*IMPORTANT: READ AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END. IT WILL TALK TO YOU ABOUT A FEW SAD THINGS I HAVE TO SAY TO YOU ALL!*
- A m a r a R u s s o -
"This is the biggest house I've ever been in."
Elena's voice was full of wonder as her curious blue eyes looked around the entire corridor.
"I know," I agreed, "I was shocked when I found out I'd be living here for the rest of my life too. It's massive."
"Yeah," she murmured in awe, "I can't believe it."
"Now you've got a tour of the Russo mansion," I joked as I led her to my room.
"Not a full tour," she corrected with a laugh. "More like a first floor tour."
We giggled like a pair of middle school school girls - even if we were - as I opened the door to my bedroom, revealing my entire sleeping and working space to her.
"It's so pink," she commented, "Looks a lot like you actually."
"Yeah," I said proudly, "I love it."
"Mhm, it seems very comfortable." she hummed, her hand lightly touching my bed covers. "It's very warm here."
I knew what she meant.
Elena wasn't talking about the temperature of the room, but more the feeling of 'warmth'. My room felt warm; comforting and peaceful in a way, which is why I was in love with it. Especially my comforter.
"Where are we going to work?" Elena asked, setting her bag on the ground.
"Over there," I pointed at my desk as she took out a gigantic binder. She dropped it onto the floor, creating a huge bang to resound across the room.
"That is heavy." I said, and she laughed.
"It is," she agreed, "My back breaks just coming into the school every day."
"Why is it so heavy?"
"No idea." she shrugged, "You can even look in my bag. There is literally nothing in this except for thousands of paper and notebooks."
"You have that many notes for geography?" Aghast, I went over to her, stealing away her binder as I started flipping through the many pages of notes she took throughout the entire six months at school.
"No," she denied, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. "I have my history notes in there as well."
"This is a two-inch binder, Elena." I muttered in shock, staring at her like she was crazy. "How the hell do you have this many notes? Do you copy down word per word what the teacher says?"
"No!" She looked offended by my words. "Of course not! I just took notes from the teacher and took notes off of her slides and presentations. I also took notes during other people's projects so that I could do better in the future, and stole some information from our textbook."
"Oh." Now I feel like an idiot for accusing her. "I just took notes from the textbook."
Sighing, Elena gave me an exasperated glare, and I was half-expecting for her eyes to roll to the back of her head as a smile tugged at her lips.
"You think I don't know that?" she retorted, and if it weren't for the slight glimmer of amusement in her eyes, I would've thought that she was pissed at me.
"Uhh, maybe?"
She gave me a deadpan expression.
"Oh, well, why are we having an exam again?" I asked her, quickly changing the topic as I did not want to talk about this subject any longer.
"Because she wants to know what we've actually retained some information from her classes." she replied simply as she flipped through her binder.
"And why did you bring your history notes?"
"Because we also have a history exam." she said, giving me a bemused look before laughter graced her features.
I felt the blood slowly drain out of my face at her words. "We have a history exam?"
"Yeah."
"We have a history exam." I repeated, more firmly this time as I did not want to believe what I was hearing.
"Yeah, we do." Elena answered, amusement glittering in her eyes as she tried to hold in her snickers.
"When is it?"
"We have..." Elena checked the calendar on my bedside table. "About a week or two to study for it, and about two weeks I think, for the geo test."
"But that's so little!" I yelled, throwing my hands up in frustration.
"So?"
"I'm going to fail." I grumbled.
"Don't worry," she giggled, "I'll help you. Anyways, it's not like we can't cheat, right?"
I think I'm hearing things. Did Elena just imply- no, say that we can cheat?
"Did I hear you right?" I asked incredulously. "Did you just say what I think you said?"
Elena rolled her eyes in amusement as she mock-glared, a tilt to her mouth as she spoke. "No, I didn't just say that we could cheat on the exam."
"Woah," I gasped in disbelief. My face must really reflect what I was feeling as she shook her head at my reaction and continued flipping through her papers. "Did I just detect sarcasm?"
"No, no you didn't." she deadpanned, and I almost burst into a fit of laughter at her words.
"M'kay," I snickered, "Whatever you say."
