CHAPTER 7 | UNEXPECTED FRIENDSHIP

Just a while ago, I imagined what it would feel like to be loved by a ruthless killer who smelled of apples. For the first time in my entire life, I was happily disgusted.

But now, I am back in my room...clutching the pillow so hard, shaking up. I wondered whether that's what being a maid means here, and I felt so sorry for Elena. If I were to escape this place, I would try my best to take Elena and all the other maids with me. Which I knew was a very bad idea.

I dialled Olivia, I am not sure whether she'd be awake now, but I wanted to talk to someone. Even though it wouldn't be about my current situation, I'd be happy to have a safe conversation, without being afraid of getting killed.

She didn't pick up, which was normal since it was 2 am. I heard footsteps, and for no reason I wished it was Marcus, owing me an apology.

"Still awake?" A harsh voice asks me, it was not Marcus. The speaker emerged inside twisting the doorknob, even though it was open. For a second I just wanted to run away, but he'd catch me anyway.

"Yes," I reply, wondering what he's up to.

"I'm sorry," He apologized, leaning on the door. I wasn't sure whether he meant it, but I knew that he looked grumpy.

"Did Marcus ask you to?" I wondered because Aiden was not going to put his ego down, and definitely not for me.

"I'm a human too, I feel bad alright? I mean Ethan left you abandoned, you are stuck with us. I overheard how Marcus teased you, you must feel bad. I just don't want to make you feel more miserable. There I said it!!" He chokes on his own words, he sat on the chair next to the bed lamp.

I couldn't speak, I sat staring at him. I hated Aiden and I thought Marcus was the good one, but the plates turned. Aiden was the good one.

"Can you let me go?" I ask him in low voice.

"I can't disobey Marcus, he wouldn't hesitate to kill me," He shakes his head, searching something from the pocket and placing it on my hands.

"What is this?" I ask him.

"A candy," He smiles and looks outside the window as the breeze hits his face.

"I feel sorry for you Lucy, very sorry. Marcus is the head, but it doesn't mean that there isn't someone above him who could control Vipers," He says, as I shiver in the breeze. I pick up my blanket and wrap it around myself while he continues.

"We're stuck here because we're the sons of the bigger Mafia, we'd be dead if we haven't picked up this option. If I were to leave, I'd be dead," He says. I didn't know what to tell him while wondering why he was telling me all this. I couldn't connect the dots. Why would Aiden suddenly be nice to me? and even if he had change of heart, why spill something personal?

"The thing is, once you're here, you go out only if you're dead," He whispers to me. I gasped in horror.

"Help me, please. I have a life outside this place, a dream to achieve. I cannot be stuck here forever, that's insane!" I plead with him to change his mind, but I couldn't even get a change in his facial expression.

"Get comfortable Lucy," He says and walks out.

"Don't go," I say, as he walks backwards and sighs.

"Then don't request me things which I cannot do," He explains while he places himself of the seat.

"Tell me about you, how did you end up here?" I ask him, in an attempt to brighten up my mood with some interesting conversation. Well, what's more interesting than knowing the past of a kind guy ending up in the mafia and pretending to be ruthless.

"My father is a powerful mafia, well he rules the northern part of the country," He chuckles and looks at me.

"Vipers are not an independent mafia Lucy. It's run by the two most powerful mafia ever known to humankind. Marcus is the son of the first powerful family, the only son. While I'm the son of the second mafia. They didn't want to integrate, but they made us run Vipers so they'd stay united," He continues.

"Was that a secret?" I ask him.

"It's not a secret. It just that the mafias know it, but common people don't," I got annoyed when he addressed it as 'common' people, but I didn't want to say it.

"Aiden," Marcus calls him, making me jump from the place I was sitting.

"Marcus," Aiden calls him back, as he motioned me to stay silent.

"You should sleep Lucy," Aiden tells me as I smile and nod. They both leave the place, but I didn't have the energy to spy on them. So I slide to the bed, pull the cosy bedsheets over and snuggle myself inside.

"Wake up," Someone taps my shoulder slightly, and I hear a clinking sound. I hoped it was coffee or something, I didn't want to brush my teeth in a stink where Marcus washes blood. I wake up and scrub my eyes. Elena was standing next to the bed, waiting for me to wake up.

"You can go," I say to her, unable to bear her standing next to me. I was still affected by what I heard last night, about being a maid.

"Boss asked me to stay with you, and ensure you don't use the balcony," She tells me and closes the balcony window, blocking the air supply.

"Ah," Predictable, I thought.

"Elena, I want to ask something. Also, please sit down," I ask her. She was sweating so she wiped her hands and sat on the chair where Aiden placed himself last night.

"I can't help you escape," She tells me, scrubbing the dirt within her nails.

"No, I just heard what being a maid means, I want to know whether you like this," I ask her. I felt dumb, of course, she'd hate being here.

"I get good food and clothes, but yeah, I get harassed when Marcus isn't around," She said, smiling for the first time ever.

"Marcus isn't interested?" I ask her.

"He was interested in someone, but she was killed because of my father," She said. I couldn't believe that he was interested in someone, is he capable of those feelings?

"Who was she?" I ask her, curiosity ruining my manners.

"She was dead by the time I was taken in, almost 8 years ago," I gasped. She was here for 8 years?! 8 sick years! I felt more sorry than ever.

"Ahh," I said, not knowing what else I could respond to the poor Elena.