The Mafia And His Angel by Lylah James

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 26

 

 

Ayla

 

Maddie squealed beside me. “Oh my God! This is hilarious!” She turned toward me, still chuckling. “You have to admit, this one was pretty funny.”

I shrugged and turned back toward the movie. We were watching Hangover 2. It was too vulgar for my taste.

Although I did find my stomach cramping from laughter when a man found out he had sex with another man whom he thought was a woman. I shivered when the truth was revealed. Too much nudity.

Maddie eventually paused the movie and turned toward me.

“Okay. What do you want to watch? You clearly aren’t enjoying this. C’mon, pick something funny and we will watch it,” she suggested.

Since my nightmare last night and my encounter with Alessio this morning, I had been a little down and quiet. I was constantly living in fear.

Maddie noticed and she made it her job to make my day brighter. She succeeded a couple of times. It was hard not to laugh at her enthusiasms and failed attempts. She embarrassed herself to make me laugh. And I was thankful for that.

“It’s pretty late,” I started and then smiled. “I think we should go to bed. I’m worn out.”

Maddie pouted and leaned against the arm of the couch. “But I barely even got you to laugh.”

“And that’s where you are wrong. You made me laugh at least five times and that’s amazing in my book. You made my day better, Maddie,” I said softly. Placing my hand on her knee, I gave it a squeeze.

“Are you going to talk to me?” she replied, her tone just as soft and inviting.

I wanted to. I wanted to tell her. It was tempting, but the fear instilled in me, it stopped me from taking a step toward that direction.

So, I shook my head sadly before looking down. “It’s okay,” Maddie murmured before wrapping her arms around me. “You can tell me when you are ready.”

Hugging her back, I nodded and then leaned back. She smiled and I felt my lips stretch into another smile.

We got up and made our way to the kitchen. Turning on the lights, she rummaged through the refrigerator and took out the poutine that Lena made for dessert.

“You want some?” Maddie asked as she closed the refrigerator.

I shook my head and she shrugged. Putting a spoonful in her mouth, she mumbled, “Let’s go.”

Maddie and I were about to say goodnight when we heard a door open. We both swiveled around and saw Alessio coming out of the gym.

My eyes widened and my body froze when he approached into the light.

Alessio wasn’t wearing his full suit. Instead he had his black linen shirt on, which was halfway unbuttoned and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. But that wasn’t what surprised me.

He was a mess. A bloody mess. There were cuts on his face and his cheeks were swollen. His left eye was slightly swollen too and his lips were bleeding. He was limping, his body sagging forward.

“Oh my God,” Maddie gasped.

He looked lost, deep in thoughts. He held on to the banister and slowly made his way upstairs, his legs dragging. Pain was evident on his face and in his posture.

My forehead creased in confusion and I turned to Maddie. Her eyes were no longer on Alessio but she was staring at the gym door.

“I don’t want know how the other guys look,” she whispered, her eyes wide. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the door opened and they stepped out.

This time I was the one who gasped. They looked even worse. Maddie rushed forward and I quickly followed.

“What happened?” she asked, horrified.

“Fuck,” Viktor said, rubbing his hand over his face tiredly but he winced when his hand made contact with his face.

“Alfredo is dead,” Nikolay replied, his voice as deadly as ever.

At his words, my breath came out in a whoosh. It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach.

My mind twirled, my vision going slightly blurry. I blinked and gasped, my hand going to my neck as I started to rub up and down.

“What?” I whispered, my voice so little that it was barely audible.

“Alfredo is dead,” Nikolay repeated before closing his eyes with a tired sigh.

My father was dead.

I brought a shaky hand to my mouth as I tried to keep the tears at bay. I didn’t know why I was crying. Tears blinded my vision and I closed my eyes, trying to make them go away.

“Alessio isn’t taking it so well. Hell, I’m not taking it well! This was supposed to be our revenge,” Viktor hissed.

“Oh, dear,” Maddie whispered beside me. “He is doing badly, then?”

“Pretty bad,” Phoenix said.

They were leaning against the wall, all of them deep in thought. But the anger on their faces couldn’t be mistaken.

“You should go clean up. Alessio can’t have you losing it too,” Maddie suggested.

“I should go,” I whispered. My heart was thumping fast against my chest and I had to get out of there. They couldn’t see me break down.

I nodded at Maddie and quickly walked away before they could reply. Closing my door, I leaned against it and sank down to my butt. Pulling my knees together, I placed my head on them and tried to breathe.

My eyes burned with unshed tears and my quiet gasps filled the silent dark room. There should have not been any tears. Not for my father, a man who gave me to a monster and turned a blind eye to my pain. But still, I couldn’t stop the tears.

My chest squeezed tight with pain and the tears fell freely down my cheeks. I cried for him and for the pain he caused me.

I cried for the love I could have had but never experienced because of him. In the end, I cried for me.

He took my peace, my freedom, my everything. Even though I should have hated him, I didn’t.

