I have a plan. Plan to my freedom from this hell house.

I have been in every room of this house. I have mopped every floor, every room. I have wiped every vase, TV screen and things that I have lost count of. I had even wiped the blood of a stranger countless times on the floor.

I have never crossed the path or interfered in the business of the men living and working here. Kept my head low, followed the rules for years and silently watched things happen in the house of Agostini.

But not now. Not ever. I have had enough.

Jumping from the window is just a way to get out of the room, but what comes after that is the guards, CCTV cameras and fence which is only a few metres high and only a few steps away from the ground where I'll land.

When I say that I had mopped and wiped every room and screen, I say the control room of the house where you can just sit back and watch every movement of the house.

My plan took years of precision and patience.

Stay hidden from the cameras and when they turn to the other direction, run for your life without catching the attention of the guard who takes a round every thirty second at the place where I will land.

I don't care whether I'll get hurt while climbing and jumping off from the fence, but what I care about is what happens after I escape the house.

Going from one continent to another is the biggest challenge.

Stay hidden in the nearest town if possible, try to stay low and wait for a miracle to happen because miracles do happen. They happened when the remaining bars broke on its own.

I have never been outside the house. I just saw a garden and a pool on the other corner of the house. Never saw the country's beauty and fashion nor its monuments.

I don't plan on ever stepping my foot on this country if I get out of here.

I had to wait for a day or two after the bars broke. Had to check over the pattern of how the guards patrol in the area, but now, I was packed and ready to fight for freedom.

I had lost my duffel bag a long time ago so Rylie lend me her bag.

It wasn't much but it was the only thing we had.

I didn't want to store many things in it. I just added a couple of protein bars, a knife for my protection, clothes and other toiletries.

I was ready but Rylie wasn't.

She is a crying mess here. She writes that she will miss me a lot, remember me a lot while she will be praying for my soul to be at peace when the men will catch me. She also writes that she will only defend herself when the men of the Agostini family ask her questions about her runaway slash soon-to-be a prisoner roommate.

Sometimes I don't like the strange way of sarcasm she shows in her writings.

"Rylie..." I cooed as I caressed her dirty blonde locks while she ruins my dress with her tears. "It's okay. I'll miss you too. I can't write letters or send messages to you, but I'll always remember you. You have been my saviour and my friend. Don't cry now, you'll make me cry."

She didn't listen to me and wiped her runny nose on my shoulder.

Can I postpone my plan and wash my dress?

"Rylie, Rylie!" She looked up and gave me her puppy dog eyes. "Listen to me. Stop being an emotional wreck here and get to work. I had my evening free but you don't! Louisa will come searching for you. You have to go."

She grabbed her notepad and scribbled, 'Can I watch you jump? Watch you jump into your despair and have the last laugh?'

I gave her a weird look. "You have no feelings for me, do you?"

'I do. But this is wrong. You can still back out.'

I sighed. "No. This is the last time I'm telling you, Rylie. I'm going home and this place is far from home. I'm not going to grow old and die as a housekeeper here. I always had plans for my life. Plans that have been on hold for a long time now. It's time for me to leave."

I got up from the bed and Rylie followed me till the window.

"Get to work, Rylie." I whispered softly. "And thank you, for everything. I wouldn't have survived a night here if you weren't there for me. You were there for me when I used to cry myself to sleep and took care of me when I used to get nightmares. I'll never forget those early years here with you."

Rylie hugged me as she sobbed. I knew that this time she actually became an emotional wreck and didn't care about the snide comments she wrote.

"Rylie, leave." My heart clenched as those words slipped from my mouth. "I have to leave so it's better that you do the same."

I was about to break the hug when I heard the most sweetest voice which made my own eyes brim up with tears.

"I...ove..yoou. Ss..ay...safee."

I sniffed as I pulled away. "I love you too, Ry. Now go."

She wiped her face with the back of her hand and gave me an enigmatic smile.

Silently, she wore her usual apron, gave me a last look and left.

I'm going to miss her a lot.

I took a deep breath and did a quick visit to the bathroom to wash my face.

Soon, I was standing on the edge of the window. My heart was racing as I felt the adrenaline rushing in me and I closed my eyes.

"I'm coming home, mom."

Then I jumped.

*****

Why is the ground so smooth?

I was supposed to land on gravel and feel some pain on my knees and elbows due to scratches, but I don't feel anything.

And did it grow coconut smelling grasses overnight?

My head is buried in the grass and they smell divine. Even though it smelled like coconut, there was something else...something like a fruit punch?

Fruit smelling grasses on the ground? How is that possible?

Then the ground vibrated and I frowned.

Do earthquakes occur in Italy? I have never experienced one but do they really happen here?

