AURELIA'S POV:
"You are not so high and mighty now are you? You bitch!" Josh's drunken voice says harshly as he throws me against the wall.
I groan in pain as my hair is pulled back by an unrelenting fist. Perfect. Just perfect. Josh isn't alone.
"What are you doing Josh? I already lost my job because of you, why won't you leave me alone?" I cry out in despair as I struggle against the man behind me.
"Stop pretending, bitch, I know you want me. You can drop the fucking act right now!" Josh says as he throws his fist around wildly, barely missing my face by about an inch.
The statistics of dead women found in alleyways in this part of the city has become increasingly bothersome. Making a quick decision to avoid becoming one of those statistics, I wince in disgust as I grip his fist in my hands.
"Look, Josh, you are right. I want you. But we can't talk about this here. How about you get a nice room for both of us and then we will proceed from there." I say while holding my breath, hoping that he will take the bite.
There is no way in hell that I'm seeing Josh after today. I would rather lose my right hand and a foot.
"Don't fall for it, Josh. She's trying to play you." A second voice says in an equally scary tone.
Josh snatches his hand away from mine and my heart sinks in my chest. "Shut the fuck up bitch. We will do what I say when I say it."
I fall backwards, my back hitting the wall hard. I watch warily as Josh takes out a switchblade from his pocket and flicks it open.
He takes a step towards me and I take a matching wary step backwards, only to be propelled forward by a slight push from his companion.
"Get back here and get on your knees or else I will be forced to hurt you." Josh says as he grips the blade tighter in his hands.
I don't doubt the veracity of his statement but at this point, it is physically impossible for me to go on my knees. The glass shards already embedded in them would dig deeper and I would be in more pain that I am in right now.
"I have injuries on my leg, how about I sit on the floor instead?" I say in a pitiful tone, not sure why I decided to appeal to his humane side which seems to be strangely missing.
"Does it look like I care? Get on your knees bitch!" Josh says in an angry tone as he waves his knife dangerously close to my face.
I wince in pain and bite back a cry as I carefully kneel on the hard ground. I really should have cleaned the injury before leaving the building.
Josh flicks the blade close as he struggles with his pants. He finally unzips it, pulling it down along with his briefs and I'm left gaping in shock. Things were escalating to a whole new level.
"You promised I would have her first if I helped you grab her." Josh's companion says in a petulant tone as he momentarily loses his grip on my shoulders.
My heart rate increases as a frowning Josh turns his attention to his companion. "I was the first to make a move on her in that event. I think I deserve to go first with her after all the trouble I went through."
"That is bullshit man! You made a promise and you must stick to it." Josh's companion says as he takes a threatening step towards Josh.
"In fact, I think I'm going to have her to myself, because I don't owe a scoundrel like you anything!" Josh says in an enraged tone.
Josh's companion pushes him by the chest and I scramble out of the way. Soon they start throwing punches and I take that as my cue to leave.
I hold my bag close to my chest and I take off running. I don't slow down when Josh and his partner give chase, not until I burst into my house. I'm breathing heavily by the time I bang the door close behind me.
"Mio Dio! Why can't you keep it quiet Aurelia? Must you steal the joy from every room you walk into?" Gia, my father's wife asks with a frown as she burrows deeper into the couch.
I don't bother responding to her as I head deeper into the house.
"Is that blood on your thighs?" Rosetta's whiny high pitched voice says, her heart-shaped face coming into view as I step into the room I share with my step-sisters.
"You are going to stain the bedding!" Rosetta continues in an irritated tone that has me gritting my teeth.
"Why is that a problem for you when I'm the one that does the cleaning?" I ask in a sharp tone, more than pleased with myself when her mouth opens and closes in shock.
I guess she isn't used to this side of me, but it was nearly impossible for me to maintain a sunny disposition and entertain their bullshit considering I had just lost my job and I had nothing to fall back on, even though I was shouldering most of the house expenses, most importantly purchasing expensive drugs for my ailing father.
I clean up my injuries the best way I can. I get rid of the glass shards embedded in my knees, heaving a sigh of relief when I see that the injury is actually a minor one.
When I'm done, I go in search of my father considering it was time for him to take his drugs. Irrespective of the fact that Gia was constantly at home, the primary health care of my father fell on my shoulders. Even the twins couldn't be bothered.
"Papà." I say as I step into the darkened room. "God, this place is stuffy." I say as I move towards the heavy black blinds.
"Lascialo chiuso. L'inferno sarebbe comunque più oscuro di così." Leave it closed. Hell would be darker than this anyway. He says in a harsh but low tone as he struggles to sit upright.
"You are not allowed to talk like that, papà." I say in a mild but alarmed tone as I rush towards him. However before I can successfully help him up, he jerks his hand away from my grip. I turn my face slightly away in order to hide my disappointment.
"Who are you to tell me what to do? I don't even want you here." He says as he turns his cold stare towards me.
"You need me here, papà. How else would you be able to afford your treatment?" I ask in a bitter tone as I pull out his medicines from the cupboard beside his bed.
"Why do you even care? You left me here in the first place so what is it to you that I survive?" He asks as he accepts the glass of water from my hands.
