No soul existed on those asphalt lanes that proved to bring more destruction than we thought.

The car roared like a dark beast of the night accompanied with the wind that whipped past us to create Mozart's symphony that had me closing my eyes to take it all in. No matter the thousands spent on champagne or wine on dates it was the simple times we spent together with nothing but the open road in front of us that were unforgettable. Though I felt bad for sneaking off I needed time to think.

Call me stubborn but I still wanted Nicholas. No relationship is without its flaws at the end of the day and despite Sonny's words wounding me, like he said, he didn't know me.

We had been driving around for a sometime only stopping momentarily at a drive thru to get milkshakes to quench my sudden sweet craving. He hadn't said where it was we were going but I didn't care. With the tangy taste of strawberry dancing on my tongue I was a bit more at ease shifting my seat back to take in the beautiful lights that made me fall in love with the city all over again. "I don't think you should go back," he suddenly confessed looking at me when we stopped at a red light on a vacant street in a quiet neighbourhood. I smiled at the shadow masking his face growing weak at his abrupt honesty. "My mom has reservations about the city so I can understand her need to want me close, but in as much as I love my hometown I want to stay here."

"Good," he hummed, his voice moulding into the deep rumble of the engine, "I can't go back to surviving on my own," he admitted placing his hand tenderly against my cheek dismissing the voices ringing in my head that wanted to believe Sonny. He pulled me in and placed a kiss onto my lips that caused sparks all over. It electrified my very senses to tip my world on its axis. Pulling back my heart swelled with an overwhelming amount of a feeling I didn't ever want to let go, it was a feeling that pumped a level of courage in me to take a deep breath and say, "I-I lov –"

And upon that road all it took was a simple shot to distort the sound of the violins playing harmoniously to make a scream erupt from my lungs. He yelled for me to duck down as the shots continued ringing against the body of the car.

Each hit had my heart constricting at the chance life would slip from my grasp. I shut my eyes tightly hyperventilating even when the shots stopped and the tires screeched to allow the smell of burnt rubber to enter my nostrils as a result of the car where the attackers sat moved down the road. The panic in his voice, the way his arms reached out to me to pull me out from the dark hole I had ducked under and the clearness of his voice calling me did more to lull me to sleep as opposed to jerking me back to life.

Blurry spots clouded my vision; his tight grasp on my body grew numb till it felt like a ghost had just brushed me with the tips of its fingers.

All I do remember was waking up to the sight of the bright lights and the sound of the heart monitor that led my disoriented mind to draw the conclusion that I was in the hospital. Blinking a few times to clear the hazy vision it took only a few seconds to process the silence to bring everything back like a flash flood. The yelling, the bullets and the broken glass everywhere.

Such experiences can easily make anyone question how long they're likely to last. Believing I was alone I shifted up only to feel arms envelop me into a hug, "Thank God, you're safe," a soft voice whispered belonging to Eva. Her arms nearly crushed me but I was too relieved to ask her to give me space. "We thought w-we..." she took in a shaky breath pulling back to look at me and the tears in her eyes, dishevelled hair showing a tale of a woman running her hands through it constantly were all signs of the strain being placed on us. Looking around when I noticed it was only the two of us, the increase in my heartbeat by the monitor only served as a glimpse into the panic I felt, "What happened – where's Nicky, shit! Please don't tell m –"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, relax..." she pushed me back looking at me softly, "Nicky is fine, he wanted to be here when you woke up bu –"

"He decided to act irrationally and chose violence," Sonny waltzed into the room holding two cups of what I could assume was coffee. Behind his profile stood two men on either side of the door whom I hadn't noticed. It was the dark look on the older man's face that had me stiffening. He handed Eva a cup whose eyes remained downcast as she responded at the interruption, "He's doing what he thinks is right, Sonny."

Scoffing he peered in my direction, his perusal over me lacking any ounce of sympathy, "He wouldn't need to if he hadn't allowed himself to be weak," he countered moving away from me to occupy the seat that was the farthest from me which I was thankful for.

