The Return of the Mafia Princess

Chapter 2 Arianna POV

A loud noise startles me out of another terrifying nightmare. I open my eyes confused about where I am. Then I remember what happened last night. I touch the back of my head and feel dried blood. At least, it stopped bleeding. I groan and slowly get up. Everything hurts, but I need to get home. It's still dark out, so it must be early morning. Carefully, I tread home stopping every now and then due to the pain. I really need some painkillers. The house comes into view and I cautiously open the backdoor. I cringe at the sound it made, but no one stirs. The clock says 4:30 am so I decide to freshen up before making food. I turn on the cold shower and gently scrub the blood out of my hair. I didn't realize there was so much until the water turned a bright red. Once I am done, I change into my spare uniform and again look in the mirror. I look awful. Dark bruises line my neck and my face has more bruises than yesterday. I use concealer to hide what I can. Then I grab some painkillers from the bathroom to help make the pain bearable. Leaving my room, I make their breakfast and head out the door.

So far school was decent. Nobody threw me into a locker and I didn't have any tests. During my last class, the principal calls me down to the office. I hope I am not in any trouble, I wishfully think. I enter the office and find the principal and a stranger with him. He nods for me to sit down, so I oblige.

"Arianna, I don't know how to tell you this, but both of your parents are in jail." He says with sympathy.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I ask with tears in my eyes. These tears are fake because on the inside I am dancing with joy. I'm finally free.

"They were arrested for drunk driving. They will be in jail for about a year since it's their second offense."

A year is all I need because in a year I will be 17, almost 18. Once I'm 18, I will never have to see them again. "Ok. What happens now?" I ask with concern, lacing my voice.

The woman from the back responds "I have contacted your other family. You have six older brothers, who are willing to take you in."

Six older brothers, I think. Wow. After all these years, I am not alone. But what if they don't like me or they happen to be worse than those despicable people ever were to me? I terrify myself with these unpleasant thoughts.

"You're going to come with me now so you can get your things," she says, saving me from my mind.

Silently, I follow behind her and climb into her car. We drive all the way to my house and I ask her to wait in the car so I can retrieve my things. I don't pack much, just some of my nicer clothes, concealer, and painkillers. I also grab my locket. It contains a picture of me with some strange boy and on the back it says, Bianchi. It could be my father's last name. My mother never talked about him. I wonder if he lives with my brothers. Anyway, I guard this locket with my life. I put it on and head back downstairs. Taking in my house one last time, I stroll out. I drown out the social worker talking and watch the scenery go by. I try to memorize what my home looked like before I leave. This place may have lots of bad memories, but it had some good ones too. At last, we arrived at the airport. Apparently, my brothers live in Italy. This is going to suck. I don't know how to speak Italian, so hopefully, they can speak English. I nervously board the private plane. They must be super rich to own their own plane. What if they think I am a gold digger!? Gosh, I need to get out of my mind before I trap myself. I grasp the seat as the plane takes off. I for sure don't like flying. I guess I can add that to my list of fears. The flight from the United States to Italy is very long. I struggle to fall asleep, but my mind doesn't let me. After over seven hours, I finally arrived in Italy.

I grab my small backpack and step into the airport. The social worker told me that one of my brothers would pick me up. What she didn't tell me was where that would be, so I wandered aimlessly around. I catch a glimpse of a sign and discover my name in bold letters on it. My nerves bubble up and I slowly make my way over. A very tall man holds up the sign. I compare him to myself. We both have the same strawberry blonde hair, but unlike my hazel eyes, he has baby blue eyes. He notices me walking over and meets me halfway.

"Are you.... Arianna?" He hesitantly asks.

"Yes. If I may ask, who are you?" I question quietly not meeting his eyes.

"I am your second eldest brother, Leonardo."

I nod at him and he gestures for me to follow. I walk slightly behind him as my parents taught me. He looks back at me with a slight frown while slowing his pace. I walk even slower until he reaches out and grabs my hand. I suppress a flinch as he pulls me next to him.

"You don't have to be scared. I don't bite," he laughs.

A small smile graces my face when I hear him laugh. This could be a sign that he is a nice person. However, it disappears as quickly as it came. Maybe he's different, but only time will tell me the answer. He stops abruptly, almost causing me to crash into him. I glance up and see him open the door of a corvette stingray. He closes the door behind me and gets in the driver's side. Leonardo asks me a bunch of questions, but I only give him one word answers. Soon enough, he takes the hint and stops with the questions. I let out a breath of relief and continue to take in my surroundings. Surprisingly, Italy is very beautiful. Maybe my brothers will show me around. I have been in the car for over two hours and I slowly slip in and out of consciousness. Feeling the car stop, my eyes flew open. Leonardo chuckles and apologizes for waking me up. I wave him off and mumble that it's fine.

"Well sorellina, welcome home." (Little sister) He says while gesturing at a mansion.

What did I get myself into?