*Leo*
The world ca back to slowly.
My head throbbed with every pulse of my heartbeat, my body aching from the brutal way I’d been tossed around.
I opened my eyes, squinting against the dim light that filtered into the room. The air was thick with tension, suffocating, and the first thing I realized was that I wasn’t alone.
Maria.
I blinked again, more sharply this ti, and found her sitting beside , just inches away. Her wrists shackled in front of her. She was looking at with a strange, almost sad expression.
For a mont, I couldn’t process it. My thoughts were too scrambled, too filled with the mories of Bianca, the helplessness I felt in the monts before I lost consciousness.
And then, the horrible truth, the knowledge that I hadn’t been able to protect her. That she was alone and in labor, and there was no telling whether she was okay.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I rasped, my voice rough and raw from the dry air. I sat up and found my hands cuffed as well.
Maria didn’t respond imdiately. She just sat there, staring at . Her eyes were tired but there was a softness to her gaze I hadn’t seen before.
“I was betrayed,” she finally said, her voice quiet. She let the words settle between us, like a confession she hadn’t planned on making. “The people I thought I could trust turned on . They’re all liars. I thought I could finally fix things. But I can’t.”
I didn’t know how to respond. Betrayal? Trust? She was the one who had thrown into this ss. She was the reason I was chained up like so animal.
“You should’ve known better,” I muttered. “You should’ve known from your history not to trust people like them. Gang mbers. Thugs.”
Maria sighed, her shoulders slumping slightly. She wasn’t angry, just resigned. “Maybe it’s the family curse,” she said, almost thoughtfully. “Always getting involved in things that we shouldn’t. Always pulling in the wrong people.”
I stiffened, my heart clenching at her words. “Family curse? What the hell are you talking about?”
She turned her head to look at , her lips curling slightly in sothing like a bitter smile. “I don’t know... I always thought I could save you, Leo. I thought I could fix everything. And then I found out you were dragged into the Valentinos.”
“The Valentinos were like family to ,” I said quietly, my voice thick with emotion. “They raised . They kept safe.”
“They’re criminals, just like our parents!” Maria argued.
I could feel the weight of those words settling on . “Yeah, I had to get blood on my hands. Do things I’m not proud of. But they were always good to , made feel like I belonged and had a purpose.”
“Like I said, we are cursed to get stuck with the wrong people.” She chuckled humorlessly.
“The Valentinos are not a curse to ! They gave my life and led to Bianca. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
Her gaze softened, and for a mont, I could almost see the flicker of regret in her eyes. “And now... you won’t be able to see your baby be born,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
I bowed my head and turned away from her. My head throbbed at the movent and I winced.
“It’s my fault, isn’t it, that you’re stuck here,” she muttered.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to rage at the injustice of it all. But I couldn’t. Not anymore. The words ca out instead, quiet and hopeless, “I don’t even know if they’re alive, Maria. Bianca... my baby...”
My chest felt like it was collapsing inward, my throat tightening with the pressure of everything I couldn’t control.
Maria’s expression shifted, as if she could sense the depth of my grief. She lowered her gaze, staring at her hands as she fidgeted with her shackles. “I’m sorry, Leo,” she said, almost like she ant it. “I never wanted this for you. I never wanted you to end up like this.”
I didn’t know how to react. I didn’t know if she was just saying that out of pity or if there was sothing more behind it.
It was her fault I was stuck here and not with Bianca and the baby. It was her fault I couldn’t protect them.
Maria knew it. Yelling at her about it wouldn’t change that and it wouldn’t make either of us feel better.
She was a prisoner just like and she didn’t want my family hurt.
I knew that much from her reaction to Andre lying to her. She was my best chance at getting out of here.
Could I trust her?
Maria said sothing. A na.
“Do you rember , Leoncita?” she asked, her voice low, almost wistful.
I froze.
She’d called that before, but I hadn’t let it sink in.
Her words hit like a mory that I hadn’t known I had. The sound of a lullaby, soft and comforting. The feeling of small hands pulling close, the warmth of her embrace.
I rembered Maria sitting beside while I was sick, singing to and placing a cool cloth on my fevered forehead.
