Chapter 23: The Fight

Amaya stared at her wall, as her room was dark, she felt scared as she couldn't do anything, as she knew escaping was impossible, and she wouldn't be able to get out of the house alive.

If only her mom and dad were alive, she would feel a lot safer and more loved.

But now all she could feel was danger, hate, and disgust from her uncle, no one was truly there for, her except Miles as he knew how her life was.

Monica, too, was there, but also knew better than to overstep the boundaries her uncle had put and to not cross the line ever or else there would be consequences.

She grabbed her phone from the side of her bed.

Calling Bea, hoping she would answer, hearing it ring for a little while until it went to voice mail.

She set her phone down, laying down on her pillow as she stared at the ceiling.

Hearing glass breaking from downstairs, startled Amaya.

She sat back up and heard yelling, barely recognizing the voices as her eyes widened upon hearing Miles' name.

She stood from the bed, making her way to her door, pressing her ear against it to hear what Miles and her uncle were arguing about.

༄༆꧁❁꧂༆༄

Miles was pinned to the walk as Carter had a tight grip on him, Miles struggled to fight back.

"You should mind your own business when it comes to Amaya," Carter told him. "Last time I checked, she's my family, not yours."

"Family that you treat like shit," Miles said. "I wonder what her father would think of you, considering he's your brother." Miles grabbed a hold of Carter's wrist, snapping it as he pushed him away. "Treating his daughter like garbage."

Carter groaned as he held his wrist, looking up at Miles. "It's been five years. Why start caring about that pathetic spoiled girl?"

Miles went to the mini bar, grabbed a bottle of Scotch, opened it, took a drink, and set it back down. "Because someone has to care for her, and if it isn't you, then it's gotta be me." He turned around, looking at the broken furniture and glasses on the floor. "For years, I stood idly by, watching that poor girl suffer at your hands and did nothing."

"Because you knew of the consequences if you did get yourself involved," Carter told him. He took slow steps towards Miles, standing beside him, leaning closer to his ear, whispering. "I wonder what would happen to that precious family of yours, especially your little girl." Miles turned to face him, glaring. "You know what you were getting yourself into when you took this job, I don't have to remind you to stay in your lane, do I?"

Miles grabbed Carter, pushing him back into the wall, holding him by his collar. "You're lucky I can't kill you."

Carter smirked. "Because you know what would happen." Miles grabbed his wrist, snapping it back into place. Carter groans. "Thanks."

Miles turned away, walking out. "Screw off."

Carter lets out a sigh, holding his side as he lifts his shirt. Seeing a bruise forming on his side, he grunts as he makes his way to the couch and sits down.

A maid walked in, seeing Carter in pain, and she hurriedly walked towards him. "Mr. Verone, what happened?"

Carter glanced at her. "Just a little fight between a friend, nothing serious." He looked at her in deep thought. "Hey, Agnes."

"Yes, Mr. Verone," Agnes answered.

"I want you to do something for me," Carter told her.

He leaned in and began whispering in her ear, Agnes' eyes widened in horror.

Unknown to Carter, Miles stood to the side, hiding as he watched the two converse.

༄༆꧁❁꧂༆༄

Amaya walked away from the door, going back to her bed. She faced the window.

She silently began to cry as she hugged her knees to her body.

Picking up her phone again, trying to call Bea, she was listening to the ring, but it went straight to voice mail.

Amaya lets out a sigh, wiping her tears as they continue to fall, sniffling a bit.

The door unlocked, Amaya turned her head, watching as she saw Agnes walking in with a tray that contained a teacup and teapot and some biscuits.

"Hi, Agnes," Amaya greeted, sniffling. "What are you doing here?"

Agnes sets the tray down on Amaya's table as she pours the tea nervously into the cup. "You haven't eaten. Your uncle sent me here to give you something."

Amaya looks away. "I'm not hungry."

Agnes hands her the cup. "I insist, it's no good to have a hungry stomach, and skipping certain meals of the day isn't healthy."

