The Two Families

Chapter Twelve

I looked at Laura, confused, "run? Where?"

She looked deep into my eyes; I could feel her chest rise and fall rapidly, "we're under attack."

No. No. No. No. No. Not possible.

Panic rose in me as my heart pounded in my chest. I thought maybe Laura could hear it. She moved back, raising her black dress over her thighs. I gawked, swallowing hard, this is not the time. Strapped to her thigh was a holster with a gun and a knife on her other one.

"Do you know how to use a gun?" She asked.

"N-no," I replied, fear getting the best of me.

Laura cursed under her breath, "load, aim, fire." She cooked the gun, removing the safety and handing it to me. Laura held the knife in her hand, screams still echoing outside.

She took a deep breath in, yanked the door open, "run!"

I ran as fast as I could, following her to God knows where. Men yelled things along the lines of "Get them!" and "Stop them!" but I focused on running. I heard gunshots from behind me as Laura tackled me to the ground, making me hide behind the wall at the end of the hall. I took deep breaths in, trying to calm my racing heart. Laura peeked her head around the wall before snapping back.

"Fuck," she breathed.

She grabbed the gun from my hand, standing up and shooting three quick shots, before diving back behind the wall. She reloaded the pistol, firing three more shots and the commotion stopped immediately. She stood up, extending a hand for me. I grabbed her hand, standing up, looking over at the people she shot.

Four men were on the floor in a pool of blood. My head spun. I'm going to vomit. The sight of the dead bodies brought back repressed memories that made my head spin. I felt arms go around my throat, and a hard chest pressed against my back. Laura looked wide-eyed at me.

"Let her go!" Laura yelled.

"Drop the gun, Zika," the man grumbled behind me.

Laura kept her eyes on me as she bent down slowly, dropping the gun. I swallowed the lump in my throat, keeping my eyes on her.

"Aarina, keep your eyes on me. You're okay," Laura consoled.

I am not okay. I am very not okay.

"Shut up!" The man barked.

Laura raised her hands, trying to calm the big anger man, who pressed something against my head.

"Woah Woah Woah, what are you doing?" I shrieked.

The man tightened his grip on my throat, restricting my airflow. I felt my head become light. I grabbed his arms, trying to pull them away but failed miserably.

In the little vision I had, I saw Laura reach behind her back and throw something at me in a flash. I saw the sharp, silver, streamlined object fly towards me, but it never hit me. Suddenly, I could breathe again. I turned around, only to see the large man lying on the floor with a knife in his eye. I stumbled back, crashing into Laura, who held my shoulders, rubbing them. She covered the man with her body as she bent down. When she turned around, she was holding the knife in her hand.

My stomach churned. I turned around, emptying my stomach onto the floor next to me. I felt soft hands snake around my neck, gathering my hair, holding them while I vomited out everything.

"Laura!" Someone yelled.

I turned around as well to see Julian standing there, clothes and hair dishevelled. He ran forward, grabbing my waist and putting my arm on his shoulders. Laura huffed behind me, following us out of the club where the music hadn't stopped for a second. Somehow, the line had gotten longer in the hour we were in there. Julian opened the door, setting me on the seat. My body felt drained, filled with the type of tiredness that couldn't be cured with a good night's sleep. The exhaustion wasn't just physical; it was mental as well. That's when the migraine struck, making me a prisoner to my own head. My vision began to blacken slowly. I drifted off into deep slumber, occasionally feeling the jolts of the car.

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"What happened?" A muffled voice yelled.

"We were attacked," Another voice replied, calmer.

"By who?" The first voice questioned.

I slowly pried my eyes open, blinking away the tiredness. My whole body ached. I walked out to see Luka and Laura sitting on the couch. Laura had a bandage wrapped around her bicep. Both pairs of eyes turned to me. Laura patted the spot next to her on the sofa to sit next to her; I walked over, sitting there. 

"How are you feeling?" She asked softly.

"Mentally drained," I replied with a forced smile.

Laura pursed her lips into a line, rubbing my shoulder. I looked at her arm, "what happened?"

"Oh, I got shot yesterday. It doesn't matter; its nothing," she answered, placing a hand on her wound.

I opened my mouth to protest. How can a shot be nothing? Did it hurt her? She didn't even look fazed yesterday. When did she even get shot? The main doors opened, revealing Marcus and Sofia, who were walking in, eyes fierce and wild. Sofia was cursing over the phone at someone, while Marcus was flipping through papers, handing them to the mysterious person next to him. Sofia began yelling at the person over the phone in Italian, calling them vulgar terms, that made Laura smirk. 

"Can someone explain what happened?" Marcus questioned, clearly angry.

Laura explained the day's events, everyone listening intensively to her. I watched Sofia's eyes trail down to the bandage on Laura's arm; her green eyes darkened going back to Laura's face, jaw tightening. 

"Was this Takahashi's men?" Sofia asked through gritted teeth.

"I don't know," Laura replied, "they all wore masks."

Who was Takahashi?

"Hideo's men wouldn't have worn masks; he's too narcissistic to cover his men's face, he would want us to know it's his men," Luka thought aloud.

Hideo Takahashi.

"He could be tricking us," Marcus added, "that man is a sly cunning man, he could do anything."

I studied the faces of the people in front of me. It was so obvious I didn't belong here. They all had history with each other while I question everything because I don't know anything. Luka looked up, locking eyes with me. I broke off eye contact, getting up, going out of the house, sitting on the steps. I closed my eyes, hugging my knees, feeling the cold wind surround me.

"This seat taken?" A voice asked.