My heart is beating like a high speed train inside me. What the fuck do I do now? Where is Luca?
I decide my safest option is to find the best hiding place I can and not leave it for anyone or anything. I prowl the room looking for somewhere I could hide which isn't too obvious. Under the bed or under the covers is way too cliche. What about in the wardrobe? Again too obvious. I look towards an awkwardly angled arm chair in the corner of the room. Perfect.
I hear the floorboards creek under my careful steps every so slightly. Not long now. I'll be okay there. I slowly pull the arm chair forward and hoist myself into the gap between it and the wall, knees hugging my chest.
Voices are heard from outside the room. A murmured discussion rather than an angry rant. And then it stops. I rest my head against the armchair, the adrenaline slowly draining from my body. The morning sun eventually escapes through the sheer curtains in my room. The birds starting to sing. I haven't slept yet? My eyes become suddenly heavy and my body feels numb. I black out.
I spring awake from a thumping sound coming from outside the door. Confused for a few seconds, I almost come out of my hiding place. Then, I remember what had happened that night. And freeze.
The thumping becomes louder and louder and so does my heart in my chest. The door finally breaks down.
"Izzy? Izz?" A familiar voice groans.
I peep my head over the armchair to see a dishevelled, pale Luca.
My lips quiver and I don't know what to do.
"How long have you been down there for?" He swallows, looking like he's struggling to breathe.
"I-I" I start and come out from my hiding position.
Before I can say anything else, Luca falls to the floor, clutching his side.
"What's happened?" My tone, imminent.
His top is damp and a red liquid leaks on my hands. I pull up his top to see a gunshot wound in his side oozing crimson blood quickly. My hands start to shake.
"Get Sebastian."
"Where is he?"
"Just shout him." He says weakly.
I really don't want to expose myself to the world outside these four walls again but I will have to in order for Luca to survive.
I slowly get up and rush to the door, my heart and head pounding with anxiety.
"Sebastian!" I try to shout but fear overcomes me. Come on!
"Help! Please! Sebastian!"
Thudding footsteps are heard from the end of the hallway. I see a dark silhouette which I presume to be Sebastian's, but beyond it are more. All of a sudden, a whole army of men come marching down the hallway.
Sebastian is the first to race in and finds Luca in a ball on the floor.
"What the fuck." He whispers and barges past me. Lots more men come in and all make eye contact with me. The room which did feel miles long in the beginning now feels like a small box room.
"Help me get him on the bed!" Sebastian roars whilst hoisting Luca's arm over his shoulder.
A handsome, tall man first comes to his aid dressed in an all-back business suit. A younger looking man barges past me.
"We're going to have to remove it. Now." The younger man says, sternly.
I swallow. Is now the time to mention he definitely needs a blood transfusion, therefore, a hospital? Not a gang of nosey men breathing down his neck. I can't bear to watch this and begin to turn my back to the whole situation, but someone grabs my wrist.
A man with a skin fade and lots of scars stares at me for a few seconds.
"Get towels and hot water. And some strong alcohol.
I nod, my face scrunching up and leap out of the room. My feet take me the same way I went last night for some reason. Those men were drinking last night. Maybe there's alcohol in there. The door to that room is wide open after all and absent from any strange men.
I see a glass cabinet with every type of spirit there is. I pull out an amber glass bottle which I'm presuming is whiskey or rum. There are towels in my room so all I need to do now is find some hot water and a vessel to carry it in.
My heart still pounding, as I go back towards the dark corridor. Every room I look in is empty and cold. I finally find what looks like a laundry room with a rusty old sink in it. Please, let there be some hot water in here. The tap is stiff. But after a few seconds, steam comes from the water it excretes. There is a metal bucket hanging in the room, which I fill, but it's heavy.
Now I've got to find my way back. But that isn't hard as I can now hear Luca's muffled yelps getting louder.
Once my feet find their way back to the room, my mind elsewhere, the bucket is gently taken off me but I'm in too much of a daze to notice. Luca's abdomen is now stained with blood and almost all of the men are pinning him down. The younger one is practically elbow deep in his side trying to fish out the bullet.
Luca makes eye contact with me and then the whiskey with a pleading look. Nothing is said, I unscrew the cap and push my way towards him. Someone attempts to snatch it off me but Luca snarls a fuck you at them. His hand is free to take it from me and he takes a menacingly big gulp.
"You might want have some more of that because I think I've found it." Says the younger one. Without a second thought Luca takes another huge gulp but almost spits it out in pain.
The bullet is held there like some trophy in the younger one's fingers.
"Okay." He sighs before grabbing the bottle and pouring the contents onto Luca's wound which makes him writhe around in pain. When a catch a glimpse around the room, it's almost empty except for Sebastian, the younger looking man and the man with the skin fade who are glowering down at Luca.
"If you had sang to me again, I would have died for real." Luca swallows throwing his head back.
YOU ARE READING
Degeneracy♡
RomansaIsobel Shelby, is a hard-working nineteen-year-old, with bucket loads of ambition. She is studying criminology and psychology at University and is on the pathway to success. This all changes when she meets Luca. She is put on a two-week placement in...
