LUNA

My body was jolted awake by the insistent ringing of the phone on my bedstand. I immediately shot out of bed and grabbed the phone, praying to God that it was Lorenzo. I looked at the unknown number and swiped the green button across the screen.

“Hello…” I said in the cutest voice that I could muster.

“Princessa, is that you?!” I immediately recognized the voice; it was my father.

“Yes, what is it?” I asked, unimpressed. He always had a habit of doing this. Disappearing, leaving me on my own, and then calling in months later like he didn’t abandon his parental responsibility to me.

“Pack a bag immediately. You’re leaving Italy!”

“What the fuck do you mean by that? You think that you can just pack a bag and leave when you want and then…”

“Watch your tone with me, Princessa!” I muttered an apology. He sighed over the phone, and I imagined him rubbing his head in exasperation. He had a habit of doing that.

“I’m sorry, Princessa. But this is urgent. I need you to pack a bag right now and leave that house.”

“But why, Papa?”

“I am afraid that I might have put your life in danger.” Panic immediately filled me, and I made a dash for my wardrobe and began packing a bag. I filled it with only the essentials.

“But where am I going?”

“I’m sending you to your aunt in the United States of America.” I opened up the safe and threw several wads of cash into the bag. I guess you could say that my father had prepared for an occasion such as this.

“And what about you?” Silence.

“Papa…” Silence. I felt my heart begin to beat faster, and my breathing began to come in hard pants.

“Papa!” There was a shuffle, and then his voice.

“I’m here, Princessa.” Tears came to my eyes, and I wiped them away with my hands. I zipped the duffel bag shut and immediately stripped out of my nightwear.

“What’s happening over there, Papa?” I could hear him breathing heavily on the other end of the phone.

“You don’t need to worry about that.” I donned on a pair of black slacks and a hoodie “Don’t trust anyone, baby. I never thought a day would come that that bastard would betray me.”

“Who, Papa? Who betrayed you?”

“Don’t worry about that. I just sent you an address…” My phone pinged, and I quickly looked at the screen.

“Yes, I just saw it.”

“Good, come to that location as soon as possible.” I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me.

“And don’t forget—don’t trust anybody.” I nodded again.

“Okay, Papa.”

He hung up, and I placed my phone on silent, shoving it into my back pocket. I went into my father’s office and grabbed the key to the Hilux. Just as I turned to leave, I saw a gun sitting pretty on his desk.

My father had taught me to shoot, and I had pretty good aim. He had also taught me to drive. I guess he had always thought that something like this would happen. I grabbed the gun, shoving it into the waistband of my jeans, and headed for the front door. Just as I was about to open the door, I heard a car pull up to the front of the house. My father didn’t tell me to expect anyone. I heard car doors slam, and then footsteps against the gravel. I ran across the house as quietly as possible to the back door. Just as I opened the door, I heard the front door open. I shut it quickly and began looking around for a place to hide.

I squeezed my frame under the stairs of the back porch and prayed that the bushes on both sides of the stairs were enough to give me cover.

I was 16. This was not how I planned to spend my Friday night. I squeezed my eyes shut when I heard the back door open and heard footsteps on the back porch.

“Did you find her?”

“No. She must have left.”

“Enzo must have gotten to her already.”

“Hmm.”

“Has he been found?”

“Not yet.” One of them sighed.

“Let’s leave then.”

“Boss will not like this.”

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes when I heard them climb down the stairs and walked around to the front of the house. I heard the car start, and they drove away.

I stayed put in my hiding spot for some time before coming out. There was only one thing on my mind. I needed to get to my father.

I carefully crept to the front of the house and got into the Hilux. I fumbled with the keys and eventually got the car started. I typed the address into the GPS and drove like the wind to the location.

I drove carefully into the open space, looking around for any sign of my father. It was an airport. Looked like a private airport to me.

I parked in front of the pier and got out, grabbing my bag and slinging it across my shoulder. I checked to be sure that my phone was still in my back pocket and pulled out the gun. I felt like I was going to need it.

“Princessa?” I turned towards the sound of the voice with my gun raised “It’s okay. It’s just me.” I breathed a sigh of relief and ran into his arms. He hugged me briefly and pushed me away, grabbing my hand.

“Come on, we don’t have much time.” He walked us into the building. There was not a soul in sight. This place was in the middle of nowhere.

“Where is this place?”

“You don’t need to worry about it.” We half-walked, half-ran to the end of the pier where I saw a small cargo plane waiting in the clearing. A gunshot paused us in our tracks. My father turned around. We could hear voices coming toward us, but we were yet to see them.

“You have to hide.”

“But…” There was a truck on the corner.

“Hide under the truck.” I lowered myself and got under the truck, holding my bag to me.

“Give me your gun.” I handed it over without hesitation. “No matter what you hear, don’t come out. Don’t make a sound.” I nodded. Three men rounded the corner and came into my line of vision.

“Viper, this isn’t necessary. We were friends.” Viper had a scar that cut across his face, from his left ear to the right side of his chin. He was ugly.

Viper raised his gun and fired three times. I placed my fist in my mouth and held back my sob. I watched my father’s body drop to the ground, and his head rolled to the side. Tears flowed freely from my eyes.

“Dispose of this trash.” The two other men grabbed my father’s body. I realigned my body and watched as they threw his body over the cliff and into the water below.

I lay there, crying, till my eyes became so puffy that I passed out from exhaustion.