His Past 3

Flashback Continues.

“I said I am not interested!” Dante stated firmly.

“Does it look like I an giving you a choice here?” Luca asked, arching his brows as if in honest confusion.

It had been six years already and throughout these six years, Dante had had to watch the way things were done and he had also had to watch his mother get beaten.

Each time his father wanted to beat his mother, he would have Dante tied down first and proceed to hit his mother in front of him.

‘Yes, son. Get even angrier. Let your heart harden as you watch me hit your mother. That’s right. Only a hard heart is going to help you’ his father would say to him while he begged him to let go of his mother.

Countless times, Dante had told his mother to leave his father but his mother always insisted on staying, because of him.

“Oh, I see. I have no choice, right? You could as well force me to do it then. You can only force me to watch, Mr. Romano. You can’t force me to take actions” Dante replied his father and Luca chuckled.

“I love the fact that you are getting more stubborn, son but in this case, your stubbornness absolutely would not work. You are joining the mafia, whether you like it or not.”

“I am completely done with this conversation, Mr. Romano.” he got up from the chair.

“Lock the door.” Luca ordered and one of the men in the room locked the door.

Dante groaned and turned back to face his dad.

“I’ve got to go school. Tell him to open the door.”

“You are not going to school or anywhere else until you join the mafia.”

“Fine. I have never been that interested in school anyways.” Dante replied nonchalantly and sat back down on the chair he had earlier been sitting on.

“You’ve never been interested but you always top your class?” His father asked.

“Oh, I had no idea Mr. Romano has so much free time these days that he even checks my grade. I thought he’d be too busy killing and selling drugs.”

“I also have to see if you are smart enough and I guess you are one smart kid.” Luca replied and a smirk appeared on his face.

“But you know one thing I think you’d be more interested in?” He asked.

“Your mother’s life.” his smirk turned into a grin.

“Don’t you dare, Mr. Romano!”

“And what would you do? Cry and scream, being tied to a chair while you watch me deal with her for your disobedience?” He asked and Dante’s face turned grim.

“Mum is not even fully recovered from the beating you gave her the last time. Are you even human?!”

“I have no time to exchange words with you, Dante. Think carefully and make your decision. You join the mafia and I will just let your mother be but you continue being stubborn and I am absolutely going to put an end to her miserable life.” his father threatened and Dante felt his blood boil.

He knew his father pretty well now and he knew that his words were not mere threats. His father would not hesitate to kill his mother just to have things his way.

“I fucking hate you!” Dante slammed his fist against the table and got up to his feet.

“Open the door, you bastard.” he growled at the man who had locked the door.

“Let him out.” Luca ordered and that was when the man opened the door.

Dante stormed out of his father’s study and headed to his mother’s room immediately. He had to tell her to get out of this place as soon as possible.

“Mum!” He called, walking into the room.

“Yes?” His mother gave him a smile.

That fake smile that covered all of the sufferings that she was going through.

“You need to get out of here today.”

“Dante.” his mother said in a tired tone, the smile vanishing.

“I have told you several times. I can’t leave you here. Don’t worry, I am fine. I am used to it now and…”

“You are not fine!” Dante cut her off in a loud voice and walked over to her where she was seated before her makeup table.

He grabbed her shoulders and made her look into the mirror.

“This bruise, this scar. Which of them is okay, mum?! Nothing is okay! You are leaving this house this very day!”

“What exactly is the reason behind all of these, this morning?” His mother asked.

“Dad wants me to join the ‘business’!” he let out and his mother shot out of her chair.

“No! Never! I have to go and see him right away.” she made to walk away but Dante grabbed her by the arm, stopping her.

“Go and see him? Then what happens next? You yell at him or beg him not to drag me into this? And then he beats you up for raising your voice at him or still beats you up because begging is unfit for the wife of a powerful bastard like him?!”

“Don’t talk about your father like that.” his mother mumbled and Dante shook his head.

“I will never understand you. But whatever it is, you are leaving here, mum. Dad is going to kill you if I do not join the mafia and you know it, mum. I don’t want to join those bastards! Dad told me he is going to kill you if I don’t. So just please leave this place and go far away. Very far away. Do not worry about me.”

“I can’t leave you, Dante.” his mother shook her head, her eyes tear filled.

“I can’t bear not knowing how you are coping and surviving.”

“If dad kills you, mum. You will never be able to know how I am coping and surviving. We can meet up later, mum. We can find a safe way to communicate. Just leave, please.” Dante begged her.

“Dante….”

“Please mum.” he begged even more and his mother hugged him.

“I love you, Dante. And I am sorry for bringing you into this.”

“I love you too mum.”

Later that night, Dante’s mum had packed up her things and escaped away from the place. Dante felt so much better, knowing that his mother was now out of his father’s grip.

It was 1am in the morning when the door of his room was pushed open and his raging father walked in with Gasta and a few other men.

“You bastard! You convinced Maria to run away from home?!”

“Oh yes, I did. What are you going to do about it?” Dante asked. He was seated on a chair behind his study desk. He had been waiting for his father to come in all along.

“What am I going to do about it?! Some guts you have!” His father walked over to him and pulled him off the chair before punching him hard in the face.

“I can feel pain but it’s not mine. Whose is it? Yours, perhaps, Mr. Romano?” Dante groaned with a victorious look on his face.

“Shut the fuck up!” His father punched him again.

“You are going to tell me where your mother went to!”

“I have no idea.” Dante replied.

“And you want me to believe that?” Luca asked.

“No matter how strong one is, there are types of torture that would drive one crazy and make one spill every information in one’s head. And I am not even strong. I am a weakling so of course, I just told her to leave without knowing where she was off to. That way, I have nothing to tell to you no matter what you do to me.” Dante grinned at his father.

“Lock this bastard up! No food for him until I say so!”