Translucent by Erin Noelle

the rest of my life with. Six months after we started dating, he proposed to me, and the day I graduated from high school, I moved into his upscale downtown apartment with him, despite the warnings from my mom. It was him who’d insisted we have sex without protection, claiming he couldn’t wait to put little Ishs inside of me. I knew he was going to be elated; I’d hoped I could talk him into leaving work early to come home and celebrate with me.
    I’d only been to his office one other time with him, the only time I’d met his father and uncle. Surprised to find out they were Italian and not Brazilian like his mom, I found them both to be charming and friendly as they complimented me and said how happy they were Ish had found someone as lovely as me. I also found it odd I wasn’t allowed in the back garage area of the shop when Ish ran back there to grab his phone he’d left, only in the front show room where they displayed the high-end, after-market car accessories they designed and manufactured, but never thought about it again to ask him why. I was too interested in the story of why he had a different last name as his dad, which is when I found out his parents were never actually married. I wanted to ask why he still didn’t get his dad’s last name, but he’d made it clear the conversation was over.
    The parking lot was quite full for the middle of a weekday afternoon, and after I finally found a parking space, I hopped out of my car and rushed up to the glass door. Surprisingly, the front area of the store was empty, not a soul in sight.
    “Hello? Is there anyone here?” I called out. “Hello?”
    After no answer, I assumed everyone was probably out back, so I quietly meandered my way through the shop. Just before reaching the backdoor, muffled voices caught my attention, so as anyone would do, I went looking for them, unknowingly stumbling upon a scene that would change my life forever.
    A door off to the left of the hallway was left barely cracked open. Instincts kicked in, and I silently tiptoed to where I could see through the small gap by the door hinges, not wanting to be seen or heard. There were probably six or seven men standing around watching the commotion taking place in the middle of the room. A young guy was sitting in a wooden chair, tied up by his hands and feet, battered and bruised, pleading for his life as Ish held a knife to the side of his face, both of them staring at my soon-to-be father-in-law, Vincent Ricci.
    “I’m going to ask you one last time, boy. What did you tell them?” Mr. Ricci questioned the captured man.
    “I swear to you, boss, I didn’t say a word. They already knew everything when they approached me. Please. I’m telling you the truth,” the poor guy begged. “I would never cross you; I know better.”
    Ricci paced back and forth several times in front of him deep in thought as Ish stood with the knife cocked at his cheek.
    “He did know better. Kill him. Slowly,” the older man instructed Ish, his voice as calm as if he was ordering dinner at a restaurant.
    I’m not sure what was more sickening at that point—what Ish actually did to the man, or the joyful smile he had on his face as he did it. He carved him up like a pumpkin—first, cutting off his tongue and lips, then slicing off his nose, and finally, gouging out each of his eyes, all before slitting his throat. I’d never seen anything so gruesome before, not even in movies. There was so much blood…all over the floor, all over the victim, all over Ish. Holding my breath, terrified of what I was witnessing, my hands covered my mouth, keeping me from making a sound or vomiting on the floor. I wanted to look away, but I was frozen in shock…fear…I couldn’t move. As everything came back into focus out of the fog I seemed to be trapped in, I could hear the men talking and moving around the room; I knew I had to get out of there before I was next in the chair.
    As quietly as I’d let myself into