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With tears streaking down my cheeks, I retreat to my room and lock the door, curling up on my bed as sobs continue to rack my body. I feel so stupid thinking I could ever really matter to Damian or find a place in this world.
I must have drifted off to sleep because I’m awoken later by the sounds of my doorknob rattling.
“Alexis, open the door.”
Damian.
His pounding on the bedroom door rattles the walls. “Alexis! Open this door right now!”
I flinch at the fury in his voice but remain steadfast, curled up on the bed clutching a pillow. I have nothing more to say to him—not until he’s willing to bare his soul completely without lies or omissions. Enough with the secrets and half-truths and mind games.
“Alexis! Open the fucking door! We need to talk!”
“Leave her be, man,” Edo’s low murmur comes through the door. “Give her some space.”
“Fuck off, Edo!” Damian’s responding snarl sends a chill down my spine. “Alexis, I want to talk to you. Open this damn door!”
His demands are met with stony silence. Furious banging resumes, the doorknob rattling like it might rip free any second.
“Would you get your shit together?” It’s Nat’s irritated tone now, coming closer. “You’re scaring her half to death. Fucking back off!”
“She doesn’t understand! She has to talk to me!”
“Like you gave her that courtesy earlier?” Nat’s biting retort hangs in the air. I hold my breath.
A tense pause, then, “C’mon, Bro. Walk away.”
More silence, then grudging footsteps storming away from the door. Nat’s parting words drift back, tinged with irritation. “I’ll deal with your dumb ass later.”
I lie awake, staring at the ceiling through puffy eyes. This heartbreak is the final straw. I can’t allow Damian to keep me trapped here any longer. I’m not some pawn in his twisted fucking game.
Enough is enough.
Only once I’m sure they’re gone, I scramble out of bed, rummaging for a pen and paper on the desk near the window. Part of me can’t believe I’m really going through with this, but Damian has left me no choice.
Not after today’s brutal revelation about his past with Scarlett.
I’m just another one of his secrets, another player to be manipulated as he sees fit without a second thought for my feelings. The cold, hard truth pierces my heart.
I’m done being a pawn in Damian’s games.
With a steadying breath, I begin to write.
Damian,
I deserve better than being just another one of your twisted games. You won’t be able to stop me. Don’t try to find me, because I’ll disappear for good. I’m done. Done with you and this Mafia insanity.
I don’t care if The Brotherhood is after me. Let them try.
-Alexis
I leave the note atop my dresser, easily visible, before stripping the bed and ransacking the ensuite bathroom for towels again. My hands move of their own volition, weaving the bedsheets and towels into a makeshift rope ladder. Just like the last time.
Except this time, I’m actually going to escape.
After tying it to the four-poster bed, I open the window, the cold night air stinging my face. But I feel numb inside. Numb from Damian’s cavalier cruelty in shutting me out and numb from the finality of my decision.
With one last glance around the room, I toss the makeshift ladder out the window and slowly climb down.
