From the Ashes

3

The girl rises from the ground as Alec grows silent. She hears the tearing of paper and then it's silent for a few seconds.

As she waits, she stares numbly at the plain, white door in front of her. She can faintly hear footsteps retreating outside.

Daisy waits for a few minutes before opening the door again. Sticking out from under the welcome mat is a green piece of paper with something written in black ink on it. She picks it up and quickly closes the door back and locks it as well as deadbolting it, just as an extra precaution.

When she reads the messily written address on the torn piece of paper, she recognizes it immediately. The address belongs to the home of the Moretti's, where she has visited her closest friend, Tony, too many times to count over the past few years.

Then, like deja vu, Daisy realizes that she has seen the man on her doorstep. Tony has an older brother named Alessandro, and she has seen him in numerous pictures that litter the interior of the Moretti's house.

Alec must be short for Alessandro, that's why I didn't recognize his name... Daisy pulls out her phone again, shooting her mom a quick text. I'll be at Tony's today so I'll probably be over there when you get home.

She puts her phone down and then runs up the stairs, going straight to her room.

Daisy grabs her car keys and stops still in front of the door, questioning her judgment once again. She never was one for good judgment, so she opens the door and gets in her car.

Once Daisy reaches the Moretti's home, she can already hear the joy inside. The sound of Mamá Moretti yelling at one of her children brings a smile to her face as she knocks on the door.

A couple of seconds later, the door swings open to reveal a middle-aged Italian man with a rather large stomach. "Daisy-James! My favorite daughter-in-law!" Papà Moretti engulfs her in a hug.

The golden-haired girl gives a small smile as the man chuckles. "Stop, Papà, it's never going to happen," she tells him, pulling away from the hug.

The balding man shakes his head and smiles down at the girl warmly. But, she notices that it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "A man can dream, aye?" He places his arm around the girl's shoulders as he leads her into the house. A weird feeling settles into her stomach the closer they get to the center of the house.

"Sure, Papà," she says as they enter the living room. People shout greetings and kids run up to hug the girl after Papà announces her arrival.

The parents of the children watch the kids with sad eyes, seemingly internally cringing at their happiness, but not saying anything. Something is definitely off, Daisy still can't shake the weird feeling that grows with every second she stands there.

After she hugs the children, an olive-skinned boy, with neatly styled, curly brown hair, approaches her. For a second, she forgets the worry in her stomach, and a smile forms on her lips.

"Hey, Tony," she says to the boy who is at least a head taller than her.

"Hey, Daisy. I would hug you but Papà might get the wrong idea and make us get married on the spot." Tony laughs but Daisy gives a small smile that looks closer to a grimace. They both laugh at the facial expression that she made. Then, for a split-second, his expression falters, and he looks sad. But it's quickly covered up by a crooked smile, but not quick enough that Daisy doesn't notice.

Instead of asking him what's wrong, she suddenly remembers why she's there in the first place. Her trauma takes over any thoughts of Tony's odd reaction. Daisy looks over her shoulder, looking for any sign of his older brother.