The Mafia's Hostage

| 4 | Pancakes and Temptation.

E M E L I A N A

10:01

It feels like I've been in this tiny room for hours, simply left alone to suffer. The coldness isn't helping the situation either. But, sunshine crept through curtains and small rays of light did find their way to my skin, warming me up. I need a shower, or brush my teeth at least and wash my face. My eyes feel crusty and I have funky breath. So any of that would be okay right now.

More importantly, I'm f*****g hungry.

The sudden sound of the door unlocking instantly makes my head shoot up, watching and waiting for whoever is on the other side of the door to come in.

To my surprise, Adriano walks in with a bottle of water in one of his hands a small, white, ceramic plate in the other.

A rush of relief comes across me as Adriano enters the room. I genuinely prefer him over Luca, he has less of a murderous glare in his eyes and he is nicer to me and less scary.

"Adriano." I sigh as he walks in.

"Hello." He greets me with a small smile. He places the plate on the seat that Luca had left and turns to the door, leaving the room again.

I savour over the sweet sight of the food in front of me.

Pancakes.

My mouth remains open as I stare at the delicious food, swallowing in an attempt to moisten my dry throat.

Adriano comes back with a small knife and I shift a little in my seat at the sight of the sharp object, fear beginning to overwhelm me.

"Relax, I'm just going to cut the tape." He says, quickly raising his hands after noticing how tense I've become.

"O-okay," I reply him quietly. He walks closer to me and bends down a bit to cut the tape around my hands.

Once he's done, I stretch my arms and pull them in front of me. The sticky substance of the tape on my skin gave me an uncomfortable sensation on my wrists, but I am still grateful that they are off.

"Thanks," I mutter to him.

He walks in front of me and picks the plate off the seat, sitting down.

"Bon appetite." He tells me and hands the plate to me.

I feel my mouth water again as I slowly eye the food in front of me.

There are about 3 or 4 pieces of pancakes on the plate, perfectly stacked on top of each other, the sweet golden brown texture of their surface covered in a rich river of syrup topped with 4 sliced strawberries and a fork placed nearly at its side.

I can't believe he actually brought me pancakes. Luca must've been behind this. But that's not going to win me over. I'm not going to be their little house pet and accept everything they do like I don't have any choice. I haven't forgotten what they did to my Family...

But still, those pancakes look really delicious...

"I'm not hungry," I say stubbornly.

"Really? So you wouldn't mind if I took the plate would you?" He responds and begins lifting the plate with all the marvelous pieces of pancakes.

Don't give in. Don't give in. Don't give in.

"Wait... stop," I tell him, giving in to temptation. He smiles at me with a small sign of victory on his face as he places the plate back in front of me.

"Now... eat something. Pretty please." He says, encouraging me to take the plate. I rub my wrists and stare at the beautiful pancakes as they plead for me to consume them.

"Fine." I exhale and take the plate from him. I pick up the fork and cut a small piece of the pancake, stabbing a half-cut strawberry before lifting it to my mouth, taking a bite. The burst of flavour causes my tastebuds to tingle and a small moan to slip out of my mouth. I open my eyes to find Adriano smiling at me with a stupid boyish expression.

"Stop laughing at me," I tell him and cut another piece of the pancake.

"Hey, I'm not judging." He says, holding his hands up in defense.

I shake my head slightly at him before continuing to eat my food in silence as Adriano sits down and watches me without saying a word. The silence is a comfortable one and I find Adriano's presence quite calming compared to Luca's...

"You're a good cook," I tell him as I finish my food. He chuckles softly and shakes his head a little.

"I can't boil water without burning it. Luca made that." And with that, I put my fork on the plate and stare at Adriano. What if Luca poisoned my food? What if there was some kind of drug in it?

"Relax I wouldn't let him do anything to your food." He explains briefly making me sigh in relief as my racing heart relaxes.

"How are you feeling?" I ask him picking up a strawberry and popping it in my mouth.

"I feel better actually."

"Well, that's good to hear." I smile at him.

But on a more serious note, I have to see if he can help me escape.

"Adriano, you have to help me get out of here," I whisper, leaning forward so he can look at me. His smile fades as a frown is replaced on his features, staring back at me with regret.

"I can't do that, I'm sorry." He responds. That was expected, but I'm sure I can persuade him. I can't give up just yet.

"Adriano please, Luca killed my Family..."

"And Luca is my family, I'm not just going to betray him like that." He tells me and I can hear the anger rising in his voice.

"D-Did you know what Luca was about to do to my Famiglia?" I ask him and he clenches his jaw slightly before looking away from me, his gaze landing on the floor.

