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"Yes Sir," Nick said and ran off.
I walked over following him into his office. "Alora, what is this I hear about you being late to school again?"
"Sorry, daddy, I just lost track of time."
"You were with that stupid dog again, weren't you?"
I nodded, looking down at my feet.
"I never should have let you talk me into getting that dog. It is high time I taught you a lesson." He walked over, and grabbed my hand, dragging me out of the office. I was surprised when he started for the front door instead of the stairs. Normally when I got into trouble he would take me to my room and whip me two times with his belt as I bent over the bed. We walked out and I saw Elena with Max. He was running around her in circles.
She looked over at us and walked up, a worried look on her face. "I am sorry she was late today. I will keep a better eye on her."
"I will deal with you later!" Dad spat. "But right now my daughter needs to learn her place." He pulled me in front of him, gripping onto my shoulders, squeezing so hard that I knew it would bruise. I knew showing him it hurt would make it worse so I grit my teeth, showing no emotion. "You listen to me and listen good. You love that dog don't you?" I nodded. "What did I tell you about love?"
"There is no love in this world."
"That's right. Love makes you soft, makes you vulnerable, makes you weak!" He yelled, a few guards were watching us now. Some of the ground workers had also stopped, watching dad and me. He shoved me towards Elena.
Elena wrapped her arms around my shoulders. Dad took five big steps away. "Max come here." He slapped his thighs. Max looked at me, then cocked his head to the side looking at dad. Dad never played with Max, never had anything to do with him. “Max come.” He repeated, bent over onto one knee. Max ran over, and dad grabbed him by the collar. "There is no room for love in this world, Alora." He reached underneath his shirt, and pulled his gun from his waistband, putting the barrel next to Max's head.
"DADDY NO!" I screamed as loud as I could, rushing towards him, falling on top of Max. "I'm sorry. I'll never disobey you again." I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
"ELENA GET HER!" He yelled. Rage was a word I had recently learned, and now I knew exactly what it meant. My dad was filled with rage.
Elena ran over, prying me away from Max as I kicked and screamed. "NO, NO, NO!" Max looked at me and then at dad, he tried to run to me but dad held his collar tightly. Elena backed away holding me around the waist.
"Volantes don’t cry, Alora. It is time you grow up." He pushed the gun back to Max's head and pulled the trigger.
The shot rang in my ears. Then there was a scream, my scream. I screamed and screamed until my throat felt like it was going to burst. Elena held onto me tight as my entire body started to shake. I collapsed in her arms. She fell to the ground, holding onto me as I tried to pull away and get to Max.
Marco came running over. "What happened? I heard a gunshot?" He looked at Max lying on the ground, then at me. He turned to my dad, who had pulled a handkerchief from his suit pocket, wiping the bloody spots off of his hands.
Dad threw the bloody handkerchief down on the ground at my feet. I looked at it, in complete shock as my entire body started shaking uncontrollably. "Alora, LOOK AT ME!" I pulled my face from Elena's chest, looking up at him. Blood spatters covered the side of his face. Like the way paint would splatter all over you when you flicked a paint brush away from the canvas. "There is no love in this world Alora." I watched as the bump on his neck bobbed up and down. He blinked his eyes twice, for a moment I thought I saw tears. He shook his head and walked back towards the house, taking his blood-covered suit jacket off.
Marco bent down next to us, whispering. "What the hell happened?"
Elena shook her head back and forth, tears falling from her eyes as the two of us sobbed. "She was late for school today. This is my fault."
Marco rested his hand on top of my head. "Take her in."
Elena stood up. She lifted me into her arms, carrying me into the house and up to my room. She sat down on the big four-poster bed, scooting up, pulling me to her chest. "I am so sorry my sweet girl." She ran her hand up and down my back as I sobbed, soaking her shirt. The two of us together, sobbing.
At some point, I fell asleep. I woke up to a knock on my door, in bed alone. "Al?" Nick asked, opening the door slowly. I didn’t reply, I just stayed there, gripping tightly onto the pillow. I felt the bed next to me shift, his hand came to rest on my shoulder. "I am sorry."
I sat up, wrapping my arms around his neck. "He killed him. Just shot him in the head like it was nothing."
Nick pulled me in tight. "I know. Dad told me to give this to you. He thought you might want it." He pulled something from his pockets, putting it into my hands.
I looked down at the brown leather strap, blood splattered, the metal tag hanging down that said Max. "Thank you." He smiled and nodded his head. "Where is Elena?"
"I don’t know. I heard your dad called her into his office a couple of hours ago, but I haven't seen her."
"Will you stay here tonight or until she gets back? I don’t want to sleep alone."
"Yeah let me call dad real quick." He took his phone out of his pocket, typing on the screen and then pulling it to his ear. I heard it ring twice before hearing Marco's voice on the other end. "I am going to stay here with her until Elena comes back."
I watched as Nick's face changed and he nodded, muffled words coming from the phone to his ear. "Okay. Then I am going to stay all night." He hung up and looked at me.
