REIGN (A REVERSE HAREM)

87. Arabella

It's really easy to sneak past hospital security.

I'm on the roof, leaning against the side as i look at the view of New York. It's beautiful up here, able to capture a beautiful city full of horrible people.

It looks so calm as well, from high up you can't see all the ugliness. You see traffic and high buildings, people going out drinking or the streetlights flashing on. Back on the street, i'll see the homeless, the drug dealers, the dirty streets and dirtier people.

I hear the door open, it's a heavy steel door that took me about three minutes to open, definitely not quiet.

"Don't jump now." I hear Keilani.

I smile a little. I wish i was more like her, able to do stuff on my own, able to fight back. Defend myself.

I couldn't fight back.

I was so weak and helpless and they tortured me.

It takes her a while to sit beside me, when she does, she doesn't ask the thing everyone's been asking me, "How are you?"

How do they think i am? Holly and fucking estatic that i had to feel other mens hands over my body, knives and blows pierced into my skin? How the fuck do they think i feel?

"Beautiful, isn't it?" She says instead.

"It is." I reply, resting my head against the stone.

She shuffles a little closer to me, "Ciro and I got into this big argument one day, i walked to the top of a hotel building in Russia." She says, "It was just as beautiful there as it is here."

I stay silent.

"I hated stepping back on the ground again, seeing how disgusting it was. Just hours before i was saving his friend from getting trafficked."

I look at her, "Did you read my mind?"

"After my assault, i felt the same thing. How can a city so beautiful have so many ugly people?"

I let out a breath, it's freezing up here but i'd rather be up here then inside with doctors by my side, police walking in, questioning, trying to make me relive what just happened.

"My momma does the same work as me as well." She smiles, "She always told me that dismissing my pain won't make it any more less real."

I steady my breathing again.

"I still find it hard to listen to her sometimes." She admits, "Sometimes i wake up and all i can remember is all the bad stuff that's happened to me and that i haven't told anyone about. Days like that, i like cuddling my momma and doing the stuff we used to do when we were kids, before all this shit happened."

"My mom faked her death." I clear my throat, "Then adopted a little girl while i was being abused by my father. She's in my life now but i don't take her away from her daughter, it's clear she loves her more than she will ever love me."

She looks at me, "I'm so sorry the world has failed such a beautiful soul."

I wipe my eyes, "I don't know what i did to deserve any of it."

She takes a breath, i could see her eyes start to gloss, "The fact you think this is your fault is sad."

I wipe my cheeks again, "Are they looking for me?"

"Yeah, told them i'd take the roof." She says as her phone pings, "And that's Roman."

I get up, i see her gently push me away from the edge of the building and smile at that, she cares. "Can you teach me to do cool assassin shit so that i'm not so weak." I look behind my shoulder.