The Mafia's Angel | 18+

𝙊𝙣𝙚

𝘼𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙖

✦⋆𓆩✧𓆪⋆✦

A crash downstairs woke me up.

The moon was high in the sky, its silver light streaking in through my flowing curtains. It was eerily silent outside, with no sound of the crickets or frogs, and that made my heart pick up speed. The Abelli mansion was pressed against the California Hill State Forest, which was full of wildlife. So when the forest went silent, something was wrong.

I yanked my sheets off my body, rushing over to my door and pulling it open, nearly screaming when my father was in front of it. But before a sound came out, his palm came up to cover my mouth, his emerald eyes boring into mine, a silent command to stay silent. A dip of my chin gave him enough of an answer and he pushed me into my bedroom, shutting the door behind him. "They have Lily and Mamma," I nodded, tears welling in my eyes, "I need you to be strong for me angel, do you understand that there's a large possibility that you're alone until help arrives, I've called Ari."

I nodded again, flinching when I heard Lily scream. Papa looked over his shoulder and then back to me, tears in his eyes. "I want you to know how much I love you," a singular tear rolled down my cheek and his thumb swiped the liquid away. "And that when Erik arrives, he's to be in charge, but you're as involved as you want to be," another scream and a crash, "As soon as I leave this room, sit at the door, put all your weight against it," He reached into his pocket, pulling a switchblade free and pressing it to my free palm, "Kill them if they come after you do not ever give up your heart, be strong angel, for you and for Erik."

And then my father pulled me into his chest, pressing a kiss to my head for the last time.

He slipped out into the hallway and I followed his command, pressing my weight against the bottom of the door as I sat down. One shaky hand held onto the switchblade, and the other held a palm to my lips to quiet the sobs. Several footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs, and my father slumped against my door, I heard the way he collided with it. I couldn't make out the specifics of what was being said, only pressed harder against my door when people started to shove against it.

And then my world stopped because three gunshots went off.

I knew, as soon as I opened my door and stepped into the hallway that my family was gone. "Let's go," A man's voice, full of animosity and gravel commanded. So I sat quietly until I heard all the footsteps retreat, and then I opened the door, stepping into the hallway.

I couldn't stop the scream that left my lungs, because I stepped into my family's pool of blood. Mamma was curled around Lily, and Papa had his hands outstretched for them. Their lifeless bodies stared up at me and I hurled into their blood, the contents of my stomach joining the iron smell of blood. The switchblade fell beside my father, his blood splashing onto my ankles and I sobbed, trying to will my feet to move, to get me out of the death of my family.

A crackle caught my attention, the smell of gasoline quickly filling my nostrils and I dropped to my knees right as the house erupted in flames.

I screamed as heat licked up my spine, my palms covering my ears as the sound of crackling paper and falling plaster filled the air. Blood pressed into my knees and I curled over, nearly landing face-first into the pool surrounding me. I couldn't hear the chaos outside, my screams echoed down the burning halls, drowning out the gunfire that was erupting outside. I was going to burn alive, I was going to die because I didn't have the strength to get up and move, I was going to suffocate because soon the oxygen would be replaced with smoke and I'd have no more air to breathe and-

"Ariella!"

A single voice cut through the roaring in my head I turned slightly to see Ari standing at the top of the stairs, his chest rising and falling quickly as he tried to assess the best way to get to me. "Angel, listen to me only okay?" I nodded, lowering my hands from my head tears rushed down my cheeks, "Stand for me," My palm landed in blood but I refused to acknowledge it as I pressed on the once-orange terracotta, pushing my body into a standing position. "Good, now come to me, keep your eyes on me, don't look at anything else."