THE BROOCH slides into the soft cotton of my coat, clipping silently to the material as Flower straightens out his own from across the room.

"Are you ready yet? Can't be late meeting your boyfriend." He grins slyly, avoiding the swing of my fist flying his way and barely missing the edge of his slender jaw.

"He isn't my boyfriend, just because I have sex with a girl that doesn't mean we're dating, it's the same thing."

"So I guess it isn't an 'illness' anymore either?"

"No, because I'm mature enough to know I'm wrong." I grin just as cunningly as he had, clearly winning the argument as I lean my elbow against the inside of the taxi door, briefly staring out of the window before Flower catches my attention again.

"So are communists still the encroaching devils on society and all foreigners should be deported immediately?"

Before I can give an answer the car slows to a rolling stop, the front steps outside the dark window familiar, a glow falling over them from beneath the wooden door.

Even from the driveway the chatter of men can be heard, their deep voices resonating through the walls. Flower cocks a brow but I'm already climbing out the car door, slamming it behind me and jogging through the sprinkles of rain to the doorstep.

Flower drags along behind and the dark wood opens up, a light shining from the inside and cascading in ripples off of the crystal chandelier. It's gold captures the rays and holds them in a warm glow above the extravagantly decorated dinner table.

Servants in black tuxedos and dresses run from here to there, a woman nearly running into me before mumbling a German apology and continuing to her spot in the kitchen stirring an over boiling pot.

The air is thick with the aroma of sauce and exotic herbs, a man taking our coats as we step into the front room of the house where the parties take place. Only a few men scatter the room, sat on the balcony steps or casually stood around the piano with drinks in their hands and the keys blasting all around.

Each holds an opal brooch on their breast, each swaying in tune to the music and waiting for the man of the hour to walk their way, to pay them more attention than the other men in the room.

A bit of me feels disgusted as I join them with Flower beneath the chandelier, waiting around idly with a cool glass in my hand and becoming a part of them all, just an insincere accessory to Aleece, a part of his entourage.

"Are you having a fine time tonight?" A butler asks, pouring another drink with a toothy and genuine smile. "Dinner is almost ready for the guests, you'll be joining Gatsby in the main dining hall."

The wrinkles around his eyes smooth out as he walks away, addressing a cluster of young men in their twenties who simultaneously laugh, the sound shaking the walls of the house before they cross the room and make their way towards us.

A tall brunette grasps my hand then Flower's, rearranging his brooch and tossing an arm around my shoulder to drag me closer towards him. He smells of the olives drifting in his glass, vodka on his tongue and intermingling within his words as he leans down to face me drunkenly. "I-I've never seen you two here before." He hiccups. "Are you new to the party? I'm T-Thomas and this is Jack and that one way over there is-is...hell you know I don't really know who he is."

"I'm Theo and this is Alex." I introduce us, backing away from the man slightly.

"So what are you into? My f-father is a big bootlegger that's why I'm h-here."

Flower steps in, detaching the drunken arm from my shoulder and replacing it with his own "We're dealers and if you'd excuse us it looks as if dinner has been served." His tongue flips through his gap as he waits for a response, legs crossed over one another while he stands coolly against me, daring them to say something with the raise of a red brow and the drawing up of his lip.

The waiter from before leads us into the dining hall and we take a seat in the white plush chairs surrounded by dark oak surely imported overseas. The table is set with fresh flowers in jewel encrusted vases surrounded by gold rim plates and wine glasses.

Aleece joins us at the head of the table, face ducking with an overwhelming blush at a glance my way, rubbing his neck with a heavy hand before picking up conversation with the next man over. As he makes his rounds he can't avoid me, sitting down to my right with a nonchalant air but his second blush gives him away mercilessly. "Can we talk?" He asks, lowering his voice so only I can hear. "Privately that is?"

At the consent of a nod his fingers wrap around the flesh of my upper arm, pink-ish marks forming in the shape of his fingers has me reminiscent of the night prior, of his lips, his hands, his-

"I missed you, Theo." Our lips press softly together, his hands raking behind me and up the back of my shirt. His nails take away at my skin and I'm falling into him, pressing harder until we're both out of breath, back pressed tight against the wall where he has me pinned.

We both stand catching our breaths as quietly as possible, only a few feet away from the closed door that houses all the guests. "I want you to stay the night with me." He breathes into my ear, breath ticking the shell and running down to my neck, tongue gliding smoothly across the surface before he pulls back thoughtfully.

I'm still not used to all of it, to my chest beating twice as fast at the touch of a man, to my mind racing with his smiles and skipping when his fingers lace between mine. "I-uh yeah, yeah."

"We should probably get back to the dinner, there was actually a reason I called all of you here believe it or not."

"Oh really?" I play, pulling him nearer by the hand. "I thought this was just another excuse to party."