Amaya looked at her. "I said I'm not hungry." She noticed how Agnes' hands began to shake slightly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Agnes reassured. "I'm just tired, that's all, now will you please just accept the tea I made you." Amaya looked at her weirdly. "It's a family recipe, and I have a feeling you will like it."

"I said I don't want it," Amaya told her.

Carter appeared by the door, walking in. "Don't be rude, Amaya." She glanced at him as her body stiffen. "Accept the drink and eat the food." Amaya looked at him as her hands instantly went up to her neck, a bruise forming around it. "Agnes, give us a minute."

Agnes moves away, standing by the door. Carter walked forward to Amaya, kneeling beside her bed. "Look, I don't want any trouble from you, Agnes made you a nice meal to eat. All you gotta do is be grateful and accept it."

Amaya glared at him. "I said I'm not hungry."

Carter sighed, grabbing a handful of Amaya's hair. "I didn't ask if you were." He glanced at her window and then back at her smirking. "Also, any plans you have of running away and hiding ends right now." Amaya struggled as she tried to pull away from him. "I've already alerted all the security around here. The minute you step foot out of this room, it ain't gonna be pretty." Carter leaned in, whispering in her ear. "You have nowhere to go." Carter let her go, gesturing to the tray. "Drink and eat." Amaya drank from the cup. "Now, what do you say?"

Amaya glanced at Agnes. "Thank you, it tastes pretty good."

"I'm glad you like it," Agnes told her. "Here are the biscuits as well, I'll leave the teapot here if you want more to drink."

Amaya nods her head, watching as her uncle and Agnes leave her room, hearing the door locked from the outside.

Amaya took a bite of the biscuit as she looked out the window.

༄༆꧁❁꧂༆༄

The next day, Bea walked down the dock to the houseboat Brian was staying at with Gabriella by her side.

Bea was in deep thought, as she was thinking about what had happened yesterday.

Gabriella looked down at Bea. She, too, was thinking about what had happened.

༄༆꧁❁꧂༆༄

Yesterday

Brian looked at Bea, who only stayed silent. He looked back at Gabriella, not knowing how to feel about the whole situation.

He shook his head. "No."

Bea's eyes widened, along with Roman as they stared at both siblings, waiting to see what happened next.

"No?" Gabriella repeated. "What do you mean no?"

Brian shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, no." He looked at Bea then at Gabriella. "Do you not know the meaning? Because I can tell you."

Gabriella narrowed her eyes. "She's my daughter, Brian, I'm her parent. It's my job to do so."

Brian scoffs. "And where were you the last two years? I've been the parent, I watched her, fed her, and made sure she had a place to sleep. Where the hell have you been?"

"That's none of your business," Gabriella told him. "What matters now is that I am back and for good this time."

"Meaning what?" Brian asked. "You're gonna stay?" He glanced towards Bea. "You don't have the kind of trouble she was in. She almost got hurt. She could have died!"

"You don't think I know that?" Gabriella yelled. "Why do you think I'm here? I came for her, and I wanted to make sure she was alive and breathing." Gabriella was close to tears. "I know, I came late. If I had been here, then who knows, maybe your house wouldn't have blown up."

Bea's phone started ringing, she picked up, seeing it was Amaya, sighing as she declined the call.

"You think this is about the house?" Brian asked. "It's more than that! It's about you having the tendency to abandon those who have cared and loved you!" Gabriella went silent. "It's about all the lies and secrets you've told, the abandonment and leaving those behind with no explanation, making promises you couldn't keep."

"So that's what this is," Gabriella said. "You're mad at me." Brian scoffed as he looked away. "All these years, you've been holding onto that anger inside since the moment I left."

"Family is supposed to stick together," Brian told her. "Whether we were upset with each other, annoyed, sad, we still were supposed to have each other's back." He held back the tears that were about to fall. "And you turned your back on me, just up and left without a word."

