Always Down

MIA FAYE

The unsettling silence in the room reeeked of an emptiness, a void that couldn't be fixed by thousands of apology. I didn't expect him to care, not after what I did but the troubled look on his face showed me how hurt he was for what he did. He was conflicted in his feelings, his actions but whatever he did, maybe somewhere, deep down in that conflicting heart of his, there still remained a part that cared enough about me to make him stop and it was enough for me to hold on.

I didn't think about what he said the night before, that I should've left when I'd the chance to but now that I did, it settled an uncertainty in my head. I didn't know what he was about to do but knowing him, it wouldn't be good. My countless amounts of questions remained unanswered. I stepped into the office, where familiar faces leaned against the table. Riven's smile reached me and he mouthed, "I'm here."

I breathed out a shaky sigh from the coiling tension before sitting down on the couch, observing the towering figures lurking above. Hades sat across a short distance from me, his blank stare riveted on my alarmed face. The façade of hiding my fear was long over and by the dilation of my pupils, he knew that.

"Tell us everything from the start." He demanded, his tone on edge.

My heartbeats were loud to my ears. There was no running from this, from him. The ugly past of the Santiago's unraveling, it'd be nothing but a deceitful blow to Rhys.

I exhaled, the words falling out in a rush. "I was five when Alvaro took me and my mom in. He might have given me his last name out of pity but he never made me part of his family. For him, I was a only a baggage from the woman he'd married, someone to be discarded and that's what he did. He made me stay away from the eyes of his influential associates and over the time, I became insignificant and nothing. That's why you couldn't find much about me."

"It's funny how Alvaro hated me but his son never did, atleast not yet. Rhys became my elder brother and my best friend. He never treated me the way his father did. He loved me and I do too, but between his father and me, part of me knew he'd always choose his father, no matter how corrupted he could be."

"I was a mistake, like Alvaro used to say." I lifted my eyes to look at Hades. "I was ten when my mom was killed. It was meant for him but she was the unfortunate one. Her burnt body was found hung in one of his warehouses. Her flesh was burnt to the point where she became unidentifiable, even to my eyes."

I swallowed the tightness in my throat at the reminiscent of her, my chest tightening at the screams and loud cries that escaped my throat. The guilt that haunted me for nights when Alvaro held me responsible for whatever had happened.

"Mama!"

A pained scream escaped my mouth at the sight of her. Her skin was burnt, some flesh dripping down on the ground. How could they do this to her? Mama, please. I made an attempt to run to her but the large hands of a guard that held me back forced me to stay on my feet. I thrashed against him, screaming whatever harsh words that came to the tip of my tongue but a firm slap across my cheek brought me down to my knees. Alvaro pulled my hair back, a pained cry leaving my mouth from hauling my face.

"Stai zitto!" He shouted, dragging me up to my feet by my hair. He brought his other hand to grip my jaw, his nails biting into my cheeks, letting a trail of blood follow down my throat. Another hard slap across and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth and ran down my jaw.

"Tu cazzo di cunt! Cazzo stai zitto prima che ti scuoio vivo." He threw me down on the ground, then walked away.

I pulled my scraped knees to my chest and covered my mouth with the sleeves of my sweatshirt, tainting the white fabric with blood. I could see them lower the rope down, her body then falling down with a thud and the disgust on their faces evident from the horrible burnt flesh. My cries were muffled, silent yet the hatred and anger that ravaged through my heart was loud.