Lots of POV changes during this chapter, they will be in bold so make sure you look out for it!
LEO'S POV
"These two pieces of shit have disrespected the love of my life, and because of her grace, they remain alive. However, let this be a warning to all of you out there, anyone else that disrespects my queen will not be as lucky, that I promise every single one of you," I smiled sickly to the crowd before my eyes landed on Arias.
I was doing this all for her, now she wouldn't have to deal with anyone's shit in this school. No one would be bothering her ever again. I had seen her cry far too many times because of this shithole, and that stopped today.
If I let the kids here continue their vicious attacks on my Aria, how would that look on my part? People would consider me weak, and if there's something I'm not, it's weak. There was no way I was letting any of this go any further.
I knew Aria wouldn't be happy with my decision to do this publicly which was why I didn't tell her, but it was something I had to do. I expected her to be pissed- yell at me maybe, but I didn't expect her to run out of the auditorium the way she did.
My eyes followed her figure out and immediately I knew I fucked up. I walked up to Damon who was standing off to the side of the stage, "Get them the fuck out of here, close down everything."
He quickly moved away, barking out orders. I watched as the pathetic wastes of space were pulled off the stage and I felt powerful noticing all the terrified looks on the student's faces before I realized that I needed to find Aria. I quickly walked towards the exit that leads to the hallway, noticing that the hallway was completely deserted.
I saw a bathroom right across from the entrance of the auditorium, and assuming she was in there, I made my way into the bathroom. I pushed the door open walking passed the open stalls, but my attention was zeroed in on the one at the end that was slightly closed.
"Aria," I called out softly, "are you in here?"
I pushed the last stall opened noticing there wasn't anyone in there, but there was unflushed vomit in the toilet. I made my way out of the restroom going back out into the hall where I saw Damon and my other men waiting for me.
"Did you find her?" Damon asked me.
"She was in there before, I don't know where she went," I told him, this time genuinely confused. I turned towards my men and barked out, "Find her right now."
They immediately took off looking through classrooms, while I took out my phone and tried calling her. It rang, but she never answered. I went to Charles' contact on my phone, knowing he could track her location with her necklace.
"Don," he answered.
"I need you to find Aria's location right away," I ordered him, my stress beginning to build.
"Her necklace says she's right outside the school," he said quickly, "her phone says that as well."
I let out a small breath of relief knowing she wasn't too far away. I hung up the phone turning towards Damon, "She's outside."
I didn't wait for his reply before I made my way out of the school and down the steps. My driver came running up to me. "Don, a woman handed me this saying a young girl gave it to her with the message 'it's over'," he exclaimed, handing me the item.
I took it out of his hand, noticing it was the necklace I had given her; the same one that just so happened to have a chip in it so I could track her location. I felt something bubbling in me that I hadn't felt in a very long time: fear.
"Which way did she fucking go?" I screamed, wrapping my hand around his neck.
"The woman said she turned the corner and that was it," he stuttered and gasped as I cut off his air supply.
I let him go making my way around the corner, yet again not seeing Aria at all. I did, however, see her discarded backpack in the trash. I quickly looked through the contents, making note that her school books were there, but she had taken her wallet with her. With her wallet, she just had to make a purchase with a card and I would know exactly where she was.
I picked up the phone that was also discarded in the trash can, pressing the lock screen to show a picture of her and I. She had thrown her phone away, she knew I would try to track her.
I called Charles again, waiting only a second before he picked up. "I need you to monitor all of her cards and track any purchases. Call me when you find something," I practically growled, before hanging up the phone. I needed to find her before someone else had the chance to get their hands on her. God why did she have to run, why couldn't she just scream and call me an idiot?
"Tell the men to begin looking in shops and on the roads," I told Damon, to which he nodded and ran off.
I clicked on a different contact this time waiting for the person to pick up. "Leonardo, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Mr. Moon, Aria's missing," I said frustratingly, the thought of her possibly being out in the city alone making my blood boil.
"What?" he shouted into the phone.
"Something happened at school, she ditched her necklace and her phone. I have my men monitoring her card purchases and looking for her around the city," I explained to him while walking back over to the waiting car.
