Crawl
Aria
I stood by the window peering outside, dressed in a wedding dress. Today is my father's funeral and my wedding day. We absolutely have no one since my father died. He mistakenly killed his boss, and his ruthless sons came looking for my father and shot him right in front of me and my family, then requested that I become Stoic’s wife. Lorenzo ‘Stoic’ Ricci is ruthless, just like his father Giovanni was, except Stoic is worse; he’s a walking ticking bomb that can explode at any moment. My mother tried to tell them we were now even, but the Ricci family went on to request me.
Our families used to be close. Their father’s death was a mistake, but those Ricci boys didn’t want to understand. Instead, they killed my father, and now Stoic wants me. I know he wants to break me the same way my father broke him. Giovanni was no longer the head of the Ricci business; he gave that title to my now soon-to-be husband. His brothers thought we should call it even since both our fathers died, but that was not enough for Stoic. He wants to see me begging to eat, to dress, to sleep, and to breathe as though he were my creator.
“Aria, they are here,” my aunt says, and I tense and close my eyes. A single tear escaped my eyes as I tried to understand why Stoic would request me while we were even. Our fathers are now dead. “Come with me, sweetheart; it’s going to be okay.” My aunt says.
“Aunty, this isn’t fair. Did I have to wear a wedding dress to my father’s funeral?”
“Sweetheart, it’s what he requested; we don’t want to anger him.” I try to be strong. I don’t know what he wants to achieve by doing this. Why does he want to marry me? Because the Stoic I know isn’t one to like women. He has never been seen with women or had a women's scandal like his younger brother's. He hates women. What does he want with me?
I close my eyes to remember his instructions. He instructed that I come as I am with just a wedding dress. Who wears a wedding dress to a funeral? “Sweetheart, please, let’s go.” I look at my aunt and follow her. My family and I stood frozen on the stoop, everyone shaking as we watched Stoic and his brothers standing outside, not even wanting to set foot inside our house.
“Why are they not coming in?” I asked, and I saw a tear escaping my mom’s eye.
“Because he wants us to crawl from here to where they are.”
“What!” I can’t believe that bastard; does he hate us that much? Crawling like we are dogs, I am not crawling; I refuse to crawl for him. Never!
I watched as every member of my family went on their knees and started crawling. I held my mom's and aunt’s hands, begging them not to crawl, but they pushed my hands away.
“Aria, don’t make this more difficult than it already is; it’s your father’s funeral and your wedding day. Let’s do what he says and get it over with.” My mom says as she gets on her knees and starts crawling. I refuse to let myself be barred like some kind of pawn in this game between our families. My family’s humiliation is Stoic’s satisfaction, but this act of disrespect only makes me hate him. He was like a brother to me, even though we were close and never talked. He always looked more distant than his three brothers.
I stand tall and refuse to be a submissive servant. They can all bow down to Stoic all they want, but I will never bow down to him or anyone else. I feel a sense of dread settle in my stomach as we approach the gates with my family crawling for Stoic. I can’t look up to see their faces as I am wearing a veil. We finally reach the gate.
“Who told you you could walk to me?” His deep voice broke the silence between our families. I can’t look up at him; I tried to open my mouth, but words failed me. “Go back crawling to the front stoop and come back crawling to me and make sure that beautiful little wedding dress doesn’t get stained because we are getting married.” No! I can’t; he can’t be this ruthless. I managed to look up at him. The bastard stands with his hands in his pockets. He’s standing in front of the others, at least two or three steps in front. He uses his middle and index fingers to signal me to go back while his other hand is still shoved in his pockets. No emotions whatsoever, just raw power.
I remain rooted in one place, refusing to crawl, but Stoic cocks his head to the side and smiles wickedly as he calls one of his soldiers carrying a briefcase. The man rushed to him and opened the briefcase, and Stoic removed a gun from it and pointed it at me. “I. Said. Crawl. Back.” He barks as he looks at his watch. "You have 4 minutes to do so, and I will allow you to attend your father’s funeral, and if you don’t, I will shoot you." He wasn’t playing; Lorenzo is stoic, with no emotions whatsoever. He’s just stoic, just like his name.
I could feel my pee threatening to come out, tears welled up, and I lifted the damn wedding dress; my knees hit the pavement with a thud as I started to crawl back to the front stoop. With each step, my knees throb in pain against the rough pavement. The sharp edges and loose debris cut into my skin, leaving behind a trail of bruises and blood. The long driveway feels never-ending as I struggle to make my way towards the stoop. My legs tremble with exhaustion, but I push through the pain. Finally, I reach the shelter of the stoop and collapse onto it, crawling back. Blood continues to ooze from my battered knees, a visual reminder of the harrowing journey I just endured.
I didn’t know if I could do it anymore, but if he would allow me to stay for my father’s funeral, then I would have to endure it for my mother’s sake. I should have listened to my mother when she asked me to crawl along with them. Stoic is ruthless. If he can make me crawl like this, am I even going to be safe being his wife? This marriage will only lead to my death.
I finally got to where he was, and he crouched down to my level, lifting the veil. I looked at him with watery eyes, and the bastard just smiled. “I like a submissive pet.” He says, running his rough, big hand over my hair. I’m not a pet! My inner voice was screaming, but I couldn't find the words to speak out loud. The thought of speaking paralyzed me, I was afraid that if I said anything he would send me back to my lowest point.