~~~
- A m a r a R u s s o -
Two weeks have passed since Elena started coming over to our house, and it was now the new norm. She'd come right after we arrived home from our extra curricular activities, and we'd study for about an hour before she left.
"Uhh, Salvatore?" I asked unsurely, and he turned to me.
"What is it?"
"I uhh, I need to tell you something." I said, and he gestured for me to continue.
"Elena accidentally umm, took my folders and sheets for our geography exam tomorrow." I winced at my own words as Salvatore raised an eyebrow.
"And?"
He just had to make this harder for me didn't he?
"So I was wondering if umm," I swallowed past the lump in my throat, determined to get my words across without looking or sounding like an idiot. As you can probably tell, it wasn't going very well so far.
I cleared my throat, "I was wondering if maybe one of you would drive me to her house to pick it up?"
It was meant to be a statement, but with each word, my voice raised higher and higher until my sentence became a question.
"No."
"What? Why?" I asked, and he shook his head firmly.
"No." he repeated. "It's too dangerous at this time. I won't allow it."
"But I need it for studying!" I insisted, and a glare from Salvatore had me shrinking back into myself.
"What did I say?" he growled menacingly.
"No," I whimpered, and he nodded.
"Exactly. No means no, or do I have to repeat myself again?" Salvatore raised a perfectly sculpted brow in my direction as I shook my head.
"It's fine." I mumbled, "I'll just- I'll just go now."
With those words, I scurried away.
Honestly, if I was a puppy, I'd be crying right now with my tail in between my legs with the way I was acting. I'm acting like a wounded child right now.
"Wait."
Salvatore's baritone voice broke into my thoughts right as I was about to close the doors to his office.
"Yes?" I whispered, my voice shaking.
A sigh was heard, and I felt his presence behind me in less than a second. A pair of strong arms wrapped around me, and I felt my body stiffen up in surprise.
Was Salvatore... Hugging me?
A pair of lips touched my temple as I stayed perfectly still, not believing anything I'm feeling right now. My five senses are playing tricks on me again. This is not funny.
"I'm only doing this for your safety, Amara." he murmured softly, "You may not understand now, but you'll understand soon. Everything. You'll know soon."
"But why not now?" I asked, and his arms tightened around me, a movement so small I wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for the fact that I was on high alert at the moment.
"Because you are not ready to hear the full truth yet." Salvatore stated honestly. "When you are ready, we'll tell you."
"And when will I know that I am ready?" I asked softly, my mind wandering already as Salvatore thought about my question.
It took a full minute before Salvatore replied.
"You won't, but I will."
~~~
"Amara!" Elena shouted the next day.
"Hey," I greeted dully, and Elena rummaged through her bag.
"I am so sorry," she apologized, shoving my notebook into my hands as she looked at me.. "I really didn't mean to pack your stuff. It was an accident. I swear." she blurted, but I waved away her apology.
"It's fine." I mumbled to her, "I'll just try my best to review everything in the next few minutes before class starts."
My stomach was churning, and my heart was pounding in my ears. I knew that this exam would determine if I get an eighty on my final report card for the semester. My grade right now was literally at seventy-three percent at, which meant that everything depended on this exam.
Literally fifty percent of my final grade depended on this exam, and the fact that I didn't study yesterday because all of my notes were gone didn't leave a good feeling in my stomach.
Sure, I had my textbook and all that, but by the time I realized that all of my notes were gone, Elena had already gone back to bed because she sleeps at eight in the evening. This meant that she couldn't send me photos of anything, and all I had was the textbook to learn from, nothing the teacher told me.
"I'm so so so sorry," she continued, eyes wide with panic. "I didn't mean to. It was an accident, and since I was so rushed yesterday, I just packed everything that I thought was mine. Since your notebook is the exact same as mine, I got confused and packed both of ours into my bag. I-"
"I told you," I interrupted, a sad but forgiving smile on my face. "It's fine. It was an accident."
Still a look of guilt traveled onto her face, so I gave her the brightest smile I could muster. "Don't worry. I knew that I was going to be failing anyways."
"Don't say that!" she said, horror filling her tone. "You aren't going to fail! You studied for two weeks!"
"And? I'm not a super genius or anything." I mumbled, "I'm not as smart as you."
