CHIARA
He stood up and came over and sat near me. He placed a phone on the table before me and then played a video. It showcased the chaos that happened at my disappearance. My eyes widened in concern, but not for the sick bastard.
I got up abruptly, causing the chair to fall behind me. My heart pounded in my chest as it was suddenly engulfed with fear. "My mother! And bother! I have to go back! I have to go back!" I started to run, but I got nowhere. A hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me back, my back crushed against his chest. I screamed and thrashed in the air, "No! Let me go! I have to go!" I kicked and clawed his hand, but he held me in place. "Calm down. Your mother and brother are fine. Just calm down!" he shouted back, hugging me tightly.
"Then let me talk to them. At least let me hear their voices." He let go of me and went back to get the phone from the table. "You can only talk for a few minutes, then you'll have to end the call." He stated. "Just give me the Goddamn phone!" I seethed, evil intentions hooded my eyes. As if noticing, he handed it to me. I dialed and paced the room when it wasn't going through. "Please pick up, please, please." I repeated until it went through.
"Hello? Chichi? Is that you?" he asked when I didn't reply. "Oh, thank God, Marco," I said, tears trickling down profusely. "Where are you? Are you alright?" he asked, and I sobbed. "I'm fine. How is Mama?" I asked. I talked with both of them. I teared up, gripping the phone. Eternally grateful that both of them were fine.
"Marco, how are things over there?" I asked. "Bad, insanely bad. Papa and Enzo fought each other and killed several guests in the process. They are at war. Luca and he are out there searching for you as we speak." He said, I could feel the tension in his voice. "He is going to harm you and Mama next. I have to get back." I said, my body began to shake.
"Wherever you are right now, don't come back. We'll be okay." He said flatly.
"Listen to your brother, honey, do not get back to this hell ever again. I prayed for this day to happen. Your brother and I will be fine." Mama said, sniffling. "Mama, please," I uttered. "Make sure you eat well, sleep, and be happy. If you can't do it for yourself, then do it for me and your brother. I love you, honey, always remember that." She added. I gripped my chest.
"I have to go now, sister. I'll find a way to get to you, but for now, lay low and never call again, and—I love you," said Marco. "I love…you. Both of you." I painfully uttered before the call went off.
I let it slide from my hands and fall. A loud wail tore from my mouth as I sank to the ground. He is going to hurt them. I knew he would. And the fact that they were willing to live in pain for my happiness pierced, twisted, and turned my inside until I couldn't breathe anymore. Fear consumed me wholly. It felt like it was surging in my veins and riding all over my body.
I began to feel dizzy and gasping for air. My hands shot straight to my hair, gripping the strands and knotting it.
Carmelo dropped to his knees, gently peeled my hands off my hair and pinned them to his chest. Where his heartbeats were drumming. "Hey, it's okay." I stared at his concerned eyes and let him pull me into his arms. This was the second time I was having an anxiety attack before him, and like before, he drew soothing circles on my back as my body rocked back and forth. "Everything will be alright." He murmured, kissing my hair. I shook my head, "Nothing will ever be alright again. Nothing." I'd always wished to leave the house, but now that I finally have, I don't feel the joy I'd anticipated finding with my freedom. Because I was saved alone, and my mother was still locked up in that hellish jail. Plus, my brother. Poor, Marco. My heart clenched. He'd always paid for just following me around since we were younger and continued to do so without a change of mind.
"They are trying to protect you," he said. I shook my head, "You don't understand. He is going to harm them. I have to go. I have to go. I must." I sobbed harder and louder until my cries were the only sound that echoed inside the house.
I couldn't tell how long I had been crying in that man's arms. And he held me without letting me go, even when I was having a mental breakdown and wanted to be alone. He didn't leave me. He escorted me back to the room and left me to collect myself as he said.
My mind was here, there, and everywhere, all at once. I cried until tears decided they were done with me. I'd dried every single drop. How were they doing? How badly has Antonio hurt them? How bad were they paying for my sins? I didn't know what to do. But sitting and sulking wasn't it either. What I was supposed to do was think of ways to get them out of there.
I was not religious. I couldn't recall the last day I'd visited a church or bent my knee and prayed. But I shut my stinging eyes and prayed deeply. I didn't even know where to begin. How to call out to him. So, I just silently prayed for their safety until my return. Because I was going to return to them, no matter what.
A knock at the door brought me back to earth. "Enter," I said. I saw his shoe first before the man waltzed in his black shirt and matching pants. The other side of the bed dipped a little when he sat down, facing me.
"How do you feel now?" he asked. His voice was softer than I'd remembered it. "Like I'm fucked up," I replied, my voice hoarse and unappealing. "At least you are still breathing." He uttered. I looked down at myself. I should be grateful, and I was. I'd been trafficked by now. "Thank you," I murmured. "There is no need." He said. "I'm truly thankful for saving me, and I will find a way to repay you after I leave the country."
Carmelo looked at me and then laughed. His eyes darkened when his laughter died. "If you think that you are here to leave, then you should go wash your face, you are still sleepy." He said, getting up from the bed. A frown settled on my face. "What are you talking about?' A new form of fear crawled in my heart. Have I escaped one fire pit only to jump into another one?