enforcer for one of my previous business arrangements.

"Didn't I tell your boss that I was out of the game for good?" I furiously stated, clutching the rosary on my wrist.

"She just wants to make sure you're living in comfort, kid."

"I am NOT JUST... not just some kid, okay? My name is Gideon Yates. You probably know me as the Glasswalker."

He chuckled. "Yates, you must be seriously yanking my chain-"

I reached for my M9 tucked in my back pocked and quickdrew on him in 2.5 seconds. "Do you really want to test me today? I don't think so. Tell your boss that I'm out of the game for good, alright? My deceased father wouldn't like seeing me take the lives of others anymore."

Lenny rolled up his window and then purposely burned out to get me soaking wet before he sped off.

I eventually caught a taxi, soaking wet and freezing. The world I lived in sucked. I had no friends, no family, I was just a loner. Of course, I had all the money I needed and somewhere to go to when I needed to vent, but I didn't really have anyone. I felt trapped in this big box known as the Concrete Jungle.

I glanced out the window at this traffic jam-jumbled mess the New York City streets had become.

"Hey sir, I can't get you to your destination on time, so sorry if it costs extra." The cabbie said.

I pulled out my wallet and thrusted him a 50 dollar bill. "Keep the change," I said, and got out of the taxi.

The rain cascaded onto the sidewalk,  and it splashed all over my clothes. I let it. Feeling cold in New York usually reminded me I was alive. Lost in my thoughts, I walked down near 56th Street.

"SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" A feminine voice shrieked from an alleyway.

I turned and ran down the dark alleyway, where a flashing floodlight revealed the scene: three burly guys cornering one young woman who looked as old as I was.

"Give us your money, little girl, and we promise not to hurt you too bad. Maybe we'll just kiss you and then let you go, hahaha!" 

The men ran their hands all over this girl, and it pissed me off to no end.

I cracked my knuckles. "Scuse me, gents, but please pick on someone of the same gender as you. Men picking on women usually are cowards, so please, let me take you on."

The three goons looked at me and drew knives. "Okay, new plan boys, we'll gut this trust-fund kid and then we'll have our way with the girl!"

Rage made my body shake uncontrollably, and then I had to breathe to regain control of my trembling body. I roundhouse kicked the first guy and then right hooked the second. The third guy landed his knife in my side and then I whipped out my M9 and shot him in the chest.

The police had caught on and they rushed to my aid, and they had the other two in cuffs and were putting a sheet over the third one.

"Sir, are you qualified to-"

I whipped my concealed carry permit in his face. "Can someone get me to a hospital?"

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--5 HOURS LATER--

I got to my house at around 11 PM, and I fell straight into my bed. 

Exhaustion, the pain from stitches, and grief kept me awake.I lay there unmoving for thirty minutes, and then my stomach rumbled. I got up and checked my fridge.

"Chinese takeout leftovers it is, then," I stated, and then sat down and ate it.

The doorbell rang. "Gideon, are you home yet? I'm cold!" The familiar voice yelled.

I got up and opened the door. 

"Well, hello darling," the familiar face of a woman greeted me behind the door. 

I sighed. "Miss Maximus, didn't Lenny tell you that I wasn't interested in that contract anymore? That I'm out of the Mafia for good?"

"He did, my dear," she stated in her thick Russian accent, and then put two of her fingers under my chin and gently whispered, "But I didn't come here for a contract."

My heart quickened. Veronica Maximus, the Russian Mafia leader in her early twenties, always came around to my house whenever she felt lonely. So, we usually watched Netflix in my bed and did nothing inappropriate (to those of you with dirty minds!) She was tall and slender, just at about my height.

"W-what did you come here for, then?" I asked.

"New York's Downtown Medical Hospital had a patient with a knife wound come in, and I presume from your bloody shirt it was you. Why haven't you changed yet? Go get a hot shower right now!"

"You're not my mother! Don't tell me what I'm going-"

A loud rumble from my stomach interrupted my sentence.

"I swear, Gideon, you're acting as stupid as ever, dude. I don't want you to work for me again, geez, I just came by to see if you were okay! But, clearly, you need someone to look after you while you recover! So, let me cook you something while you go clean up."

I sighed. "You know, a powerful mafia boss should go pursue more interesting men. I'm just a loner."

"Well, you know I'm always gonna love my Glasswalker, now, don't you? I'll keep on coming after you even if you aren't in the game anymore. Go shower up."

I sighed and went to my bathroom, where I continued to hear Veronica's voice peep. I shut and locked the door, and then I undressed, threw my clothes in the laundry, and got in the shower. I gingerly washed my hair and body, and then I hopped out of the shower in a bathrobe and shaved my face. I walked out of the bathroom and sneezed once.

"Did Lenny get you sick after he splashed water on you, Gideon?" Veronica asked, worried.

Her reaction time to my sneeze was like .2 seconds. "Uh, I guess? But it could just be from me walking in the rain."

My heart still raced. Veronica was so beautiful in every way, and she had just graduated from NYU, the school I was about to start after my injuries healed up. She was like the perfect girl with a sort of dark side.

"Ugh, Lenny is such a blockhead when he doesn't get his way! I'll string him up upside down-"

"No, Veronica, it's fine. Aren't you cold still?"

She quivered in her wet clothes. "Y-yes, I am."

I walked over to my dresser and threw her a t shirt and some pajama pants. "Here," I mumbled, "if you're gonna stay the night next time, pack an overnight bag."

"Gideon, I'm staying until you get better. I remember what today is for you. It's Hell. I know how you feel and I don't want you to sit here and mumble and feel miserable and alone." Her blue eyes pierced me to the soul. "I care about you, Gideon, not just as a tool, but as a person. Oh, and your dinner is ready."

She walked into my bathroom and shut the door. I took the opportunity to put some clothes on faster than she could.

She came out of the bathroom with my bloody clothes. "Don't you ever take pride in your home?"

I sighed. "I have three weeks, Veronica, I could've taken care of it."

She left my room with my clothes and brought back two bowls of soup. "Okay, you big nerd, get into bed. We have to watch some stuff together, ya know?