Gabriella wiped her tears. "It was to keep you safe. That's all I've been doing, Brian." She walked towards him. "I've gotten into something bad, and it wasn't safe for anyone to be around me. If you were to stay with me, you most likely would have been dead."

Brian's brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

Bea's phone rang again, looking at it, seeing Amaya's name again, and declining the call again, she refocuses her attention back on mother and uncle.

"I got into something terrible," Gabriella told him. "And in order for you not to be involved or hurt in any way, I had to leave. I didn't leave because I wanted to Brian, it just wasn't my choice too. I know I failed you, but don't think that I never stopped caring about you or wasn't protecting you. Because that's all I've been for years, but things have changed now." She looked at Bea, smiling sadly. "I have a kid now, and I can't let her down like I did before, I know I left her with you, but it was until I knew it was safe for me and her to reunite again." She looked at Brian. "So believe me or don't believe me, but right now my concern isn't for you B, it's for Bea and making sure she is safe and happy."

Brian slowly nods his head. "I--I understand, though I don't get the situation of what had happened, I get it." He looked at Bea. "To put your life on hold to protect someone that means so much to you, I understand." He walked towards Bea, kneeling down to her level. "It's up to you, Little B. What do you want?"

Bea looked at him and then at her mother, conflicted as she had to choose someone, but didn't know who to choose if she chose one over the other, they would be hurt and sad.

She looked at Roman for help. He noticed the look she was giving him as he kneeled down.

"Hey, you don't have to choose right away," Roman told her. "Just give it some thought, Little B."

Bea nodded her head. She looked to her uncle and mother. "I need some time to think."

Both Brian and Gabriella exchange looks, looking at Bea. "Take your time."

༄༆꧁❁꧂༆༄

Present

Gabriella stopped walking as Bea stopped also, turning to look at her.

"Hey," Gabriella said. "I want you to know, your Uncle Brian and I aren't gonna be mad if you choose one over the other."

Bea looked at her, unsure. "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings."

Gabriella smiled softly. "It's okay, we understand, and we're okay with whatever you decide."

Bea opened her mouth to speak but closed it immediately as she heard yelling.

Turning around, Bea and Gabriella saw two men who were fighting Brian and Roman, both mother and daughter running towards them.

As Bea slid on the ground, kicking the guy that had his gun pointed at Roman, as he stumbled back, turning to face her, she kicked his groin as she spun around and kicked his face.

He fell on his back as Bea took his gun, putting her foot on his chest as she aimed it at him.

Gabriella pulled out her gun, aiming it at the guy Brian held down with a gun.

Carter walked up with Miles behind him. "Enough, enough." The guy underneath Bea tried to speak. "Shut up, shut up." He looked at Brian. "It's over, come on." Brian let the guy as he nodded towards Bea she removed her foot as the guy under her stood. "It's over, let's go." Brian handed the gun to the guy. Bea reluctantly gave back the gun. "It's our gun, come on, let's go." The men walked over to Carter. "I'm glad to see you boys are getting along so well, because tomorrow, Roberto and Enrique, we'll be riding along with you, just so we don't have any problems." Bea noticed the look Miles was giving as if something was wrong, she tilted her head slightly. "I'll see you guys in a bit." Carter looked at Bea. "And Amaya says hi."

Bea looked at him skeptically as she caught Miles' gaze one last time. This time, she knew something was wrong.

Roman turned to Brian. "What the hell was she doing in there?"

Bea turned to Gabriella, pulling her away from Brian and Roman. "We have to go."

Gabriella's brows furrowed. "Go where sweetie?"

Bea pointed in the direction of where Carter left. "To that man's house."

"And why?" Gabriella asked.

"Because someone I know may be in trouble," Bea told her. "I'll explain on the way, but we gotta go, now!"

"Okay, let's go," Gabriella told her.

They walked away.

A/N: Hi :) I just wanted to give you guys a heads up. Asking me to update isn't really gonna make me update as I also have a life outside of wattpad, and I've been super busy with school and other things. So please, don't ask me to update, I'll update when I'm not busy and have free time.