‘Honestly, I can do it, I’m fine. It didn’t hurt.’ I turn towards him to dislodge his arm from around me, agitated with his efforts, patting him on the chest to let me go with a smile through gritted teeth. He leans back up, so we are nose to nose and that’s the last thing I see of his face.
Like a flash out of nowhere someone tugs me out of his arm, so that I stumble backwards into a wall and lose my balance momentarily. Head spinning with the suddenness of it and the black form that literally dive bombs him with such force it takes him flying back against the hall wall so fast I cannot really focus on what’s happening right away.
It takes me a moment to realise what the hell is going on, as Alexi pins him by the throat to the inner hall wall and starts pummelling a fist into the guy’s face. He’s all over him like a fierce animal, wildly unleashed, punching, holding him up and lifting a knee to the man’s abdomen with successive thrusts as he flails any attempts to defend himself. Alexi is too fast and too strong and the man’s nose explodes across his face, covering him in blood.
Alexi has his back to me so I cannot even see his expression, although I know him and the sadistic unemotional trance he went into that night with Santagato’s man is what I am expecting he is in now—Fighting form on show, trained killer. He fights like a machine.
‘Alexi, stop it.’ Hysteria comes from nowhere, bubbling out of me with waves of sheer anxiety, and I launch myself at him impulsively. I grab onto Alexi’s arm to pull him back, but he just physically shakes me off as though I’m nothing more than a light breeze, while continuing his torrent of hate onto the man’s now lifeless body. At this angle I can see him side on. He looks completely deranged, eyes so dark they are almost all pupils and focused intently on annihilation of his victim. It sends a cold icy fear through my veins gripping my stomach tightly. It’s like the lights are on but none is home.
I try again, hauling at the back of his shirt this time as I try to get behind him, pulling and yanking with all my might and slapping his shoulders to stop the assault, but he’s relentless. It’s like I’m not even touching him.
‘He didn’t do anything!’ I scream at the back of him again, pulling and pulling, but he shoves me back with his body aggressively, to shake me off and I get a fright with the unexpected action. I fall over my own shoes, which are ridiculously high, as I crash to the floor and sprain my ankle at the same time. I land in an ungraceful heap and even that doesn’t get him to stop and see if I am okay; Although, I wouldn’t ever expect him to.
He’s never cared about hurting me before or seeing me helpless on the floor.
I try and clamber to my feet, wincing at the ache in my ankle; and then with utter relief, I catch sight of Mico and Gino as they both jump over me and fly in to control their enraged boss. Mico hooking him from behind swiftly, under Alexi’s arms and Gino slides between him and his victim to forcefully push him back while grabbing him around the back of the head and pushes their foreheads together. I am guessing this is a tag team, age-old method of controlling his rage as they all move back five feet and contain the tornado. It’s so effortlessly done it’s almost like a fluid dance. I exhale with a huge sigh of relief, tears running down my cheeks that seem to have come out of nowhere, and my body starts trembling like crazy, with fear, shock and adrenaline.
‘Enough, enough … It’s me, Lex … It’s me.’ Gino is in his face, soothing with words and even though Alexi tries to throw them off at first, he seems to calm instantly. Blinking back to reality as the red mist lifts and he sees his brother in his face. His body seems to lose its rigidity, and both men look visibly relieved that the cyclone is not putting up more of a fight. All of them seem to sag in synchronised movement.
The guy, now slumped on the floor, makes an awful gargling sound with his throat that shudders through me and lays motionless on the floor a few feet from me. He looks like he has been run over by a combine harvester. So much blood and mess all over his face and I feel instantly nauseous at the sight of it.
Tears are still pouring down my face, more than before as I crawl to my knees and get up shakily, putting weight on my ankle and find it’s not as bad as it first seemed. It aches but I can walk. My focus is more honed in on the men than the injury.
Gino keeps a hold of Alexi tightly; obviously unconvinced he is truly calm, while Mico slides from behind and goes to check the guy’s pulse, glaring at his cousin as he scans the mess of his face.
‘What the fuck were you thinking, Lex?’ Mico scolds and bends to pull the man into a sitting position and leans in to listen to his chest. I can’t look. It’s horrible and stomach churning to look at the pulp left where a face used to be and I wonder at a human that can do so much damage, fuelled only by anger and with his bare fists. Alexi is insane.
I think I am in shock, standing trembling and watching them numbly as all emotion and chaos starts to subside into a deep well of dark inside of me, something churning and bubbling together when sudden fury hits me hard—Almost like an afterthought. Without hesitation, just pure reaction, I fly at Alexi, shoving Gino aside like a crazy bitch and start hitting him in the shoulder with a bunched fist as hard and high as I can muster.
‘He didn’t do anything! He didn’t do a fucking thing!’ I screech at him furiously, blinded by tears and so overwrought with anger that I don’t care if he reacts to my assault. I want him to hit me. I have so much venom inside of me right now it would be the cherry on the cake. Hit me, so I can stab him with my shoe and be done with him forever.
Alexi shoves me back angrily halting my blows, glaring at me furiously but I won’t back down. I fly right back at him, slapping at his chest and hating him with everything I have in me. All that pent-up anger, hurt, heartbreak I harbour, and grudge for the past weeks coming together in one overly emotional blow out and aim all my loathing I have for this man in hitting him.
‘You’re a complete fucking psycho … Jealous fucking arsehole! This man did nothing to me!!’
Gino intervenes, pushing his arm between us to hold me back while Alexi bustles up to slam back at me a second time, icy glare and body poised to fight once more, but I do not give a shit. No fear, no intimidation at his stance or glares. I want to tear his god damn head off. I am not scared of him anymore!
‘Didn’t look like that from where I was standing!’ Alexi roars at me, craning over his brother’s arm as he leans in at me and I aim a slap at his face.
‘Then you’re a fucking moron … who’s fucking blind!’ I snap right at him, teeth clenched.
Gino’s faster, catches my wrists and pulls me away, trying to be referee between us, but I resort to feet instead, struggling to get free and aim any kick I can at him. I am determined to wound him in any physical way I can.
‘I tripped, he picked me up you fucking psychopath. That didn’t warrant beating him to death! You’re completely unhinged, you know that?’ I scream at him through tears and rage and Alexi doesn’t even flinch when one connects with his thigh.
‘Bullshit. Knocked me back and found yourself another mug to fleece right? Flirting all night and then took great delight in a knock back. Once a whore always a whore! I should have known it was all an act.’ He spits it at me venomously. Rage and hatred thick between us once more, and I forget everything nice I might have thought about him tonight. It was all fake. He has a cheek accusing me of acting.
There he is, that sadistic bastard prick I fucking hate. I knew it was too good to be true that he was being docile and reasonable these past weeks.