"Goddammit, Leonardo you better find her," he growled into the phone and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
"What do you think I've been doing?" I snapped at him, feeling the need to bash someone's head in.
"Just find her, I'll call if I hear anything or if she comes home," he said before hanging up.
I leaned my head against the roof of the car, trying to take deep breaths. All I could picture was Aria alone somewhere, scared and stranded because I couldn't find her. My skin was burning at how pissed I was. In a second I was pounding my hands against the top of the car, causing multiple dents, but trying to relieve myself of some anger.
I finally stopped, my hands bruised but I didn't give a shit. My phone began ringing and I quickly took it out of my pocket, "You better have good news."
"She took out four thousand dollars at the ATM, I texted you the exact location. I would begin looking into hotels around the city," he recommended.
"Keep tracking her," I growled, hanging up. I got into the car, as did Damon and the driver, giving him the address while I sat in the back. I was going to find Aria, that I was certain of.
ARIA'S POV
I felt completely numb after my crying session. I felt so hollow and empty; like a part of me had been ripped away and I didn't know why I was feeling that way. Maybe it was due to the loneliness I felt. I needed to talk to someone and yet there was no one for me to talk to; there was no one I could turn to for help. No one understood what I was going through at all. Sophia, Leo's mom, might have some idea, but there was no way I could turn to her as I was running away from her own son.
I felt like my life was truly falling apart; it was one thing after the other and I couldn't catch a break. That was what I was doing now; I was taking the break I desperately needed. Ultimately, I just felt sad. I was sad about everything that happened: I was sad I had to run, I was sad that I missed Leo despite how furious and disappointed I was at him. How could I see a man bring out people on stage that he beat and mutilate, then proceed to run away from him, but still miss him? Something has to be wrong with me.
I had already showered, ordered room service and now I was relaxing while watching TV. I didn't have any clothes and my school clothes from earlier felt dirty so I remained in my robe. I needed to go out and buy some clothes as well as food eventually, but I was too drained to do any of it tonight. Plus I was too freaked out to leave the hotel room in case Leo did find me, which there was no doubt in my mind that he was looking for me.
I was sure my parents were freaking out as well, I mean their daughter did pretty much run away from home. I wasn't sure if the girls knew yet, but they would probably be freaking out about my disappearance as well. The funny thing is that I couldn't find myself to care much. I could let the guilt eat at me, return home, and let these things that were killing me continue, or I could take some time to myself no matter how upset it made my loved ones. Honestly, the latter seemed much more desirable to me.
It felt so good to finally be doing something for myself, but I couldn't help but think that maybe I was doing this to prove a point to Leo as well. This wasn't the first time he had gone behind my back to inflict violence on someone and I was scared it wasn't going to be the last. He had to know that his acts weren't okay and there was absolutely no way that I would've ever approved of that. He knew that which was probably why he decided to keep it from me.
He was so infuriating and yet I couldn't get enough of him. Was that healthy? Maybe we were out of our honeymoon stage and now we were into the real and raw parts of the relationship. Or maybe Leo was crazy and I was beginning to lose my mind.
I just couldn't accept the fact that it was that easy for him to make such a show out of the beatings he had done. Was it really a joke to him?
I shook my head at the thoughts; this was my time away for my own self-reflection, not anyone else's. I felt a little bit crazy, but I also felt free. I felt like I could go anywhere, do anything I would like to. Maybe I would go to the west coast, see what California or maybe even Seattle had to offer.
I had four nights to determine if I wanted to change my location or go home. I could keep running or I could suck it up and go back home. Honestly, running doesn't sound too bad, but I would be alone. There wouldn't be anyone to accompany me, to laugh with, to love; I would again be alone and I hate being alone. Or I could go home and be thrown back into the insanity that is rising, be forced to become accustomed to the fearful glances that would no doubt be thrown at me, and deal with violence and revenge tactics that Leo has resorted to. For now, however, I would sleep and hopefully in four days have my answer.
LEO'S POV
As soon as we pulled up by the ATM I jumped out of the car and walked into the bank that was associated with the machine. Luckily this chain of banks worked with my father in the past so I had connections to the owner. I avoided the line and made my way directly to the back where I knew Joseph Walsh would be in his office.
