Chapter 5
AIDA
“Has the boy said anything?” Dad asks as he slips into his black shoes, his back to me, getting ready to leave for the night.
“Not really.” I twirl a strand of hair around my index finger.
“Nothing at all?”
“No.”
He takes out a jacket and puts it on, facing me this time.
“You lyin’ to me?” His thick, black eyebrow rises.
“No, Daddy. I would never do that.”
“Mm-hmm. If he says anything that you think is important, you better tell me. You hear?”
“Of course, Daddy.” I grin. Obviously I’d never tell him anything. Matteo’s my friend, and whatever he tells me is our secret. “Why is—” But I immediately stop talking as soon as the question begins rolling out of my mouth.
He stares coldly, flipping a hand in a what-do-you-want motion. “Well, what were you gonna say?”
“Never mind.” I puff out a breath.
“I don’t have time for this shit. I have places to be. Goodnight.” He sets for the door, his hand on the handle.
“Why are you keeping him locked up?”
“What did I tell you about minding your business?” He comes near me, his footsteps pounding across the floor, my pulse now popping in my throat as I swallow. His finger is on my chin, lifting my face up to his. “Don’t question me ever again or else you’ll never see him anymore.”
I gasp, my eyes bulging.
He drops his hand. “Make sure you’re in bed in an hour.”
Then he’s out the door, the lock clicking, the engine roaring a minute later as he speeds away. I knew he’d never tell me why Matteo is here. I’m an idiot.
While Ms. Greco is busy in the kitchen, prepping food for tomorrow, I decide to creep into the basement with a few books in hand—textbooks Ms. Greco teaches me from. I don’t know what Matteo knows, but I figure maybe I could teach him what I’m learning. That way he isn’t missing out on school.
With a math and grammar book in hand, I stomp down the stairs, making sure to close the door behind me in case Dad comes home and catches me here. Louis, the man who stays in the front during the day, goes home once it’s bedtime.
“Aida?” he calls, the chains clacking as I take the last step.
“It’s me,” I whisper. “Miss me?”
“Kinda.” He smiles. “What’s that?” His attention jumps to the books in my hand.
“Since you can’t go to school, I brought school to you.” Walking over, I sit down beside him, his knee touching mine. “Ms. Greco is my teacher,” I explain. “I don’t go to a real school, and I thought—”
“Why don’t you go to school?” he interrupts.
I shrug. “My dad won’t let me. I get homeschooled.”
His expression turns serious. “Do you wanna go to school?”
“I think it’d be fun, but I try not to think about it much. There’s no point being sad about it. He won’t ever change his mind.” My stomach gets all twisty from embarrassment the more he looks at me. “Anyway, back to the books.”
“Okay.” His gaze lowers to the page as I open the math book.
“You’re in third grade like me, right?” I ask, just to make sure.
“Yep.”
“Good. What do you know about adding three numbers at a time?”
“I’m guessing you’ll show me?” He laughs.
“Sure will!”
“Are you any good?”
“Sometimes.” I grin wide, getting one out of him too.
We go through a few pages together, laughing, as I show him the method Ms. Greco taught me, jumping to pronouns for a little bit before the door opens and Ms. Greco calls for me to get to bed before I get into trouble. She leaves, giving me a moment to say goodbye.
“Before you go, I wanted to give you a picture I made.” He reaches under his thigh and takes out a ripped paper from the pad I gave him. On it is a photo of two kids who look exactly like us.
“Whoa,” I whisper. “Did you draw that?”
“Yeah, do you like it?”
My eyes bug out as my gaze dashes from him and then back to the picture. “Are you some kind of whiz kid or something?” I snatch the drawing. “This is really good. Like really good. Is that us next to a house?”
“Yep. When we’re bigger, we’ll have our own house, and no one will keep us from anything we want to do or boss us around.”
“I like that.” I giggle. “Can I keep it?”
“Yeah. I made it for you. Oh, and turn it around. I wrote something on the back.”
Matteo and Aida. Friends Forever.
My heart bursts from how sweet he is. “I’m going to keep it safe. Somewhere no one knows about,” I say with a quiet breath, placing the paper against my heart, my palm squeezing at my chest.
“Can you also take this?” He says it so low, I almost don’t hear him as he removes something else from under his leg and hands it to me.
“Is that your family?” I ask, as I stare at three older boys with him, and a man who looks like he could be his dad.
He nods.
“I’ll keep it safe. I promise. No one will find it.”
“Thanks.”
The next thing I know, my arms are around his neck, holding tight, and he hugs me back.
I kind of like it.
MATTEO
THREE DAYS LATER
When I used to sleep in my own house, I could tell when it was day or night, but in this basement, with no windows, I don’t know. When Aida brings me breakfast every day, that’s when I know it’s morning.
