Pain.
That's all that Isabella has experienced for the past 16 years. The pain of the abuse she faces from her boyfriend and step father. The pain of her loneliness at home. The pain of 'not being good enough'.
But she's learnt to tune it out. She's...
"She wasn't fragile like a flower, she was fragile like a bomb"
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The kickback from the gun pushed into my arm, a feeling I loved.
Bullseye.
Stay focused, one more shot.
I kept my eyes on the target in front of me, readjusted and aimed the gun at it, before I pulled the trigger, straight through the same hole I just made.
I smiled a bit, happy with my progress.
I've always loved coming here, my favourite shooting range, away from the house of night nightmares I have to go back to afterwards, away from the punches and hits I have to take from my step father, Evan, away from the verbal and physical abuse I face from some of the people closest to me.
I think exhausted is a the appropriate word for how I feel right now. Not enough strength to escape for good. I think I've convinced myself that it isn't that big of a deal, I can handle Evan.
What I find myself struggling to deal with though, is my boyfriend, Mateo. He's more mentally abusive than Evan, don't get me wrong, he's still physically abusive, just not as bad. I've tried to break up with him multiple times, but every time he threatens me to come back. My friends have tried to help me, but it's no use.
"Nice shots, man" I hear from the bench behind me.
At least I have my friends, my rock that keeps me centred, people who I can always rely on to be there for me, when I need to vent or let out steam.
I retie my hair up as I walk back to Miles, who just complimented me on my shot, something I've been perfecting in the past few years. To his right, Benji sits, with a goofy grin on his face as he looks at me.
I met Miles and Benji a few years back, when I first got into underground fights. They saw my first fight that I won and took me under their wings. They then introduced me to their other friends, Levi and Zeke, who are very close brothers, and Reed. From then on, we've all been best friends. Levi is my number one supporter at all of my street races, I can always turn to Zeke for advice, and Reed has taught me everything I know about the world of knives, he also gave me my nickname that I use to hide my identity, Blaze. These boys are the closest thing I have to family.
My friends and I are involved in some shady stuff. Levi and Zeke are sons to the French mafia leaders, with Zeke being heir once his parents step down. Miles is the heir to the German mafia, Reed is the heir to the English mafia and Benji is the son of the Greek mafia, with his older brother being the heir. I am a Volkov, part of the Russian mafia. Evan is the current don of the Russian mafia, but I am not the heir, he decided not to pass it to me, but to Mateo.
