•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌My head... I woke up with a monster headache, I don't know what happened last night or why I was feeling this way. My eyelids had a ton of weight on them making it difficult for me to even open my eyes. I yawned and stretched my body. My lips were chapped, and my mouth had dried up. I groaned with the blinding headache before retreating under the covers. Why was the room so bright? Didn't I draw the curtains last night? I don't remember... I don't even remember how I got to my room and my bed. "Evangeline..." a deep voice resounded throughout my room. Someone said my name with such venom that I flinched in my sleep. It wasn't Scott, I knew that much. I prayed that it wasn't Nikolai. Please, don't be Nikolai. I don't think I can talk to him with so much weight over my head. Pushing aside everything I was feeling, I forced a droopy eyelid open. I propped up on my elbows and leaned my head against the soft headboard. I opened both of my eyes with such difficul
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌I didn't step out of my room yesterday, I stayed inside even though I was extremely hungry but still I didn't step outside of this bedroom door. There were no locks or bolts over it but the fear that has been engraved in my mind was too raw. I couldn't shake it off, even if I tried. It was still early in the morning, and Nikolai or Scott hadn't come to my room. I brushed my teeth, showered, and dressed up in clean clothes. My stomach growled with hunger but I wrapped my arms around it, suppressing the sounds. The door opened slightly and I got off my bed in a flash, my eyes tearing up again. I needed a list of rules, I needed to know what I can or can not do. Nikolai can't just expect me to know the rules of his house. He needs to tell me first, he needs to explain them to me. If he had told me not to get out of my room, I would have never done it. I wasn't a brat, I would have listened to him. I dropped my gaze to my feet, I didn't care if it angers him that
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌I approached the woman with clammy hands and trembling legs, there were just so many people behind her. I have never been a part of a crowd. I have never even been in a place with so many people before. My heart pounded against my ribs as if trying to fulfill a thousand beats. I deeply exhaled, releasing some of the tension that had built up in my muscles. "Welcome to Columbia University, Evangeline. My name is Tara Wells and I'll be your guide through everything..." I smiled politely at her. "Thank you..." "Although your admission was kind of last-minute, you arrived just in time for the orientation week." "Oh..." was all I could say as I didn't even know what orientation week was. I know Nikolai must have something to do with my last-minute admission, and now I really don't know how I will ever repay everything he has done for me. "Let's start with the campus tour" With a smile on my face and anxiety shooting through my veins I followed Tara as she showed
•Nikolai•╌═❁═╌"We need her back!" Soldo's son slammed his hand over my desk. I watched silently as the father and son squabbled with one another. Soldo chided his son to give me the respect a don is due but it was too late. The stupid boy had made his bed, his father knew he won't get out of here alive. "I have no idea where your daughter is, Soldo"Before Soldo could speak, his son decided to open his mouth again, I was reconsidering my decision of not torturing him before death. "Bullshit! One of your men took my sister, Costello""I can assure you, Soldo, that not me or any of my men have ever forced a woman against her will"Soldo gave me a nervous chuckle. "I know that don Niko, forgive my son, he doesn't know when to open his mouth" "Have you considered the possibility that your daughter might have just run away from home?"Young girls often ran away from the Cosa Nostra, we were protective of our women. They didn't have much freedom or choice for that matter, so they prefe
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌IT'S BEEN A WEEK since I had a panic attack. I don't really remember anything, only Nikolai telling me to breathe and then putting me to bed gently. I stayed in my room most of the time and didn't see Nikolai much. He was always working, so, we never really saw each other. I hadn't even seen Bianca in a long time. I attended the whole orientation week, for a beginner at life like myself, it was insanely informative. Today was the first class of my freshmen year. I have chosen psychology as my major and I couldn't contain my excitement about it. I wore a cute outfit, straightened my hair, and applied light makeup. All of the stuff has been bought for me by Nikolai. We haven't even seen each other for the past week but his employees regularly update my closet, makeup, and every single female necessity. After I had told Nikolai that I don't want Scott to be my driver for college, he assigned one of his drivers to take me to college, his name was Marco. This one w
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌"I need to talk to you, Nikolai" He tilted his head to the side, dark amusement spread over his face. "I'm listening" I didn't want to believe that Nikolai was that person. That he killed or whatever the mob bosses do but some part of me always got nervous around his dark aura. There was something about his eyes that told me that everything I read on the internet and what my friends told me was true. Nikolai Costello was a ruthless man. I opened my mouth and then contemplated what I should ask first. Are you a mob boss? Is that what I should ask? Or people told me who you are and that kill people for a living... That sounds wrong and mean, so, I settled for the first question. "What is a Mafia?" I askedHe chuckled, darkly and lowly. "Why do you want to know?" Nikolai rarely laughed but whenever he did, it sent chills down my spine. "My friends... said something about you... They said you are a head of a mafia family and... they said that you kill people..."
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌I have seen some teen movies, the high school ones and I always thought that maybe they exaggerated everything in the movies. The high school parties in movies were wild and I used to think how can teenagers be this crazy? I wasn't, I couldn't pull something like that off even if I tried, so, how can people my age do all this? But now as I looked at the frat house before me all the flashbacks of the movie parties flashed across my mind. It looked so out of control, I clutched the cover-up and took a small step toward the frat house. I still had insecurities, fears, and anxieties and all of them washed over me with full force. People were making out, jumping in the pool from over the roof of the house, and alcohol was everywhere. Beer cans and bottles sprawled across the crowded lawn. I looked around for Jake, Wade, Stacy, and Brittany. Hoping to find even one of them. All the girls were in bikinis and the boys were in shorts. I spotted Jake as he stepped out of
•Evangeline•╌─═❁═─╌I softly closed my bedroom door and leaned against it. I stood there for a couple of minutes completely still. Take a fucking shower, wash the filth off yourself!Take a fucking shower, wash the filth off yourself!Take a fucking shower, wash the filth off yourself!His words rang in my head again and again like a broken siren on loop. Was he that disgusted by me just because I spent the night over at the frat house. I didn't do anything and I know that Jake hadn't done anything to me either. It hurt to think the way he was looking at me like he hated me like I repulsed him. Swallowing back the swell of nausea, I walked to the closet. I took out a white dress, clean underwear, and a bra. I desperately needed a shower.I made my way straight to the bathroom and grimaced the second I saw myself. My hair was all messed up because I slept with incredibly wet hair last night, my mascara was running down my cheek and my lipstick was smudged. I looked like something o