Chapter 48
I was confused about what to say to him.
ne up with
“L… I don’t know what to say,” I finally admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “My mind is blank. I can’t come any decision. I… I want break”
The clouds crackled with my last words.
Tears welled in our eyes as we grappled with the conflicting desires of our heart and the harsh reality of our situation.
I am sure about one thing that the path forward would be fraught with uncertainty and difficult choices. But one thing was certain: I couldn’t afford to let my guard down again, not when the stakes were so high.
I ran ahead and was about to slip when Luciano grabbed my arms and saved me from getting injured.
“Dove, please” he bite his lower lip to stop it from quivering
His hold on my arm tightening as he was not ready to just let me go.
“I can’t”
Warm
Pulling away my arm from his hold I looked at him for the last time. I need time. I can’t take any decision in a such a situation where my mind is completely blank. I am not in a condition to think what’s right or wrong for me.
His eyes were still begging me. I looked away before my heart could melt.
I took a step forward only for him to move behind me “Vanessa, please it is raining heavily”
“Please Luciano, if you have ever loved me the way you said, please don’t follow me” a wave of sadness passed through his eyes as he heard me “Thanks for the best birthday gift I muttered before running away.
I ran ahead, my vision blurred by tears. The rain, mirroring my turmoil, poured relentlessly from the sky, drenching me to the bone but I didn’t care. Each raindrop felt like a tiny echo of the pain I carried inside.
I was running madly in the middle of the streets without caring that I might slip and injure myself. I wasn’t sure where my feet were taking me. I was running, without a destination in mind, driven only by the need to escape from my past, from all the bad decisions I have made.
I knew that in this weather I won’t even get the cab. I was pretty sure that Luciano was still watching me from the back but I didn’t turn around even for once to look at him..
Suddenly a car halted beside me, the sound of tires skidding on wet pavement broke through the pounding rain.
“Hey, are you okay?” a woman’s voice called out over the rain. She rolled down her window, her eyes moving down my body.
Instead of replying to her I panted heavily. My head dizzy.
“Do you need any help?” She asked me
The way my head is spinning I am not sure I would be able to reach anywhere safely or not.
“I think you should hop in. It’s not safe to be out here alone in this weather?
I gulped and nodded. She helped me in opening the door and without thinking much I sat inside. My hands wrapped around my arms as the cold wind hit me.
“Where is your home?” She asked me.
14:35 Sat, 6 Apr
Chapter 48
My homel
I don’t have any home.
What should I tell her?
She looked at my side for more than a second when I didn’t reply. Unable to come up with anything I told her the address to my friend’s home. It is the only temporary shelter which I know in a situation where I have nowhere to go.
As we drove on, the rain pattering against the windshield, I fought to keep my emotions in check. I wanted to cry out loud, to unleash the torrent of pain and uncertainty that threatened to consume me. But I held it in, steeling myself against the onslaught of emotions.
The words of Luciano came back to my mind as she drove. I don’t know why it feels like there is still something which Luciano is hiding from me. Mere forcing him to the board school could not make him hate his parents so much.
Every time he mentioned that something dark happened in his family, it seems like that is also related to me. We don’t know each other neither as much as I know our families are not connected but still somewhere it feels like it is related to my family.
The sudden brake of the car broke the chain of my thoughts. I looked out to find that she has stopped at my
“Thank you so much”
friend’s home.
She nodded as I thanked her for her kind behaviour. Stepping out I went straight inside the house to find it empty. I didn’t have enough energy to change my clothes or go to the room.
My whole life has became a mess!
My legs gave up and I collapsed on the floor crying my heart out. The table beside, gave me the support to lean my head and cry. Each sob tore through my chest, wrenching my body with its raw intensity.
My cries echoed in the whole room. I was feeling more hurt because Luciano never tried to tell me that it was all a facade. I wouldn’t be that much hurt if he told me the truth.
All my energy drained away as I placed my head on the table and suddenly everything became black….
‘Don’t punish yourself, Vanessa. He is a good man, give him one chance to prove himself
My eyes shot open as the words rang in my head. I am sure it was the voice of my parents.
My whole body shivered when the cold air from window hit my body. My clothes were almost dry. I slept for two hours. My neck and back were throbbing because of sleeping in such an uncomfortable situation.
Before I could think of the dream again, my phone rang. The call was from my friend, Clara.
When I came here I was so much lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice that the doors of the house were already open and she was not at home.
Suddenly a frightening feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. It is midnight and she has never called me like that ever
before.
“Hello” I murmured over the call/my voice hoarse as I was in a deep sleep before this.
“Vanessa, where are you?” Clara’s voice quivered with fear, sending a jolt of alarm coursing through my veins.
Chapter 48
My heart pounded in my chest as I struggled to make sense of her words. My doubts were confirmed–she was in danger.
1- I am at your home” I told her the truth “what happened Clara? Is everything alright?” I asked her when I myself feared her
next words.
A loud sob escaped her throat which she tried to supress but failed to. And then my heart wrenched in my chest when I heard her pain filled voice which was followed by a loud sound of leather. It felt like someone is beating her with belt or something like that.
“What- what happened Clara? Where are you?” My body instantly became attentive.
Vanessa, please please save… Ahhhh!” Clara’s voice was drowned out by another agonizing scream, cutting through the air like a knife.
Who could behave so cruelly with her?
As far as I know she doesn’t have any enemies.
But as the seconds stretched into eternity, all I could hear was the echo of Clara’s pain, mingled with the sickening sound of leather striking flesh. Every fiber of my being screamed for action, for intervention, but I was powerless to do anything but listen in horror as my friend suffered on the other end of the line.
“Stop, please, stop!” I screamed into the phone, my voice raw with desperation and fear. The sound of Clara’s agony tore at my soul, driving me to the brink of madness as I pleaded with whoever was inflicting such brutality upon her.
Maybe, maybe my pleas could stop the monster. As if heaven heard my pleas, the voice ceased all of a sudden. “Vanessa who is this? Please tell me where you are!” I asked, my voice filled with panick and concern for my friend Everything that happened with me a few hours ago was now long gone. All I wanted was to save my friend!
“I–I don’t know” she cried.
With trembling hands, I gripped the phone tightly, my heart pounding in my chest as I searched for some clue, some hint of where Clara might be.
Suddenly it felt like someone else had taken the phone and I was sure it was none other than the kidnapper himself.
“What do you want?” I asked directly, without beating around the bush.
“YOU! The word echoed through the receiver, sharp and menacing, sending a shiver down my spine. His response struck me like a physical blow, leaving me reeling with disbelief.
But what chilled me to th core even more was the fact that the voice felt so familiar. I couldn’t believe that he could low!
