Page 88 of The Diávolos: Part One
“She was never yours,” I say, my tone laced with contempt.
“Tha sou spáso to kefáli sta dio.”I will break your head open.Gianis pushes me back with all his strength and I swing back. He pulls out a shank from the arsenal of weapons he carries on him and I expose my own in return. I cock my gun and aim it right at his face. If he wants to duke it out, I’m fucking ready.
“Tell me where you took her or I will kill you. You will never see her again.”
“If I die, you die. I’ll go peacefully, knowing she won’t be hurt by you again,” Gianis responds, determination in his eyes.
The guards who were keeping a distance are now slowly moving toward us, their guns cocked and pointed at me, ready to shoot on command. I put my glock down, away from Gianis’ face, and take a step back.
“If it weren’t for how much Angelica cares about you, I wouldn’t hesitate to take your life, forfeiting mine in return,” I say.
“I could say the same exact thing, Evander. She’s the only thing keeping us both alive. So, get the fuck away from here and never come back. She’s not here, anyway.”
The soldiers withdraw their weapons and make room for me to leave. I walk backwards toward my car and hop in, driving away as soon as I shut the door. I let out a loud growl as I pound my fist on the steering wheel more times than I can count. My anger is uncontrollable, and I think of how stupid I was to let her slip away from me. Her father’s house wouldn’t have been the first place she’d go, but I knew Gianis would be there. I didn’t give a fuck if Peter had been the one to answer the door. He wouldn’t have been safe from my wrath, either. Gianis was expecting my arrival, probably aware of the situation and that I’d come looking for her. Angelica must have told him what happened.
I park my car in the underground parking lot of Saintville, but instead of going upstairs to my penthouse, I head outside. I start to sprint, trying to rid myself of the anger, anxiety, and fear that she’s gone for good. This is the second time Angelica has run away from home, but this time, she will be hunted down.
You can hide from the devil, but he will always find you.
“And in the end all I learned was how to be strong alone.” – Unknown
Idon’t know how I got the doorman to let me in, but it seems my charm still works. He must have recognized me from the countless nights I spent here during my time in university. I greeted him with a flirty smile, and he didn’t think twice before letting me in.
I climb up four floors, drag my feet to apartment 404, and lift my knuckles up to knock on the door. Before I get the chance, I hear two faint female voices talking animatedly through the wall and I lower my hand to listen. I smile at what I know is happening on the other side. I hear rustling close to the entrance seconds before the door unlocks and swings open. I stagger back.
Amanda stares at me bewildered, the garbage bag she’s holding falls from her hand. Nicole hears the light thud and approaches her from behind, asking, “What happened? It looks like you’ve seen a…” she sees me just as she’s finishing her sentence, “ghost.”
“Oh my god, ANGIE!” Nicole screams. “I can’t believe it’s really you!” She brings me in for a hug and Amanda snaps out of her stupor and joins in on our embrace. I hug them back tightly, tears forming in my eyes. I’ve missed them so much. I haven’t spoken to them in months. Not since I moved back to Cebrene.
“We’ve been worried sick! You stopped replying to our messages. Where have you been?” Amanda asks.
My face contorts with guilt. I feel terrible for cutting them out the way I did. I was too worried after what happened with Hendrick to keep in contact with them, in case I put them in danger.
“Yeah! We thought you’d been kidnapped or something. We almost filed a police report, until Amanda remembered that we have each other’s locations and saw you were actually back in Cebrene.”About that…
“I’m sorry for leaving so abruptly. I didn’t really have a choice.” I let out a long sigh and lay my bag down on the floor, letting my shoulders hump forward. I’m so tired and mentally drained. I just want to curl up on the couch and cry for hours.
Nicole grabs my belongings and helps me inside. “Sit, we were just making breakfast. I’ll make you a coffee. It looks like you haven’t slept in ages, girl,” she says.
I chuckle softly as I scoot my bum up on one of the stools in the kitchen. The tightness in my chest loosens up the tiniest amount as familiarity invades my senses. I used to sit here almost daily with the girls and Daniel, without a worry in the world. I thought life was good, but my four years of freedom ended so quickly.
I have some explaining to do, but where do I start? The last time I saw them, a couple months ago, I thought my whole life was figured out. It might not seem like a long time, but we used to see each other regularly and talk every day. What I’ve been through in that short timeframe is enough to write a novel.
Nikki hands me a mug and Amanda sits next to me on the other chair. “We don’t have to talk yet if you’re not ready,” she says.
“I’m so sorry for leaving you guys in the dark,” I say as I slump onto the counter. “When I had to leave, I didn’t have time to explain. I didn’t really knowhowto explain. Now, I appear out of the blue, expecting you to accept me with open arms, when I’ve been such a shitty friend.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Angie? We’ve been best friends for four years. Do you think we would stop caring about you because you disappeared for a little while? If anything, we’re upset that you couldn’t tell us what was wrong and allow us to help you,” Nicole explains. “All we care about is that you’re alive. Anything else doesn’t matter,” she continues.
“Yeah, we, including Danny, are here for you no matter what,” Amanda adds.
I don’t deserve them. It saddens me to think I was taken away from my friends when they were the only people keeping me sane. I’ll never forgive my father for stealing every single good thing in my life. He’s been the cause of so much pain, but it all seems so little now, after what I found out about Evander. I feel defeated. I shouldn’t have run, but I couldn’t stomach waking up to him and facing what he had admitted. I’m tired of being used as a pawn. First, it was my father, now him. All of this has brought up more memories I don’t understand from the parts of my life that are missing or unexplained. My dreams are getting more and more realistic and dark.
Evan and I fell asleep in each other's arms last night. A nightmare woke me up early in the morning, but he didn’t flinch at my sudden awakening. My nightgown was soaked, and I was breathing hard as I came back to reality.
I’d dreamt that I was in the car with my father. He kept glancing at me through the rear-view mirror, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead as we passed tree after tree. We’d been driving through the middle of nowhere for what seemed like hours. Every time I asked him where we were going, he answered that it was a special place where I would be taken care of. He couldn’t shake the visible worry off his face as he tried to tell me all the wonderful things about this location.
“There are many girls there, most of them your age, so you will make new friends,” he says.
