A GHOST IN THE HALL

ADRIANA'S POV

My eyes kept darting around as I walked around the mansion with Valentina by my side.

"... Hedge here, he cleared it out" She gestured towards the left but my mind wasn't there anymore.

I had curled up in the guest bathroom after realizing that it was indeed blood and this morning when I came downstairs, he was already out of the house and the floor was spotless.

Honestly, I thought I had maybe imagined it all but I knew I didn't. It was as real as I was.

"How often does he kill someone?" I found myself asking Valentina who stopped walking beside me at that.

"What?", she asked, turning to look at me.

This side of the property wasn't as crowded with guards as I thought save for two guards who were jogging down the path, nodding to Valentina as they passed.

"Vincenzo… how often does he kill?" I swallowed bile down my throat and struggled to get a breath out.

"You know his job," She said with a confused look on her face.

"I know his fucking job but it doesn't make it any easier to swallow. I know what he is. I know the vile creature he is" I spat out and her eyes dimmed.

"For someone I thought would have a wild view on things… you are really dim" she muttered. It wasn't an insult, she was simply stating what she thought but that didn't mean that it didn't piss me off.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked her, my eyes wide with anger.

"It means that you are jumping to conclusions without looking behind the big picture," She said with a soft smile at me.

"Oh, so he's not some killing machine?" I scoffed.

"Oh no, he is. Vin had his first kill at 14" She smirked.

My eyes widened. "Shit… that young?"

"Part of the job requirements, wasn't it?" She smiled but I didn't return it.

"Yo, Val". A gruff voice sounded and we spun around to see a lean man with a scar that ran from his left eye to his bottom lip.

He sent me a disinterested glance before looking at her again.

"Yes, Heathen, what's up?" She asked, tucking her hands into the pockets of her trousers.

"Think you can join us for the afternoon or evening booze?" He asked with a grin.

"No" She shook her head.

He gave me another glance again and this time it was even more filled with barely contained disdain.

"Mrs LaRosa…" He bowed in acknowledgment then he turned on his heels and walked away, his rifle slung behind his back.

I watched him go, confusion dancing in my eyes. "Well that was weird"

She let out a short laugh. "Yeah, the men don't like you"

"As I can see that" I muttered.

"They mostly feel like you're not fit for their master, you see?", she said without thinking.

"Because I'm not" I huffed as we kept walking, my eyes fixed on a woman who cast a curious glance at me.

"Well…" she didn't say anything after that.

"Where is he anyways?" I asked.

"Probably off doing something important"

"How very specific" I scoffed.

She smirked and squared her shoulders. "So tell me, I heard you and Vin were quite the friends in high school," she said nonchalantly.

I froze in my tracks, my head swirling and she stopped to look at me.

"What? Is something wrong?", she inquired, concern in her eyes.

I didn't move for a bit, the voices coming back to resonate in my consciousness, echoing loudly.

"No…" I muttered, feeling a bead of sweat drop from my forehead.

"Hey, Adriana…", Val looked really worried and she reached out a hand to touch me but I swatted it away with more force than necessary.

The world had begun to spin and I found myself in high school again, looking at the queen bee of the school and her minions looking down at me while they bloodied the only friend I had.

I begged them to stop, I offered myself instead of her but they made me watch, she never recovered. The incident still made me sick to my stomach.

"It's all because of you!", her mother had shoved me in the hospital blaming me for what happened to her child and it was. If she was never introduced to me, if she had never shown concern, they wouldn't have gone after her, she would still be here.

My eyes began to blur with tears and I staggered back again. "Stay away from me" I muttered.

Val took an instant step backward. "Woah there… it's okay. I won't hurt you, you know that. What's wrong" she raised both her hands in surrender as she looked me over.

I didn't mind the people who were staring at me, I needed to do something, anything to make the voices stop.

"Make it stop" I held my head in my hands, my shoulder hunched in pain as I doubled over.

Val cursed and rushed to me, holding me in her strong arms. "Adriana!"

I violently pushed her away, a scream escaping my lips as tears blurred my eyes. "Get away from me!" I yelled as I rushed to my feet, racing towards the house.

The house. The house. I kept chanting in my head. It would keep me safe. Keep them away. They would never get me. Vincenzo would never find me.

I heard rapid footsteps behind me as I ran but I didn't care, I poured on the speed, racing to the house, tears blurring my vision.

As soon as I reached the house, I flung open the door, ready to bolt up the stairs when a hand pulled me back roughly and I slammed face-first into someone's chest.

Strong arms wrapped around me and I buried my face in his chest, crying for a life I couldn't leave behind.

I wanted to leave it all behind. Leave behind the ghosts of this town but they were there to stay.

"It's okay… you're fine" He whispered into my hair.