The Diavoli Forti

Chapter 4: Conversation

        Jericho Royce. My father. JR, was his nickname as my Uncle Leon would tell me. He was alive. Alive, and one of the most horrible men to walk this earth. I sat there in disbelief. A million thoughts just running through my head. I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried. Tony was fast asleep, snoring loudly. The sun was now shining bright outside. It had to be mid-day by now. I'm exhausted. Mentally and physically, and yet I couldn't fall asleep. My father was alive. My father is the reason I am in this mess. Now, I have to meet him. I tried to think of things I'm going to say to him. Where would I even begin? The abandoning me would be a pretty good place to start. If he's anything like Tony though, keeping my mouth shut might be the best thing. Father or not, this man obviously has a bad reputation and no soft spot for the people of relation to him. He sent Tony to my Uncle's wedding. Why? My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Tony's cell phone ringing.

He jumps up and answers the phone quickly. "Yes sir?"

He listens intently, "1 more day", I hear him say.

Then he hangs up and glances over at me, "You're awake?"

"Couldn't really sleep", I said as I sat up in the chair.

He gets up and starts gathering everything and tossing it on the bed.

He then opens the curtains to let the bright sun in, "We better get moving. We have things to do."

"We?", I asked confused.

Tony shoves me into the car and I hear him make one last phone call before we take off. He steps a few feet away from the car out of ear shot. I sit there watching him intently, debating on if I want to take this chance. I slowly reach for the door handle and pop the door open carefully. Before I knew it I was running. Adrenaline pumping through me. I could feel the wind rushing past me then suddenly, I feel pain. Dirt was in my mouth and my eyes. Tony had tackled me to the ground and was on top of me holding me down. My wrist was throbbing as I tried to squirm free from his grasp. He held his hand firm over my mouth. He grabbed my face and brought my eyes to his. He was telling me to shush frantically. His eyes lifted to something ahead of us. I lean my head back to try and get a glimpse. I see 4 Hispanic men, all dressed in similar attire Tony wore the night I was kidnapped. He had fear in his eyes. I hear the men get into a car and drive off. Tony takes his hand off my mouth and picks me up and drags me to the car.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO YOU SORRY SON OF A BITCH!", I'm screaming as he throws me into the vehicle.

He runs to the driver side and gets in. Before he could grab his gun to use as leverage, I start wailing punches on him. My wrist was still throbbing and it started getting worse but I didn't care. I was too mad to care. He grabs my wrist and gains control over me and points the gun in my side. I started bawling at this point.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? You almost got us killed!" , he's yelling at me now.

I was crying hysterically at this point, "Just let me go please! Please!"

He lets go of me, takes a long breath, and stares ahead before taking off onto the highway again.
               The car ride was completely silent for what felt like hours. Even though it wasn't. We made one stop at an abandoned cotton warehouse where Tony left me in the car for a few hours. I don't even remember when I finally stopped crying. I think I just finally ran out of water in my body to cry. I looked down at my wrist which was now turning purple and swollen. There was blood on my shirt from my mouth. Tony had pushed so hard on it he busted my bottom lip. I was covered in dirt. I couldn't remember the last time I had a shower, it feels like forever. I could attempt an escape but I have no idea where I am and there doesn't seem to be civilization in sight for miles. Besides, he would know where to find me. They would know where to find me. He finally comes out and gets in the car. He was covered in sweat. I catch him out of the corner of my eye looking at my wrist.