#42

MEDDIE’S POV

I’ve been sitting in this dark and dank room for hours in pain. My leg hurts, my face hurts, my neck, my arms, my ribs, my stomach, everything is in unbearable pain.

My thoughts go back to my birthday, and the hellish week after that. How everyone I became close to turned cold after just one statement. A statement from someone who doesn’t know me and whom I had never even heard of before my birthday.

It is tragic as well as comical to revisit those days. It reminds me that blood will always be thicker, no matter how much you think you know someone, you don’t actually know them at all. It didn’t take Vincenzo two seconds before threatening me for something I didn’t do, blaming me. After all, I was the easier target. People always tend to blame the outsider, the stranger when family is in question. It’s always easier that way.

Whenever family is in question, people become biased. They don’t give a fuck if their family member did something wrong or not. They just blame the other party nonetheless. It’s always the other person that is wrong, or did something wrong, their family member can’t do that.

And Arianna was always the innocent princess in front of those idiot brutes. They could never see through her act. Whatever happened to her in the past, she is taking advantage of that situation fully. And those idiotic fucks don’t realize that she’s using them for her own gain.

People who portray themselves as innocent, more often than not are shrewder than most. Arianna knows how to play the victim card effortlessly.

Changes always happen in our lives at the most unexpected of times. I never imagined my life going to a shithole after just one two-week vacation. I never imagined becoming a spy for the Italian mafia. I never imagined getting kidnapped by the leader of the Russian mafia. How much more of a book plot can my life become? Is there anything else left?

I’m pretty sure I’m not here as a mere guest. Nikolai has something up his sleeve, and he’s being very conceited about it.

Suddenly the door opens with a bang.

In comes Vlad, holding something in his hands, “let’s go Meddie.”

“Where?”

He sighs, “don’t make it difficult for the both of us. Get up.” He motions with two of his fingers for me to get off the bed.

I for once, do as I’m told, already suffering in a lot of pain. Going towards him, near the door, I can see what he has in his hands…cuffs for hands and feet. Scared I look at his face, but he’s already reading my expressions.

“Don’t run Meddie. It’ll only be more painful for you in the end.” But when have I ever heeded to anyone’s warnings before? I run back inside the room, going behind the bed.

I don’t know what I was thinking…I can’t run and hide anywhere. There’s only one door, and this room is just big enough to have a single teenager sized bed, and a little room for walking. I sit on the bed, curling into a ball, trying to escape his strong grip. But to no avail.

Vlad forces me up, my right hand his prisoner, I start begging, “Vlad please, where are you taking me? I will walk, please don’t put those on me. I’ll follow you, I promise, I won’t try to run. Why do we need cuffs right? Please let me go. Please!”

“Meddie, don’t make this harder than it has to be. Just co-operate with me. Or do you want Nikolai to come and get you himself?” I stop struggling after that. I don’t want to be near that monstrous pervert, I’d much rather it be Vlad.

Vlad has me in cuffs in a matter of minutes. Now I look like a prisoner out of an old Bollywood movie. With cuffs around my neck, my wrists, and my feet, all connected together by long chain in-between them. This whole fucking body cuff set also has a leash, making me look like a misbehaving pet dog.

“Was this really necessary Vlad? If you had just asked me to follow you, I would have.”

“Shut up. And if you don’t want to get beaten up again, don’t call me or anyone else there by their names. Call boss as Master and all the rest as sir. Keep your eyes down, and mouth shut.” Vlad says.

We walk into a room, and I realize I’ve been in the Russian mafia’s basement this whole time. There’s a chair in the middle of the room, a light on the ceiling above it, like an interrogation room. I am made to sit in the chair, the hand and feet cuffs attach to the chair.

Nikolai stands in front of the chair I’m seated on, his face turned up into the most annoying self-satisfied smirk. I hate it. He’s going to say something horrible, which I’m most definitely not going to like.

“Shall we start Meddie?” The fucker opens his trash box. I don’t reply to him. I don’t know what this is all about and I don’t want to say yes to something horrible.

“So, you are not going to say anything? No problem. Maybe this will make you comply.” Nikolai steps aside, a remote in his hand. I look at where the remote is pointed. The TV Nikolai just stepped besides, shows a few people on it.

Upon closer inspection, the people on the TV are my family. Mom, dad, my older brother. They are happily going on about their day at home, watching TV, cheerfully talking amongst themselves.

“What?” I question aloud, confused why he’s showing me this.

“This, is live footage of your family. Enjoying their lives as usual at home. Look at them, they are so happy without you. Do you know why?” I look at the monster, “don’t. Don’t you dare hurt them Nikolai. I don’t care what you do with me. But please, please I’m begging you, don’t hurt them.” I don’t know if I should threaten him or beg him.

“What did you call me?” He moves towards me.

“Please. Please don’t hurt my family…m-master. Please!” I beg him, afraid of what might happen to my family because of me. I won’t be able to live with myself if they get hurt because of my stupidity.

Nikolai comes to stand beside me, his hand petting my head, “shh, shh, Meddie, I haven’t even done anything yet. Why are you so anxious? Tell me, will you be my good girl?”

I nod my head, “yes master.” The words leave a burning sensation on my tongue, the salty tears dripping down my cheeks in a never-ending stream, I can’t seem to avert my gaze from my family. They look so happy. They look genuinely happy, with no worries bothering them. Like all of their stress has vanished.