"Bu-"
"Don't." I shook my head. "Let's just get to class. We can test each other there."
~
"Wanna come over to my house?" Elena asked me.
"I don't think I'm allowed." I muttered, looking at Salvestro who was in his car, typing away at his phone.
"Oh fine," she rolled her eyes. "I just wanted to celebrate it with you! We've finished our geography exams!"
"Yay," I mumbled, sarcasm touching my voice as I regarded her cheerful nature.
Her happiness immediately deflated at my mood though, and she gave me another guilty look.
"Again, I'm really sorry fo-"
"It's fine." I snapped, "Stop apologizing. What's happened has happened. No reason to mope about it. I'll get over it."
Honestly, I was getting tired of her apologizing every few seconds. Yes, I know that she felt guilty and was trying to make up for it, but it wasn't her grades that were suffering. It was mine.
Even if Elena failed this test, she would still be getting honour roll because she literally aced all the other tests. If I failed this test, I'm afraid that I might be in huge trouble with Salvatore.
Elena looked absolutely crushed at my words, but I didn't regret them... Not until tears started forming in her eyes.
"I-" she cut herself off, and ran off, her bun falling out of it's net as she ran away from me, tears streaming down her face.
Shocked, I could only stare at her figure before my brain slowly started registering everything that happened in the span of a few seconds.
"Wh- wait!" I yelled, and ran after her, dropping my bag and phone onto the floor as I ran off to her, not bothering with the questioning glances I was getting from the twins and Sandeo.
"Bathroom!" I shouted over to them, and Sandeo nodded in understanding before he went to the car.
"Elena!" I yelled, sprinting after her as she shoved herself into the bathroom, me only a few seconds behind her right as she locked herself into the stall.
She let out quiet sobs as she tried to contain her sniffles. I literally wanted to turn back time and scoop everything that just came out of my mouth back in. I didn't mean to snap at her. I just got annoyed and it... Happened.
"Elena?" I called out softly.
"Go away." she hiccuped.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, and almost laughed at the irony.
Only a few seconds ago was I telling Elena to stop apologizing, and here I was, doing the same thing.
I heard a door click, which only made me assume that someone else was coming in as I sighed and turned around, my eyes closed as I leaned against her stall.
"I'll go." I muttered, "We can talk later, alright?"
With that, I opened my eyes and pushed myself off of the stall.
I only made it a few steps before something clamped over my mouth, causing my eyes to widen as I let out a terrified shriek of surprise.
Struggling in the person's grip, I cried out in pain as I felt my arms being pulled behind me, nearly ripping it out of their sockets as tears burned the tips of my eyes.
Kicking out, I managed to twist out of the person's grip and chased towards the door, stumbling a bit as adrenaline pushed me forward. Pulling at the door to the bathroom, I couldn't open it for some reason, and a deep chuckle was heard.
"You won't be able to open it girly," he whispered, a maniac smile on his face as I stared at his crooked, yellow teeth.
"Who- who are y-you?" I stuttered, still desperately pulling at the doors to open as I felt blood drain out of my face. He took a step closer to me.
"Someone you should know," he shrugged, and although I was terrified for my own life, I felt my brows furrow.
Someone I should know?
"Someone I should know?" I repeated out loud, and he nodded.
"Yes."
"Well I don't know you," I retorted, " I would've remembered someone as-"
His smile widened urging me to continue before I could finish my sentence.
"Disgusting and repulsive as you." I spat, and immediately, his expression changed into one of pure fury.
He lunged straight at me, and I didn't have enough time to dodge before a blow was sent straight to my face.
"Do you know who the fuck you are talking to?" he yelled, and I spat out a mouthful of blood.
I was feeling quite rebellious right now, and for some reason, he didn't scare me, or maybe it was just the adrenaline talking.
I must look psycho as I stared at him with a smirk on my face.
"I do know who I am talking to," I nodded solemnly, as if I was serious. "I'm talking to a bastard who is in real need of brushing his teeth. Damn your breath stink. No wonder your teeth are so yellow!"
I didn't see the punch coming before I was knocked unconscious.
~
- S a m a n t h a R o m a n o -
Silence.
Sweet. Beautiful. Kind.