"Will you ever forgive me for that?" I ask in a quiet tone as I'm reminded of the time I ran away to pursue a failing dream.
"I don't know? Do you regret running away?" He asks as he leans back in bed after swallowing the pills.
I'm quiet as I avert my eyes, wishing more than anything that the answer was in the positive. I don't even bother lying because I honestly doubt I would be able to push the words past my tongue.
"Then we are done here, Aurelia." He says as he closes his eyes, successfully dismissing me.
I leave the room with tears in my eyes. I walk out the front door ignoring the screaming voice belonging to Gia. I have no idea where I'm going but I know I can't be in that house. There were too many painful memories.
After strolling aimlessly for some time, I send a text to Olivia, asking her to meet me at the diner we usually have lunch at. She is my only friend in this small town.
"Why do you look like a cat peed in your food?" Olivia asks as she slides into the booth opposite mine.
"Worse than that, I lost my job." I say with a crestfallen look on my face.
"Ouch. What was it this time?" Olivia asks with a wince, knowing all about my woes and trouble.
"It's a 'who'." I say in a sad tone as I munch on the fries placed in front of me by the kind waiter. "Alessandro Santino." I say, repeating the name that had caused me nightmares.
"What the hell did you just say?" Olivia stutters as she chokes on the drink she was sipping.
"I think you heard me clearly the first time." I say in a dry tone as I lean back on my chair.
"Alessandro freaking Santino got you fired?" Olivia asks with a wide eyed expression, "how the hell are you still alive?"
"That's a bit extreme. Is he a big shot or something?" I ask in a nervous tone as I clasp my hands together in front of me.
"How the hell do you not know who he is?" Olivia asks with a creased brow indicating her confusion.
"Fine, I will tell you. He's the head of the Santino family as well as the Don of the Italian mafia but he lives all the way out in New York City." Olivia says with a dazed expression on her face.
"You and I both know the mafia doesn't really exist." I say with a nervous chuckle as I pick at my fingertips.
"You should go into hiding." Olivia says as her eyes finally focus on me.
"You are scaring me, Olivia!" I say in a hushed tone as I look around me.
"Oh my God, I can't be seen with you if not I'm as good as dead!" Olivia says in an alarmed tone as she hurries to pack her things from the table.
"Stop this, Olivia!" I say in a harsh tone as I grab her hand.
"Fine I will stay but our friendship ends here." Olivia says in a comical tone as she settles back down on her chair.
"If he's indeed in the mafia, why would he bother about destroying my life? Wouldn't he be concerned with more important things?" I ask in a solemn tone. I can't even believe that I'm considering this narrative.
"That's true. Like chopping off the head of his enemies." Olivia says while nodding her head in a comical fashion.
"That's enough Olivia. Let's talk about what I'm going to do about my job. If I don't have a job by the end of this week, I won't be able to get the necessary treatment for my father and he's going to die." I say with a groan.
"Why do you bother so much about a man that doesn't love you?" Olivia asks in a quiet tone.
"He loves me, Olivia. He just has a hard time showing it. He still thinks I betrayed him by leaving." I say with a grimace, doubting the first part of my statement.
"The mere fact that you dropped everything and let go of your dreams and came back to this rundown city when you learnt of his illness should be enough for him to forgive you." Olivia says with a scoff.
"I shouldn't have gone in the first place." I say in a quiet tone as tears gather in my eyes.
"Look Lia, you are doing your best and I must say it's very commendable. Fuck whoever thinks otherwise." Olivia says and despite her crass tone I find myself smiling.
"Thank you, I really needed that." I respond.
"Anytime." Olivia says, "What about the charity organization that offered to help you with your dad's treatment?"
"I don't know. I haven't heard from them since then. I had dinner with one of the sponsors but she barely spoke to me, she kept looking at her phone." I respond as I eat the last of my fries.
"Well, that sucks." Olivia says with a weary look on her face.
We finish eating not too long after and after making me promise to call her the moment I get home, Olivia leaves.
A sad sigh leaves my lips as I start my journey home. Having dinner with Olivia had taken my mind off things for some time but now I'm back to worrying.
Would I be able to find a job? I got the last one by luck and now I've lost it.
Halfway through my journey, a black coloured van starts trailing me. My heartbeat increases as I double my steps, praying that Josh and his partner had not come to finish what they started.
Just as I break into a run, the van swerves in front of me, cutting short my escape.
Before I can make a move to run the other way, the door of the van flies open and men dressed in black outfits with black skull masks pour out and a hood is thrown over my head before I'm pushed into the back of the van.
"Let me go! Let me go!" I scream as I throw my hands around wildly until someone ties them together.
"Who the hell are you people?! My father won't pay any ransom!" I say angrily. Kidnapping for ransom was a common occurrence in this part of Italy but it didn't happen to poor people like me.
"Did you hear me?! Who the hell are you people?!" I scream angrily.
"You will know soon enough, piccola morte." A cold hard voice says in a tone that leaves chills on my arms.
I go still when I recognise the owner of the voice. Olivia was right! The devil had indeed come for my head.