Mafia's Woman

16- Pass Out

"Eloise, why were you trying to leave? Just tell me." His voice was stern but not cruel like Arsenio's.

I was sitting on the couch in the living room, with Ermanno blocking the door so I could not escape. When he caught me in the woods, he locked me in the car and then called Arsenio, telling him what I was attempting to do. Apparently, Arsenio would be here in less than half an hour.

"No." I refused to tell Ermanno why I was leaving. If I told him I read the letter, I had a gut feeling it would not end well for me. I already knew Arsenio was going to kill me, so why not live a little longer?

Ermanno ran his fingers through his hair and sat next to me on the couch.

"Why won't you just tell me? I'm not going to do anything to you, Eloise. Are you worried that I'm going to hurt you? Are you worried Arsenio is going to hurt you?" He asked

I nodded my head and looked into my hands as my heart started racing even faster at the mention of Arsenio's name.

"He's not going to hurt you. He has a sick way of showing he cares about you, but he does. He won't hurt you." He said before standing and leaving the room.

I couldn't decide whether to believe what he said or not. I wanted it to be true, I wanted Arsenio to care about me and not hurt me. I even somewhat thought he might actually care about me, but I wasn't sure.

On the other hand, he was a proven dangerous man and I knew how angry he would be at me once he arrived. His actions though were unpredictable.

Twenty minutes later, the front door opened and slammed shut. "Where is she." I heard Arsenio's deep, Italian baritone. Chills erupted on my skin, from what, I was not sure. "She's in the living room," Ermanno answered.

Immediately I saw his figure appear at the entrance to the room. He walked up to the couch I was sitting on and glared down at me. I could see the fury raging inside of his body. If he was a cartoon character, steam would be coming out of his ears.

He crossed his arms over his chest and clenched his jaw. Unease flooded through me and I couldn't focus on anything else except all of the horrible things he could do to punish me. I knew for a fact whatever it was, it wouldn't be like the last punishment.

"Why?" He asked eerily calm. The tone of his voice sent chills of absolute terror through my body. He was calm but incensed. I looked around the room to find a door to escape from, but there wasn't one. I wouldn't have been able to escape from him anyway though.

I must've taken too long to answer him because he bent down and gripped my chin in his large hand. "Why did you try to leave?" He growled out. His voice was low and menacing. I could feel the nerves bubbling in my stomach and I started feeling sick.

The fear of the entire situation overcame me and I couldn't speak to him. It was like I couldn't talk at all. I looked everywhere but him and then hid my face in my arms on my lap.

I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down, but I was sure I was on the brink of a panic attack.

I cursed my father as I laid my head against my arms. He'd scarred me for life, causing me to panic at any confrontation.

"Arsenio, she's afraid you're going to hurt her," I heard Ermanno tell Arsenio. When did he come back?

Arsenio sighed, telling Ermanno to leave but that he could come over for breakfast tomorrow and bring Jess with him. I assumed Jess was his girlfriend. I peeked up at the mention of her name. Hopefully, I would still be alive tomorrow so I could meet her.