- So you're saying that you were raised by strangers for eighteen years, only to end up in the hands of a revenge-hungry mafioso? - Henry looks at me with shocked eyes, entirely ignoring Luke, who is sitting next to him. The boy is sipping alcohol, looking bored. - You are trapped by a dangerous man, and you don't know what awaits you the next day!
- I don't know what awaits me the next day either since I decided to help her," Luke interjects, finally getting Henry's attention. - I was supposed to keep an eye on her, and behind my boss's back I took her out of the house so she could meet you. You should be kissing my feet for that.
He lifts his glass up in salute.
- So there is no way for Solar to free herself from the hands of the mafia?
Luke sips the alcohol again and thinks for a long moment. He sets the glass down on the countertop, sighing loudly.
- I promised her that I would help her escape at all costs, but don't think to yourself that she will live peacefully after this. She will never be safe again, and count on the fact that she will disappear from your life - she answers him roughly. - This may be the last time you see her, so enjoy this moment while you can.
- Luke! - I chastise the boy, piercing him with my eyes. I get the impression that he is jealous of my best friend.
- Well what? I say plainly. Why get his hopes up? You will never again lead a carefree life by his side. Unless you want to both kill yourself and him.
- Because he is my hope? - I answer him with a question.
- I am your only hope - claims Luke, squinting his eyes and putting a finger to his chest.
Well. He's right. If he does not help me, my life will be covered only with suffering. I will never know happiness again, being married to a mafioso.
I glance at Luke, noticing that his face becomes anxious as he looks at the phone screen. He lifts his gaze and makes it clear to me that we are in trouble.
- What's going on? - I ask in a worried voice.
- Your friend is a pussy because he ratted us out. Out of fear, he sells everything to Alexander.
I shift my gaze to Henry, whose face begs me to forgive him.
- I'm sorry, but I can't be your friend when I'm threatened by the Mafia.
I tear myself from the chair, which topples to the floor. With eyes full of disbelief, I look at the man who has so far been the closest person to me. This is the man I trusted, to whom I would entrust my life.
- Henry. - I whisper in a brittle voice.
- Now at least nothing will keep you in this place. You've convinced yourself that your friend is a fake twit, so we can run away.
I open my eyes wide as Luke grabs my hand.
- What?
- I guessed that he would no longer be faithful to you since he was captured at the wedding. I would rather not tell you this before so that you wouldn't panic, but this is the moment when we take our feet by the belt and run away. We don't have time. Alexander is already on his way here.
Dragged by the hand by the handsome islander, I look over my shoulder and glance at Henry one last time.
He's the one who has wormed his way into my heart the deepest.
Once again I was disappointed in the person I loved so much. Henry was like a brother to me.
He is my best friend.
*
What are we going to do now? I don't have a clue. Alexander already knows that Luke has betrayed him. We are both in danger because we decided to run away from him. We are just hiding in the ruins of a building, resting, to move on shortly.
My heart hurts, although I try to put myself in Henry's shoes. I understand that he's afraid of the Mafia and doesn't want to put his life in danger, but I thought best friends would try to protect themselves at all costs.
I, for one, would never do such a mischief to him, even if I were to die a heroic death.
- I thought he was distressed about me - I said in a weepy voice, feeling tears coming to my eyes. - I knew Henry was a coward, but he's my best friend and how could he sell me out so cruelly....
- Do you think I would have let you meet with this moron, then return to Alexander's residence?
- Then why didn't you tell me right away that you were planning to escape just today? Why did you lie that it was too early, and you had to carry out the plan?
- So that you wouldn't panic at the last minute. Now we have no choice if we both want to survive.
- We have nothing with us. How do you plan to do it? - I attack him, watching obliquely as we sit against the wall.
Luke pulls out of his pants pocket two, thick files of banknotes.
- I borrowed from your husband. We'll have enough for a while.
- Moron, what about my stuff? How are we supposed to live like this?
The boy hands me fake documents. They show our photos, but the data is entirely different from the real one.
- I had already planned everything beforehand. There has been a plan in my head for a long time, which we now have to implement.
- So what is the second point of this plan?
- I need to kiss you to gain more strength.
I am shocked when he just so simply leans toward me, grasps my face with his hands and boldly kisses my lips.
- We are in danger, and you are stupid in your head?
