Remember Me?

6. Tatuaggio

'On the bed' Matteo instructs me.

Hoping onto the hospital bed, I watch him observe me like I'm this alien that's just been captured. So strange. So weird. Just a freak to them. 

'Take your top off'

'What? No!' I adamantly tell him, crossing my arms firmly across my chest to prove my point.  I don't want my brother to see me in my bra.

'I need to see how badly it's infected' he slowly explains to me like a small child having a tantrum.

I don't remove my arms from across my chest and yell at him instead 'I'll tell you instead hmm? Pretty damn bad'

Matteo doesn't take no as an answer and pulls the top off me quicker than I can protest.

'Matteooo! This is wrong' I half cry-yell. 

He just rolls his eyes 'You're my sorellina, don't worry I don't like this either'

He gently undoes the bandage and grimises at the sight of the infected mess it has become. He pulls on the gloves and gently begins to prod at it, and although for once I appreciate his kindness it doesn't stop the pain and the tear rolling down my eye. 

'Hey' He looks up alarmed ' Stop that' nodding to the tear. 

I can't. I just can't. I'm breaking at the seams, and everything's going to fall apart. 

'Gabriela, please stop crying' he half-commands/half-begs 'I know it hurts, I'm trying to be gentle I promise.' 

Sniffing, I nod my head and manage to put on my face again. Rubbing my eyes, I hear another person entering the room.

'How is is?' Alessandro asks, leaning against the wall.

'Not great, she needs antibiotics so you'll have to take her to the doctor tomorrow' Matteo informs him.

They both roll their eyes at each other at my stupidness like I'm not even in the room. I feel like shouting 'Hey dickheads, the tattoo isn't even the tip of the iceberg, I've done much worse shit' but for some reason I'm intimidated by both their presence. Their anger is just making me shrink back up into a person I pretended had disappeared, and I'm scared to know where this is headed. 

I'm breaking. 

Matteo sterilizes it and applies a fresh bandage on it.  Again, i'm surprised by his gentleness and once hes finished, I'm allowed my top back on. We leave the weird hospital room but of course I'm then dragged into Alessandro's office.

'Gabriela, do you realise how serious getting a tattoo was ?'

'Yes' I mumble.

'Why did you want to do this?'

'I just wanted to have fun, I was drunk and influenced by my friends. It happened so quickly.' I miss out the bit of being high, I'll get in enough shit for being drunk and I would like to stay alive thank you very much. 

He just stares at me and I can see a confused look on his face but quickly clears it by telling me we'll be heading to the doctors tomorrow instead of going to school in the morning as well as getting punished, no phone for a week. Great. I run back upstairs to my room where I throw myself on my bed and sob until I fall into a deep sleep.

-----

I watch all my brothers leave in the morning, and only Xavier acknowledged my existence. I never normally care what people do to me, but this time I had an untraceable sadness over this. Alessandro is just his normal cold-hearted self but I can tell that he's still pissed off at me when I hop into his black Porsche, heading to the doctors.

After a very humiliating examination, the doctor prescribes me some antibiotics. I was just getting up to leave when Alessandro asks the surprising question of 'After the infection is gone, can we do the tattoo removal?'

'Yes of course, but the infection has to be cured first' the doctor casually informs him. 

I'm sorry, but what the fuck? It's my body.

'Wait what? No!' I storm out of the office and I can hear Alessandro following me. His long legs are no match for my short ones, and I'm swung back my his tight grip on his arm.

'You're not making this any easier on yourself Gabriela.' he glares at me with warning in his eyes.

'I'm not getting rid of it!'

'Yes you are!'

'No I'm not!'

'Gabriela'

'Alessandro'

He throws his hands up in exasperation 'I've had enough of this conversation'

'So have I!'

I collect my medicine, refusing to acknowledge that he's even there. I start again when once in the car.

'You, Frankie, Matteo and the twins all have tattoos!' I cry out in annoyance. 

I remember when the older 3 got their tattoos, Mom went mental. More mental than normal, screaming, crying, yelling at anybody who was near. I thought they were kinda cool, I sat on Francisco tracing this wolf on his chest. They all got wolfs for some reason. Giggling as I told him that when I'm old enough, I'm going to get a unicorn on my forehead. He just laughed, and the next day he gave me temporary tattoos with Unicorns which he helped put onto my body. I was so proud, so happy of being just like my big brothers. 

'We're adults' he tells me with his eyes firmly on the road

'That mean's shit all!'

'Gabriela, you've already lost your phone for a week - do you want to loose your laptop as well?' he threatens me, and it works. I shut up until we arrive back at school, making sure I slam the door extra hard behind me. 

When I came back to school,  I spent the whole morning bitching to all my new friends about how stupid my brothers were. Everyone was so impressed about my tattoo. If only my brothers had that same reaction.... 

At lunch, we all headed to the canteen where we met up with Xavier and his friends. Although I would say I like my friends, I do have to roll multiple times at my friends attempts to flirt with Xav. He of course loves it, he has such a big ego and boy does it need shrinking. 

'Xav can you believe Gabs has to get her tattoo removed?' Clara moans to him, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

He just snorts 'You guys haven't met our brothers, they would flip if I got a tattoo so Gabriela was dead meat the moment she decided too'

'Why don't you get a tattoo Xav? Or you too much of a pussy?' his friend Oscar laughs at him.

Actually, that's a pretty good idea. If Xav and I both had tattoos, surely our brothers wouldn't go to mental?

'Yeah Xav, why don't you go and get a tattoo? Or you going to be outshined by your sorellina?' I smirk, leaning forwards across the table with a glint in my eye.

'First of all, I'm not a pussy and secondly, I'm not getting a tattoo' Xavier declares.

His and mine friends just smirk at each other, 10 people against Xavier. Now, let's decide what tattoo you're getting Xavy boy - this is gonna be good.

XXXXX

Oof - do you think Xav will get a tattoo? Or will he stick by his guns and not get it (I secretly want him to get one lol) 

I was wondering, do you guys wanna have a flashback of when Gabriela lived with her brothers and parents pre-divorce? So she would be 4/5, Xavier 6, the twins 8, Matteo 12, Francisco 14 and Alessandro 17. Would you like it?

I've had a couple of messages if I can do aesthetics for the characters instead of just pictures - so if you're interested go check it out and vote!

Please comment and vote 💜💜💜