Silence was all of those things, except more.
How could something so beautiful turned into something so murderous. Torturous?
"Samantha," someone cooed, and I lifted my head up, the action just enough to leave me panting for air.
I hadn't eaten in days, and my muscles were slowly losing its function as all that replaced it was skin and bone.
My sleeping schedule was also a mess. I had no sense of time in here.
For all I know, I could've been here for days, weeks, months, and even years, but even then, I still wouldn't know. I haven't seen the light in forever, and the silence was deafening. It's what I lived with now though.
No one would be here to save me.
I made sure that they wouldn't be able to track me down. It was too risky. I made sure that no one would be able to when the incident happened, because I knew that I would somehow find a way to escape.
My will hadn't left me yet. I was still fighting, but for how much longer, I wouldn't know. I had managed to make a code with Alicia. One day, on the right day, at the right time, she would save her daughter, and the three of us would all go away.
If all goes according to plan, and my family took the clue, none of them would be coming for me as I will go to them. It was much safer. Less risky if I did the action.
"Aww," the same person said, "Is Sammie having trouble? Why don't I help you?"
I knew what type of help he was going to give. I didn't want it. Not at the cost of my family.
I shook my head, not wanting to look at him as I heard him come closer to me, his footsteps loud and clear to my honed in assassin ears.
"Why don't you talk?" he whispered, running a cold finger down the side of my face as I barely managed to restrain the urge to slap his hand away. If I did, I would only get another 'session' that would render me useless for at least another month.
I shook my head again, and I felt him pout like a crazy maniac.
"Has your voice left you?" he wondered, lifting my chin up with a bony finger as he pried my eyes open.
"Speak." he ordered, and even though I opened my mouth, no sound came out.
"I told you to speak!" he sneered, and slapped me on the face when he knows very well that I won't speak.
The force had my head reeling back as it made contact with the rock wall, the blood rushing to my head. I had a concussion, that was for sure.
Disoriented, I barely managed to lift myself up on my elbows as I spat out a mouthful of blood, my tongue running over the crevices of my teeth.
At least I didn't lose those yet. Thank God for small mercies.
"Willing to speak yet?" he smirked, and I really wanted to curse him out, maybe snap at him.
But, I contained my rage, letting it fuel me for my future escape. I wasn't an idiot. I knew when not to do anything.
"No?" He raised an eyebrow at me. My voice wouldn't work well anyways. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to bring in my last resort."
With that, he left, and I was left leaning on the wall, taking the most out of my small reprieve from his presence.
I don't care what his last resort was. My family was safe, and that was all I cared about. I could endure his torture, there wasn't much he could take from me anyways.
It wasn't long before he came back, holding a struggling kid in his arms. A bag was placed over the kid's head, and he strapped him onto a chair right in front of me.
If he thought that torturing a girl would get me to speak, he has got another thing coming for him.
"Samantha," he stated, and the kid stopped struggling, as if he froze. "Why don't you meet my dear friend, Amara?"
No. Fucking. Way.
***
Don't you guys love me? The drama has officially made its way into the open, and I'm so excited! I don't know about you, but I literally can't wait for your reactions in the end. Anyways, let me know what you felt when reading Samantha's POV. I tried, okay? But I don't know if it's good, so let me know!
Anyways, I'm going to need your help to decide on a few things regarding this book. I have decided that I will not be writing a sequel or prequel to this book as I feel like the quality of the book will not be as good as this one. Since I believe in quality, I don't feel like the plot in the prequel/sequel will be as good as the plot in this book, which is why I made the tough decision of not making a prequel or a sequel.
However, there is another option I am willing to do because many of you have requested it. Since I do not want to break any hearts (I'm joking of course), I am willing to write Bonus Chapters on Samantha's old life, before Amara even came into the picture. These of course, will be put in the same book because it will be much easier for you and me. Tell me what you think! I need at least ten people telling me that they want it before I actually start, so comment away!
If you read this all the way to the end, comment 'Christmas'. First person to comment can request for as many updates as they want from me as long as they don't exceed the limit of three. I'm not that free guys, lmao.
Love you all and as always, stay safe!
~ CRAZY40429 💋
QotC: Do you prefer science or math?
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