My eyes snapped open when I felt another vibration and my lips twisted more when I saw pure black grass instead of green ones.

My face buried in black grass?

Then it hit me.

Grasses are not black! Grasses don't smell like coconut!

It was like my senses had a jumpstart and my eyes popped out of their sockets when I heard a strangled groan from the ground. My breath hitched when I lifted my face up from the divine coconut and fruit punch smelling hair and I saw a neck.

Since when did ground started having a neck and hairs?

My eyes travelled from the neck, hair and up to the small nose which was hidden above the ground.

Except it wasn't a ground.

Oh. My. God. I landed on a man.

I, Amelia Jones, daughter of Heidi and Brian Jones, jumped from the window and landed on a man.

A man who is in the grounds of the Agostini house.

Shit. A member of the Agostini family.

I gasped in shock and quickly got up from his back then looked around to find any more men but found none.

What the hell did I just do?

And what do I do now? Do I run for my life or act dead?

Dead?! What the hell am I thinking? I can't just go acting dead if the man is dead! OH MY GOD! Is he dead? Did I just kill a member of the family?

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard another strangled groan and mentally sighed in relief.

"Hey!" I poked the man's cheek and he groaned in response. "Are you okay?"

"Ehi! Allontanati da lui! Il capo è giù!"

I jumped in shock when I heard a man shout from a distance. At the same time, the man's eyes snapped open and I broke a rule.

I looked straight into his hazel eyes and screamed when he grabbed my wrist and pinned me on the ground.

"Chi sei?! Cosa—"

"E-ENGLISH!" I screamed when I felt the cold metal of a gun on my neck.

"Who. Are. You?" The man growled in a very thick accent and pressed the gun deeper.

What am I supposed to say? I am a person who is trapped in this hell house for years and when I finally tried to escape, I landed on you! Woohoo! I wasn't expecting you to stand on my path. Even if you were, I don't imagine myself saying—'Oh! Pardon me, kind sir, but can you please step aside so that I could jump and run away? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?'

My whole body turned rigid and my heart started drumming in my chest when I felt three guns pointing at my head. I was surrounded by men and still pinned on the ground.

His grip on my wrist was tightening every second and I could clearly feel a large bruise forming on it.

"I am going to repeat myself last time! Who are you?" The man barked on my face.

"Am-A-Amelia!" I cried and imagined the faces of my loved ones when I started hearing death bells ringing in my ears.

The man grabs my chin, making me face him.

"Open your eyes." He commanded.

I gulped as my eyes fluttered open but my vision blurred. The man had put his gun away and was already staring at me.

I found it strange but it felt like I had seen those hazel eyes somewhere.

Where did I see them?

"Glad to see that you follow orders." He smirked.

I couldn't speak anything anymore. I was trembling in fear and sobbing profoundly.

The man reached out to a small rectangular TV looking like device on the ground and pressed it in his ears.

Is-Is that a phone? What happened to the one with the keys?

He spoke something I couldn't understand then slid the device in his pocket and gave me a smile. A sinister smile to be exact.

Memories of my abduction clouded over my mind and I remembered the man with the sunglasses giving me that exact smile before I got taken away from my family.

I'm in deep trouble.

"Now listen to me, little girl. These men here won't hesitate to shoot you if do something. You try to run, they'll shoot you. You try to talk, they'll shoot you. You try to do anything except following them, they'll shoot you. I'm pretty sure that a little girl like you wouldn't want bullets in her small body, right?" He asked casually.

I whimpered when I felt the guns pressing deeper on my head.

"Right?" The man growled.

I mumbled something gibberish.

"Hmm...that's good."

"P-Please..." I begged as soon as I found my ability to speak properly.

The man got up from the ground, touched his forehead and saw traces of blood on his fingers.

"Very bad, girl. Very, very bad. You made me bleed." The man's voice was velvety and soft which made me gulp inaudibly. I felt the anger boiling inside him.

The other men grabbed my arms and pulled me up harshly. I winced when I finally felt the pain on my knees and elbows.

"P-Please...l-lea-leave me." I sobbed.

"No." He deadpanned.

I tried to struggle but then stopped when I felt the cold metal pressing on the back of my head. My heart was beating frantically and my knees had become wobbly.

"W-Who—Who a-are y-y-you?" I hiccuped.

The man took out a handkerchief from his pocket, pressed it on his forehead and invaded my personal space. His eyes were boring deep into my poor soul.

"My name is Leonardo Agostini and you, Amelia, are going to have a little chat with me."

My heart dropped to my stomach when I heard his surname.

Holy shit. I didn't just land on a man, but I landed on the big, bad Agostini's son!

Author's note:

Two minutes of silence for Amelia's soul. 🙏