“Good girl. You are being so obedient today.” He takes a hold of the leash, making me look at him, “now, I’m going to tell you to do something. You will do it right?”

I sob, “yes master.”

“Good girl.” He leans down, kissing my lips, my neck still in his grasp due to the leash. Standing back up he says, “now, I want you to look at the screen. If you take your eyes off of it, I will make it more painful. Do you understand marionetka?” He orders me. (Marionette.)

His words leave an evil shiver in my body. Painful? What did he mean by painful?

Without giving me much time to think things through, without even waiting for my response, Nikolai turns my face towards the TV screen, the leash still in his fist, his other hand holding my hair prisoner. He then speaks aloud, “now.”

And all goes to hell. On the screen, I see my family home flooded with huge men dressed in all black, from head to toe, their faces covered. I can hear my mom’s scream through the screen. My brother tries to fight the men off, but there’s just too many. My father is hit brutally on the back of his head by a steel rod.

Looking at this horrifying scene, I can’t control the burst of screams and tears from myself. I struggle in Nikolai’s harsh grip, trying to fight my way out of the chair I’m bound to, hoping for a miracle that will save my family from this atrocity.

“No. No. No please. Don’t do this please master. I beg you. Please stop it. Stop it. Stoop!!!!!!! Noooo!!!! Please make it stop.” I close my eyes, unable to see the horrible sight on the TV screen. My family getting beaten up senseless.

“Open your eyes, Meddie.” Nikolai whispers in my ear. I shake my head. “No? You really want to test me right now? Hmm? Tell me!” He shakes my head, pulling my head back.

“Ahh! Please stop it! Please! They haven’t done anything wrong. Please, I beg you! I will do everything you say. I’ll become your loyal pet. Please, let them go! Let them go! LET THEM GO!! LET THEM GO!!!” I shout at him. How can he be so cruel?

“OPEN. YOUR. FUCKING. EYES! You brat!” He screams in my ear. I open my eyes, afraid of what else he might do if I don’t obey him…

“Please…” I try begging him again but he slaps me hard.

“I gave you a task. I told you to look at the screen without moving your eyes away. Did I not?” He shakes me again, his grip becoming tighter and tighter by the second.

I am unable to think straight, let alone remember to reply to him. “Please…”

“SHUT. UP! If you don’t look at the screen this instant, I will have them rape your friends next. Do you want that? Huh? Tell me!”

“No. No! Please don’t do this. I beg you, master, please don’t do this. I will be good. I will be your good girl. Please! Please let my family go…”

Angered by my constant defiance to his words, Nikolai starts beating me. Punch after punch. Slap after slap. My face is swollen, my ribs most probably broken, but in this instant, I cannot care about this. If beating me can get rid of his anger, and make him leave my family alone, then so be it. I take the beating without a sound.

Finally done with beating the shit out of me, Nikolai comes beside me, one hand in my hair, the other choking my neck, he whispers in my ear, “look at the screen Meddie.” He makes me face the TV screen. Then I feel another person standing behind me. Two hands come down to my face, holding my eyes open, so that now I can’t move my face, and I can’t close my eyes.

“No! NO! NOO!! Please master, please!!” I plead and beg Nikolai, but he’s truly a monster.

On the screen, my family lies on the floor, being beaten to death. The huge brutes kicking my dad, my mom, my brother. I cry loudly, the sobs uncontrollable. How can I stop crying when my family is getting brutally murdered right in front of my eyes…

“Please, please, please, plea-“ I can see the last breaths leave my family’s bodies.

That’s when Nikolai lets go of me, speaking into the screen, “burn it.” And then the home I grew up in slowly burns into nothing. My family dead. My mom, my dad, my brother, the only people who would love me unconditionally in this world are gone.

Speechless, I just sit there, shocked to my core. My mind scrambled into a million different pieces. I cry and cry and cry, wordlessly and soundlessly. I had no idea my life would go through such lows. I have no family, no nothing. Absolutely nothing. My heart hurts, aching to go back to the times when I could smile freely in my home, along with my family.

“Why?” My voice comes out softly.

“Aww, don’t cry darling. Wasn’t this a fun bonding time for us?”

“You monster! How could you? I didn’t do anything to you. Your enmity is with Damiano, then why? Why do you ruin my life? WHY? Who gave you the fucking right to kill my family? YOU BASTARD!! I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU!! You shouldn’t have gone after my family. I will kill you, you bastard. That’s a promise.”

“Is that a threat darling? Fine, I’ll let it slide this one time. But do you want to know an interesting fact?” This fucking monster still has the nerve to mock me. How come cunts like him roam around, guiltless, as if they’ve done nothing? Why are only the good people suffering everywhere? Why?

“I’ll tell you. Did you ever pay attention to how my stupid little brother addressed you? Did you?” He teases. “Did he ever call you a traitor’s daughter?”

“What? You monster stop bullshitting me. I don’t give a fuck about that bastard. Why did you-“

He backhands me, “didn’t I tell you to never interrupt while I’m talking? You ruin my mood, Meddie.” He leans down, both his hands on the handles of the chair, right on top of my wrists, pressing the cuffs into them. He comes forward while I try to back up into the chair, he finally whispers into my ear, “that wasn’t your real family. You were adopted as an infant.” After saying this, he backs up, a taunting smile on his face and leaves me there.