He's Fire and She's Playing with It - Mafia Version

Chapter 18: Fight Like a Girl

TW: MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ASSULT.

His name was Daniel.

Leo stood up and hugged Daniel before turning to Ally, who was still sat next to Benjamin.

"This is my girl", he said and gestured toward her.

His girl.

In another situation those words would have created butterflies in her stomach, but it was already full of ice. A cold mass that was trying to cut itself out of her.

Daniel turned to her with a smile that slowly faded when he recognised her. Her lips were tight as she nodded toward him before standing up, pushing herself past Benjamin's legs with the hallway in sight. She saw in the corner of her eye how Daniel made his way to Benjamin. They hugged.

Ally closed and locked the bathroom door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were wide with panic and her lips trembling. She felt a panic attack approaching, her throat already closing up. She leaned against the sink and forced herself to focus on taking deep breaths. The shallow panic enhanced inhales and exhales turned into longer, deeper ones. Her heartbeat slowed and she relaxed the grip around the cold porcelain of the sink's edges.

She needed to think. Could she tell Leo? Should she call Daniel out in front of all of his friends? How would he react? How would they?

Would they even believe her?

His name was Daniel.

It was a normal name for an abnormal guy. A name that would slip past you in public, laugh with its friends, casually chatting with the cashier at the grocery store, and on occasion rape someone.

She needed to assess the situation and she had to do so before Leo noticed that she was missing and came knocking on the door. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled it back, away from her face.

She stuck her head out first before opening the door. The hallway was empty. She quickly walked over to the coat hangers, dug through Leo's jacket and found his pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She hid one and the lighter in her back pocket.

The living room was buzzing with sounds and everyone seemed to have a good time. Ally walked up to Leo and put her hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"I'm going out for some fresh air", she said.

"I'll go with you."

He attempted to get up but she gently pushed him down.

"Stay with you friends." She gestured toward Evan, who finally had torn himself away from his girlfriend, and Amiri whom he had been deep in conversation with. "I'm just hot. I'll be right back."

Leo bought her lies without hesitation. When she walked away from the group, he was already back to discussing Amiri's next vacation. Was she disappointed that he had believed her so quickly? She walked past Daniel without looking at him. The table that kept them separated wasn't nearly wide enough to make her feel comfortable with his presence. Did she want Leo to swoop in like a knight in shining armour and save her the way that he had done many times before? She stepped out on the patio and closed the door behind her, cutting off the happy chats and laughter of the others. She didn't want to want him to do that. She wanted to fight her own battles, be her own hero, but she had to admit that it sometimes felt good having someone fight alongside her. Maybe even fighting the whole battle so she wouldn't find herself wounded again.

She lit the cigarette. The green garden was beautiful, separated from the neighbours by a high wooden fence and a row of thriving bushes. The patio itself was made of stone and had a small wall, barely a meter tall, on each side that lead from the house to the end of the stone floor. She leaned against one of them, sucking on the cigarette like it somehow could save her from the bad memories.