𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 | 𝟏𝟖+

chapter fifteen

ARIA

THE LAST THING I HEARD BEFORE LOSING CONSCIOUSNESS was the sound of bullets ricocheting off the walls. Initially, it felt like a terrifying nightmare, but the nightmare continued, repeating over and over again.

When I finally regained consciousness, I knew it wasn't just a nightmare. It was a harsh reality, and the people in that nightmare were real individuals-my supposed family, the only people I truly knew.

The only memory I could grasp before Ronan drugged me was Nicholas leaving with Stella, leaving me and my family at the mercy of Ronan. I pleaded with Ronan to spare their lives, but he had already made up his mind by the time he entered the house. He ended their lives.

He mercilessly killed my entire family.

Yet, he spared me.

The room I found myself in was sparsely furnished with only a mattress on the floor and a small box television. An hour had passed since I woke up, and I hadn't moved from my spot. The lack of windows made it impossible to determine if it was day or night, but I guessed that it had turned into night given the time that had elapsed.

Apparently, Ronan had left me a meal as I noticed a sandwich and a bottle of water on the floor nearby, but I couldn't bring myself to eat. Not after everything that had transpired. The sound of the doorknob rattling snapped me out of my thoughts.

The door slowly creaked open, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a tall figure stepping into the room and shutting the door behind him.

Ronan.

He approached, and I noticed he was holding a chair, dangling it lightly from his hand. Setting it down beside me, he took a seat. "You haven't eaten," he remarked, glancing around and spotting the untouched food on the floor.

"I'm not hungry," I state, my gaze locked on the small television box. I wonder if it actually works or if it's merely a decorative piece.

Thoughts of Stella and Nicholas immediately flood my mind, and I find myself struggling to suppress the burning question that wants to escape my lips. "Where is Stella? Is she okay?" I manage to ask, observing him closely for any hint of a response.

He remains motionless, not making a single move, before finally breaking the silence. "Both Stella and Nicholas are safe. I know where they are, and I'm keeping track of their every move. You don't need to worry about them. Your focus should be on yourself," he calmly replies.

I let his words sink in, slowly nodding.

I feel his eyes on mine, as though they are burning holes into my skin. There are many things I've noticed about him, but one stands out: he's only ever looked at me twice. Once when we were in his home, and again when we were in the closet. Whenever my eyes were on his, his never met mine. But when my eyes were elsewhere, his found me. It's odd.

Among the things I've noticed, I've always wondered about the first night we met. I still ponder his eyes and the phrases he repeats. Now, I'm also left wondering why he spared me when he could've killed me along with the rest of my deceased family.

"I only enjoy silence when it's on my own terms," his words bring me back to reality. I turn to him, and instantly, his gaze shifts to the floor below us. "I just don't have much to say," I reply.

He tilts his head slightly to the side. "You're a liar, but not a good one. I can tell you have questions racing through your mind," he says.

I run the tip of my tongue over the bottom of my lip before responding, "And how is that? I've barely said a word to you since you've been sitting here for the past five minutes."

"Your eyes and your body language," he starts. "We've actually been sitting here for eight minutes, now nine. For the first two and a half minutes, your eyes were glued to the small television in front of you. You wondered if it actually works, and it does. But we don't have any service out here. For the rest of the time, you continued to wonder, and your body revealed it. Your hands fidgeted slightly when you started questioning again, this time about me. You wondered why I spared you and why I didn't just kill you along with your family," he concluded.

I searched my mind for words, but none surfaced, and I couldn't utter a sound.

"I usually have the answers to everything, but it seems I don't have an answer to that last question. The truth is, I don't know. I don't know why I spared you. I could've easily put a bullet between your eyebrows, but I didn't," he confessed.

I couldn't quite tell if this was supposed to be a real conversation or not. It felt like one of those moments where one person just talks and the other simply listens. But strangely, I found myself wanting to hear more from him. There was something about the way he spoke, with full sentences and less distraction, that intrigued me deep down.

It was strange, though. He had just killed my family, yet I couldn't help but be fascinated by him. I didn't even know him, but there was this odd pull that made me want to understand him better. Despite everyone's fear of him and calling him mad, I couldn't deny my curiosity to get to know him behind his reputation.

Was he really mad? Or was he just another broken soul? That was the question that kept swirling in my mind as I tried to make sense of everything. The man who had taken away my family, the man everyone feared, but something about him made me wonder if there was more to his story.

"It's time to go," he declares, rising from his chair. He folds it and places it against the wall, near the small television box. When I look up at him, his eyes seem fixed on something other than mine. "Where are we going?"

Remaining silent, he comes over and forcefully grabs my arm, pulling me towards the door, and we begin our descent down the stairs. I survey our surroundings and notice that it's still night. My hunch was right; it wasn't the following day. The place we find ourselves in is filthy, strewn with garbage, and lacking in furniture. Sunlight is shut out by barricaded windows.

He swings open the door to the outside and pushes me out. There, a car awaits -an SUV. He opens the side door, shoves me into the seat, and closes the door. I sit tight, waiting for him to get in and the man in the driver seat starts the engine.

The drive begins, and we quickly pick up speed. I reach for my seatbelt and buckle up. He says something to the driver in a foreign language, and I assume it's Russian. "Where are we going?" I ask.

"Russia."

・・・

The spice starts now! A lot of things will go down in Russia, now that it's just Aria & Ronan alone together. Aria will learn more about Ronan, and Ronan will still be Ronan.

thank you for reading!