I WOKE UP IN A NEW BUGATTI
ATHENA RUSSO:
I've lost Domenico.
It was not that hard, to be honest, but now I'm following the route to this random place that Dante seems to go to a lot. I have nowhere to go to so whatever this place is I hope it's somewhere I can stay at.
Trees blur in the corner of my eye as I speed down the long road. My grip on the steering wheel tightens. I glance at the time.
I had to take a lot of turns and different roads to lose Domenico and that took a while since he's so goddamn stubborn to just give up.
The sky is an orangey pink, in the distance. I sigh and lean back, taking one hand off the wheel. My brothers could possibly be murderers.
In Marcello's words, there is a 95% chance my brothers are murderers although the 5% could be me just jumping to conclusions. I've seen enough these past few days and I know I'm onto something.
I guess I'm not the one to judge. Actually, fuck that. I'll judge all I want. I know shooting my "father" was in self-defense. No one really knows what went down that night.
Yeah he tried to kill me but that night, he seemed different. He didn't even seem drunk, now that I think about it. I shake my head. I need to stop thinking about it.
I look up in the rearview mirror and see a black SUV behind me. I straighten my back and place both hands on the wheel.
I look at the map to see if I can take a random turn but the road goes straight for a while.
Am I being followed? Maybe. Could I drive this car off a cliff? Yes. Should I do it? No. That wouldn't be good. Sorry. I don't even know where I was going with that.
I look closely at the car behind me. I squint my eyes but the windows are too tinted so I can't see anything and they have no license plate.
Well isn't that awfully suspicious?
I press down on the gas and make speed down the road.
I remember the first time I learned how to drive. I was in a car chase with the police. But the thing about speeding makes me feel better. I hate driving normally.
I remember how I snuck into a street race because I heard some guys at school talking about it. Some random worker there thought I was a street racer. They pushed me into a random car and I was panicking. I didn't even know what to do.
I remember winning that race. And another one. And another one. And it kept going. But I never did it for money, in fact I never accepted the money. I would call the police while I was racing and then hang up and they would pull up and arrest me.
Now you might be wondering, who the hell does that to themselves? Well I thought if I could get arrested, I wouldn't be able to get beaten up again. The police station was my second home. And if I couldn't street race, I would steal and do other amateur stuff. And I would make sure I got caught every time.
Just so I could get away from home.
Eventually, I get to take a random turn and the SUV does the same. I bite my lip. I can tell this isn't one of my brothers. I know every fancy car they have, and I would recognize the license plate. But this isn't one of theirs.
I take a right, another right, another right, and then a left. I check the rearview mirror again and that goddamn SUV is still following me. Great. I'm being followed by god knows who.
Cool. Cool. Cool. Cool.
I take a random turn again and press down on the gas. I drift, going in circles, causing smoke to go everywhere.
I drive around the unfamiliar area like a maniac. Going in circles, drifting, speeding. I evilly laugh to myself.
Oh shit. Maybe Ares was right.
Okay. I need to focus.
I stop driving like a crazy woman and concentrate. I tighten my grip on the wheel and lean forward. I check the map again, memorizing the roads. I get to a busy street and see the SUV still behind me.
I did all that for what?
I swerve past through cars but I accidentally caused a four-car collision. I wince as I hear the cars crash into each other.
Oops.
The SUV is still following me and I curse under my breath. How is it still following me? Shit. I must be rusty. All these weeks without driving. Yeah. I'm definitely rusty.
A traffic light goes red so I slowly slow down but then an idea pops into my head when I see a long truck about to drive past. I press down on the gas, trying to pass by in time.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
Beeping and screams fill my ears but I don't stop. I look in the rearview mirror and see the SUV is also speeding up behind me.
I make it past the truck and speed down the road. I watch and the truck nearly flips over because the SUV crashed into it.
I look back down at the road and continue driving. I drive away from the busy area and go into a more secluded one. I loosen my grip on the wheel and let out a sigh.
Thank God for that.
