Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 360 -

*Olivia*

If there was an award for spacing out, I would've earned first place after the day I'd had. I never used to have trouble paying attention in class; that was always Dahlia or Tallon. I was a model student in high school.

But now....

I stared at each of my teachers blankly as they rattled on what seemed like complete nonsense. I knew what they were saying made perfect sense, but I could swear it was gibberish. Even the blackboard was filled with mashed-up symbols that vaguely resembled letters if you turned your head to the right and squinted.

Dahlia kept shooting me worried glances as I stared at the board, not having written down a single note despite how studious I'd always been about that. The page in my new notebook was completely blank. There were more than just Dahlia's eyes on me, though. Several of the students around us kept glancing behind them to see the hulking figures of our two bodyguards as they lined the back wall.

This particular teacher was kind enough to pretend not to see them as she rattled on about whatever class we were in. I couldn't even remember anymore.

Was it art?

I felt like it was art.

The class felt like it was taking forever, going on and on while I didn't understand a single word of it. I wondered, as a dozen eyes stared at me in the middle of a class that only taught gibberish, if I was still asleep.

Or maybe, I wondered as I stared at my hands, feeling vaguely like they weren't even mine, if this was all a hallucination and I was still sitting in bed with Giovani.

My whole mind felt floaty like it had separated from my body, and I was watching everything happen around me from way high up, an invisible spectator that nobody else knew was there.

I didn't know.

All I knew was that I was not okay.

My dream was still in the forefront of my mind, and though the blurry face of my kidnapper had somehow become even more abstract than before, the fear I felt had been tangible.

It had been real, and it lingered like the stench of death.

I didn't tell Dahlia about my dream, but she knew something was wrong. I was generally a quiet girl, but I'd said all of two words to her today, and even I knew I was acting weird. I hadn't even wanted to tell Giovani about it, but that didn't pan out.

He had pushed me, and he didn't like the answer I gave him.

No.

I shook my head, setting down my pencil in complete defeat as I realized I was being unfair. Giovani had only wanted to help me. It was me who had thrown the blame at his feet. I had blown things out of proportion and made him just as upset as I was.

He didn't deserve that.

But I had only spoken the truth, the other side of my mind whispered like a broken record. He hadn't been able to stop Dahlia from getting kidnapped or Alessandro. How could I trust him to stop me from being next?

The traitorous thoughts were painful, an ache I couldn't get rid of, and I wanted to deny it. I wanted to fight for Giovani and his strength, but it just wasn't there.

I was tired of fighting, of defending.

I just wanted to feel safe.

But how?

Ideas flooded into my mind one after another.

Should I get a gun? I doubted Giovani would lend me one, and I didn't have the money to buy one myself. Plus, I knew from experience that I couldn't shoot it. That day in the kitchen-even the thought of holding one again was too much for me to bear.

Maybe I could take defense classes. I was sure they taught a class here somewhere. Though, with how skinny and weak my ass was, I doubted it would help all that much. I'd have to start lifting and training, and I just didn't have the time for it, especially if I had to be accompanied by a bodyguard.

I sighed. It was hopeless. I didn't even know who I was fighting. Even my dreams kept me in a mask where I could only hear a voice. I'd never seen any of the men who kidnapped Dahlia or Alessandro, not even once.

If I ran into one of them on the streets, I would have no clue.

Maybe, I thought as my eyes brightened with clarity, I could start there.

If I had an idea of who the bad guys were, I could avoid them, or if I saw them. I could run before they got the jump on me. They'd always had the element of surprise, but if I knew beforehand.... That was it....

Like puzzle pieces clicking together, solutions caused hope to rise in my chest. The main enemy wasn't the Russians; it was my lack of knowledge.

If I knew more about what was going on and how to stop anything from happening, then maybe I would feel safer and more confident. I wouldn't have to leave.

I nodded determinedly to myself. I just needed to have a talk with Giovani and get him to tell me the details-the men who were after us, why they were doing that, and how we were going to stop them.

My mom had always said communication was the key to any relationship, and we'd both been holding back on each other. We needed to be honest with each other.

Giovani needed to include me in more of what was going on. I needed to understand what I needed to be doing to keep myself and my loved ones safe.

And he was the only one who could provide those answers.

But would he?

He'd been reluctant to include me in things relating to the mafia before. Everyone had. I knew I wasn't exactly the best person to be going to for things like this, but I was involved now. If I was a target, I at least deserved to know why. Otherwise, I couldn't continue on like this.

If Giovani wanted me to stay, he needed to be one hundred percent honest with me. He could do that, couldn't he?