•••

The table is roaring by the time we return, most of the boys drunk and half the servant's ties undone or dresses slightly ripped. The music has sped up and the food overturned, only the bottom of glasses seen as everyone chugs their share and the party rages as they always do.

Aleece doesn't seem bothered by the fact his dinner has been ruined, instead calmly retiring to his seat with his own glass and a pure silver knife, a sharp ring slicing through the opal crowd immediately silencing the rowdy group.

"If you're going to party," He stalls with the sip of a glass and drag of a cigarette, pursing his thick lips in anticipation. "we might as well make it a Gatsby party."

The butler comes by a third time on cue, handing out small ring boxes of delicate black velvet, the feel raw and expensive as the box rolls around in the palm of my hand. Flower merely looks over at me before opening the box, eyes widening in the slightest as it quickly shuts with a quaint and high chimed bang.

Opening my own I understand his expression, a yellow pill wrapped in chiffon sits snug inside the black velvet, its edges ridged and a 'P' engraved into the medication.

"P for Pennsylvania." Flower mouths, eyes glancing from me to the pill and back.

"That doesn't mean they're his it's probably just a manufacturer."

"Ask him!" He whisper-screams back at me, pointing with his eyes to Aleece chugging his virgin drinks and playing a drunk for his theater.

"Aleece?" He turns at the sound of my voice, leaving a green coated, brunette boy, only about nineteen and slim built, hair spiked up with black gel that shines at the tips. The boy nods in understanding and hands Aleece a card, pulling in his chair before heading to another group of guys to repeat the same routine.

"Yes?"

A part of me doesn't want to ask, to live in whatever ignorance there is without the answer he holds. "Where did you get these pills?"

"I have a factory down in Pennsylvania that I'm working on, they've been sending me samples of the products we've been working on all month."

"So..." I drag it out as long as possible, holding off the answer that eventually  will have to come. "would you say they're pretty popular?"

"I'd say so." He shrugs, oblivious to the meaning of my words. "It's mainly just a side job, I don't keep up with it."

"Wou-"

"You shouldn't ask so many questions." He draws out the cigarette and smoke clouds the air. His hand slips under the table with the distraction and squeezes mine, closing the velvet box with the other and nearly lighting the thing afire with the tip of his cigarette.

My heart is stopped, breaths faltering to a stop at the consequences of his words. A piece of me curses myself for ever asking, for not allowing myself to stay in blissful ignorance to the fact that it's Aleece I have to kill.

The one I've been chasing down for weeks has been right in front of me but I want to stay blind. His fingers squeeze mine as they start to shake but they can't be stilled, my entire body trembling with the built up stress that has yet to come.

The idea of his body beneath mine, his blood running the length of my skin and tickling the hair of my arms. The hole in his chest dripping with life, breaths clogged with blood and gurgling for an explanation. The scent of the gun, its chilled metal warm from the friction of the bullet and the sin of its holder stays burned into my nostrils, the taste of regret fresh on the tongue until I'm gagging and nauseous.

His face falls at the sight of me, moving closer to whisper into my ear gingerly. "Baby, is everything alright?"

"I just need to lie down for a second, must be the alcohol." I save, making my way out of the room and up to the balcony, searching for the wire framed bedroom of last night.

The pillow still smells vaguely of his cologne, mixed with the scent of a few cigarettes and lime. There's a fog of despair that creeps into the room with the shutting of the lights, a breeze drawing from the cracks in the window has me pulling the blanket closer towards me, a slight tear threatening to overflow.

I can't just kill the man but I also can't disobey orders and go against Gilded. A heavy sigh rings through the air, resonating through my empty chest and soaking into the tears that freely flow. Lips quivering I still them with a bite, holding myself closer until the flow slows to a mere trickle and my wandering mind silences in the slightest.

With the opening of the door I only turn away, hiding my red and puffy face from sight as the figure crawls into bed, their face nuzzling my neck and arms wrapping securely across my waist. I can't think of anything to say or do to ease the pain that pumps through each vein torturously slow.

A kiss on the back of the neck is enough to silence the argument within me, eyes shutting against the night with one last tear. A thumb comes up to wipe away at it with a breathless word that has me stopped then completely melting, the reality of the future only relaying harder with his confession.

"I love you."

His lips press against mine and I know what I have to do, that there's a side that must be chosen and a decision that must be made. That between the family, the familiarity but also the lies and mind control and the abusive ways that it holds, and Aleece, the man that taught me there was more, someone I could start anew with, we both can, I have to make a choice. A choice that starts here with a shaky and tear filled breath, filled with uncertainty and fear for now and for the future.

I don't want to fall asleep, to wake up and face Duke and Gilded and the family after tonight, to lie to their faces about not knowing and about never going to know. To cover all of this up, to bury it as far as possible because of a simple feeling that sprang up so soon but embedded itself so deep.

"I love you too."