I just felt sad. I felt empty. Hollow. Weak.

Eventually, I found myself in bed. I stared into the distance, only the lamp on my nightstand was on, casting a soft glow around the room.

I didn’t know how long I stayed like that, but I couldn’t bring myself to close my eyes. I thought of my father and Alberto. I was scared of the nightmares.

I turned around in bed and tried to find another comfortable position, but to no avail. Nothing worked.

Blowing out a tired breath, I rubbed my face in frustration and sat up in bed. My thoughts went to Alessio, and my body instantly grew tense. I could understand his anger and pain. After what my father had done, this was Alessio’s revenge.

He was going through a harder time than me. When I saw him, his pain was obvious and my heart ached.

To see a man like Alessio crumble, it hurt. It was painful.

And strangely, I wanted to offer comfort.

Maybe because I understood. Was it sympathy, or guilt?

I didn’t know, but through my pain, I felt his. And my heart was breaking for this man, who was my enemy.

The irony of it. An Abandonato wanting to comfort an Ivanshov.

My mind was a jumbled mess and I just wanted silence for a moment.

I closed my eyes and the first thing that flashed behind my closed lids was my grand piano. My eyes instantly snapped opened.

That was it.

The piano.

I knew we weren’t allowed in the room, but everyone was sleeping. Maybe I could just sneak in. Quickly getting off the bed, I padded to my door and quietly opened it. Looking left and right, I made sure that no one was in the hall before stepping out.

I softly tiptoed to the next room but immediately stopped when I saw the lights on. The door was slightly opened and I leaned forward, peeking inside.

My heart stuttered at the sight.

Alessio was sitting on the couch, facing the piano in the corner. There was a glass in his hand and he was staring intensely at the piano. He slowly brought the glass to his lips and chugged the rest of the drink in a gulp.

He looked horrible.

With my heart heavy and thumping fast in my chest, I started to quietly move away from the door but his voice stopped me.

“I know you are there.”

I froze and my eyes widened.

Placing my hand over my chest, I bit on my lips nervously.

Should I just leave? My mind and heart were in a constant battle.

In the end, I slowly opened the door wider and walked inside, but stopped at the entrance. Alessio didn’t look toward me but kept his eyes on the piano.

I shuffled on my feet nervously. After a few minutes of silence, he spoke up.

“Do you come in here often?” he asked, his voice rough and hard. I shivered and shook my head quickly. When I realized he couldn’t see me, I whispered, “No.”

Then it was silence again.

I looked away from him and stared at the grand piano. It was beautiful and I instantly felt peaceful.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I took a few steps in the room and stood in the middle. My eyes were still on the piano and my fingers were itching to play. I wanted to feel the soft keys.

My shoulders sagged in defeat. I looked away from the piano and turned toward Alessio. He was already staring at me, his eyes intense but unreadable.

We stared at each other, our gazes never wavering.

After a few seconds, I swallowed hard and looked away. Moving my gaze to his chest, I followed the path down and almost gasped out loud.

His hands were bleeding, his knuckles bruised so bad. There were gashes all over, the skin torn off from his knuckles. He hadn’t cleaned up at all.

My heart squeezed at the sight.

I looked back up and saw his eyes still on me. Licking my lips nervously, I squeezed my cold hands in fists. Alessio gave me a blank look and then looked at the piano.

Silence again. There was no movement and it felt like we weren’t even breathing. “Do you play?” he asked gruffly.

My mouth fell open at his words. I never expected him to ask me that question. With my heart racing, I swallowed against the lump forming in my throat.

“Yes,” I responded.

Silence. I waited for him to say something but he didn’t. It was like I wasn’t even there anymore. But I still waited. I didn’t know exactly for what but my feet stayed grounded.

I tugged on the hem of my dress. What was I even waiting for?

I slowly backed away. Alessio needed time by himself.

Without looking up at him, I turned around and made my way out. But before I could a step out of the room, his voice stopped me. My steps faltered and at his words, my heart stuttered.

“Do you want to play?”

“I can play?” I asked, taking a step forward and away from the door.

He turned toward me. “Do you want to?”

I nodded, my body shaking with excitement. I couldn’t hold the smile the spread across my lips. I felt giddy.

He stared at me with the same dead eyes, but he slightly nodded toward the piano. That was the only indication I needed.

I walked toward the piano and stopped in front of it. With my heart light, I placed my fingers on the keys and closed my eyes.

When I looked at Alessio, he was staring at me intently, waiting.

With our gazes still connected, I let my fingers move. Softly. Gently. And a sweet melody came through. The music washed around us like a slow, gentle wave, and I smiled.

Alessio’s eyes widened. He brought his hand over his chest and pressed hard, as if he was having trouble breathing.

I closed my eyes and continued to play. My heart full of peace, I felt content. Happiness enveloped my body as my fingers moved swiftly over the keys of the piano.

This. This was what I needed.

Peace.