"Hey." Dahlia tapped me on the shoulder, breaking me from my daydreaming, and I realized with a frown that the classroom was completely empty except for us and of course, our bodyguards.

"Class is over," she said softly, a worried look on her face as she looked at me.

I didn't blame her. I swallowed, stuffing my notebook into my bag and getting to my feet. I followed her out of the classroom but quickly smashed into her back as she halted in her tracks.

"Hey," I whined, rubbing my nose as she spun on her heel to face me.

"What's going on, Olive?" Dahlia demanded, and I gazed around, realizing she had led me to one of the secluded corners. There wasn't anybody but us in the hallway, and even our bodyguards were standing out of earshot.

"You've been acting weird all day, and don't think I didn't notice," Dahlia snapped, tapping her foot anxiously on the ground as she stared me down like a hawk. "You didn't say good morning. You've ignored at least three people's greetings and bumped into four walls. Not to mention, you completely ignored the teacher in class. Something is going on, and you're going to tell me what."

"Okay," I nodded. That was fair.

"And don't try to lie to me because you know I'll know-" Dahlia pointed her finger in my face and then paused, looking stunned. "Did you just say okay?"

"Yeah," I frowned. "You're right. Something is wrong. I've been distracted all day, and I'm sorry for not coming to you sooner. I just needed to get my thoughts in order."

"Uh...." Her mouth flopped open and closed like a fish out of water, and I smiled, waiting patiently for her brain to reboot. She'd probably expected to have to pull it out of me like a bad tooth with pliers, but if I was going to expect honesty from Gio, I had to be the example first.

"Do you know what any of the Russians look like, the ones who took you or Alessandro? Did you get any of that info from Tallon or Gio maybe?" I asked straightforwardly.

Dahlia frowned, crossing her arms as she tilted her head uneasily. "Why? You're not going to try to be a hitman, are you?"

"Of course not." I rolled my eyes. "But I realized that I don't know what any of them look like. If one of them tried to attack us again or kidnap one of us, I want to be ready, that's all."

"Oh." Dahlia nodded but then shrugged. "That's a pretty good idea, actually. But sorry, I can't help you. All the ones I saw are dead now."

I sighed, disappointedly. I should've expected as much. There was no way any of them would've survived if Alessandro had gotten their hands on them. I didn't even know what Gio had done to the ones he'd captured, but I was pretty sure that was one thing I didn't want to know.

"Look, I've got to get to my next class, but maybe ask Gio or Tallon," Dahlia said, leaning forward to grab me into a hug. She squeezed me tightly, and I barely had time to even pat her back before she was rushing off down the hallway. "See you later!"

The bodyguard jogged to catch up with her, both of them disappearing around the corner, and I sighed.

I was going to be late for my next class if I dallied any longer. I pulled my class sheet from my back pocket, the paper all crumpled as I opened it up and read the room number. I was in such a daze I couldn't even keep track of my schedule. It wasn't too far, so I was in luck.

I made my way down the halls, and as soon as I turned the corner into one of the more populated hallways, I was rushed by a dozen other students heading the opposite way. I dodged them, hoping my bodyguard didn't draw too much attention as I made my way to the classroom.

As soon as I stepped inside, however, my entire body froze.

I recognized the room. My eyes fell upon the seat in the middle, the one I had been sitting in last time-I clenched my class schedule in my hand, hearing it crunch up, but I didn't care. Because this was the same room where I had found the note.

"Is something wrong?" my bodyguard asked from behind me with a bit of a concerned look. The students were impatiently piling up behind us, and I bit my lip, reluctant to step inside. "Could you sit with me?" I whispered to him, hoping it would make me feel more assured.

"I don't think-" he started hesitantly, but then he sighed when he saw the look of fear on my face. "Alright then. I'll inform your professor."

"Thank you," I whispered, finally stepping inside.

I avoided my former seat like the plague, choosing to take one of the back ones. I stood by the seat as I watched my bodyguard talk with the professor.

Finally, he made his way to me, and I settled into my seat, him taking the one to the right of me. Only a few students sent us weird looks, but luckily, nobody said anything.

I clasped my shaking hands together, pulling out my notebook and pencil as I waited for class to begin. I had no doubt that I wasn't going to be in any sort of mind to take notes on this one either.

I sighed, leaning my head on my hand as I turned to stare out the window. The sunbeams pouring through the glass didn't make me feel any better.

Like a rat in a maze, I felt trapped.

I didn't know how much longer I could do this... if I could at all anymore.