I received a call from Armani about an hour after we called the guys. Asking me why there were a group of boys requesting to come inside the house. After I explained everything, they were instantly let through.
'Hello my lovelies.' Julian was the first to come into the room, the others inelegantly following after.
'You're here quick.' Izzy said, swallowing the shortbread piece that she had eaten.
'Julian only lives a few miles from here.' Angelo claimed throwing himself onto the bean bag. 'Your grandma hasn't aged.' He added.
'She looks so good doesn't she.' I agreed, picking up a shortbread piece that Silvia had made.
'Wait, that was you grandma? I thought she was your mum!' Gabriel exclaimed as he also took a slice of the buttery biscuit.
'You should see her mum.' Leo whistled.
'Can you stop drooling over my family.' Izzy threw a pillow to Leo at his comment.
The guys soon got settled in, complementing the room every now and then. I was lying on the floor, flicking through the selection of movies with Leo when we heard the front door close.
'Izzy, are your friends here?' I heard Elenora yell up.
'Yeah, come and say hi.' She shouted back. A few minutes of scrolling later, she came in smiling when she saw all of us sprawled across the floor.
'This is everyone.' She spoke. 'Right, let me see if I remember all of your names.' She pointed to me, Leo, Angelo and Gio, saying all of our correctly, but her face scrunched when she got to the last two. She pointed to Julian 'Jules.' She said.
'You can call me Jules, but my name is Julian.' He politely said.
'Oh lovely name, and you must be Gabe.' She pointed to Gabriel.
'Gabriel, but you can call me Gabe.' He smiled, reaching out to shake her hand.
'Well alright, if you need anything don't ask me, get it yourself.' She smiled and left. God I love her.
'My grandma bought you more whiskey Less.' Izzy pulled out a bag and handed me a bottle of a very strong alcohol. I chuckled as I saw Gio's eyes widen, along with everyone else's.
'No drinking.' He said seriously. He was a few months older than me and suddenly he feels as though he has an advantage.
'Loosen up.' Izzy smacked his shoulder.
'Do you know what our brothers will do if they find out you have been drinking? I came back drunk when I was out with these two, and Michele had never been so angry; I was grounded for weeks.' He warned, pointing to Julian and Gabriel.
'We won't get drunk, plus we can sleep off any intoxication. Be good as new in the morning.' Julian fortified, inspecting the bottle. 'This shit looks strong.'
'It is, but Alessa can take these shots and make it look like she is drinking water.' Izzy smirked as she opened the bottle.
'Ok, but we can't get drunk.' Gio advised, holding put his hands.
We got drunk.
The bottle was finished in minutes, the piquant liquid falling down our throats with the large gulps that we took straight from the decanter.
Gio was reckless, barefacedly disobeying his own orders, clearly enjoying himself. Each time that the concentrated drink flushed into my system, I felt the intense burn as it metaphorically scalded me.
Izzy looked nauseous, she has never been good with taking in alcohol, no matter how many parties we attended. She was dozing back and forth as she sat cross legged on the floor. I know how this normally goes so I hopped down from the bed, excusing my conversation with Angelo and guided her into the bathroom.
As soon as she saw the toilet, she rushed and kneeled in front, throwing up without delay as I held her hair back. I saw the guys rush into the bathroom at the sound and run straight back out once they saw what was happening.
'Let it all out.' I unenthusiastically encouraged as I gently rubbed her back.
'I don't know what I would do without you.' She turned her head to the side, looking up from the toilet bowl to look at me with a wary smile, drool coming out from the corner of her mouth.
'Yeah, I know, finish throwing up.' I pushed her head back towards the toilet as I heard another groan from her. I felt myself become slightly sozzled when my vision became somewhat blurred. This always happened, so I knew how to deal with it, the only problem is my constant giggling.
Izzy soon finished with her little performance and washed out her mouth. When I walked back into the room, I saw Gio and Angelo asleep on the furry rug, Gabriel was trying to work the TV that was turned off, Julian and Leo were munching on the shortbread biscuits. I sighed and turned on the TV, further confusing a baffled Gabriel who told me to turn it back on. I smacked him in the back of the head as I passed by him, looking to the two who were asleep on the floor. I bent down and shook them awake telling them that it was only 10.
'Can we get food?' Julian asked, crumbs falling out of his mouth as he spoke with a shortbread stuffed in there.
'We can order in.' Izzy half-heartedly hinted that she wanted takeout.
'I'll order.' I said, pulling out my phone. 'Pizzas?'
'Pepperoni!' Gio shouted, suddenly gaining his energy back. Izzy slapped his arm, shushing him.
'I'll get 2 pepperonis and 2 margheritas. Sound good?' I asked, dialling the number to a local pizza parlour.
'And get cheese sticks.' Leo licked his lips. I nodded and walked into the bathroom to place the order, since it was too loud in the bedroom. I used my master sober skills to order, then let a drunken breath once I hung up the phone.
'Ooh, should we order food?' Gabriel turned around from the TV and looked to all of us expectedly.
'We already have.' Julian rolled his eyes.
'I will go outside and get it.' I volunteered as I walked out into the pitch black hallway, stumbling down the narrow stairs as I saw a car pull up in front of the house. I opened the door and was met with the two scary guards.
'Evening Miss Rossi.' One of the men nodded to me. They were both middle aged, stationed by the door just like Vince had said.
'Good evening, I'm just here to collect the food we ordered.' I smiled about to walk out, but an outstretched hand stopped me from doing so.
