A Penny For Your Tears [Z.M]

One

Thud, thud, I felt my heart beat profusely,as if it was about to jump out of my chest. My hands trembled as I rapidly threw clothes into the largest suitcase I could find, my mind racing with thoughts after thought,fear after fear. I had to get out of here that was all that mattered. As the minutes ticked by, I gave up all together, paranoia making its way to my head. I grabbed whatever I had and rushed out the room. Holding  my suitcase tightly as I tiptoed down the large marble stair case. I was careful not to make a sound, though he wasn't at home, the house was filled with servants and guards that were loyal to him and wouldn't hesitate to call him. I breathed a sigh of relief  as I opened the huge double of doors of the mansion I was forced to call my home for the past three years. A small smile found its way to my face as the night breeze hit my face; sure, I had been outside before. However, there was something different about this breeze, this time I was out here on my own accord, of my own free will, unguarded and unprotected. Not allowing myself to indulge for too long, I rushed out the gates where a taxi stood waiting for me. "JFK airport please, and hurry."

"Flight 329 to London is now open for boarding, please make your way to the appointed gate. Have a safe flight." The words echoed in my mind and I knew I had to go but I couldn't seem to get myself to move. If I did this, if I got on that flight there would be no turning back. Truth be told I was scared, terrified even that in the next moment he would rush through this airport, guns blazing and ready to take me back to hell.

"Uhm Miss, I think you need to leave now if you want to catch your flight." My head moved towards the source of these words and my eyes met a beautiful pair of hazel brown eyes. The owner of these eyes was a young man with long chestnut brown hair tied back in a bun. He had on a large backpack and wore black sweatpants with a loose fitting shirt. He was undoubtedly on his way to go backpacking in Asia or something. Nevertheless, this was the first time a man other than Luca had spoken to me and I was at loss of words.

"Yeah,uhm, thank you." I mumbled, grabbing my things and headed towards my gate. The man waved me goodbye before heading off in a different direction. I took a deep breath as I stood in line, my hands trembling as I held my passport. I was really doing this, I was really leaving him. I handed my passport to the flight attendant, I patted my leg nervously as I waited for her to hand it back.

"Here you go, have a safe flight." She gave me my passport back with a smile which I tried to return but it came out as an awkward grimace. I walked through the tunnel and into the plane whereI was greeted by another attendant who lead me to my seat. While sitting down, a small laugh escaped my lips.It was done, there was no going back now. I was free, free of him. 'But for how long?' the scared little voice in the back of my mind questioned. That was a worry for another day, I had made the first steps to freedom and that was all that mattered. I had smashed my phone to pieces before leaving the house and so there was no way he could track me now, even if he tried it would take him months. More than enough time.

"Would you like something to drink, M'am?M'am? Miss? Miss!" I flinched as the attendant reached over and shook my shoulder, she looked weirdly at me before gesturing at the cart full of beverages.

"Yes, a glass of champagne please and some oreos please." The flight attendant smiled at me and took out a bottle from her cart. She popped it open and poured it effortlessly into a glass.

"What's the occasion?"She asked, handing it to me.

"I, uhm, I" I stuttered, struggling to find a response.How on earth was I supposed to explain that I was running away from my Italian boyfriend, who happened to be the son of the most feared Mafia leader in all of New York, probably even America. How was I supposed to explain that he was also a bipolar, sadist who humiliated, assualted and harrassed me on a daily basis? And that he was dominant and possessive and could not live without knowing where I was every minute of every day. How was I supposed to tell her that and more importantly why should I tell her that? So, I kept it simple; "I, uhm, I broke up with my boyfriend?"

"At it girl." She gave me a high-five and I was surprised at the compliment. "Who needs a man anyway, us girls got to stick together."My heart warmed at her words. I didn't know it at the time but I needed to hear those words. "So, what's the plan? Go to to London and become a stripper?I hear it pays well." I winced slightly at her joke before chuckling awkwardly. I hadn't laughed in so long, it felt as if  I had forgotten how to.

"No, my grandparents live there and I haven't seen them in years. I plan to stay with them for awhile and I guess tour around europe." I was surprised at my ability to hold this conversation, usually I was so overcome with nerves and social anxiety that I could barely let out a simple hello and yet here I was. Talking smoothly with a stranger, I blamed it on the alcohol.

"Well, I've got to get back to work. Here's another glass, you've already finished the first one. Anyway, good luck sister." She took my empty glass of champagne and replaced it with a filled one. I gave her appreciative smile and turned to look at out the window.I leaned my head back, a feeling of peace and tranquility coming over me as my eyes began to feel heavy. Before I knew it I drifted off into a peaceful oblivion.

˜˜˜
"Ladies and gentleman, flight 329 will be arriving in London shortly.Please put on your seatbelts and prepare for landing." My eyes shot open at the sound of the pilot's voice and it took a while for me to register my surroundings and regain proper consciousness. Somehow, I had managed to sleep the entire flight and my half- empty glass of champagne sat in front of me. I downed the rest of it before putting on my seat belt.Leaning back as the plan started its descent. It didn't take long before we touched ground and my heart began beating quickly. I had done it, I was in London, miles and miles away from him. As soon I was able to I grabbed my things and rushed out the plane, which was task deemed almost impossible due to the fact that the people infront of me refused to move out of the way.

"Thank you for flying with British Airways, we hope to see you soon." The flight attendant from earlier said as I walked by her, I waved her goodbye before stepping out the plane. A breeze of fresh air hitting me as my feet touched english ground. I walked to a duty free store and bought myself a new phone before I calling my grandparents, telling them I had arrived. I then made my way to the arrivals gate where my luggage was waiting for me. With every step, a weight was lifted from shoulder and my heart leaped with joy at the thought of the future ahead of me. A future without Luca Barletta.

A/N: OOOH, I'm so excited for this story. This chapter was a bit off but this was because I didn't know how to start it off exactly but I promise you the next chapter is much,much better and it only gets better from there and might involve one of the boys.

Disclaimer: This is story is a dark romance and the following chapters will touch upon mature subjects such as drugs, gang violence, abuse and rape. Read at your own risk.

You can imagine Barbara Palvin as Olivia (pictured above)

On a further note, I hope you like it so far. It's very, very different from my last book. However, I'm very excited about this one cause it's definitely more a creative approach as I'm making up everything as I go. Please, please vote and definitely comment in this book, I'd like to be able to engage more with all of you. Have good day,

Noena11