A Penny For Your Tears

Eleven

"Have you talked to any of your friends recently?"Grandma glanced at me through the reflection of the kitchen window as she continued making her apple pie. I remained silent, instead of replying focusing on the task at hand; slicing the apples for the pie.

"Olivia, I'm talking to you." She stopped what she was doing and turned towards me, leaning against the counter with arms crossed and brows lifted. I sighed, dropping the knife before saying;

"No, I haven't spoken to anyone since I left." I finally responded, my grandma, studied me for a while before taking a seat opposite me.

"What's the problem, darling, don't you want to invite any of them out here? You must be getting a bit lonely." Grandma talked of friends, I barely had any left. Luca saw to that.

"No," I replied quickly, I rubbed my temples as I sighed in frustration. Of course, I wanted them to be with me, they were my friends after all. However, I was afraid that them coming here or even telling them where I was would somehow give Luca a lead on my whereabouts. Then again, even in New York, they're still be in grave danger. Luca was ruthless and undoubtedly prepared to hurt anyone in order to get to me. "I just, I don't know." I sighed again, staring at my grandma for help that she could not give.

"Well, sweetie, the decision is ultimately not yours to make. You can tell them that you don't want the here but if they decides to come, there's nothing nothing you can do about it.Now, I don't know what's going on with you but whatever it is, know I'm always here for you." With that she gave me a kiss on the cheek and returned to her pie. She had a point, a very strong point. What was I going to do? I couldn't stay hidden forever, someone was bound to figure out where I was.

"By the way, a boy named Adam stopped by a few times this week to see you. It's nice to see you make new friends." My grandma's words dragged me out of my deep pondering and I stared at her back with confusion. I hadn't spoken to Adam since the disaster lunch we had and that was about a week ago. He had called several times, all which I ignored, but I had never expected him to make the effort to see me. Part of me felt comforted by his concern but a bigger part of me was weary, weary that I was inadvertently putting him in harm's way. I got up quickly and rushed to my room, grabbing my phone from my desk before sitting cross-legged on my bed.My fingers hovered over Adam's number, an internal battle going on withing my mind. Before, I could make a decision, the phone rang in my hands and I let out a frightened yelp.

"Hello," I answered,when I realized it was just Aaliyah.

"Olivia!" She screeched, causing me to wince and impulsively pull my phone away from my ear. "I'm having a party tonight and I would really appreciate it if you would come."

" A party? Tonight?" I questioned, I was hesitant. It had been awhile since I had been to a party and the memory of the last party I went to still haunted me.

"Are you sure Luca is ok with this?"I asked Lorenzo over the blaring music. He nodded, probably not hearing what I said as he danced his way towards the bar. I trailed along behind him, my hands subconsciously pulling my dangerously short dress down. Lorenzo smirked as he passed me a drink, I took it carefully from his hand before turning to face the crowd. I spotted Matteo dancing drunkenly amongst a group of girls and he flashed me a smile when he spotted my lingering eyes. Somehow, Lorenzo and Matteo had convinced me to accompany them to a party. Well, actually, Lorenzo and Matteo were ordered to protect me while Luca went out on a job for his father. Matteo was upset that he was going to miss this party,and so Lorenzo suggested we all go. He threw me an outfit, insisted Luca would be ok with it and that was that. I returned Matteo's smile before bringing my attention back to the drink Lorenzo had given me.I wanted to, I really wanted to down the whole thing. However, I knew the worst thing I could was to return to Luca drunk, that was basically signing my death certificate. I put the glass down, as much as I wanted to let loose and be a normal teenager, I also wanted to live to see the next day. I sat on a bar stool and watched the party from afar remembering my days before Luca. I loved to party and I partied responsibly. Watching the crowd gave me more sadness than joy, only reminding me of my current bondage.

"Come on, Olivia, dance!" Matteo stumbled into my view and attempted to pull me up from my chair.

"No, Matteo, I'm fine over here." I laughed, Matteo slurred some more drunken words before giving my arms one final pull, dragging me from the comfort of my chair to the dance floor. Matteo swayed his hips and I laughed as I began to do the same. I closed my eyes, feeling the music vibrate through the floor and up my body, I allowed myself to forget and just live in the moment. Soon, I felt someone's presence behind me, I assumed it was Matteo but when the person placed their hands on my hips with a tight grip, my eyes shot open and I swiftly turned around to meet the dark eyes of a tall, large stranger.

"Excuse me." I said, trying to pry this man's fingers of my body but he wouldn't budge. Instead, he began moving our hips together to the music. My eyes frantically searched the vicinity for Lorenzo or Matteo, however I couldn't find any of them. I returned my gaze to the man's chest as panic slowly started to set in.

"Relax," He said, bending down slightly to whisper in my ear. "I'm not going to hurt you, I saw you dancing alone and I thought I'd join you." His voice was soft, not at all correlating with his harsh exterior. I remained quiet, once again shifting my gaze away from the man but this time they met the eyes of another; the dark, cold eyes of Luca Barletta. Before I could even blink, Luca began moving in our direction at an inhumane speed and stopped a few centimeters behind the man. He was breathing heavily, anger no doubt coursing through his veins. He tapped on the man's shoulder and as he turned around, Luca swung his arm back and punched him square in the noise. The dancing around us stopped as people watched what they saw as mere drama but would soon end up as a murder scene if care was not taken. Lorenzo and Matteo fought their way through the crowd and tried reasoning with Luca in Italian but he could not be swayed. He packed punch after punch, kick after kick until the large, strong man I was once dancing with was nothing but bloody pulp. I stayed quiet, it was best I didn't say anything to provoke him, either way I knew what was coming. Satisfied with the harm he inflicted, he moved his attention from the floor to me.

"We're leaving." Was all he said, before he grabbed my arm and pulled me through the crowd. Lorenzo and Matteo followed us with their heads cast down in shame. The ride back was silent but I knew only horrors awaited me at home. Lorenzo dragged me out of the car and into his house, up the stairs and into a room I had never been in before. He opened the door and pushed me before leaving and locking the door behind him. Darkness, that's all there was. Darkness. There were no windows, no light switch, no clocks, there was nothing at all. And it was in that room I remained for perhaps a few days, a week, two weeks? I don't know. I lost all perception of time and Luca had starved me, merely giving me water and a slice of bread twice a day. Everyday, I spent in that room, my sanity chipped away bit by bit. By the time he finally let me out, I wasn't the same, it took me months to recover from that ordeal. I'd rather he'd just hurt me physically.

"Olivia? Are you coming? Please do! Besides my brother wants you to chaperone." Aaliyah's voice dragged me out of the memory just before it got too painful and it took a while for me to even register what she was saying.

"Wait, you're brother, wants me to chaperone?" I questioned incredulously, why would he want me there? Perhaps, Liyah spoke good of me and saw me as a good role model? Well, whatever, the reasons, I was going to the party. I owed it to myself to go out and enjoy. Even if it was with a bunch of minors. With a new found determination, I dialed Adam's number;

"Hey, you up for a party."