Wassau dudes? Just wanted to let ya know, there will be sewerslide mentions in this chapter. Same as last chapter, I will warn you. Also, y'all should listen to Angel by the Wings by Sia. Yeah that's all I have. Okay, thanks
Antonio pushed through the crowd towards me. When he reached me, he roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me outside. He pulled me to his car. Antonio opened the door and forced me inside. He slammed the door shut and looked at me through the window.
He ran his hands over his face and through his hair.
He walked over to the drivers seat and got in. We sat in silence for a minute.
"What were you thinking?" Antonio said quietly, but I could hear him, clear as day.
"I don-" I started before Antonio cut me off.
Rude.
"That was a rhetorical question, Marlowe. Here's how the next couple minutes are going to go. I am going to talk and you are going to listen. No speaking. I know that will be hard for you." Antonio spoke, his sharp words cutting through the air like a knife. He turned and looked at me, his eyes burning into mine.
I nodded.
"Good." He took a breath before starting. "I never want to see or hear that you went to that ring again. It's too dangerous. I'm not saying that just because you're a girl. Trust me. We know what you're capable of. But if those guys in there start talking to the wrong person about how some girl that no one has ever seen before showed up, Sebastián is going to start looking here. He probably already has suspicions, and rumors about a girl fitting your description in New York would confirm those. I know you're only 15. I know that you just want to be a kid and that you have a rebellious streak in you. Trust me, I did too. Hell, I still do. But you can't be dumb. You have to play it safe."
I stared ahead at the street as he lectured me.
"I have a question for you. How were you planning to fight with your ribs? Fighting would only make it worse." He asked.
"I was just going to watch. So I knew what I was up against when my ribs got better." I explained.
"Ok. One last question. If you answer it, I won't tell Alessio."
Ahh.
Blackmail at it's finest.
But there is a slight flaw in his plan.
"But you can't tell Alessio that I was here. Because then he would know that you were here. So, you have to stay silent unless you want to sacrifice yourself and get both of us in trouble." I said smartly.
Ha. I win.
He glared at me and continued on what he was saying, as if I didn't even speak.
"Why? Why do you fight? Do you do it to relieve stress? Because if you do, we have a gym in the house. I'll show you where it is and the quietest way to get there so that everyone else doesn't here you. Believe me when I tell you, I've been sneaking down there in the middle of the night since I was 11. Why do you do it?" He questioned me, obviously silently begging the answer to be that I only did it because I was a teen filled with angst.
In the next two paragraphs there will be mentions of sewerslide.
"Because I needed to feel something. That's why I started. When I was with Sebastián , even though some nights he would leave me motionless on the kitchen floor, I didn't feel any of it. Not emotionally anyway. I shut it all off when I was 8. I couldn't do it anymore. The pain. The knowing that the only people that I had in my pathetic life hated me. The night I shut it off, I almost shut everything else off, too. I was only one step away. Literally. But then some random ass kid approached me and talked me off the ledge. I talked to him for a while. Just the two of us, sitting under the yellow lights of the highest bridge I could find. He told me his name was Luciano. Which, coincidentally, means light. He was 3 years older than me. When I was 13 and he was 16, he disappeared. That's when I started fighting. Because he made me feel something and when he left, I almost lost it. He was my lifeline and when that failed, I turned to fighting." I took a deep breath after I told him the thing that has been haunting me for years and turned my head, ashamed that I had given in so easily.
I never told anyone what happened with him. Haidyn knew that he was basically an older brother to me, but she never really met him. To everyone else, he was just a random face that disappeared one day. But to me, my whole world came crashing down.
Hiiiiiii. All the mentions are over. :)
Antonio was silent.
I looked back over at him to see tears slowly and soundlessly streaming down his face.
"I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry that we weren't there for you." He leaned his head back against the head rest and cleared his throat.
"There's nothing you could have done." I consoled him.
He picked his head up and looked at me. "I wish I could believe that." He slightly smiled at me and then turned on the car and we pulled out onto the street. We got back to the house and he pulled into the garage. Before we got out, he turned again to look at me.
"Listen very closely. Here's the deal. Plan A. You are going to follow me very closely and copy my every move. I know which boards creak and which ones don't. Do you understand?"
I nodded. "Wait, what's plan B?" I asked curiously.
"Plan B is don't fuck up plan A. Do you copy?" He said very firmly.
I nodded again.
"Verbal response. We can't fuck this up. Got it?" He asked again.
"Yeah. Don't fuck up plan A. Got it." He slowly opened the door and got out. He looked at me and put his finger to his mouth. He shut the door just right so barely no sound came from it. He walked over to my side and opened the door, allowing me to get out. He did the same thing while closing my door. He slowly moved to the side entrance that led us inside to the right of the stairs.
I made sure that I stepped everywhere that he did and that I walked lightly.
It would make very awkward conversation if one of the other boys caught us sneaking into the house. We got up to our rooms and said a quiet and awkward goodnight.
I walked into my closet and changed into some comfy clothes.
I collapsed on my bed and immediately fell asleep.
Sneaking out of the house to go to an illegal fighting ring, getting caught by your older brother and both of you sneaking back into the house was exhausting.
But exhilarating.
I was soundly asleep within minutes.
"Why do you keep getting into fights? Huh? One of these day's you're going to end up getting arrested and I'm just going to let you fucking rot in jail." Sebastián's voice rang through my head in the car as we were driving back home from school. In the middle of the day. Because I may or may not have punched a girl in the face because she was talking bad about Haidyn.
