Bred In Violence (A Mafia Romance Book One) #𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏

Chapter 51

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage." 
~Lao Tzu~

Sophie

*Unedited*

I run like the devil was chasing me, run until my heart felt like it was about to drop down; I run until I couldn't anymore. And when I couldn't, I leaned forward almost like I was exercising, trying to touch my toes, but instead, I collapsed on my knees, ending horizontally on the ground with my tongue unconsciously touching on small broken parts of dried leaves.

Spitting tiredly, my arms felt heavy; my legs shook even as I laid there facing what looked like the end of the clouds. The sun was overhead, the earth was on fire, and so was my scalp. Have you ever felt so tired, miserable, hopeless, and hurt that you just wanted to give up? That is how I felt, lying in an unknown location, alone and without a sense of which direction I should take. 

Deciding to get up wasn't a choice I would have made in normal circumstances, but the sun forced me up, sweat on my brows, under my armpits, and dripping down the neck between my breast. But I had to; I didn't want the darkness to descend on me while I was still struggling to find my way back to civilization.  

 Before I could determine which direction to take, I stood leaning on a tree gazing at the sky, watching to see whether there was any group of birds in the sky because I needed water, and Raphael said; If you're thirsty, look up and check whether there is a group of birds flying in the same direction, chances are, there are following a freshwater source.  

Hearing Raphael's voice in my head was comforting, soothing, and encouraging. It also reminded me of the reason I ended up kidnapped in the first place, why I was here, in this predicament—Afraid of the answer to the question—what if I didn't make it? If only he hadn't kissed another woman, if only he had loved me enough to choose me every single time if only he could love me and want only me.  

Shielding my eyes, I looked up and watched as a group of birds moved to the south, or what I considered to be South; as scared as I was to get deep into this uncharted territory, I needed water. So I followed them, watching and walking rapidly until I stumbled upon a small stream hidden in a  scenic, breezy, shaded spot that almost lured me to sleep. 

The urge to sleep was so intense, but just as I was about to convince myself it would only be five minutes, Raphael's voice and words echoed through my brain again, this time reminding me I would need to save myself.

  If I ever invoke project Audi, you must know anything can happen to me, and the only way to save you will be to buy you some time. Cara, this means I might not be there to save you. You'll need to be your own hero. 

That thought would have brought with it a ton of reasons for me to panic, but I didn't have time to panic, neither did I have the luxury to do so; my only choice was to quench my thirst and continue walking or running, hoping I'll eventually end up finding someone who may be comfortable lending me their phone for a less than a minute.

I groaned as I walked from the breezy spot to the scorching sun that seemed to have a grudge on me. Walking slowly at first, craning my neck at the furthest end, trying to see whether there was either a highway or a sign of life, but there wasn't. 

Surrounded by nature, the only noise I heard came from birds and my heart. If I weren't so scared, I would have enjoyed the solitude. 

It was almost 4 pm judging from the size of my shadow and the position of the sun; soon, it would be dark, that above all, scared me to death, being alone without knowing whether someone was following me or not in a place like this.