I had one of my men bust the door in before I walked in, my eyes connecting with a very terrified Joseph. He quickly stood up, "Don Moretti, how can I help you today?"
"I need the security footage of the ATM outside," I ordered, getting straight to the point.
"Sir, we don't hold that footage here-" he began, but I cut the older man off, wrapping my hand around his neck and throwing him against the wall.
"You must not have understood me, I said I need the footage so get on it Joseph or it would be a shame if that beautiful house you bought in the Hamptons just miraculously lit on fire," I was seething and the last thing I needed to hear was that someone couldn't offer me the thing I needed.
"Yes sir," he gasped, his eyes wide as his face turned red. I let go of him as he fell onto the floor, and moved around the desk to take a seat on his chair.
"You have ten minutes before all your properties light on fire," I threatened him, sitting back in the chair as he stumbled out of the room.
"Damon, call the fire guy and tell him to prepare the shits house then tell him to wait ten minutes to see if I get what I requested," I ordered him.
"You're not actually gonna burn down his house, right? There's no way he can get it back within ten minutes," Damon said wide-eyed.
I narrowed my eyes at Damon, steam practically escaping my ears due to my anger. "Are you trying to order me Damon, your own Don?"
He quickly looked down knowing he had made a grave mistake, "No sir."
"Step out of line like that again and you will gravely regret it, do you understand? And make note that I will light this whole city on fire until I find her. So for everyone that's still breathing sakes, you better pray to whatever God you worship that I find her," I told him, my face dead and my voice gruff. I meant every single word I said.
"Yes Sir," he bowed again, taking out his phone to make the call just as Joseph came back into the room.
"I have the tape here," he stuttered, out of breath from his large figure.
I looked at the time on my watch, "With three minutes remaining, good boy."
He took the disk and inserted it into his computer, "The recording starts as soon as anyone walks up to the ATM, this is the most recent one we have."
He clicked on the screen where there was an elderly woman taking out money, I rolled my eyes, "Go back more."
He nodded, going to the recording taken before the elderly woman to show a young man that still wasn't my Aria. "More," I growled.
He swallowed thickly, quickly clicking on the recording before the male and finally it was Aria on the screen. I pushed my way closer towards the computer, seeing her frightened figure taking out cash from the machine before proceeding to re-enter a taxi behind her. My eyes squinted, trying to make out the taxi's license plate but it was too fuzzy.
"Could you have any worse fucking quality for security cameras?" I asked him sarcastically. I took the disk out of the computer and placed it in my suit jacket. "Damon call off the fire guy," I said walking out of the building.
I exited the bank, not taking a second to look at anyone as I did so; getting back into the car with Damon, telling the driver to make his way over to Charles' hut so he could identify the license plate and track it. I leaned my head against the window, looking at the sun that was beginning to fall. This all felt like a big game of chase and I was determined to win.
ARIA'S POV
No one ever mentioned how boring life in a hotel is when you're not allowed to leave it. A slight sliver of the window was exposed through the closed curtains and I could make out the faint glow of orange that broke into the room. I sighed rolling back onto my stomach as I looked at the orange light that was beginning to turn red with the sun. I wondered if anyone was seeing this beautiful sunset like I was.
Soon the night would fall upon the city and that meant I would be alone in the dark, which for some reason made me feel significantly more anxious than being alone during the day. Bad people come out at night and here I was all alone in a new city, in a hotel, with no one but myself.
My day consisted of laying in bed, watching TV and eating which would sound much more appealing had the circumstances been significantly different. This just felt lonely and isolating, but hopefully, tomorrow when I went shopping I could get myself some entertainment. Perhaps some books to pass along the time. God, it sounded like I was in prison.
I sighed as the sun finally disappeared and the sky was turning a dark blue signaling night time had finally landed. I turned off the lights in the room, allowing myself to focus on the lights in the city as I opened the curtains more to stare. As it's talons wrapped around the room and I was completely submerged in darkness, for some reason despite how much it scared me, I was able to find comfort within it. Staring at a certain blue light that was shining from across the street, I fell asleep thinking of how that shade of blue was so similar to a pair of eyes I had grown to love.
