When There Is Hope

(7) Hope Is Cautious

It felt different.

It felt good.

After that the most younger looking guy smiled at me
"Hello sorella, My name is Alonzo and I am 17 your youngest elder brother. I Don't remember much of you from before but I  am so glad to have you back."
He said and also game me a small yet warm hug. I mumbled a little thanks and smiled softly.

The third guy just looked like Elio so they might be twins. But he had a hard edge to his looks. And somehow with the same face as Elio he made himself more scarier and dangerous.

He looked at me and said

"Ezio. Good to have you back Hope"

But his voice suggested otherwise. It's like he didn't want me here at all. Although Riccardo warned me about this but still it stung a little.

I just smiled softly at him.

"Hey. My name is Hope as you already know and it's nice to meet you. "
I said because well I didn't have anything else to say. They all chuckled.

We sat on the table and just then Riccardo came in and sat at the head table.
"I assume you all have gotten acquainted to each other."

The guy who forgot to introduce himself replied
" Yeah. She is absolutely cute and as expected a carbon copy of mamma"
In a very happy tone.

And listening to this I couldn't help but blush.

Wait

What is happening I never blush . I am not a blusher. This is so weird.

Riccardo hummed in response and then he looked around and asked in a calm voice
"Where is Nicólo, Eduardo and no I will not here any excuses"

The scond big guy Eduardo apparently replied in Italian

"conosci il suo problema. lui è spaventato e pensa che tu la stia mettendo in maggior pericolo ora che sappiamo che è viva.lui pensa solo che la terrà al sicuro"
(you know his problem.he is scared and  thinks that you are bringing her into more danger now that we know that she is alive. He just thinks that it will keep her safe)

Riccardo didn't seemed fazed and said
"e quante volte devo dire che non viveva in un ambiente sicuro. se il suo patrigno che consuma regolarmente droghe e alcol non è un segno, allora non so cosa sia. Inoltre lascia che lo lasci in un orfanotrofio per un po' che gli mostrerà quanto brutale possa essere il mondo anche senza armi."
(and how many times do i need to mention this that she wasnt living in a safe environment. if her stepfather consuming regular drugs and alcohol is not the sign then i dont know what is. Besides let me leave him in an orphanage for a while that will show him how brutal the world can be even without guns)

Honestly I didn't understood a single word they said.

But I think they are talking about one of the brothers since there are only 5 guys here.

I hate being clueless.

"I will talk to him Riccardo. Now let's not keep our little sorella waiting and dig in" Eduardo said while stressing on ' I '.

Someone's in trouble.

I mentally giggled

I looked around the table and was shocked to see a wide variety of food. The only thing that came in my mind was this is what we refer to when we say "rich food".

The only thing I could identify on the table was white sauce pasta.

My mouth watered. 

Living with Dad ment I only get to eat veggies and salad. That too in a very small amount.

Once I was caught eating a donut which we got from school on some kind of occasion and he punished me brutally.

I wasn't  sure if they were ok with me eating anything of my choice but they never mentioned anything else and they all were eating without any care.

While I was contemplating what exactly should I do Elio said
" Why aren't you eating anything Fiore ?
Do you want to eat something else"

At this everyone started paying attention to me and my empty plate.
I was blushing like crazy
"Oh I just don't know much about all these dishes except for pasta and  I wasn't sure if I was allowed to eat it"

Surprisingly Ezio said
"Obviously you can. What kind of question is that"
In a ' i am so done with this' voice.

This made me realise that they might not be here on their will to greet me but because they were obligated to. Either that or Riccardo. It made me kind of sad

"Well my Dad usually never allowed me to eat anything else except Veggies" I replied softly.

With that the tension in the whole room got even more thicker. And I didn't knew why.
Eduardo replies

"Hope you can eat anything you want but in a controlled manner. You don't have to worry about your eating habits I will supervise them. Also your papà was Aristide Vitale who loved you alot and terribly missed you. Sadly he died 7 years ago" in a cold and warning voice.

I knew I had done it.

"Oh I am sorry it's just a habit" I said in a guilty voice.

***
Then Ezio said
"You need to change a lot of things now that you are living here including the disgusting ones of starving yourself to meet your so called expectations of a perfect body."
It kinda hit hard.

Alot of people speculated that I might have some sort eating disorder but it never hurted this much. Well I can't do much about it since I was grown up with eating habits like this, so much so that even if I would get food I would refuse in fear of the punishment that might entail.
***
Also Erick my ' Dad ' instilled in my head that I should always adress him as my Dad. Because honestly after the things he has done to me I would never consider him as my Dad. It was just a title I used to adress him only because in a twisted way he liked it.

Sometimes I went out of the way not to adress him as my Dad but he caught up quickly and then

Well

Punishment. A really bad one.

It's hard to get out of your constant loop of life. But I think I need to give it a try. The bad thing is my heightened anxiety because now I am clueless and don't know what to expect and as far as I can see they don't have much of patience for the pathetic me.

They were expecting a carefree little 3 year old after all and sadly I can't take her place.

Even if I want to thats why I reply with a shrug. I won't be apologizing for something that was never my choice.

Riccardo gave him a look but didn't say anything.

I completed my dinner as fast as I could. The excitement I had for eating the ' pasta ' long gone. My anxiety although concealed was bothering me and I needed to be alone.

After mumbling a small excuse me I went to my room without waiting for a reply.

Back in the room. I started to count backwards to ease my anxiety.

And then I burst out crying. I don't know why. Maybe because I never got a chance to cry and mourn because i had to be strong but finally I got a chance to breath somewhere safe.
Not for long a small voice said in my head.

I agreed I need to steer clear of these people. If they got against me then I am done for.

My Hope was up but more cautious than ever

____________________________________________
Hey guys
Ok so I have come to the conclusion that I will update on wed and sun every week. Also how many of you guys are reading this and enjoying it just curious.
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