Page 3 of The Diávolos: Part One
“Away,” I replied, not paying him too much attention, too preoccupied with grabbing my things quickly so as to leave without being caught.
“Angelica. You can’t just leave.”
“Yes. I can,” I answered coldly. “I’ve had enough of this, Gianis.”
My best friend had tried to talk me out of it and get me to stay. I knew he didn’t want to be left alone to deal with our fathers. But I had to put myself first. As sad as I was to go, I couldn’t stay in that house for another minute. When he asked me where I was going, I made him swear not to tell a soul.
“Antium City. That’s where I’ll go. To my mom’s hometown,” I finally answered.
I remember my mother telling me stories of her childhood in Upper-Antium. How she had grown up in the nice neighborhood of White Plains with my grandparents. I’m not sure why my family never ventured out to Antium City, but I have a feeling that it was because my father didn’t want us to. He was probably scared we wouldn’t come back.
Mymama’sparents would come to Cebrene and stay with us a couple of times a year. My parents would put on a show of a united front for each visit. It was the only time I saw them show affection to one another.
I don’t remember when or why things changed. From what I could gather,mamawas unhappy with somethingbabadid and it created a fracture that was never healed. She went from a loving, doting wife to a spiteful and hateful one, suffering with mental breakdowns and panic attacks. When it was just us, they never touched, hugged, or kissed. They hardly spoke. I always thought there was something wrong with them, seeing how my friends’ parents interacted with each other, but I was too young to realize that evil lurked between them. They went from having a partnership to despising each other right before my eyes.
In the end, only their title remained. Married. Husband and wife, but nothing more.
Mymamaalways told me stories of princesses falling in love, getting married and living happily ever after. I stopped believing in them as I looked at my parents’ relationship. I saw nothing worth fighting for.
I don’t need love to be happy.
That night, I packed my bags and fished out the money I kept in a small jar under my bed. My father had been contributing to my bank account, but I wasn’t sure if he would cut me off once he learned that I’d run away. I looked up the next train to Antium City and left. I said a quick goodbye to Gianis, knowing if I looked at him for too long, I would change my mind.
He watched me with sorrow in his eyes as I walked out the door. “I wish I could come with you.”
“I know,” I said, looking down at my feet to avoid his gaze. The guilt for leaving him was gnawing at me. “I’ll call you from my new number when I get there, okay?”
I called Aria as soon as I got down the street and made plans to meet at the mall. I didn’t want to explain everything to her on the phone. When I told her that I was leaving the city, she burst out crying and leaped into my arms.
“Angie, what am I going to do without you?” she asked in between her sobs.
My heart ached. Saying two goodbyes in one day was not what I had planned when I had woken up that morning. Aria was aware of how it had been at home for me, how strained the relationship with my father had become. She understood why I had to go. We came from the same world. Her father had high expectations of her, much as mine did, but she still had her mother to guide her.
“Come visit me?” I asked her, and she nodded enthusiastically, wiping away her tears. It was totally like us to make a scene in the middle of a crowded area, so we paid no mind to the people gaping at us crying in each other’s arms.
I then bought a one-way ticket to Antium City, and just like that, I was gone.
When my father got word that I’d left, all hell broke loose. He sent his security detail on a wild goose chase to find me and made multiple calls to my friends to figure out my whereabouts. Gianis sent me a text while I waited for the train to tell me that one of my father’s bodyguards had seen me leave the house with my bags. Immediately, my heart leaped into my throat, and I looked around for anyone that could’ve seen me at the station. I thought I had done a great job sneaking away.You should know better, Ang.
Gianis promised he wouldn’t tell them where I was going, but I knew they would question him. The dread of being caught had grown in me all day. I had gotten twelve calls from mybababefore boarding the train and I let them all go to voicemail. He left me three messages, each one nastier than the prior, threatening to cut me off and never speak to me again unless I came home. I ignored them all.
Somehow, the idea of not talking to him anymore brought me relief.
On the train ride to what would become my new home, I shed layers of anxiety. I felt a sense of freedom in the suspension between who I was and who I would become. I started to feel lighter the farther I got from Cebrene.
Once in Antium City, I called my grandparents from a payphone. Myyayápicked up the call and was surprised to hear my voice. After my mother died, I hadn’t been allowed to talk to her. But occasionally, I snuck calls to my grandparents when my father wasn’t around to update them on my life and check up on theirs. I’d missed her soft voice and the tenderness only a grandparent could provide.
“Angelica?Louloúdi mou,”she said. My flower. “How are you? Is everything okay?” she asked.
My eyes filled up with tears hearing her call me her flower, her nickname for me, and I sniffed into the phone.“Yayá, I’m in Antium… I had to get away. I couldn’t stay…” I struggled to get the words out.
“Shhhh, it’s okay, little one. Come over; yourpapoúsand I will take care of you.”
I had jumped into mypapoús’s arms when he greeted me at the door. And just sobbed. I was so happy to see him and be away from my old life. In that moment, I had finally felt free from all my fears, judgment, and expectations. I could live the life I wanted. My grandma made ustyropita,Greek cheese pies, and we talked for hours. They didn’t ask me what was wrong, why I was crying, or what I was even doing there. This told me that they understood and were ready to accept me, no questions asked, even if it meant facing my father’s wrath.
I stayed with my grandparents for several months, while I applied to different colleges. As a mafia princess, I hadn’t been allowed to continue my education. My father had intended for me to marry someone who would solidify his partnerships and bear his grandchildren. At the time I left, I was approaching the prime age for marriage.
Thankfully, I got out before I could be tied down. At twenty-three, I'm still single.