"So what? You wanted him to be like you – cold, detached from everyone and everything?" she spat clenching the cup in her hands as if debating whether or not to hurl the hot beverage towards him. "I call it survival. And its certainly kept me from throwing a tantrum whenever an enemy shoots at any woman I happen to be fucking." As the acidic words left his mouth I flinched at the harsh tone when he looked directly at me not missing the opportunity to make me feel like shit.

"If you had any ounce of love in you left, you would react the way he did!" she bit back. No longer able to sit by and just watch I grabbed her hand gaining her attention, her expression softened when I asked, "What did he do?"

Before she had a chance to answer Sonny took the liberty of replying, "What he was taught to, once those men attempted to wipe you both out he decided to go to Lucien's place and return the fucking favour. The boy is starting an all-out war to lick his wounds," he grumbled earning a scoff from Nicky's mother who didn't appreciate his words. "This war started a long time ago, you should give him more credit for being patient considering the amount of terror that gang unleashed on those streets terrorizing your territory," Eva opposed.

And for a moment no words were exchanged between them instead their eyes clashed frowning at the other. The tension brewing between them made me uncomfortable and fearful of Nicholas' well-being.

"Honestly, after everything we've been through Eva I thought you'd at least see things from my side," Sonny mumbled standing up to head towards the door. "I'll always be grateful for what you did for my son and I but –"

"That's not what I'm talking about," he blurted out turning on his heel to leave the words in the air for us to decipher. I peaked in her direction to see a look of shock that turned to one of rage at what the words meant and though I wanted to know what he meant it wasn't my place to dig up a history that made Eva visibly upset.

"What did you guys tell my parents?" I inquired. If they had been told the truth they'd be here themselves watching me like a hawk whilst making plans to take me back. Eva released a heavy sigh leaning back into her seat, "After the party they were taken to their hotel. They're under the impression that you're still out with Nicky. And considering you didn't sustain any serious injuries from what the doctor says, I figured it was best we get you back home as soon as possible," she explained.

"And make it seem as if I came back some time in the evening," I concluded piecing how the lie was to work in my favour and cover up the fact that I had spent a portion of the night in hospital. "Do you think there was a better way for Nicky to react cause if he gets hurt..."

"You can't think like that," she admonished frowning, "you can't lose composure right now when the stakes are high. I realized that when you're with a someone in this life you have to focus on the positive or else you'll lose your mind."

"It's kind of hard to see the positive in all this," I replied already fighting the urge to cry. But when I glanced in her direction, a change had taken place within her when I noticed her biting her lower lip. The action a clear indication of someone fighting a smile, "It's there..." she grinned holding a twinkle in her eye that was hard to forget as she shifted her chair forward and proceeded to rattle the very depths of my being with proof that there was something positive there despite my doubts when she said, "The doctor happened to find something very interesting in your blood..."

***

It's crazy how much your life can change in the space of twenty-four hours. I had graduated, nearly died and then I was given more news that had me on edge.

It had been hours since I left the hospital and placed an artificial smile in front of my parents as if everything was alright when it wasn't. As I stood in front of them in the airport I couldn't help but think of all that had happened.

"It's a shame Nicholas couldn't be here to see us off," my mother said reaching out to give me a gentle hug that had me ready to burst out into tears at the fact I shared the same sentiment. "Me too, but he had some urgent business to attend to," I replied the lie passing all too smoothly.

Watching them step onto the escalator I wanted to run to them, tell them that I was scared and that I might have bitten off more than I could chew. Instead I was stuck in time and stood there until they were out of my sight. Thus I was left to wither more into a nervous mess. And when I arrived back home the second I walked through the door the blood on the floor had my body shaking at my worst fears coming to fruition.

Each step on the shaky ground was tentative as if the ground was covered in thorns but I think I would have preferred that as opposed to the sight of the crimson it adorned.

Heart caught up at a fast pace in my chest, I followed the drops. Each one leading me closer and closer to the bedroom to face a truth I didn't want to after all I came to know within those twenty four hours.