The Mafia Princess

Six Years Later...

The fourteen year old brunette was chilling on the brown, worn out couch, a vape in one hand and a tv remote in the other. Smoke filled the air after she brought the vape up to her mouth, taking a long puff from it. A cd player that was sitting on the table next to her, was playing a song from a band she liked. "My legs are dangling off the edge; the bottom of this bottle is my only friend." Alexa mumbled the lyrics quietly as she went through all the tv channels. "I think I'll slit my wrists again and I'm gone, gone, gone, gone."

Alexa finally put the remote down when she came across the News channel. She sighed when she saw her name pop up. "Detectives are still looking for Alexa Hayes, daughter of the most well-known Mafia boss in America, Stefan Hayes." The female reporter took a deep breath before continuing. "It has been six years since Stefan Hayes was murdered, and six years and two months since his daughter went missing. We advise everyone to contact the police department if they have seen, heard or know anything related to Alexa's disappearance-"

The tv suddenly switched off. Alexa turned around to see a red haired woman in her early thirties holding the tv remote. "I told you not to watch this shit." She muttered. She tossed the remote on the couch and walked over to the mini fridge. "Did any bastards show up?" She asked, opening the fridge and pulling out an energy drink. "No." Alexa replied. "It's been quiet the whole day."

'Again.' She thought bitterly.

"Good." The woman shut the fridge door, then walked back over to the couch, plopping down on the other end, leaving space between her and Alexa. "Camille, I don't understand why you have to go out everyday and leave me here." Alexa lowered her head as she spoke. "There's nothing to do, I haven't been outside in so long and whenever I look out the window, I can see people my age-"

"Alexa, stop complaining." Camille snapped. "As you now know, people are looking for you. But it's not just the fucking cops, your assassins are after you as well and without my help, your ass would be dead on the streets. Unless you want people trading your head for money on the black market, don't complain again."

"Fine." Alexa pushed herself off the couch, went into the bathroom and locked the door. She sat down on the edge of the bathtub with her face in her hands. 'My father was murdered.' Alexa's head began to spin. 'That's what happened that night. Why am I only hearing of this now?!? Why couldn't I remember that?!?' Alexa started scratching her neck again, trying relieve the itchiness that was caused by her sudden stress. She suddenly stopped, realising what she was doing. Alexa looked down at her fingers to find them caked with light red blood. "Oh no, not again." She groaned, grabbing some toilet paper and pressing it against her neck. Her whispy brown hair fell over her hazel eyes, causing Alexa to curse when she stumbled and fell into the bathtub since she was unable to see. She froze as she was getting out of the bathtub when she heard the voices again. Screaming. Guns. Blood. Screaming. Guns. Blood. Screaming-

"JUST SHUT UP!" Alexa hit the side of her head and began pulling at her hair, wanting the voice to go away. One of her hands went down to her neck and began scratching again. Tears rolled down her cheeks, and it got even worse when Alexa felt someone rip her hand away from her neck. She knew it was Camille, but she didn't dare open her eyes. Not yet. Not now. Not until the voices of what little memory she had, goes away. "Alexa, you have to stop." Camille's faint voice sounded like she was a million miles away. "Alexa, please. Ignore the voices, don't let your anxiety get the better of you."

The itchiness on Alexa's neck was now unbearable. She struggled against Camille's grip, but it was no use. She was holding her arm too tight. "Please," Alexa sobbed, "Let me scratch it, it's getting too much."

"No!" Camille wrapped her free arm around Alexa's waist and lifted her out of the bathtub. She sat Alexa on the floor, making sure she had the wall to lean against. "One day, I'm gonna tell you why I dragged you out of that alley and took you in as my own kid." Camille murmured. "It just won't be today."

After a few minutes of Camille wrestling Alexa to keep her from scratching her neck, Alexa finally gave in and went limp below Camille's grasp. Camille looked down at her and was surprised to see she was asleep. "Who the hell falls asleep after having a breakdown on the bathroom floor?!?" Camille breathed. "Fucking dumbass, at least have your little fit on a bed next time." She sighed, brushing a bit of brown hair out of Alexa's face. "I don't mean that, you're not a dumbass." She whispered to her. "Just try and be on something comfy in case this happens again."

Camille dragged Alexa out of the bathroom and layed her on the couch, turning the cd player off and covering her in a woollen blanket. Just as Camille was thinking of resting as well, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out, only to growl in frustration when she saw the message.

Unknown: They know where you are. Get the girl and yourself out of there by tomorrow. Make sure you bring whatever supplies you need.

Got it. She texted back, before stuffing her phone back in her pocket. Camille's hands went up and rested on the back of her head as she tried to figure out what to do. After a few short moments, Camille snapped out of her frustrated state and grabbed her duffle bag from the corner of the apartment. She went around to each cupboard, grabbing tinned food, bottled water and first aid, stuffing all of it into the bag as quick as she could. She then went into the one bedroom they had, and rummaged through Alexa's clothes, pulling out track pants, hoodies and shirts as well as undergarments to shove in the duffle bag. She grabbed two torches from the bedside table, each with a taser at one end. The last few things she put in the duffle bag were some of her own clothes, rope and duck tape.

When Camille finished packing, she dropped the duffle bag on the floor. "Shit- I still need transport." She murmured to herself. "We can either take the bus out of town, or I can put fuel in my baby again." Camille smiled at the thought of driving her Lexus around again, but that smile faded when she pulled out her wallet and looked inside.

"You know what? Fuck this shit." She threw her wallet on the floor then pulled out her phone again, quickly calling someone. After four rings, a young but raspy male voice picked up. "Are you out of that apartment yet?" He asked.

"I have no money." Camille whispered into the phone, afraid she'll wake Alexa up. "I've got our gear packed, but I have no money for fuel or to get a bus out of this shithole. And I can't risk hiking with Alexa." The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds until the young man spoke up again. "Have you thought about disguises?"

"I've got my own, but I don't think Alexa would be too pleased to walk around in different clothes, with contacts in and a wig on 24/7." Camille sighed in defeat. "I think I need to....." She trailed off, but the man on the other end of the line seemed to have understood. "Do what you can to get money." He reassured her. "It's better having enough cash to get yourselves around quicker with more cover than to have nothing and risk getting recognised. Now, I've gotta go. But I advise that you and the girl leave tonight."

"Alright. Bye Luce." Camille hung up and sighed. 'Do you what you can do get money.' Luce's words stayed in her head as she put her hair up in a messy bun, then pulled a black wig over the top. The wig gave her blunt bangs, and was just above her shoulders, so it framed her light, freckled face and made her look younger. She then went into the bathroom, opening the cupboard above the sink and grabbing out blue contacts. She gently put them in, hiding her olive green eyes, then grabbed her black mask and black backpack and walked back out into the living room. She sighed as she saw Alexa, who was still fast asleep on the couch. She went over to her, bending down enough so that her face was right near Alexa's. "I promise, I'll get us out of this place." She whispered in her ear. "You will be able to live a normal life without people wanting to kill you everyday. You won't need to stay in hiding anymore. All I'm asking is for you to finally trust me, and not doubt my actions." Camille paused, before giving Alexa a light kiss on her forehead. "I love you. You really are like a daughter to me."

Camille stood back up and grabbed her backpack off the ground, quietly made her way over to the door and opened it. As she stepped outside, she poked her head back around the door to check Alexa's sleeping figure. "I promise, I'll be back before anyone comes." With those last words, Camille fully slipped out of sight as she closed the door and locked it.