Damon's Pov 2

DAMON'S POV;

"I stared at my uncle's photo all tearful. Sometimes I wondered why life was so cruel. It brought into the world someone so precious and then took them away. My clothes were soaked with tears, my heart ached, my lips burned, and my eyes were blood red. Jason was the only sincere family I had, the only one I could call my family. But he was always far away. The only way could reach me was through a phone call. He usually called my mother before she died of cancer.

The memory of the times we talked together, every tease, and that time he told me everything was going to be fine. He hated my father, and that hatred was to an extreme.

I jumped when I heard someone banging on my door, it was violent, it was my father. I described him in two ways, a drug dealer, and a drug addict. He had been to prison before, for ten whole years, so I thought I finally had the freedom to move to my brother's house. But it was limited, the house reminded me of nothing but pain, and sorrow.

If I had the chance, I would have gotten my revenge six months ago when he stabbed his brother to death. He threatened to take my own life if I dared inform the authorities about this. Ever since then, I become so miserable, with no friends, no love or care. I was bullied in high school because I always looked untidy and unhealthy.

He banged the door louder, harder. "Open this door before I break it down you slut!" He sounded drunk because the door was unlocked.

My body trembled as I wiped my tears, slid down from my bed, and shuffled toward the door. Wrapping my hands around the handle, I opened the door, only for him to rush in and lose his balance, hitting his face on the flooring. He groaned. I so much would have loved to see him in pain, in so much agony, the pain that he has caused me, so I could laugh at his misfortune. He was a coward.

I backed away a little, as I watched him lay on the floor, unmoved. Only the inflation and deflation of his back, as a cause of his heavy breathing, and a notice that he was still alive. He was like a monster in disguise, I despised myself, I despised him. He turned me into a wretched young lady. I gasped, stumbling backwards as I watched him rise. He groaned with each process he took and staggered towards me.

"And where do you think you are going?"

I shuddered, the terrible smell of whisky wafted into my nostrils. I continued to take steps backwards, and his lustful face turned to aggression and impatience almost instantly. I sensed trouble.

He rushed to me, taking me by my ponytail. I gasped at the awful pain it caused my scalp. " You dare test my patience." He thrust me to the floor, allowing my hip bone to crack a little, he had hurt me a lot of times there before. Losing his belt, he raised it, and when I was about to flee, he caught me, unfortunately.

I groaned when I felt the pain in my knee, causing me to fall. He hit my face, and I felt the sting. He did the same to my other cheek, and I fell to the floor, supporting my weight with my hands. He brought me up to face him again, and he repeated the same thing, this time it came harder than the last. My tongue found the corner of my lip, it tasted blood.

Then he gripped me by my collar, lifting my weight, I stared at him with hatred. That moment, it appeared I had forgotten my fear because my face intensified and the words escaped my lips; "You're a monster."

His face hardened as I watched his eyes darken, I made him angry. My fear was restored as I stared wide-eyed at him, knowing what was up next for me was something terrible.

His hand loosened on my collar, allowing my left hip to land on the hard flooring. He clutched his belt, his face was hard and fierce and scary like it had always been. I groaned in pain as his belt landed on my bare arms, and from there to every part he saw to hit.

Then he dropped it, pulled me up, and then hit me, this time with his fist, repeating the same thing to my stomach severally till I could no longer breathe, only a cough escaped my mouth. And then his feet found my hip, the same place where he always hurt me, my cry was louder than ever, and he kicked it again.

After he left my room, it was difficult to stand. I felt feverish already. I need to get away from here. I thought. I tried to get up, but it was hopeless, instead, I managed to crawl into my closet. I might not have a place to go to, but at least I would be free from the torment." I explained everything to Antonio while he listened to every bit of what I said. We still were lying on the bed and we could hear the rain splattering on the glass window. It was still dark and the atmosphere was just so unique. I stroked her back as she explained it all to me. When she was done, the room fell silent, and we stared at each other for minutes.

"How did you get to your uncle?"

"When my mother died, he took me in, explaining that my father had said he should keep me safe. I knew my father wasn't that way. I understood that he wasn't that way so I was confused and went with my uncle anyway." Seemed tempted to ask me for some other things but kept it to herself. "Dropping out of school was the most painful thing that I could do but I had to for my mother's sake.

I held Elena tightly in my arms that night, delving deeply into the depths of her past. I'd done research on her schooling and realized she had to drop out of school to help her mother.

"I had forsaken schooling at the tender age of fourteen, assuming the daunting responsibilities of a mafia group, stepping into my father's shoes as Leo's father filled the void temporarily. He stepped down when I turned fourteen so I could take in my role."

"I'm guessing Leo's father was your father's best friend." She said and I nodded with a little smile. They were exactly like Leo and I until they had to leave.

"My high school sucked though. Everyone was stupid, even the jerks thinking they could bully me. I was in detention for a week and I didn't give a shit because everyone in that school was a piece of shit that took delight in laughing at the pain of innocent students. I hated it. Every time I got home, my father didn't even try to tame me and told me that was the behaviour of a mafia. You bring anyone who tries to bring you down, regardless of what anyone says or what they see. Your high school mates bullying you would have been dead if I went to the same school as yours. But it turns out you were just a year old." I chuckled.

As we exchanged our stories, laughter and joy reverberated through the room, washing away the weight of our pasts. Each shared tale unveiled a new layer of understanding between us, weaving a tapestry of shared experiences. In that moment, the boundaries that kept us apart dissolved, and an unbreakable bond began to form. Soon she was close to falling asleep and I watched her as she did before going to sleep.