SWNOVELS Sasha: Chapter 7
For weeks, my body tingled with the awareness of being watched. It felt like the coolness from a freezer against heated skin.
But every time I looked around, there was nobody there.
I browsed the shelves at the grocery store. March in California was nothing like March in Montréal and I freaking loved it. Living in a dorm with my best friend, hundreds of miles away from my father, was the best part.
But I missed my brother. We talked and texted, but it didn’t come close to seeing him every day. I wanted to make sure he was alright. Not that he couldn’t take care of himself. Truthfully, he always took care of me, but it gave me peace of mind to see him and see he was good. Not happy. It was an abstract concept for us. If it wasn’t for Autumn and her parents, I wouldn’t believe in happiness.
I wasn’t certain whether we’d have our shot at happiness after what Alessio and I had lived through. We were too tainted by our world.
Mia’s casket was covered with vast colors. Red, pink, white, and purple flowers mixed over it.
She’d love it. She’d always loved vibrant colors, fashion. Anything happy and creative.
Tears stained my face, but I kept my cries silent. If Father heard me crying, there’d be a beating later. My chest hurt so bad as I pushed my hand against it, hoping it would make it easier to breathe.
It didn’t. Something inside of me was broken. My eyes flickered to my mother who stared blankly at the grave. No tears. No sadness. No anger. Nothing.
I didn’t want to be like my mother.
My eyes found my big brother.
Anger burned in his eyes. I followed his gaze to my chest. It was too late when I realized he was staring at the cigarette burn on my hand.
Alessio jumped on Father and started punching him. Gasps, cries, exclamations. Mother didn’t react. And I… I was so fucking happy to see my father’s lip split. Blood on his face.
It was right then and there that I realized the truth about myself.
I had already been tainted by our world.
Because my little heart danced in my chest as I watched Alessio beat our father. I hoped he’d make his death long and painful. Extremely painful.
The hope was short lived. Father’s men were already pulling him away from the head of the Russo family.
Alessio stood up to his full height and came over to me. I wasn’t scared of him. The rage and fury in his eyes wasn’t aimed at me. Only his fierce protectiveness.
He lifted me up and my hands wrapped around his neck.
“You came,” I whispered, everyone around us forgotten.
“I’m sorry it took me so long, princess.” He meant it. I could see the truth in his eyes. “Nobody will ever hurt you again. You and me, princess. Against the world.”
For the first time since I saw Mia and Alessio disappear into the night two years ago, I smiled.
“You and me, big brother. Against the world.”
My lips tugged up with the memories of my big brother. I’d stayed with him ever since; although, I did visit my mother once in a while. Alessio always came along, so I’d be safe. True to his word, he had kept me safe ever since. When I got old enough, I joined self-defense classes, but the problem was that everyone was scared of my brother and what would happen to them if they accidentally hurt me.
My brother saw me as the little girl who needed protection so he threatened the entire gym. Except, I didn’t want to be just that. I wanted to be strong and capable of protecting myself also.
With the old memories as constant companions, I paid for the items and left the store. And all the while, my wrist ached. My father broke my wrists too many times during those torturous, lonely years. The bones healed but the ache came and went. A reminder.
My fingers from the opposite hand wrapped around the wrist holding the grocery bag.
I never noticed the figure waiting for me in the darkness of the alley that led to the parking lot. A hand yanked on my wrist and the old familiar pain shot through my elbow.
“Hey!” I shouted, yanking on my wrist and causing myself more pain. Ignoring the throbbing pain, I swung the bag for his face. Wack.
By the time a hand wrapped from behind me, covering my mouth, I realized my mistake. I should have screamed.
I stared at the barrel of a gun pointed at me and my life flashed through my mind. The good. The bad. Ugly and happy memories. All of it. Click. Click. Click. I wasn’t ready to go.
In slow motion, I watched his hand with the gun fly through the air, coming for my face. Instinctively, my eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the pain to explode in my cheek. Just as I remembered it.
Full circle. How fucking ironic, yet I wasn’t laughing.
I counted my breaths, expecting the pain. One. Two. Three.
The pain never came. At least not mine.
A grunted yelp came from behind me. A savage growl. A scream and cracking bones in front of me. My pulse rang in my ears. My eyes shot open and I twisted my body to see what happened, but it was too dark. Shadows. Hissed words. Grunts. Yelps. I tripped over my own feet falling on my butt.
“Who’s crying like a little bitch now?” The deep voice mocked.
Planting himself between us, his broad back in my full view, he twisted the guy’s wrist. Jesus, he had really broad shoulders. Maybe he was an MMA fighter.
“Run.” A low, dark voice vibrated through the air. “Five-minute head start.”
The voice was familiar. My eyes roamed the darkness. I couldn’t see anything.
A hand stretched out from a dark shadow and I took it. The moment our hands touched, electricity pulsed through my arm.
It had only ever happened once before.
Once I was on my feet, he retreated into the shadows. But I got a glimpse of pale, blond hair.
Before I could call out to him, he was gone. I followed, but there was no trace of him.
Only the faint scent of citrus left in his wake.