♡ A CHILD'S GAME? ♡
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♡ MARIAN ♡
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Staring out the window had become my only chore.
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The neighbourhood had no sign of life, as if it was as dead inside as I was. No kids playing, no dogs barking, not even a rogue squirrel darting through the trees. Just silence. Creepy unsettling silence.
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I’d already binged every show and read every book I could get my hands on. Talking to the walls wasn’t much fun either, and the only person willing to engage in conversation with me was Martini. Everyone else acted like I was invisible, treating me like the prisoner I technically was.
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Was I that dangerous to talk to?
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Would a simple hello turn their lives upside down?
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Apparently, yes.
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I wanted to keep my self busy, busy enough to stop dark thoughts from creeping in. My parent's faces were haunting me. I kept living that moment over and over.
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I wanted to ask Damien about the search for my sister since getting information out of Martini was practically impossible. But Damien had a fuse loose somewhere in his head and I haven't figured out an approach that wouldn't trigger him.
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I sighed, missing the days when life was simple. When my biggest worry was figuring out where to meet up with my friends.
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I missed my friend.
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“What’s on your mind?” Martini’s voice pulled me from my thoughts with his thick Italian accent.
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He looked hot as hell just casually sitting across from me, his usual calm expression giving nothing away. At least he tried to make conversation, unlike the others, who acted like I had the plague.
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“My friends,” I replied. “I miss them.” My voice came out cracked and softer than I intended.
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Martini nodded wearing that look of sympathy that I absolutely hated. "I know it’s hard. But things are complicated right now. We’re doing our best.”
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His words were supposed to be comforting, but they only made the silence around us feel heavier. I hadn’t really paid much attention to Martini before, but now that I thought about it, he was the only one who showed me any kindness in this place.
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And I hadn’t noticed how good-looking he was either. His muscular arm, the subtle kindness in his eyes, his laid-back charm.
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He looked totally different from Damien, although rugged looking, he had this soft element to him.
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it was hard to miss now.
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If not that my flirting skills were on par with a drunk toddler, and I would probably embarras my self, I would have gone for Martini.
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Martini's face lit up as if he was reading my mind, whoa. I certainly hope not. “I can help you kill some of that boredom,” he said, looking oddly excited.
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I raised an eyebrow. What was he going to suggest? Hide-and-seek? A game of cards? I wasn’t expecting much, especially considering they hadn’t even let me have internet access. TikTok could’ve saved me, but no, I was stuck in this digital desert.
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Before I could ask, he continued, “Boss has cousins around your age. They visit sometimes. I could invite them over.”
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I blinked. Cousins? As in, people I didn’t know? The thought of meeting new people made my stomach twist, but anything beat having a group meeting with the wall.
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“They’re good people,” Martini added with a smile. “You’ll like them.”
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How ironic. Everyone considered themselves good people, even mafia and murderers
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Martini's smile was reassuring, but beads of sweat had formed just from the thought of befriending strangers. I dreaded meeting new people, that was why I stuck with my group of friends
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Before I could respond, Martini was already moving to set it up. The excitement in his actions made me question his position as a right hand man to the most dangerous Mafia syndicate.
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"Don't worry, you'll like them," he said with a confidence I definitely didn’t share.
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A few hours later, when 'cousins' finally arrived, I realized that by cousins Martini had meant boys. And not just any boys—boys who looked like they’d stepped off the cover of a mafia-themed calendar.
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There were four of them, and they all had that effortlessly cool, bad-boy vibe. The kind you can never find in my school without wincing at how cringe they are.
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I stared at them like a total weirdo, completely mesmerized. Why didn’t people like this exist in my life before? My friends would’ve lost their shits over these guys.
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Particularly, Angel.
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Martini finally broke the silence, introducing each of them. “This is Lorenzo,” he said, pointing to the one with messy blonde curls and an easy grin. “And that’s Nat, Blade, and Jay.”
