Chapter 4

The force of his physical assault throws me off my feet and I fall backwards onto the floor.

My jaw seems to have a burning sensation from where he hit me and I can not stop the tears from flowing out of my eyes.

“I—Ellie, I’m so sorry.” My dad looks devastated that he slapped me. He tries to reach out to me to help me from the floor, but I flinch.

I am breathing heavily and I am too shocked to even speak.

He has never hit me before, in all my nineteen years, we have only yelled at each other and argued, but it has never come to physical assault.

I sniffle as I get off the floor and I run to my room.

“Ellie, I’m sorry!” I hear him say loudly but I ignore him.

When I reach my room, I enter and I lock the door once I am in. Instead of going to my bed, I slide to the floor with my back pressed against my white door.

I begin to cry bitterly and the emotional pain that I feel is too overwhelming.

The light in my room is off and it is already night so it is pitch dark.

I cry so much until no tears can flow from my eyes again.

I suddenly hear a knock on my door and I don’t respond.

“Ellie, honey, it’s me.” I hear my dad say and I can’t stop sobbing.

“Go away!” I yell when he knocks again.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, you know I would never hit you.” He says and I can tell from his tone that he feels beyond guilty.

“But you did, didn’t you!” I reply.

Why am I even talking to him?

Why do I have to have a monster for a father?

He continues to knock and this time, I stay quiet.

“Okay, you can work at the coffee shop if you want.” He offers, but right now I just want to be alone.

After a few more tries from him trying to reach out to me, he finally leaves when he realizes that I am not going to be talking to him.

In a few minutes, I fall to sleep on the floor.

My room is fully rugged so it is much easier on my body.

After a few hours, I wake up and the moon light illuminates my room, making it look aesthetic.

I wake up from the floor and my arm seems sore. I might have placed all my weight on it when I was sleeping.

I also feel extremely hungry, I definitely need something to eat.

I reach for the light switch and I put the lights on it. I then yawn as my eyes fall on the fancy clock on the wall.

It is quite late, or should I say early? The time is 2:30 A.M.

I open the door of my room and I walk outside, then down the stairs.

To reach the kitchen, I have to walk through the living room. All the lights are off, but there is a some form of light that I can see.

When I enter the living room, I see my dad sitting in the couch with his laptop. He turns to me once he sees me.

“Oh, you’re awake.” He says softly.

Typical of him to be working late at night. He always does this, but I guess mafia bosses don’t have the luxury of sleeping eight hours at night.

“I couldn’t sleep, I kept thinking on what I did, so I just decided to bury myself in work. It makes me feel better.” He confesses.

“Do you mind sitting with me?” He asks and it sounds like he is begging.

“Okay.” I say and my voice sounds hoarse.

I walk towards the couch and I sit next to him.

“You know I would never hit you, right?” He asks and the light from the laptop illuminates his face.

“But you did.” I respond softly.

“And I’m sorry. I am deeply sorry, Ellie. I regret it greatly.” He says to me.

“Forgive me.” He says after a few seconds of silence.

“It’s okay, dad. It was a spur of the moment.” I try to make the situation light.

“My beauty Queen.” He says and I can’t help but smile.

It is his nickname for me and he has called me this for a very long time, from as long as I can remember.

“I should never have any form of excuse to hit you, not ever.” He says as he gives me a small smile.

I don’t know what to say so I just play with my fingers.

I do feel better now that he has now apologized, and I can forgive him, but I don’t think I could ever forget even if I try.

A loud sound suddenly goes off and it sounds like a bomb.

“What the hell?” My dad says as he wakes up from the couch. He then places the laptop on it.

“Stay here.” He orders me.

“But..” I try to argue with him but he cuts me off.

“Ellie, listen to me please.” He begs me and I nod.

“Okay.” I say.

Another heavy sound goes off again and I flinch. What in the world was that?

I walk towards the window to see outside but what my eyes see causes me to gape.

“Oh my god.” I say as I watch dozen of armed men entering into the compound.

They look like rebels.

One of them pints his gun towards the sky and begins to shoot, causing me to yell in fear.

“Stay away from the windows.” I hear my dad say and I watch him walk up to me.

There is no hint of fear on his face and he has his own gun in his hand.

“Who are these people?” I ask him, but he avoids my question.

“Go upstairs and go in my room. You will see a painting of the sea; lift it up and then you will see a small keypad. When you do, put in the code 9182 and it would unlock a door disguised into the wall.” He explains and my mind races.

The amount of adrenaline running through me right now is insane.

“When the door is opened, get in and lock it. It is a bunker and you would be safe there.” My dad continues.

“But, what about you?” I ask him.

“Ellie, please listen to me for once and do what I say.” He tells me with pleading eyes and I nod.

Another loud sound shakes our eardrums and this time, the front door flies from its hinges.

“Run, Ellie!” I hear my father’s voice and I start off. I run straight to the staircase and up them. Soon, I reach his room and I open the door, but because my hands are shaky, it takes a few seconds than normal for me to get it opened.

When it is finally opened, I walk in and my eyes scan the entire room, looking particularly for a portrait of the sea.

Finally, my eyes land on it and it is right over his bed. I rush towards it and I climb on top of the bed hurriedly, trying to reach it.

When I am in close reach, I lift the portrait and I see exactly what my dad told me that I would see. A keypad.

The code.

Dang, I can’t remember the code!

Did my dad say 9122? No, it had an eight in it, I think.

I can hear heavy gunfire downstairs and I can’t help but feel overwhelmed. I start to cry because I literally can’t still remember the freaking code!

Okay, okay, I need to calm down. Despite the commotion downstairs, I take in a deep breath and I try to calm myself.

“9182.” I say to myself and it clicks in my head. That’s the code!

“9182.” I say again as I press the numbers on the keypad.

As soon as I place the last digit, I hear a click and I turn around. A part of the wall near the TV has protruded and it now looks like a door.

I rush off the bed and I hurriedly make my way into the opened wall that looks like a door.

As soon as I enter, I hear a strange deep voice.

“She’s in here!”