It’s nice to have a friend in this stupid place. The chain hurts my wrist. It leaves a red mark on my skin. Whenever I’m allowed to shower, it feels nice to have the cold water on it, even while I shiver.
The door squeaks as it opens, and though I can’t see her from here, I know it’s Aida bringing me breakfast like always. I hope it’s pancakes again. They’re not as good as Dad used to make, but they’re pretty close. They even have chocolate chips in them like his did.
She comes in with a plate of pancakes. “Yes!” I whisper-shout. “I was hoping that’s what she made again.”
But instead of her usual smile, she frowns. Getting nearer, she hands me a plate, not even sitting down like she usually does.
“What’s wrong, Aida?” I grab the food, taking a bite, my stomach growling.
“There are some men upstairs with my dad.” She looks to the floor, biting into her bottom lip. “I think they’re here for…”
“For what?” My heart beats fast.
“For you,” she whispers, staring big-eyed at me, tears gathering inside.
“I tried asking my dad what they’re doing here, but he told me to get lost. I kept listening anyway and heard them say they’ll take you out of here.
You can’t go!” she cries, kneeling on the floor, clasping her hand over my chained-up one. “I won’t let them take you.”
I place the plate down. “It’s okay, Aida. No matter where I go, I’ll always find you. Forever means always.”
“Pinky swear?” Her eyes are full of tears as she holds hers out for mine.
“Pinky swear.” I fasten our pinkies together.
The door booms open, like someone kicked it. Multiple footsteps traverse over the stairs, so I stuff a pancake into my mouth, eating quickly while Aida gets up, staring at the men now in front of us.
She blocks them from me, her arms out. “Stay away from him!” The men shove her away, and she falls hard onto the floor.
“Hey! Don’t touch her!” I jump to my feet. “What’s wrong with you?”
A man laughs, pulling up the sleeves of his black t-shirt. “Shut up, kid.” The other jerk grabs my arm, and with a key in his hand, he unlocks the chain from my wrist and drops it on the floor with a heavy clank.
“Let me go!” I kick him, stomping on his foot.
“Fuck! You stupid brat!” He whacks me on the face with a palm and I fall back down on the bed, clasping a hand over the pain.
“Get your damn shoes on!” He picks them up from the opposite corner, throwing both at my face, causing me to hurt more.
“Get away from him!” Aida throws her fists onto his back, while the other man yanks her away.
“Agnelo!” he calls. “Get your damn kid out of here.”
Another set of footsteps descends until we see him, the man who brought me here.
“Didn’t I tell you to get the hell upstairs?” Agnelo yanks her by her hair, dragging her up the stairs.
“Matteo, no! Please, Daddy, don’t hurt him!” she screams, her voice growing distant, but I can still hear her calling for me, even as the door bangs shut.
They put a blindfold and a bag over my head once they threw me inside a black car with four doors. I tried to remember everything I could about it right before they did, like the big scratch on the passenger side door.
Once the ride ended, someone grabbed me and brought me inside this building, where more men waited.
They all have guns—big ones, small ones. Some are even on the ground. Are they going to shoot me? I breathe out really hard and my arms go prickly, but I’m trying really hard to be brave.
My heart races as a man drags me to a chair, pushing me onto it, while another eats a sandwich while standing in front of me.
The way he bites and chews, it’s so gross.
He eats like a gorilla. He wipes his mouth on his sleeve, throwing the wrapper on the floor before he pulls over a chair and places it backward in front of me.
“So, kid,” he says, plopping down on it, scratching the side of his light brown hair. “You ready to become a man?”
“Wha—ahh, what do you mean?”
“You see this, right here?” He reaches for a gun beside his foot.
“You ever shoot one of these?” The weapon flips in his hand and he almost drops it, causing me to jerk back with a pant.
“Don’t worry.” He laughs, his body shaking.
“I ain’t gonna shoot you with it.” Suddenly his face turns serious.
“Not yet. Not unless you give me a reason. Do you wanna give me a reason?”
I shake my head very fast, my heartbeats hitting me from the inside, like I’m being punched over and over.
“Good boy.”
“Will you let me go?” I whisper so low, but in this big place, it sounds louder.
He mocks with a snicker. “Let you go? Like out of here?”
I nod and he laughs some more. “No way, kid. You work for the boss now. That’s why you’re here.” He glares. “To prove yourself.”
“How do I do that?”
“I’m Stan, and I’m gonna teach you. When I’m through with you, you’ll be able to fire one of these bad boys in your sleep.”
“B-but I don’t want to use a gun. They’re dangerous. They can hurt people.”