Alessandro 16+ / Book 1

Chapter 13: Run away Princess

It is so fucking cold.

Shuddering, I rub my hands together before using them to massage my bare shoulders, panting heavily, each breath producing a visible cloud of cold air that serves as a reminder of just how chilly it is.

Walking through the dark alley, disoriented and with my feet throbbing in pain from an hour of barefoot travel, I can't help but wonder what lies ahead.

What awaits me?

Is it my doom or my actual escape?

But I have nowhere to go.

I would have tried to make my way to Leah, but I know that if Alessandro can't find me after searching the entire city, he'll contact my mother. She knows me better than anyone, even if she doesn't like me, and she'd tell him the first place I'd go is Leah's. So, I can't go to her.

Now, I have nowhere to turn, nothing to keep me warm, nothing to eat, only darkness and unsettling sounds in the hidden corners here.

I walk cautiously, the night air seemingly being my  enemy.

Surrounding me are decrepit dumpsters and discarded junk piled in corners, with rats, stray cats, and dogs scavenging for food among them.

A few towering streetlights sporadically cast feeble light, leaving most of the alley in darkness, making me feel uneasy.

I shudder again, feeling the ache in my legs from the long walk on bare feet, my heart refusing to stay calm.

It thumps violently against my ribs as a strange pain gnaws at my gut. I can't deny it and not say I'm terrified because I am. I am terrified by what I am walking into and what I am running from.

The devil's den and the devil himself.

Rubbing my shaking hands, I lift my eyes toward the night sky with trillions of stars.

They look so beautiful. The sight warms my insides.

I used to dream of living among them, their radiant light serving as a reminder that there's hope even in my darkest moments, amid the suffering, despair, regrets, and dread that engulfed me.

Sufferings, dread, despair, and regrets are just a reminder of hurting and breaking Adrienne, but now I am grown, knowing there is no light or hope for me.

I will always be in the darkness, haunted by them.

I can not live with the stars.

"Dad," I whisper, feeling the tears rushing from my eyes that keep gazing up at the sky.

These are times I need my papa. His guidance, his love, his protection. I am broken without him. I am tired. I need him. If he were here, I would not have been going through this.

A small cry escapes my lips, and I stop walking, covering my mouth to prevent myself from breaking at this moment.

This is a time I need to be strong.

Be his brave angel.

This life is so fucking hard. I need to be normal. I have always wanted that. To have a normal, pain-free, stress-free, fear-free but it was never that. It always gets worse. I lose myself or someone...Axel...

Even after I witnessed his lifeless body, I forced myself not to think on him, his death, or his family, knowing he's not here for them or me... anymore.

It is too much to think about.

I already have so much in my mind, killing me, and I can barely handle myself. I'm devastated, angry, and sorrowful about his death, but I have to focus on surviving myself.