In those brief mories, I couldn’t recall the nas, faces, or voices of my own parents, but Maria was there. So young and still so devoted to as her brother.
She took care of when my parents decided I was a lost cause.
I could see her clearly putting toys at the foot of my bed and bringing flowers from the garden when I couldn’t go outside and play.
She brought gifts and toys to make feel better while the sickness took its toll.
Suddenly, it all clicked. It wasn’t just the vague recollections of a mother I could never recall. It was Maria. She had been there.
She was the one who had stayed with when everyone else had disappeared. She was the one who had sung those lullabies, who had been my protector in a world that didn’t give a damn.
I closed my eyes, the flood of mories overwhelming .
I could see her face now, not as a stranger, but as my sister. The one who had saved all those years ago. The one who had carried when I was too weak to walk, who had hidden when danger was closing in.
“I rember,” I whispered, my voice shaking.
Maria’s eyes brightened and she smiled. “I did what I could, Leo,” she said quietly. “I tried to protect you. I tried to keep you safe.”
“I know you did. If it wasn’t for you, I never would have had my life with the Valentinos. You didn’t fail , Maria, you gave a chance.”
“But I lost you in the process.” She sighed and slumped forward.
I looked at her then, really looked at her for the first ti. “I get it now. Why you did what you did. I understand why you were so desperate to reunite But Maria... this isn’t the way. This isn’t the answer.”
“I just wanted a family,” she whispered. She lifted her head and looked at with wide eyes. “I wanted us to be together, to finally have what we lost.”
I felt a pang of sympathy for her, a deep, aching understanding of what it felt like to long for sothing you could never have.
“Believe , I know what that’s like. I never thought I’d have family but then I t Bianca and everything changed for . You don’t need to dig up the past to have what you want.”
“You’re a hopeless romantic, Leo. There’s no happiness for down that road. I missed every chance to fall in love and have what you and Bianca have.”
My heart clenched at her use of the present tense. Did Bianca and I still have it all? I had no way of knowing if she and the baby were still alive.
“You’re life isn’t over, Maria. But you have to let go of the past and start living for the future. And stop joining up with people like Andre,” I admonished.
Maria smiled tightly. “I’m not sure I know how. Would you help ?”
I glanced around the room we were in. There wasn’t much to determine if we were underground or anything like that.
The walls had moth-eaten tapestries hanging on them and there was no natural light. That didn’t an anything if it was night ti.
“Look, we can figure that out later. But first, we have to get out of here. Neither of us have a future if we don’t.”
Maria furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m not staying here, Maria,” I said through clenched teeth. “I won’t.”
She looked at , her eyes shadowed with uncertainty. “Leo, it’s impossible. There’s no way out.”
I smiled grimly. “You don’t know very well.”
“We’re both handcuffed.” She held up her hands.
“You picked the last handcuff lock you were stuck in,” I reminded her.
Maria rolled her eyes. “I was prepared for that.”
“Co on. We’ll find a way.”
“Can you pick a handcuff lock?” She challenged.
“No. But sotis, brute strength is all that’s needed.” I held my hands up.
“Leo, you cannot break your handcuffs!” Maria argued.
I grabbed my thumb in on hand and twisted it. The joint cracked and my thumb hung at an odd angle.
“Ow!” I groaned.
Carefully, I slipped the handcuff off my hand and over my broken thumb.
“Leo! You are insane!” Maria snapped. She jumped to her feet.
“I have use of both my hands now, don’t I?” I held them up.
The handcuffs dangled down my arm, still attached to one hand.
My thumb ached and was already starting to swell. It wouldn’t be the most useful appendage but at least I’d have free motion with my arms.
I had to get out. I had to.
“You broke your own thumb!” Maria pointed to my mangled hand.
“I don’t care,” I gasped through the pain. “I need to get back to my family. Bianca and my baby... I won’t lose them.”
Maria hesitated, but after a mont, her face hardened with resolve. She pushed herself off the chair and held up her bound hands. “Fine,” she said quietly. “I’ll help you.”
I t her eyes. “Thank you.”
She nodded, her voice low. “We’re getting you back to your family, Leo. I swear it.”
And for the first ti in a long while, I allowed myself to believe that maybe, just maybe, we would make it out of this.
Reviews
All reviews (0)