Mister Arlington

21

We'd been driving for a while now, with no sign of any pursuers. The adrenaline that had coursed through my veins was long gone, leaving a wave of exhaustion to replace its absence.

In that time it had been nothing but silence between Mister Arlington and I. I let my headrest on the seat, looking at the blur of our passing surroundings, occasionally glancing at Mister Arlington who stayed alert even after all the time that had passed, eventually I gave up looking at him and stayed in my position.

Mister Arlington let out a soft groan, the first noise he's made since the attack.

"Angelica? Are you awake?"

A part of me wanted to stay still... Lifeless almost. Fading away from my reality, becoming a blur as it was outside. But I pulled away from the darkness consuming me from the inside and turned, relaxing into the comfortable position I had been in, though this time facing him.

He glanced down at me before turning his attention back to the road. Then... Nothing.

"Where a..are we go..going?"

"I'm still thinking about that," he replied after a moment, taking one hand off of the steering wheel to loosen his tie.

Silence fell over us again. So I spoke, as a way to avoid the unpleasant thoughts of my past that wanted to invade the wall I had put them behind.

"I suppose t..this usually ha..ppens to you."

"Usually, I know when these things are going to happen."

I hummed, sinking a little further in my seat.

"You s–say you own L..london, the..then where are all your men?"

"I'm different."

"Diff..erent?"

"Yes, different."

"How so?"

He loosed a long sigh, pausing for a moment. "A Mafia is meant to be considered your family... For me, it's just business. I hold a lot of power, so I don't..." he trailed off, letting out another sigh, this time softer.

It was only now that I realised that I was seeing his vulnerable side again. The first was at Benjamin's grave.

"You don't trust easily," I said for him.

He glared at me as if what I had said was a crime.

"Well, I certainly don't trust you," he snapped.

Though, it only made my lips quirk.

"You certainly shouldn't."

After my words, my world was suddenly turned upside down. I hadn't even registered the car that had hit us, only that we were tumbling. The glass from broken windows flew around us, sparkling like stars from the sunlight that reflected off of them. The gun that Mister Arlington had taken off of me flew before my face. The sides of the car smashed inwards, each time it impacted with the ground, closing us in a small space. Then all of a sudden we were freefalling.

Down. Down. Into the sea. All I could do was watch helplessly as the vast blue water rose to meet us headfirst. I didn't know I was screaming until the impact on the water's surface suddenly had me gasping for air.

I was scared, there was no denying it. But one glance to my right, I found Mister Arlington unconscious. I realised, no one was going to save me. It was only me. Once again.

My hands shook as I struggled to unbuckle my seatbelt, my wide eyes watching the water rapidly rise.

Why did it have to be water! I couldn't swim. And I hated large bodies of water, especially the sea.

The water was already above my hips when I managed to free myself. My hands became more unsettled when I tried at Mister Arlington's belt. Rather than breaking down into a sobbing mess like I wanted to, I opened my mouth to yell at him, hoping it would wake him from his unconsciousness, however, nothing came out, not even a squeak.

Shit.

I freed him from his seat, catching him moments before he hit his head. Only now that he was practically laying on top of me I was able to see the trickle of blood on the side of his face.

The water level now reached my shoulders, it wouldn't be much longer before the both of us were fully submerged.

I almost jumped when I heard Mister Arlington groan from on my shoulder. Managing my shock quickly, I pushed him away from me, raising a hand from the water to gently slap his cheek. His eyes rolled slightly but he quickly came to his senses and assessed the situation.

"We have to leave. Take a deep breath and we'll swim to the surface," he explained in fast slurred words.

I shook my head, finding myself unable to speak.

"We don't have time for you to act weak Angelica, we have to leave now."

Act!

I brushed off his insult, only because the water was touching my chin now and the ball of panic in my stomach was rapidly increasing.

"Angelica, take a deep breath," he snapped.

I listened, though I didn't follow Mister Arlington as he submerged himself under the water and exited the sinking car. I released the air I had gulped after he disappeared, holding my face up to the rear of the car where there was still air left.

I couldn't, I just couldn't swim.

I took one last gulp of air, shutting my eyes tightly as the car succumbed the rest of itself to the deep blue.

"Swim Angelica, for gods sake just swim," my father yelled, watching from the corner of the pool as I struggled to keep myself afloat in the centre.

My eyes burned from the chlorine and my throat ached from attempting to scream, only achieving in gulping down wat—

I jerked from my place inside the car from a hand that had suddenly clasped around my wrist. Instinctivly, my eyes snapped open, enabling me to see Mister Arlington hovering over me with a deep frown before he turned and made his ascent with me in tow.

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