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I tried to say something or at least be coherent, but my mouth was apparently stuck in mute mode, and could only manage to smile.
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“She’s cute,” Lorenzo said, breaking the ice as his eyes roamed over me. It wasn’t uncomfortable, though. There was a casual, almost friendly warmth to it, as if I were already accepted into their group.
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Or maybe it was just the whole mafia thingy.
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They all had this sharpness in their gaze, like they were constantly on guard.
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I was finally about to get something out when Lorenzo smacked Nat who’d been busy texting on his phone. Nat sneered and shoved his phone into his pocket, rolling his eyes.
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I wanted to stare at them forever, but Martini the spoilsport decided we needed to play a game to break the ice.
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Who needed games when model like boys I could only see in movies before we're standing in front of me.
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I thought things couldn't get any weirder. It did.
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Yes, I knew what scavenger hunt meant, yes I've played these games before, only without the real life gun and tasers they were casually dropping on the table.
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The scavenger hunt was part mafia game, part treasure hunt. Instead of finding random objects, we were supposed to locate hidden 'attack plans' and 'kill' the opposing team.
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Considering this house’s track record of insanity, I wasn’t ruling out actual danger. I asked, half-joking, “So, we are using this?”
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Martini chuckled. “We used to. Bulletproof vests, the works. But this time, we’re just playing with tasers.”
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The way he sounded so casual about it icked me. In what world does a taster and just playing belong in the same sentence.
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I could feel my nerve physically crawling up my skin. I knew there was no way I could survive the game.
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I wasn't exactly the athletic type and getting tased wasnt even the thousandth item on my to do list.
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"For the lady thinking about backing out." Lorenzo's voice broke the trance. I chuckled. "The price for winning is an IPhone 16."
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What?
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Yep, they don't deserve me enough to play with me, but I personally deserve an iPhone 16.
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"Okay. I'm committed." Martini fired a pistol in the air as soon as I agreed, I had a strong feeling he was doing this in his own interest, maybe he enjoyed seeing people tase each other to death.
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Who was I even kidding. He is a right hand man of a big mafia syndicate, of course he enjoyed watching people suffer. And I mean that as stereotypical and offensive as it can get.
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Everything had become chaos. We scattered like maniacs
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I ran in the direction I knew the first clue was going to be, I knew Martini so well and I knew he lived in that weapon room. And not to brag but I knew this house like the back of my hand.
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Boredom can lead you into becoming an expert in the building structure of your kidnapper's house.
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I ran around the room looking for the clue, the shelves, the foldable couch, just empty.
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Maybe talking to your kidnapper's aid and trying to analyse him doesn't automatically mean you were a world renowned therapist.
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I couldn't give up, I went to the table.
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I screamed but placed my hand over my mouth a few seconds later. I shouldn't forget the fact that I was being hunted by the other team.
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I found a clue taped to the underside of a table.
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My teammates, Lorenzo and Nat, cheered me on as I handed over the task: find the opposing team and take them out. I was supposed to deliver.
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I pressed the power button on the Taser I had with me just for the fun of it, everything about all this was just amusing.
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The Taser didn't work though. Great, I had no idea how to use a taser.
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Nat gave me a quick tutorial, but his words went in one ear and out the other as panic set in. Before I could protest, Jay came charging toward me. I did the only thing I could think of, ran in the opposite direction.
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He chased me through the house and into the greenhouse, where I frantically hid behind a door, hoping to get the upper hand. Jay opened the door in one swift move, and in my panic, I pressed the other button on the taser. He collapsed, twitching.
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For a moment, I stood there in shock. Did I just tase him? My heart pounded as I cautiously stepped over his body, only for him to grab my leg, causing me to yelp. I kicked his hand off me, more out of reflex than actual intention, and bolted out of the greenhouse.
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Later in the game, it was down to Lorenzo and me. We needed one final clue to win, but before we could make our way to the finish line, something hit me, and everything went black.
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and then Add to home screen.