"Adriano look at me... Did you know what he was going to do?" I deadpan and he sighs to him before he turns back slowly and looks me straight in the eye before he nods his head tardily.

Tears burn in my eyes but being as stubborn as I am, I refuse to let them fall. After all that I did to help him, he's been in it all along. I guess part of me knew already, I just didn't want to accept it...

"Emeliana-,"

"Go. Just, please go. I want to be alone." I let out without looking at him, biting my bottom lip hard to try and suppress a cry despite my tears streaming down my cheeks.

Adriano gets up and stands in front of me for a moment.

"Emeliana... just let me explain..." He tries to say, remorse filling his voice.

"Please, Adriano... just leave me alone..." My voice breaks as I try to speak, lifting my head to face him, finding him staring at me worriedly.

He keeps his eyes on me for a while before turning away and leaving me alone in the room.

Once he leaves the room I let go of my tears and cry my eyes out. My... my Family they've all been... 

I sob even more now, not being able to say the words as I think about the state of my Family, all the bodies, there were so many bodies... all thanks to that i***t and his psycho brother. In fact, I'm the i***t for thinking that there is even a shred of good in Adriano.

Moments later, the door opens again making me angrier than I already am.

"I thought I told you to leave me the hell alone!" I scream before snapping my head to the door.

My heart sinks as soon as I make eye contact with the person who had opened the door. I immediately regret my words as fear creeps up my spine like a cold venomous snake, bile rising my throat as I gulp inaudibly.

"L-Luca." I choke, shifting in my chair as I hold onto it in fear.

"Now what did I say about noise?" He speaks calmly, approaching me slowly and closing the door behind him.

I don't know what to say to him. He did warn me about what would happen if I made any noise, but I couldn't help myself, and I didn't want to fight what I was feeling.

"I-I didn't mean-." I start but he cuts me off.

"Be quiet." He tells me and walks towards me. With every moment that he got closer, my heart thumps loudly in my chest, fear creeping up my spine. He crouches down, looking me in the eye as I fail to avoid his piercing gaze.

"You've been crying. Again." He says and holds my chin, lifting my head but I quickly move my head to the side for him to let go.

"Why would you care?" I snap at him with more tears filling my eyes. For a moment, just a shred of a second, I see remorse in his eyes, just before it vanishes into his usual cold expression.

"It's all your fault anyway you ass..." I snap at him, glaring fiercely.

He grabs my face quickly and I gasp at his sudden movement. His fingers are firmly placed against my skin, his hand holding onto my jaw to keep my head in place.

"Do not speak to me like that." He growls out. A burst of rage comes over me and I shoot back at him. With the way I am feeling, I can't let him treat me any way he wants.

"I'll talk to you however the f**k I want! You took everything from me!" I yell at him.

From nowhere, I feel a sharp pain on my cheek and an uncomfortable sensation in my neck, it is then that I realise that he had just slapped me.

"No. You won't." He rumbles in a deep voice. I ignore the pain in my cheek, being that I've felt a lot worse.

"Yes, I will. What more could you possibly do? You already took my family from me. I- I hate you. I hate you so much and I don't even know you!" I push him away with my hands.

Wait... Adriano forgot to tie me back.

Luca is taken aback as I push him away, staring at me with an infuriated expression.

He pulls me up from my seat harshly, bringing me to my feet. Even though my fear threatens to overwhelm my brain, I feel my determination rising and so I fight back.

"Don't touch me!" I push him away and scramble away from him. He doesn't even say anything, he just stalks me as if he is the predator and I am his prey.

"S-stay away from me!" I yell frantically as I move around the room. There is a small distance between me and the door so I take this opportunity to make a run for it. I dart for the door, but before I can even reach the handle, Luca grabs my arm and pulls me back forcefully, tackling me to a wall.

I fight and struggle for him to let go but he holds onto both of my arms and has me pins up against the wall by holding onto them.

"Let go of me, let go!" I thrash around and try to break loose from his grip but he simply remains calm, watching me.

I keep struggling until I eventually become tired, slowing down my movements as I run out of breath.

"Are you done?" He asks, a frown resting on his brows as he watches me carefully.

"Just kill me, you've already taken everything from me..." I cry quietly as I stop fighting him, keeping my eyes on him before closing them and bracing myself with whatever he is going to do to me. I am feeling so lightheaded from my crying and moving around that I see dark spots evade my vision just before I close my eyes.

"Just kill me..." I whisper. My legs are no longer able to support my body and I feel myself about to collapse just before he grabs me, holding onto me and preventing me from hitting the floor, just before I drift off into the darkness.

