MATTEO (book 2)

55. Xena

TW: Abuse

Benji is scary when he's angry. I've never seen him angry before, and I don't think I should feel scared.

He looked at me with full rage. His jaw clenched and his just been staring at me.

He has every right to be angry. I left him with Matteo.

"Benji-"

"Shut the fuck up, Xena." He grunts, walking closer to me and my intuition was telling me to walk back.

"You left me there with him." He shouts. "You drove my car and left me there! I had to get my fucking colleague to pick me up."

"You were both being incompetent." I put the knife that I was holding down.

"I am your boyfriend, Xena. You should got in the damn car when I asked you to instead of look between us."

"I wasn't looking between you because I was going to stay with him. You're forgetting he's literally a gangster, Benji. He runs a damn mafia. I was scared he was going to hurt you!"

"And yet you fucking left you there with me!" He roars. "You're such a fucking bitch. I know you're not over him. I know it. I fucking knew it."

"Benji, you're mad-"

"And I have every fucking right to be, Xena!" He approaches me.

Part of me was about to run. I felt the need to run.

But I didn't. I walked back into the counter until he trapped me between himself and the counter. "You're so obsessed with a man that wants nothing but to fuck you." He spits.

"Please go away, Benji. You're scaring me." I close my eyes.

I didn't expect him to grab my jaw. "Open your fucking eyes." His hand tightens.

I open my eyes and his darken with anger again. "I'm scaring you but he never did?"

"Why are you so obsessed with him?" I look into his eyes. "I'm with you-"

"Yet you dream of him every damn night. Call his name in your sleep." He reaches behind me, opening the under sink cupboard. "I bet you think of him when you use those." He points to the sex toys i left there.

"Please go away, Benjamin."

He laughs. "God you're pathetic." He shouts, turning around and running his hands down his face.

I close the cupboard, walking away but he grabs me. "Don't you walk away from me, Xena."

"You're scaring me and you're angry, Benjamin. You need to calm down."

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say.

His hand slaps flat across my cheek, my head turning to the side. Tears sting my eyes as he pushes me backwards. "I need to fucking calm down?" He scoffs, pushing me again. "Fucking hell, Xena. You left me there."

I refuse to look at him.

He just hit me.

When I don't look at him, he grabs my jaw again. "Look at me, Xena. Fucking look at me."

I had to force myself to look at his face.

"He could have killed me."

He didn't.

Matteo didn't.

And I know he didn't because if he did, I would be mad, and he doesn't want me mad at him.

"I'm sorry, Benji." I manage to spit out.

He pushes me again. "Get out of my sight. Go upstairs."

I walk away immediately, regretting that I left my phone on the kitchen counter.

I jog up the stairs and when I'm in our bedroom, I grab my suitcase and start to pack.

He hit me.

I wipe my cheeks as I dump all of my clothes into the suitcase.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I hear him.

I look up, freezing when he's in the archway, cracking his knuckles.

"I don't want to be with a man who hits me." I say, clearing my throat.

His eyebrows raised as if he's shocked at that. "You only like that in the bedroom? You fucking slut." He walks over, picking the suitcase up and dumping it all out.

I flinch.

"So fucking pathetic." He picks up one of my sneakers and throws it at me.

I need to leave.

I wish Matteo did something to him.

I push myself up, looking at the ground as I walk past him.

He only grabs me, swinging his fist across my jaw. I make a sound at that, holding the aching spot. "Don't you dare fucking leave me, Xena. You leave me and I'll tell everybody where your stupid sisters is, you hear me?"

Somehow, that hurt more than the hit.

"You would do that?" I look at him, my eyes watering.

"You bet I fucking would. You think I don't know where she is?" He laughs, and then says her address slowly. "And I know where Oleg is too."

My heart starts to raise. "You're evil."

He hits me again. "You leave. I'll tell him. You tell anybody about this..." He grabs my jaw. "I'll tell him. You try contact your stupid mafia ex-" He stops, smirking. "He is so done."

"Neves isn't part of this." I choke on my words.

"You don't want her hurt. Listen to me." He pulls me into the bedroom. "You knocked your head helping me fix a cabinet. You're not staying out with Prisha or doing extra time. I don't want you at the safe house and I don't want you in the gym. You break any of my rules and all I need to do is send a text to Oleg and..." he smiles. "Neves is gone, so are her little kids and your little mafia ex."

I stare at him.

"I told Oleg that Matteo was the one to help Neves escape. In fact, I went through all of your paperwork form that time and sent it to him." He smiles. "I can protect you baby. I can protect Neves and the boys. But Matteo will die soon. I'm making sure of it."

"Benjamin-"

"And the best part of all is that you can't even warn him." He laughs. "Because if you do then your sister is going die, you don't want to be responsible for her death. Do you?"

"Benjamin-"

"Do you, Xena!" He shout.

"No." I answer timidly.

"Good. Then you better do and listen to everything I say."

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