Ticket to Verona

seventeen

TW: violent scenes, talk of knives
~Aria

When I eventually regained consciousness, I knew for sure that I definitely was not at home.

My head was pounding and my ribs felt like someone had stepped all over them.

Wouldn't be surprised if someone actually had.

I tried to reach up and brush some hair out my face but it was then that I realised that my hands were shackled to the wall, as were my feet.

I took a moment to look around. I was in a room. A very small, very dark, very damp room. There were no windows at all, which made it feel very claustrophobic. The only light was coming from a flickering light bulb above my head, which looked very unsafe. I could literally see the live wires sparking. Water was dripping down the stone walls and ceiling. If I had to take a guess, I would say I was in an underground cellar.

There was a dirty rag in the back corner closest to me, I doubt I would even touch it though. Apart from a metal chair, there was no furniture in here.

I could hear noises outside so I looked towards the door. It looked similar to that of prisons. It was made of metal and only had a small sliding plate at the top at around eye level.

The sound of the door unlocking pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up and there were 4 men there. All of them were giants, not as tall as Leo, but definitely at least 6 foot. The man closest to me had an evil smirk on his face, and I gathered that he was the boss of whoever these people were. The other two men either side of him were as ugly as Mr Boss Man, and they seemed familiar so I assumed that they were the ones that took me from Leo's Estate.

The fourth man seemed.. different. He looked a lot younger than the other 3, probably mid 20s if I had to guess. The others looked at least 45, the boss looked even older. This man also had a calmer demeanour around him and I got the weird feeling that I could trust him. The other weird thing was that unlike the others who had horrible faces showing only hatred and malice, this man's eyes held guilt and sympathy.

"вставай и свети, сука" the 'boss' spoke.
{rise and shine, bitch}

From that one phrase, I knew who had taken me. Before I left with Leo, I had started to learn Russian. I only got the gist of what he was saying, but I knew he called me a bitch.

"Did you have a nice sleep, princess?" One of his minions asked from behind him, his voice dripping in mock sympathy.

"what the fuck do you want with me? Bastards."
I mumbled the last word but they must have still heard me because I was swiftly met with a sharp slap to my cheek. I knew it was going to bruise.

"You do not speak, whore. Worthless women like you should not speak." The boss spoke again.

"why am I here?" I mumbled more to myself than them with tears welling in my eyes.

"Because, you, you little slut, are very valuable to me and my mafia." The Boss answered me, bringing his hand up to my cheek. I flinched but he started stroking my cheek with his thumb. It didn't feel the same as when Leo did it. When Leo did it, I felt loved but when he does it, I feel dirty.

"I don't know anything, please." I begged.

"Silence, Bitch." I got another hard slap on my cheek.

The other two of his minions stood behind him, pure joy evident on their faces. The younger man stood behind them, his face painted with a look of guilt.

I was once again snapped out of my thoughts by a slap. The three men in front of me took it in turns to punch, slap, scratch and torture me. After they got tired of that, one of them brought out a knife and they all started carving patterns onto my legs and stomach.

I begged and begged them to stop but if anything, my screams spurred them on, encouraging them to continue.

I don't know how long they spent torturing my body but once it was done, I knew I was on the verge of passing out.

The boss gave me a harsh kick to my ribs and my eyes closed subconsciously. I heard the clicking sound of a camera and then the Boss' voice.

"Niko, make yourself useful, clean the bitch up, we can't have her dying on us." The Boss told the younger man before walking out with the other men behind him. The door slammed closed and I was left with the man I now know as Niko.

He walked out of the room for a minute and came back with a first aid kit. He slowly walked towards me. He unlocked the chains attached to my arms and legs and I gave him a small smile.

He opened the First Aid kit and pulled out some antiseptic wipes.

"Can I?" He asked, nodding towards my bloodied t-shirt. I nodded and he carefully lifted it to a little way past my bellybutton.

"This may sting a little." He warned and started to clean all of the cuts and put bandages over the worst ones. He did the same with my legs and applied some sort of cream or ointment to the bruises that were on my cheeks and arms.

"Thank you." I groaned.

Niko nodded is response, sending me a small smile. "I'm only sorry I can't do more for you right now, I know you don't deserve this."

"I'm Aria Remington." I extended a hand.

"Nikolai Ivanov." He replied, gently shaking my hand.

"So, how are you in this business?" I asked. It would be a good idea to make at least one friend in this horrid place.

"My father is Dmitri Ivanov, the one that is in charge, the one that was beating you. I'm meant to be taking over this mafia in a years' time."

"Oh." I replied.

"You shouldn't be scared, I am nothing like my father and I promise I would never hurt you. I don't agree with any of this mafia's views anyway." He whispered the last part before sending me a smile.

"Yeah, I have a weird feeling that I can trust you." I answered honestly.

"You can, Aria. I promise I would never willingly hurt you. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get here?"

"Leonardo Romano is my boyfriend."

"Oh. I'm so sorry Aria. If it's any help, I'll try and help your boyfriend and mafia as much as I can without anyone finding out. I doubt it would be much though." He whispered.

"Please, if you can do anything I would really appreciate it, I'm sure Leo will help you in return." I answered.

"I have to go now, but I hope to visit you often, Aria." Niko broke the silence and packed up the first aid kit

"Bye Nikolai" I waved as he closed the door behind him and I heard the sound of the door locking.

I slowly laid down on the floor, trying not to cause even more pain to myself.

I hope Leo can find me.

~~~

Author's Note:

Exams are almost overr *yess*