Leo

Chapter Seven

[Leo's POV]

I land on my back hard on the floor. I pant. This is the so called training that I need to experience before going on a mission. It’s mostly an initiation test, to see if I could suit this place, if I could blend in with them.

“Come on! Get up! Is that the best you can do?!” TJ yells. His white shirt is torn and blood stained it. Truth be told, he’s more worn out than me and he put up so much effort into knocking me out that he didn’t even pay any attention to his wounds. There’s a cut on his forehead and bloods seeps through it. His left eye is shut tight. His hair was plastered all over his forehead. We were just practicing hand – to – hand combat like the rest, enhancing their skills but I think we’re in a more serious fight. I pretend to experience pain but I can’t feel anything, I am numb and pumped.

I ball my hands into fists and swipe the blood pouring from my cut lip. A single drop of sweat makes its way through my pore. I wipe it. I don’t care if I bleed. I just don’t like to sweat, I may not be a girly – frilly good for nothing choosy girl but I hate sweating, it is just gross.

“LET’S GET THIS OVER WITH!” I hiss. I have a few bruises, a sprain on my ankle, and scrape above my knee. It’s pretty hard succeeding in hand – to – hand combat wearing nothing but a white hospital gown.  

I kick high he ducks, he punches, I sidestep. I grab his shirt collar and knee him behind. He stumbles but regains his balance, he turns and he lunges. I punch his face and my knuckles crackle at the pressure. I kick his torso and he goes down with a thud.

Everyone stopped fighting. All of their heads turned and Eyes assisted TJ up. I grin. Eyes stares at me dumbfounded and I smirk.

“Come with me.” He says as everyone came to help TJ. I comply.

“No one, Leo, no one has ever done that…” Eyes says slowly. Shaking his head and gesturing with his hand that it’s just impossible. I laugh a little.

“Well TJ seemed pretty weak to me.” I whisper.

“Trust me, he ain’t that weak, you’d be forced to take those words back if someone else fought him.” We stop at a room and he gestured for me to go inside. I gape. Red carpet covered the floor. Versailles wallpaper plastered all over the walls. A chandelier hung over the center of the ceiling. Flourished furniture is lavishly decorated and intricately placed the room. It instantly reminded me of some other place, a place that seemed like a fairytale now.

It reminded me of our first house. I close my eyes and reminisced the days.

The sun was shining down on me while I was sitting on the porch. Marvin comes running through the door and ruffles my hair. He runs and makes a face, I chase after him. The two story high countryside house held more décor inside its four walls. Trey was sober back then, my mom Lila, was his most valuable treasure. They were inseparable. We were rich, we hated the gangs and we tried to avoid catching their attention. Marvin and I never fought, not once back then but that paradise had to end somewhere right? It ended when Stephanie came into our life. She sold her body to gain money and my father had lustful thoughts. I was twelve when the two started to see each other and their secretive relationship lasted for four years up until the point where Stephanie got pregnant two months ago. The moment Stephanie told Trey, my mother heard and immediately drowned herself in our pool and knocked her head somehow causing a hemorrhage that led her to a comatose state.

Simultaneously, the moment she got into a comatose state, gangs found us and rigged our vaults and our house. We went into a cheaper place and stayed there for six months. To gain revenge on those who stole our fortune, Marvin did the same for a living. We had to flee every now and then to avoid getting caught by the Aviators. Trey became a drunkard and lost his job just by being so. Stephanie was all he had since both of his children despise him with passion.

 Now, Stephanie is gone, Marvin is taken by the Aviators, Trey is hopefully dead and I’m a gangster, I’m one of the people who I use to hate.

“…Hey, Leo we’re you listening to me?” Eyes snaps his fingers in front of my face. I shake my head, coming back from my reverie. I stare at his handsome face in confusion he just waves it off and laughs. He walks towards a cabinet with ornate curlicues. He throws the doors open revealing clothes of various types. I take several steps forward. Weird, those clothes were the ones I had several years ago.

“Hey, Eyes, did you steal these in a countryside type of house?” I ask bluntly.

“Why?” he crosses his arms across his chest and stares at me.

“Just answer it, please.” I say, still staring in awe.

“Okay, can’t have a girl like you beg…truth is we kinda stole it, this entire room is full of those things back that countryside mansion and we rigged all of their vaults. We kept this room lavish to symbolize the jackpot that we scored.” He grins. I close my eyes in fury. So they were the ones who ruined my life.

“Alright.” I say, pretending not to care. I swear from this day onwards I am going to tear this place from the inside and leave nothing behind.