The Lies You Told Me

Chapter 24

Katana’s POV

Seeing Bee and Val hurt had really shaken me up. I felt awful that I hadn’t helped them, or protected them from Dante. The world was spinning around me, and I felt my chest tightening.

I could still remember those fights with Dante like they were yesterday.

FLASHBACK

I gasped as Dante hit me in the chest, knocking me to the floor. He kicked my lungs, and looked down at me, smiling that smug, loathsome smile that I hated so much. I tried to get up, but he held me down with his arm, watching me squirm. I looked around, and saw my father watching from the background. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he had a strange look on his face. It was a look I’d come to know so well – a malicious pride for my brother, mixed with the joy of watching me get beaten up.

I looked back to see Dante’s fist coming towards me, and I winced, and it connected with my face. I heard a crack, and felt a huge pain in my nose. Suddenly, I saw Dante pulling out a gun. I screamed, and desperately scrabbled at the ground around me, trying to back away.

I looked back to my father, who was still standing motionless in the corner. I screamed at him, trying to get him to stop Dante. As usual, he ignored me. I heard the click of the trigger, and screamed in pain as I felt the bullet go into my hip. Any strength left in me seeped away, and I was left sobbing on the floor. My father walked over to Dante, kicked my body out of the way, and they walked inside. My father was proudly holding his arm around Dante, and congratulating him. I crawled along the floor, over to were they stood.

 "Father, please. Can't I at least have a knife to defend myself? I mean... Dante had a gun. He just shot me!" My father glared at me, took the gun from Dante, and shot me again in the leg. He then kicked me out of the way again, before him and Dante walked inside. He didn't take another look back at me, his daughter, before the heavy oak doors closed behind him.

Eventually, a few hours later, I had the strength to get up. I limped inside, and went to my room. It was just a small room, originally a utility cupboard, that had been converted into my bedroom. Although not much had been changed – a bed was slung in, along with some cupboards and a few shelves nailed to the walls.

I winced as I reached up to a cupboard, and pulled out some tweezers, sanitiser, and a needle, and began to extract the bullets and sanitise the wounds. Eventually, I closed up the wound, and laid on my bed. I looked up to the ceiling in despair, and groaned. I slowly fell asleep, a tear running down my face.

PRESENT DAY

A cough from Kai's direction pulled me back to the present. I started to feel faint, and I couldn't breathe, so I sat down in the couch next to my mother, and pulled my legs to my body like I did when I was younger. Kai looked worried, and came and sat down next to me.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I swallowed, still struggling to breathe.

"Yeah. I'm... I'm fine. We need to go though. Now." Yelena had walked back over to us now, and as usual knew how to take control and lead the room.

"Okay. We can't all fit in one car. I'll take Mom, Bee, and Val, and you and Kai can go in a separate car." She paused, and looked at me.

"Kai, you might have to drive. Your stuffs over there, Kat got it all for you. Everyone, be at the garage in 5 minutes."

The others left, leaving just me and Kai.

“Are you really okay?” I sighed, and looked up at the ceiling.

“It really… Shook me up. Realising what Dante was doing to Bee and Val. I can’t stop thinking about what my father did to me. What Dante used to do to me. I… I still get flashbacks.” I looked at Kai, longingly. He put his arm around me, and I leant on his shoulder, and started quietly sobbing into his hoodie. He smelt like a fresh rainfall, with a hint of cocoa. He hugged me, and it felt like I was being surrounded by angel wings, like a shield, protecting me from all the bad in the world, in this house.

“Hey, Kat. My Banana Katana. We need to go.” I smiled, nodded, and started to wipe the tears from my face. Kai started to wipe them away as well, and used his hoodie to wipe the mascara that had run down my face. I leaned back, letting him stand up.

“You called me Banana Katana. Again.” We both smiled, and let out a laugh in between sniffles.

“You’re my little Banana.” He smiled, and gave me a hug. 

"I'm literally taller than you, Kai."

 He laughed, and we picked up our bags, and walked out and down the hallway towards the garage. His arm was around me until we got to the garage, where he pulled his arm away and smiled.

We opened the doors to the garage. Yelena was helping the girls and my mother put their bags into her BMW.

I pulled out the keys to my Ferrari, and handed them over to Kai. He unlocked the car, and shoved our bags in the boot.

“Okay, Lena, we’ll meet at my apartment. See you in a few hours. Stay safe.” I gave her a quick hug, and she smiled at me.

“You too Kat. Let Kai drive. I think you need a rest.”

“I’m fine.” She raised her eyes at me, clearly not believing me.

“Just… Stay safe. See you soon Kat.”

Yelena got into her car, and drove off. I started to get into the driver’s seat of my car, before Kai stopped me.

“Budge over. I’m driving. You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine. Honestly. And anyway, I don’t let other people drive my cars.”

“You let me drive it.”

“That was… Different. You’re not driving it-“ I paused, trying to stifle a yawn. Kai looked at me, and rolled his eyes.

“Move over. I’m driving.” I was too tired to argue, so I walked around and sat in the passenger seat. Kai pulled out of the driveway, and began the drive to Boston.