Daliah's POV

Both the motorcycle and my heart screeched to a halt, before the latter started beating a mile a minute.

Why is he already here? He didn't tell me anything! What if he sees Enzo? Why did this happen? Why now, why NOW?

My mind raced, sifting through solutions that would not end up with Enzo six feet under.

Finally it clicked.

I pulled out my phone and dialed his number.

The call ring echoed through the blood pumping in my ears before it stopped, followed by a dazed 'huh?'.

Before I could even open my mouth to speak, a voiced abruptly blared through the phone, nearly rendering me deaf.

"HOLY SHIT NO WAY! DALIAH CALLED ME??? AM I DREAMING?" I think he slapped himself, judging by the sound that followed.

I sighed. "Quit overreacting, Dylan."

"Girl, you NEVER call me, so this is justified, mkay?"

I shook my head..so gay.

Back to the problem at hand.

"Whatever, will you just listen to me?"

I think he realized I was being serious, because his next words carried a somber tone.

"Okay, okay. What's up?"

I spoke slowly, second-guessing the soundness of this proposition. But it wasn't like I had any other immediate solution.

"Will you let one of my friends stay at your place for some time?"

"Woah, woah, woah," he began. "You can't just throw something like that at me at 11pm! My house is a mess, I look like I came out of a cave..."

I tuned out his rambling, steeling myself to do something I haven't done in a long time...

"-I mean, I'm still in my Olaf pajamas-"

"Please?" I interrupted, successfully shutting him up.

"Um.." he hesitated. "Please? Wow, okay...hmm. You know what, fine, fine. What's her name?"

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. "Actually...it's a him."

I heard the nutcase choke on the other side and patiently waited for him to pull himself together.

He cleared his throat before speaking again.

"So, it's a man, huh? I could certainly make some room here- I mean, I do have a pretty big house." I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at how much deeper and husky his voice sounded.

He abruptly switched up and rushed out his words. "Please tell me your phone wasn't on speaker."

"It wasn't." I replied and he let out a relieved breath.

"Well, anyways. What's his name, how old is he, when will he come over and is he single?"

"Seriously?" I sighed. "Enzo, I don't know, now, and I don't know."

"Damn, hot name..." he sighed wistfully before losing his bottle again. "Wait- now?"

"Mhm." I chirped.

"Now as in like right now??" he panicked.

"Yes Dylan. Send me your address, I'm hanging up. You already agreed, so there's no getting out of this."

"NO DALIAH WAI-"

I slid the phone back in my pocket and turned towards the man behind me. "You're gonna stay with my friend Dylan from now on, because...um...my dad came back."

He arched a brow and I hurriedly tried to explain.

"He doesn't know about our contract thing, and well...you know how...dads are...?" I tried making up excuses, "Don't worry. Dylan is a good friend of mine, you will be comfortable at his house. Oh, and...don't worry about the money, I will pay you back, trust me."

Enzo silently looked at me, seeming to be deep in thought.

"Okay." he finally spoke, "But this seems sudden."

My heart steadily grew quicker, feeling unsettled by his nonchalantly suspicious tone.

"What's really going on?"

I stared at him, not knowing how to respond.

"...you can get your stuff later." I finally mumbled, before revving up the engine and turning around to head to Dylan's place.

Little did she know, that the man who seemed to be unsuspecting, already had a plan.

▪︎▪︎☆~☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆~☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆~☆▪︎▪︎

Here I was, back home after dropping Enzo at Dylan's and a cringe one-sided flirting session between the two.

As I lifted my hand to open the door, my heart thudded backward in my chest, as if to run in the opposite direction.

If he was asleep, then everything will be okay. I can sneak up into my room.

I comforted myself.

Then stepped inside the house. My eyes darted around.

I checked the sofas. Listened for any noise from the kitchen or bathroom.

Nothing.

I closed my eyes. And breathed deeply.

I parted my eyelids.

And there he was.

My chest sank.

But I just felt relieved that Enzo was unaware and safe from Dimitri.

That's all I ask for now.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't comprehend when the blows started, when they ended or when he dragged me to the door.

As my hands gripped the cold soil and the chilly night air brushed against me, I was brought back to reality.

"Keep your ass out of here. Don't dare to step foot inside this house tonight."

The words were followed by a loud bang as the door shut.

I sighed wearily.

And its another Tuesday.

After a moment of recovery, I slowly picked myself up off the ground, dusting off my clothes.

Then I was reinformed of the shed's presence, which made me breathe a sigh of relief.

At least I won't be out in the cold tonight.

I stumbled over to the shed, my steps heavy and dragging. The night air stung my skin, making each step feel like a small victory bringing me closer to warmth and shelter.

I pushed open the shed door, its creak cutting through the stillness of the night, and flicked on the light.

With a disappointed sigh, I realized that there were no medical supplies in here, so I couldn't even do anything about the fresh bruises.

I wearily pulled myself onto the bed, deciding that sleeping was all I could try and do right now.

Keyword try.

My mind was cluttered with countless worries and my body was in pain. Not the best conditions for sleep.

After God knows how long, I finally got up and decided to begin organizing Enzo's possessions.

I began packing his things into a duffel bag, trying to keep my thoughts from straying to the sharp throbbing in my wrist and the pounding in my head.

As I reached for a stack of his clothes, a piece of paper fluttered to the ground, catching my eye.

I bent down, picking it up with trembling fingers.

Neat yet roughly scribbled letters were displayed on it. My eyes scanned the text, noticing that it was a list of names. However, there was no information on what they were about or why they were written.

Sergei

Aleksandr

William

Alessandro

Isabella

Lorenzo

My breath caught in my throat as I read the next name scrawled at the bottom.

Dimitri

____________________________________