I turn the radio on and a song by Taylor Swift starts playing. I've never been able to listen to music before but since I moved in with my possible psycho brothers I was able to find a few songs I liked. I like Taylor Swift. She's so cool. And her songs.
I bob my head to the song and follow the route to the place.
Sirens blast behind me, and I glance up at the rearview mirror. Over ten police cars in some weird formation are behind me. Oh shit.
I am so fucked.
DOMENICO RUSSO:
Fuck. I've lost her.
"Has she crashed my car?!" Dante asks, panicked. I glare at my phone, "If she did crash your car. What would you care more about? The car? Or your fucking sister?" Dante goes silent. I shake my head, "You are an actual waste of space."
He scoffs, "Should I go tell Lorenzo then? I wonder how he would react."
Rolling my eyes, "He would kill us all. So good luck with that one."
He groans, "How did you even lose her?"
I search for any signs of a particular matte black Buggati but I don't see one. "She started driving like a maniac. I swear to you Dante she knew what she was doing."
I shake my head as I remember watching her laugh like some crazy idiot. How the hell did she even learn how to drive like that?
Suddenly, I hear Ares's annoying voice. "Hey—Is that Dom? Hey Dom! Have you found Athena yet? He didn't? Oh my God. Lorenzo is going to kill us all!"
I groan, Lord help us all.
"Dude give me back my phone—"
"Wait—I'm trying to talk to my brother!"
"He's my twin. Now give me the goddamn phone!"
I hear Ares screaming like a little girl and Dante yelling at him before the call ends. I pull over and park the car. I turn the radio on and music fills the silence. I lean back and close my eyes.
She just had to run away like that? And her room. God. If it was me I would've done more but she still did a good job I guess.
And if Lorenzo finds out, we all might as well be planning our funerals. I try to sit comfortably, but the car seat isn't comfortable one bit.
"Fuck," I mutter, adjusting the seat. There we go. I take off my jacket and throw it into the back seat. I go onto my phone and try to track Dante's car. The music stops playing and some random woman starts talking.
"We have just been informed, a black Bugatti is in a police car chase. Whoever this driver is, has just caused multiple car collisions, is definitely going 245 miles per hour, not slowing down at all, and—Basically, this driver cannot be stopped and they are about a fifty police officers trying to stop them."
What the fuck is she doing?
I immediately check the news on my phone to see a live stream of the car chase. I click on it. The viewpoint is from a helicopter but that's definitely Dante's car.
Oh he is going to be so pissed.
Athena is driving down the highway with about fifty police cars behind her. Oh my goodness. She's going to get arrested.
Suddenly Lorenzo calls me.
I could not answer it but then he would get even more mad.
I compose myself before I answer. I put my phone up to my ear. I hear Lorenzo take a deep breath. I close my eyes, preparing myself for—
"WHAT THE FUCK IS DANTE DOING?"
I wince and lower the volume. I hear something smash in the background. He probably threw a phone at the wall. As usual.
I sigh, "That isn't Dante."
He tauntingly laughs, "Then who the fuck is driving his car with around a hundred police cars following them?"
My eyes widen. Why does he laugh like that? It doesn't suit him.
"It's actually fifty—"
"No. There are now a hundred. Do you know how—"
"It's Athena," I grit out. I am so done. So done. He takes another deep breath. "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU LET HER DRIVE?" He yells.
And of course, it's my fault.
I rub my jaw, in frustration. "I didn't. Something is going on with her. She trashed her room, stole Dantes's car keys, and left."
"Well you better start planning your funeral," he warns me in a deadly tone. I open my mouth but he starts speaking again. "Go home. I'll fucking sort this out." Then he hangs up on me.
I stare down at my phone. Maybe I should go home. Maybe I shouldn't go home. Maybe I should get Athena out of this mess she's caused. Yeah. That's what a big brother would do. Big brothers always get their little sisters out of a mess.
But how the fuck do I get my little sister out of the craziest car chase ever?