- Now we are going to live a life of risk, so we also need to taste a little of madness.
He gets up from the ground and extends his hand to me, wanting to help me. He pulls me up and, without intending to let go of my hand, turns to me in a gentle voice:
- I'm as scared as you are, but it makes me happy that now you are only mine. And I won't let Alexander take you away from me. It was for me that you lost your head on the island. I'm the one who should have you exclusively.
I have a weakness for this bastard, despite how much he plays on my nerves. He can approach me, there's no denying it.
*
I look at my companion with eyes full of disbelief as he opens the door of an old model car and, with a nod, tells me to sit in the passenger seat.
- Where did you get this car?
- I informed you that the escape plan is largely prepared.
- Have you been drinking alcohol, and now you're going to drive?
- I have a hard head, and by the way, we have no choice. Unless you prefer to wait here for your husband. I'm afraid he will deprive us of our heads on the spot.
I obediently sit in the passenger seat, and he smiles, closing the door behind me. He joins me in firing up the engine of this twenty-year-old coo.
I have no idea what lies ahead. I have to admit that now every hour will be a death sentence for us because if we fail to escape and fall into Alexander's hands, I worry what he will do in an act of rage.
Luke will probably die at his hands, having previously been tortured in a cruel way for betraying and taking the mafioso's wife with him.
I... I can't be sure that I will be spared either. I don't even know what Alexander really has plans for me.
- How did you know that Henry tipped him off?
- Alexander has a man in the ranks who was a friend of my father. He has been on my side from the beginning. In a way, it is thanks to him that I survived. He helped me a lot, which your husband has no clue about.
- Don't call him my husband. Don't remind me of that, please - I interjected in his sentence, feeling a gag reflex.
- Your friend made a call to Alexander while we were talking. My boss heard everything, so we are both in the black.
Chills are going through me. I can't stand the kind of man Henry turned out to be. Out of fear for his life he was able to sell me - his best friend, the person he spent so much time with.
Why do I surround myself with only fake people? What is wrong with me?
- You won't betray me, will you? Isn't this just a ploy on your part? - I ask in a worried voice, watching him as he drives the car.
He glances at me for a split second, and a slight smile appears on his face.
- If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't risk so much. It was because of you that I accelerated my escape attempt, risking my life, so.... don't ever ask me that again, Solar.
- Do you think we have a good chance to escape and hide from Alexander for the rest of our lives?
- So honestly our chances are fifty out of fifty, but if we didn't take the risk, we would never be free from his paws.
- So where do we go now? To the airport? Is that why you prepared fake passports for us?
Luke shakes his head in response.
- Alexander has already sent his people there, so today we definitely won't do it. At least for a week of time we need to hide well and then escape abroad.
I nervously play with my hands, dreading what lies ahead. Every moment makes my heart beat faster.
- So where will we hide?
- There is a place waiting to shelter us - he replies.
I stare out the window, observing the passing images. In a short period of time, my life has changed so dramatically. I was an ordinary teenager who had parents and a best friend, and now I have neither, and I'm staying with a dangerous guy who has a split ego through drugs. To make matters worse, we are being pursued by a mafioso with whom I was forced to marry in the name of sick revenge.
Could my life be any crazier?
I shift my gaze to Luke and begin to feel uneasy when I notice that the hand he is holding on the steering wheel begins to tremble. He presses his lips together and drops of sweat run down his temples.
- Luke, are you okay?
He takes a deep breath and lets the air out of his mouth.
- I didn't see this coming, but something bad is starting to happen to me. I feel a terrible pain in my stomach.
- Pull over to the side of the road, please.
Surprisingly, he listens to me. He stops the car and hurriedly opens the door. He steps outside, and I join him. With wide-open eyes, I look at him as he starts vomiting along with blood.
- God, Luke. - I put my hand on his back, feeling fear. I'm starting to get seriously worried about him.
- Just don't panic. We don't need this - he says in a weak voice.
- It's because of those damn drugs! That son of a bitch finished you off! - I have no control over my nerves, and my vocabulary sounds blasphemous.
- Even if something happens to me, the most important thing is for you to free yourself from him. Remember that I'm doing all this for you, the island girl.
I feel like crying, but I stifle my tears strenuously. I can't be a weak girl if I want to survive.
- We will both free ourselves from this bastard.