Tainted

34

~Poppy~

Keep calm Poppy. Remember what Bash always says. Never do anything without a plan. You rebel right now and these guys have most likely been told to do whatever to get you and your mum wherever. I can feel mum shaking beside me and I start to recognize the twists and turns the car is taking which is never a good sign. It's buried deep though, like a memory from decades ago so I start hunting. Digging inside my head for a reason I know where we're going.

It's not recent and somehow I'm able to relax a little at that because that means it's my dad. We pull up to the house and it's just confirmation. The safe house on the far edge of town. Cian brought me here a few times. This is where the worst of his abuse happened. Me being here had never been good news. But right now, at least it wasn't another family waging a war. This was easily resolved.

The door is opened and one of the men grab for me but I duck.

"I can get out of a fucking car by myself." He glares as I get out, tries again. "We're in the middle of nowhere, I'm in a 90lb wedding dress, where do you think I'm going to go?" He grabs my arm, anyway, holding tight as me and mum are pulled into the house and separated.

"Change."

"No." The man stepped forward. "Fucking touch me. I dare you. Let's see how it poses when my husband gets here."

"Baby, he doesn't know where you are. Even if he works it out, he won't get close." I continued staring at him, not backing down. Bash will find a way. I know him. We should have been at the church 20 minutes ago. He'll know I'm missing by now. He'll be going ballistic. The entire Di Leo family is in that church and right now, I'm in danger, which means anyone involved in this little scheme is going to die. "Get changed. Your father does not want to see you in the dress." Knew it.

"Leave then. I'm not changing with you watching."

"I wanted a show."

"You'll get a show of me ripping your heart from your body if you even think about it." He smirked.

"Keep up the attitude baby. It won't save you here." He left, closing the door behind him. I know for a fact this room has cameras in so I'm careful in changing in a way I wouldn't give them what they want. I spend a solid 3 minutes on my shoes, pressing the button on the tracker inside my shoe. I'm alive. Find me Bash.

My father left me a skirt and a jumper and some new heels. I say new. I left them at home when I left. These are things he probably had a maid pull me out. I can imagine my mum's being given shit right now. It's too quiet though. I try the door, pull it open quickly.

"Lorenzo."

"Poppy." He looks down at me slowly. "You look well."

"Really? You're choosing now as the point to compliment me?"

"Just trying to make you comfortable Poppy, you're back home now. Don't want you feeling like shit."

"That's the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life. What's the plan then? Keep me here in hiding until you've killed Bash and I get everything in my name?"

"You're smarter than you let on."

"No. I'm smarter than people give me credit for." Lorenzo sighed. "What?"

"You've got to stay in your room."

"Mmm. Yeah that's not happening."

"Poppy."

"Move." He stares at me. "Where is the asshole anyway? Lorenzo. Move."

"No. Just go back to your room Poppy."

"Get. Fucked. MOVE." Lorenzo grabbed my hands, quickly forming into fists as I tried to fight out of his grasp. "GET OFF ME."

"Poppy. Please. Just go back inside before anyone gets hurt." He walks me backwards slowly but stops in the doorway. "Cameras. None here." He whispers and I try to turn my head but he tugs on my hands. "You being up here is the better option. Don't push him. Bash will get to you." He pushed me back with force until I almost stumbled. "Get out of here again and you'll deal with him." The door slammed shut and I stared at it completely bewildered.

I always knew Lorenzo wasn't entirely loyal to my dad. Whilst we weren't exactly close, I trusted him somewhat more than I trusted Cian or my father. He wouldn't touch me. Ever. My guess is with Cian now gone, Lorenzo had been promoted and was by my dad's side constantly. My only confusion was the fact that he said Bash would get to me. Not Sebastian. Bash. No one knows of that nickname except people he trusts.

I sit on the bed. Cross my legs, watch every part of the room slowly. It's old and dusty and looks like it was made for 6-year-old me.

I sit there forever. Sit. Stare. Observe every corner of the room. I pinpoint the cameras and hope Bash has found where I am. That Chris is watching me through these.

The sun starts to set and I'm still sat where I was at lunch time. There's noise downstairs now. My dad's here. I can hear him and Lorenzo talking. They're arguing with someone else. There's 2-gun shots. Silence. Lorenzo speaks. My dad laughs and the front door opens, slams shut, the voices are outside. I climb off the bed and peak through the curtains, watching as Lorenzo drops a corpse of one of the men that brough us here into the car we hired for the wedding.

I look out at the fields, the long grass surrounding the entire place, trees in the far distance and smile when I see the grass moving. I move away from the window, looking around for anything I could use to help here. I have a feeling things are about to go crazy.