AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Please, darling,’ she said. ‘Just put on the dress. Marry this man.’
Sophia felt the shock of it, like being dunked in ice water. ‘Mama, he’s an animal.’
‘Please,’ she said, ‘I promise you, we’ll fix this. All of it. You and me. We’ll find a way.’ Her mother clasped her hands tightly within hers. ‘Don’t risk a beating from your father. Marry the animal and I’ll find a way to save you.’
That’s when Sophia remembered something else about her mother — she could self-deceive like no-one else. Right now, she probably believed that somehow, she would save her daughter, but Sophia knew there was no way on earth that she could.
On her mother’s arms, only visible when her top rode up, she saw bruises. Handprints. Lurid, pink welts.
That man — Giovanni — he wasn’t her father anymore. The man he’d been was gone. But her mother was still her mother. And she didn’t deserve to suffer. Sophia could handle the thought thatshewould get a beating today. But not her mama.
‘Okay,’ Sophia said with a deep breath. ‘I’ll put on the dress. And soon,’ she lied, ‘everything will be alright.’
As she stepped into the chapel, it felt like someone else was piloting her body. Sophia just… checked out. She watched from above now, as the woman in the wedding dress — in a style that she would have never chosen for herself — walked into a nightmare.
A crowd of unfamiliar faces watched. Bikers and Mobsters. The Mobsters in suits, the bikers in cuts. They were almost all men. The single woman was her mother, standing at the front, looking back, wringing her hands together, a rictus grin on her face.
As she walked down the aisle, the bikers seemed to be eying her up, calculating her worth. This was their new bone, and everyone was going to have a turn.
Her father, of course, stood next to her. He hadn’t spoken to her all morning, and in fact she’d barely seen him. He’d been waiting for her at the chapel and had taken her arm with a mixture of disgust and resentment. He leaned on her as they walked. Clearly, he was too proud to use his cane in the wedding venue.
I’m not here. I’m somewhere else. I’m with Wolf. We’re planning a vacation. I’m making good money from my restoration business. His bar is doing well. We’re going away to the Caribbean soon. It’s the trip of a lifetime.
When she saw the priest, she couldn’t return his smile.
It’s happening to someone else. This isn’t me. I’m just a doll — just a stuffie. They can pose my arms and legs and make me smile. They can hurt me as many times as they like. Because I’m just a stuffie.
At the end of the aisle was Groat. He’d plastered his disgusting hair down to his head with some grease or other, and he looked her up and down before licking his lips.
‘Well,’ said the priest quietly, ‘do you two lovebirds want to get this started?’
Sophia remained quiet while Groat said yes.
And just then, there was a sound.
Instantly, Sophia was right back in her body. Her heart rose up like a hot air balloon.
It was the sound of a motorcycle engine, revving so hard it was about to explode.
The doors at the far end of the chapel burst open, and a load of strange metal canisters flew through the air. The canisters left foggy trails behind them, and instantly, Sophia’s eyes started to sting.
Moments later, to Sophia’s shock and delight, figures started to ride in: stocky men, wearing gas masks, astride motorcycles. All the wedding attendees started to cough and splutter, and Sophia’s discomfort became worse, too. Each breath became more labored, and she could feel her heart working extra hard to pump the blood around her body. Her eyes and nose were streaming, and the tears stung her face. She could hear retching and coughing from all around her.
But somehow, she wasn’t panicking.
Because she knew that Wolf was here for her.
With her eyes clamped shut, Sophia groped around, trying to find her way out of the chapel. Soon, though, she heard a voice — a voice she’d been dreaming of.
‘Darling, put this on.’ Wolf was there for her. He pulled something over her head, and within seconds, she started to feel better. Her eyes still stung, but it was suddenly much easier to breathe. She heard a hiss each time she sucked in air and she forced opened her eyes.
The scene was almost apocalyptic.
Mobsters and gangsters, bent over double — some crying, some screaming, some with blades drawn, blindly slashing. Her poor mother was also suffering.
‘Daddy,’ she said to Wolf, ‘my mama needs a mask.’
Wolf — scarcely recognizable behind the bulky gas mask — grabbed a second mask from his bike and headed over to her mom.
