CHAPTER XXXVI
{“Kitten”}
That minute, Sophia’s reasons to escape and run away piled up. She knew she couldn’t continue living that kind of life. Earlier when she had returned home from college, she had second thoughts about the whole escape plan but everything had disappeared into thin air the moment Chase did what he did.
That was going to be the last time she would let him touch her.
~~~
Sophia stared at her reflection in the mirror and a small smile slipped through her face. She was finally going to achieve her freedom.
She was dressed in a baggy Tee shirt and pants along with a face cap while her hair was stuffed into the cap.
She was in the back room in the hall where the college program was taking place while everyone was outside. Sophia looked down at the wristwatch wrapped around her wrist.
13:59.
Just a minute more. She thought with a wider smile.
The moment the watch stroked two, the loud shout of a gunshot rang through the building, followed by the screams of people and Sophia flinched.
What was going on?
Maya and Alecia were meant to there with her. Were they okay? Roman was meant to speak into the airport on her ear at that same time and tell her he was with her Nana but hadn’t. Was he okay? Was her Nana okay?
Suddenly, the doorknob turned and the sound of the door clicking open reached Sophia’s ear.
“Maya, Alecia you both-,”
Everything happened so fast in the blink of an eye that before Sophia could even turn to look towards the door, she felt the heavy weight of someone falling on her body and she went toppling down the floor with the person.
The person’s hair covered Sophia’s face before the smell of blood hit her nostrils. When she pushed away the person’s hair, she gasped at the familiar colour of the hair.
Blonde.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
Immediately, Sophia softly pushed away the body and laid the person on their back before staring at the person’s colour drained face.
She gasped. “Alecia,”
Sophia went on her knees and nudged Alecia’s cheeks softly. “Alecia, open your eyes,”
Alecia was unmoving. Her eyes weren’t opening. Her face had lost its colour. Her lips were pale. Her hair didn’t have that life to it that it usually did. Her body was cold and she wasn’t breathing either.
It made Sophia scared to the core.
The moment Sophia saw the blood pooling around Alecia’s head and staining her once healthy hair, she blanched and the colour left her face. “Alecia, please open your eyes. If-if this is a joke. P-please stop it. I-I-no no, “Sophia caressed Alecia’s face. “Alecia open your eyes,” Then, an idea struck her mind. “Wait up, Alecia. I-I’ll go and find help. I-I’ll take you to the hospital right away,”
Sophia stood up immediately and went outside the room, walking down the hallway.
Once she rounded a corner, her legs bumped into something on the floor and Sophia fell flat on her face. “Oomph!” She hissed and sat down, searching her body for any injuries until she froze when her eyes landed on what she had bumped into.
Someone’s legs.
Female legs.
Sophia slowly peeked at the face and another wave of shock hit her when she saw the person’s face.
Maya.
“Maya,” She crawled till she reached the person and tapped her cheeks. “Maya, open your eyes,”
Just like Alecia, Maya wasn’t moving. The only difference was that she wasn’t bloodied as Alecia was.
“Ma-,”Sophia went silent and she froze in her spot the moment she heard the sounds of footsteps coming her way.
Before she could realise anything or turn towards the person, likely to be the cause of what happened to both of her best friends, a cloth was placed over her nose and the smell of chloroform wafted through her nostrils, lulling her into the world of darkness.
~~~
THE LOUD SCREAMS and howls of pain became clearer and louder as Sophia slipped back into consciousness, her head pounding mercilessly with a raging ache.
“Fottuto codardo. Non potresti nemmeno affrontarmi per prenderla, eppure affermi di amarla,”
{“Fucking coward. You couldn’t even face me to get her, yet you claim to love her”}
Sophia knew that voice very well. She wanted to open her eyes to see the owner, just to confirm it’s him. She couldn’t. All she could hear was the sounds of pain coming from someone.
Panic coursed through her veins as she recognized the owner of the pained voice.
Roman.
What of Maya and Alessia?
She couldn’t remember what happened after someone placed a cloth over her nose back at college. The last thing in her memory was the lifeless body of…
No. She internally shook her head. She couldn’t think of them like that. They were okay. Nothing had happened to them.
Another shriek coming from Roman, followed by the stink of blood, had her jolting in fear, and Sophia’s eyes forcefully snapped open as she breathed out. “Roman,”
The room suddenly became dead silent, and Sophia blinked her eyes to clear her hazy view. She wanted to see what was going on. She wanted to know.
“Soph,” Roman’s voice came out pained. “He-this man. He killed them. He killed them ” His remaining words came out as a groan as a punch was thrown on his face.
“Roman!” Sophia cried out in panic as she took note of his bloodied state. His shirt was torn all over. His face and whole body was bloodied. His face was even swollen, and his nose and lips were busted, blood seeping out of them. As a plus, he was tied with chains to a metal chair. “Roman, are you okay? I-where are we? I-I’ll come and help you. I’m coming,” She tried to stand up but couldn’t.
The reality dawned on her when she saw that her legs and hands were bound to a similar chair with chains. She and Roman were in a room with an old bulb in the middle of the room. The room had a bad smell. More like one of blood.
“He-he killed them both. He killed them. He killed Maya’s whole family,” Roman breathed out.