Page 21 of Runaway in the Mafia
What did he say?
My head throbbed like an instant alarm had gone off in my body. Watching the dots come and go on the screen made me want to pull my hair out and scream. How was she so slow to type?
I don’t think he said anything. Papa didn’t look sad or so.
Try to find out what he said.
Okay. Maa is being her normal self. As if she hasn’t learned her lesson, she’s looking for someone for me now.
What?
Yeah. Don’t worry. I’m getting out of this.
How is the hot Italian?
What?I hadn’t said anything about… I frowned…had I?He’d visited me. In my room and then in my dreams. Both instances he’d stepped in uninvited. He was a lot. To handle. For my eyes and...
I already know enough with your long pause. You deserve some happiness, Aana.
I wasn’t sure if it was her words or her nickname for me that made my eyes blur.
I’ve got to go. Tell me if you know anything.
The bastard is a sicko. He deserved to be impotent. I’m glad those villagers beat him up when he tried to assault that girl. Maa should know that’s Karma! He tried to hurt that girl and the villagers took care of his weapon.
Ama…
I never realised when I read it in the newspaper that it was him until you told me. He comes to India to get married and then he tries to rape an innocent girl. I keep on thinking how much it would have hurt to be kicked over and over on your dick.
You shouldn’t…
I hope the pain was memorable.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I didn’t want to think of him. I wanted him gone. Erased from my memory.
I just want to forget.
Good. Go and fuck the Italian.
Does Maa know you curse like a sailor?
I’ll tell her to give an extra pooja on my name. Also, I know what you are thinking. This is not your fault. You stayed for four months. I would have walked out the first day. He beat you, Aana. Get that through your head. I swear to all the Gods we are supposed to worship, if I come across him I’m going to stick a broom stick in his ass.
I know it’s not my fault.
It wasn’t. It was okay to want love and sex. There was nothing wrong about it. It was okay to not want your husband to break your bones. I was worth more.I was.
You are a fucking whore, Ahana.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Took a deep breath and opened them to bid my sister goodbye. It took me a few heartbeats to come back to the talk around the table. Awareness prickled my skin beyond it, and I pulled my gaze up and found him.
He was draped in the doorway with his eyes pinned to me. I bathed under his full attention. The way he was looking at me… it was like he was saving every feature of mine into his hard drive. It made me heat up like a fire had been lit right beneath me. I’d never had a man look at me like that. It made me feel wanted. Desired.
He was, of course, dressed from top to toe in green. Olive green. It was like he’d done it to tempt me. Because he was all of that. Temptation amplified.
A sudden yearning pulsed in my chest. I wished I wasn’t so broken. I wished I had met him another time. Another place. Then again, who was I kidding? I was Indian. He was Italian. We were never meant to be.
“Where’re you going?”