.  .  .  .  .

I wake up slowly, not in chains or ropes but on a nice comfortable bed. The nice warm duvet feels good against my skin as I move about in the bed. The stinging pain on my cheeks is still there and my head is throbbing so much but I decide to ignore it all as I usually do.

I sit up and look around the room, analysing it. This isn't the room I was in before; it is slightly bigger and looks like more of a bedroom. I climb out of the bed and walk towards the door, reaching for the handle.

Unlocked.

I twist the handle and open the door slowly, looking in the hallway once it is open to see if there is any sign of Luca or Adriano. Maybe this is my chance to escape...

I tiptoe through the hallway, trying to be as quiet as possible, looking by the corner to see if the coast is clear before walking into the living room. I take my chance and run towards the front door, opening it.

I should've known escaping wasn't going to be that easy.

I rush out the door but collide with something hard causing me to stumble back and fall back on my butt.

"What the fuck." I hear Luca hiss, frowning down at me with Adriano at his side.

"Emeliana..." Adriano says, coming over to check if I am okay. A blush washes over my cheeks as I sit on the floor completely embarrassed and looking up at the both of them.

"I'm fine." I lie, rejecting his offer to help me up.

"Trying to escape now...?" Adriano asks, crossing his arms and I felt myself become more nervous.

"Her failed attempts at escaping are somewhat amusing." Luca mocks, chuckling to himself as he enters the house, causing me to walk backward in fear.

"Easy there, Mariano," Adriano says, closing the door. "We don't have to be savages about this whole... hostage situation."

"Fine..." Luca responds.

"Emeliana, have a seat," Adriano tells me and I reluctantly walk over the couch to sit down, not once taking my eyes off them.

"Why- why did you take me...? What are you going to do with me? How long do I have to stay here?" I question both of them.

"We're not going to kill you... and we leave this place today." Adriano diverts from my question but still relieving me of the one big question in my head that remained unanswered.

"To where?" I ask pushing on his response. I need as many answers as I can get.

"You'll know soon enough," Luca responds, crossing his muscular arms. He said that before despite not giving me any answers...

"You should go take a shower, there's a bathroom in the guest bedroom. I'll find you some clothes." Adriano tells me but I simply stare at him.

"Why are you being so nice to me...?" I ask curiously.

"Do you want us to be mean?" Adriano retorts raising his eyebrows at me, making my mouth form a small 'o'.

"Maybe she's a masochist." Luca shrugs.

"I'm not a masochist," I speak with bluntness to my tone. I found no humour in that. Whenever I was abused by my father... No. I don't even want to remember all the painful details or relive the nightmare that was once my reality.

Adriano notices the pained expression on my face and so he quickly brings up a new topic.

"How's your cheek?" He asks.

"Worse."

"Why? It should be better."

"That's what I thought too." I frown, glaring at Luca. Adriano turns his head, staring at him as well.

"Did you hit her?" Adriano asks with a frown.

"She was being a bitch." Luca shrugs nonchalantly.

"Excuse me?" I almost exclaim at rudeness.

"I don't like repeating myself."

"Look here, Luca-." I start but he waves his hand in dismissal at me.

"I wouldn't care." He speaks before getting his phone out of his pocket, making my hands ball up into fists.

"Emeliana, go take a shower," Adriano tells me before I can react. I turn to face Adriano, frowning at him as he stares at me with pleading eyes.

"Yeah, you need it," Luca speaks, not even making attention to me as he rapidly types on his phone.

"Dick." I scoff at him and stand up from the chair. Just before I was about to walk past him he quickly stands in my way, staring down at me.

"Okay, but you asked for it. I'm warning you now though, it's pretty big." He winks down at me, whispering the last part at me as a smirk develops in his lips. I blush angrily as I try to force my brain not to imagine his size... or even imagine what he'd do to me if... no.

"Luca, Lasciala da sola." (Leave her alone.) Adriano hisses in Italian. Luca doesn't shift his gaze from me, instead, he just steps aside and makes way for me to pass.

I quickly walk past him in the direction of the bathroom, my face still red from embarrassment.

"Next time you won't be so lucky." He yells for me to hear and I quicken my walking pace, almost sprinting as I get a corner in the hallway and rest on the other side of the wall where he can't see me.

"Siete un cazzo." (You are a dick.) I hear Adriano scoff as his voice got quieter and quieter.

I hear Luca's deep chuckle, followed by silence. I peep around the corner and find facing my direction, smirking at me, before sending a wink my way with an eyebrow raise. I quickly turn back to the corner, blushing more before walking off to go find the bathroom.