LEO'S POV
The sun had set by the time we got to Charles' underground facility. My jaw clenched when I realized the day was over and I still hadn't found Aria. I slammed the car door behind me and walked over to the large rock that acted as a door to the facility. I took the stairs down and stormed into Charles' office who looked like he was expecting my company.
I threw the disk on his desk, "There's a taxi license plate on there, I need you to identify and track it."
He quickly took the disk out and inserted it as he began typing and doing all the other tech shit he needed in order to find the plate. Charles was good at his job, the only problem was that he was one of the most wanted men in the country which is why he tended to stay underground. I wanted him to be a part of my team as soon as I became Don and of course, I got him.
"The camera doesn't catch all the digits, but I did find five of them so I should be able to narrow the search down and find the taxi the plate belongs to," he informed me still typing.
"Could you find the location?" I asked him.
He shook his head, "I can find the taxi company, but not the exact location through the plate. However, if you go to the company and add a little bit of that persuasion you're known for, you'll be able to find the person that drove the taxi."
"How much longer?" I asked him, getting irritated at the wait.
"Give me like an hour," he told me, still typing.
I rolled my eyes, "Hurry up."
I made my way out of the office and walked down the hall to an abandoned room. I entered the room and slammed the door behind me, tugging on my hair as I fell to the floor.
I took out my phone, knowing there was one person I could talk to that I could completely trust. I clicked on her phone number and placed the phone up against my ear as I waited for her to answer.
"Hey hon," my mom answered on the other side.
"Mom," I whispered, feeling the emotion build up in my throat when I realized that I missed the sound of her voice, "I messed up."
"Oh Leo, what happened," her voice soothed me over the phone.
"I messed up so bad mom. I don't know what's wrong with me, but she ran away. We can't find her, I'm so scared, and I don't know what to do anymore. Why do I keep messing up?" I asked her as the tears began slipping down my face.
"Leo slow down, what did you do?" she asked with a concerned voice.
I took a deep breath, "I made a public display for some pieces of shi-trash that had done something to Aria and I let my anger take over. But mom, she cried so many times; she shouldn't have cried ever because of them, but she did and I couldn't let that pass by. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let people keep attacking her?"
She sighed, "Leo you're allowed to protect her but you have to imagine how she might've felt. You're her first boyfriend and she's new to this life, things like that can overwhelm her. She's not used to violence in her life Leo and on top of that, you brought the violence to her school. People won't ever look at her the same way."
I sniffled, "She didn't have to run away."
"She was overwhelmed Leo, I'm sure she'll come home soon, but don't push her, okay?" my mom said and I knew she was right.
"I'm not gonna push her, but I'm not going to stop looking for her either," I told her, wiping my tears. I felt vulnerable and I needed to get my grip together before I left the room.
"I know you won't, I love you and call me when she comes home," she said, ending the call. I moved the phone from my ear and opened up my photo album to torture myself. The only pictures I had on my phone were of Aria and I when she would take my phone to snap pictures. God, she was beautiful and the camera had to be her best friend because she knew how to work her angles. My chest felt heavy because all I ever wanted was for her to be happy and here I was doing the complete opposite.
I scrolled onto my favorite picture of her; she was laying in bed, eyes closed and lips slightly parted. The light from the window brightened her face and she was completely content while she slept. When I woke and saw her angelic form sleeping next to me, I knew I had to take a picture.
It had only been a couple of hours since I had seen her and I already felt incredibly heartbroken. In the past, we had gone longer without talking, but during that, I knew she was safe at home. This time, I had no idea where she was and if she was safe or not which was driving me insane. I betrayed her trust and everything we had worked on. The guilt I felt was swallowing me up and the only thing I had to keep me grounded was the next picture on my phone; a picture of her beautiful, bright green eyes.
I hoped that wherever she was, she was safe and knew how sorry I was.
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I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, breaks my heart but I love it. Please don't forget to vote and let me know what you think. Also, let me know if there are any grammatical mistakes, my eyes have been really sensitive lately so it's hard for me to stare at my laptop screen!
I also wanted to mention that I hope that during this scary time in the world everyone continues to take care of themselves. Remember that we are all experiencing this scary situation and no one is alone. With that being said, if any of you need someone to talk to, feel free to message me directly on here! Take care of yourselves and stay safe.