"But then who will you call when you need someone dead?" I mused.
"Oh, just wait until we get home you stupid piece of shit. And you better shut that trap of yours before it get's you into more trouble. Or don't. More fun for me." Sebastián said calmly, which kind of scared the hell out of me.
Sebastián has two types of mad. Screaming mad and calm mad.
The latter is the worst.
We pulled into the driveway and Sebastián got out of the car. He walked over to my side and roughly grabbed my arm, dragging me into the house.
It felt like my arm was being ripped out of it's socket. Honestly, I think it was.
He flung me into the living room. I stood there for a minute staring at him.
When all of a sudden I saw his fist getting bigger and bigger. And I wondered why.
Then it hit me.
Ah. That's why.
I stumbled, but never fell.
He looked at me and laughed. "Even after all these years, you never learn."
Another strike, this one coming right under my jaw.
I'm gonna feel that one in the morning.
I stumbled to the ground, but got back up. I will never let this asshole break me. I will never kneel.
He smiled and kicked my feet out from beneath me. Before I could stand upright again, I felt the hard point of his dress shoe make contact with my stomach.
I groaned and turned over.
He continued kicking me. Like I was a sack of potatoes.
He finally stopped and when into the kitchen.
Thank goodness. I coughed, trying to catch my breath. I heard his footsteps coming back towards me. Instead of kicking me again, he instead crouched down beside me. It was only when he picked up my arm that I realized what was in his hand.
A knife.
Oh shit.
He made a long cut on my arm. I let out a yelp. After he was done, he examined his work. He then turned his attention to my face. He set the knife down and pulled his hand back. I kept eye contact with him as I got ready for the final blow.
Suddenly, the front door was thrown open and I saw Luciano standing in the doorway, rage filling all of his features. He saw me on the brink of unconsciousness and Sebastián ready to give me a pretty shiner. He ran over to Sebastián and grabbed his arm.
Sebastián quickly got the upper-hand and turned the tables by punching Luciano until he fell to the ground, coughing. Sebastián kicked him in the face, knocking him out.
"No!"
I gasped and shot up out of my bed. I sat against the headboard and hugged my knees. I tried to control my breathing, but it got out of hand.
I remembered Alessio's words.
"You can always wake us up."
I slowly got out of bed and opened up my door and walked right across the hallway to Vincenzo's room. I didn't knock, I just burst through.
Vincenzo shot up out of his bed, his hand reaching behind his pillow for what was no doubt a gun.
"It's me." I rasped out.
Vincenzo cursed and turned on the lamp that was on his nightstand. His face paled when he saw my state.
He jumped out of the bed and rushed over to me.
He pulled me tightly into his arms. He walked me over to his bed and sat me down.
Vin grabbed my hand and put it over his chest.
"Follow my breathing, Marls. In and out. That's all you gotta do." He instructed.
I eventually calmed.
He looked at my face and saw the storm that was brewing in my eyes.
"What happened?" He demanded, getting ready to hurt someone.
"Nightmare." Was all I said.
He nodded and pulled me into an even tighter hug.
I stayed in his arms for a little bit before he pulled me down with him.
"Lights on or off?" He asked quietly.
"Off." I answered.
I felt his body move and the light that flooded the room was gone.
Kind of like the hope in your eyes.
Ok. Now is not the time.
He repositioned himself, slightly lifting up my head so he could put his arm under it. His other arm was tightly wrapped around my waist.
"Sleep, topolino. I'm not going anywhere." He reassured me.
I slowly closed my eyes, relaxing in his embrace.
I allowed sleep to take over me.
-
Hey guys! Sorry for the shorter chapter today. I kind of procrastinated all day and waited until midnight to start writing this chapter.
So, I have a little story to share.
Last night, my neighbors were fighting. Then this morning, I saw the wife and the 4 year old daughter at our other neighbor's house with boxes filled to the brim with different things. She went back to her house and came back with a car seat and a big bookbag. Then a car pulled into my neighbor's driveway and as soon as the door opened, someone hopped out and immediately gave the poor woman a hug. The husband ran, i'm guessing either last night or early this morning, and the police are currently looking for him. He left on a side-by-side. I live in small town Pennsylvania and there's only a few places that this guy would be able to hide before the police find him. I can only imagine what this guy did to his poor wife. I've never met him, but from what I've seen, he's not the type of person that you would want to help raise your daughter.
I don't know the details, and honestly I don't think I want to. I will forever thank God that this strong lady was able to gather up the courage to leave him and try to give her daughter a better life.
If you guys are ever in a place like this, please try to find a way out. I know that it's easier said than done, but please try to get out.
On another note, the mentions that were in this chapter.
If you ever feel like you are so lost in life and without hope, feel free to private message me. I can't guarantee that I will get back to you right away, but I will respond.
Please. If you are reading this right now and contemplating ending it all, please stay on this Earth for a little while longer. I know that what you've seen so far has hurt you, but I will tell you that it's not all like that.
I was once in that place. I found a lifeline. And I hope that you guys can, too. It doesn't matter what that lifeline is. It can be reading, it can be watching the same movie or TV show over and over again, just find something that keeps you on this Earth just a little longer so that you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
That's all I have for today.
Or tonight.
Or morning.
Question of the chapter: What time is it right now for you guys?
It's currently 2:28 am for me.