Beautiful Pain

10

Anna is not surprised when she hears that the man is Leo's uncle. She had met him before, although he seems to have forgotten it. She is shocked however, when he says Leo is the only one who can save her. She blinks back her tears and coughs.

"What do you mean?" She asks quietly, lowering her head. She can feel herself quivering.

"Leo has refused to do our business as you know. Killing people, delivering, selling, et cetera. He could tell us right now that he will start to do what we order. But, let's be honest, we wouldn't believe him until he proved himself to us."

"What does that have to do with me?"

She stares at Leo rather than his uncle. His body was bruised, bloody, and covered with cuts and scars. The worst looked recent. It was ragged and ran in spirals around his ribcage starting just above his hips.

His uncle throws Leo to the ground harshly. She struggles against her bonds, wanting to reach over and see if he was alright even though she instinctively knew he wasn't.

"He can save you by hurting you," his uncle sneers. Another sound comes out of his mouth, but is abruptly cut off.

"Boss, we got a new shipment!" Someone calls.

Leo's uncle growls and bends down, taking a handful of Leo's hair and yanking him up. He whispers something in the boy's ear, releases him, then leaves.

"Leo, what's happening? What does your uncle mean?"

He looks up at her with a look that sends a shiver down her spine: a cold saddness.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"You have until I get back to prove yourself."

The words ring in Leo's ears, sending him into a haze.

"Leo, what's happening," Anna's small whimper breaks through, "What does your uncle mean?"

He looks at her and she shivers.

"He wants me to hurt you to prove myself to him, tell him I've made my decision to work with him."

"What's so bad about working with him," she asks.

Leo scoffs, "You really are stupid, aren't you? Let me write it out for you; if I work with him and choose to inherit the business, I'll have to kill and hurt and destroy people's lives."

"Then just refuse," she whispers, "I don't matter that much compared to that..."

"YOU MATTER MUCH MORE THAN THAT!" He yells, spittle flying. He softens at her terrified face.

"Anna, I've known you for about a week or so. But somehow, in that time, my subconscious decided that it was a smart idea to make myself vulnerable to you. I don't want to see you hurt," he whispers, then scoffs again, "If I hurt you now, I'll inherit the lives of thousands, perhaps millions, of people around the world. Or, I could not hurt you and you'd live miserably for the rest of your life. I can't choose, both choices are horrible."

"Don't choose me," she tells him, shuffling under her bonds, "I don't matter compared to thousands of other people."

A single tear rolls down his cheek. At that, he makes his decision.

"I don't know how you can be so selfless Anna," he whispers, looking at her. Her stunning green eyes are glassy with tears, "But I am a very selfish man."

"TIME'S UP!"