'We are under strict orders to make sure that you don't stop foot outside of this house. We will collect the delivery.' He explained, retracting his arm as he stepped forward. I had already paid online with Gio's credit card, so I had no worries about the fee.
'Four warm Pizza boxes for you.' He gracefully handed me the box. I felt bad for them, although they seemed entertained, they had no food.
'Do you guys prefer cheese or pepperoni?' I blatantly asked.
'I do love a plain margherita.' The one who handed me the pizza boxes spoke.
'Same with me.' The other man agreed. I placed the four boxes on the floor and opened the top one, finding that it was cheese, I closed it back up and handed the whole thing to them. They looked at me with surprise as they denied the food, saying that it would be breaking orders.
'Does it specifically say that you may not take pizza from Alessa Rossi?' I questioned and they shook their heads. 'Here's your food.' I handed it to the man who took it with gratitude.
'That is awfully kind of you Miss.' He bowed slightly.
'Yes, thank you Miss.'
'No need to thank me, thank you for keeping our family safe.' I smiled as I waved and shut the door. I lugged myself and the remaining pizza boxes up the stairs and fell into the room. Izzy and Julian were on the bed, Julian had his arm around her shoulder as they both searched for a movie to watch. I couldn't help but grin at how unconsciously cute they were together.
I placed the pizzas on the floor and everyone launched themselves at them, as though they were wolves pouncing on a defenceless hare. I was about to grab a slice when I felt my phone buzz from my back pocket. I looked at the contact name, but froze when I saw who it was.
'Everyone shut up. Vince is calling.' I put my finger over my lips, immediately silencing everyone when they heard the name.
'Are you sober enough?' Gio worriedly asked me.
'I'm going to have to be.' I muttered picking up the call. 'Hello.' I spoke.
'Why was money just spent on Gio's credit card?' How did he know this information?
'We ordered pizzas; we haven't left the house.' I assured him, my voice faltering a bit at the end, exposing part of my non-sober self. There was a lengthy pause coming from the other end.
'Where is he?'
'Who, Gio?' I scrunched my eyebrows as I looked to him, he must have figured it out because he furiously shook his head, making it clear that he couldn't speak as of now.
'Yes.' He confirmed.
'He fell asleep halfway through the film.' I lied.
'Give him the phone Alessa.' He spoke, as if he knew I was lying.
'He really is asleep.' I tried once again to convince him, but he clearly was not in the mood to deal with my dishonesties.
'Do not make me repeat myself.' His voice got icier.
'Ok, let me wake him.' I pretended to make small movements, so that it would seem as if I were awakening him, I even whispered his name a few times. Eventually, I handed the phone to him, as he quietly yawned into the speaker to make the whole untrue story sound more believable.
A short conversation later, he handed me back the phone and I hesitantly bought it up to my ear. I was impressed with Gio's ability to keep his words firm and his sentences un-slurred.
'Goodnight, Alessa.' I heard my eldest brothers stony voice as he immediately hung up the phone. I was surprised that he bought it, maybe he had not, maybe he just let us off. He didn't allow me to reply on the call, so I texted him instead. Sending him a quick goodnight, then switching my phone off.
'That was close, I was scared for you guys.' Julian put a hand on his chest as if to slow down his heartrate.
'He never shows when he is angry; but you can see it swimming in his eyes. It's terrifying, even though he's our brother.' Gio nervously laughed as though the latter was in the room, sobering up slightly.
'Might as well have fun here, we don't know what will come to us when we go home.' I suggested.
'No more drinking though, I can't pretend to be sober if someone else calls.' He put his hand on his forehead, groaning as he leant back, cursing his headache.
'We can make cupcakes.' Izzy lazily suggested as she came to sit next to me on the bed, dropping her head on my lap, turning to face the guys.
'Can we make vanilla ones?' Gabriel batted his long eyelashes, mumbling pleas under his breath.
'Yeah sure, let's go.' She said, hopping off the bed and childishly running out of the door, we all followed behind her, suddenly loosing our energy again. We took our time going to the kitchen, by the time we got there, Izzy had already got all of the ingredients out.
'I'm mixing.' Leo shot his hand up and ran to the bowl and spoon.
'No, I wanna mix.' Izzy complained, bouncing up and down like a five year old.
'But I wanted to.' Julian pouted, joining into the mini argument.
'Leo mix the dry stuff, Izzy mix the wet stuff, Julian mix it together.' I concluded, making the decision for them. They shrugged and agreed, moving to find their own bowls. I looked over to Gio who was leaning against the table with his head in his hands. Angelo was standing beside him, subconsciously patting his back.
'What's wrong with him?' I asked.
'He had a headache. If he's bad now, imagine how he will be in the morning.' Angelo sighed as he checked his watch. 'It's almost 11 now, he might be able to sleep it off. Give him some painkillers now, then some later.'
'Let me grab some.' I said, searching through all the cabinets and drawers. I pulled out a drawer which held all of the medicine, I quickly found a packet of normal painkillers and popped one out. Sliding it to Gio along with a glass of water. He held his thumb up to me as he gulped it down.
'I need to sit down.' He moaned as he trudged into the living room next door. I followed him through as he flopped himself onto the sofa. I sat next to him and let him lean against my shoulder, he began to ramble on about how he wanted cupcakes- his words slurred and stumbled over one another. I tried my best to keep a laugh in.
I assured him that the cupcakes would be done in a moment just as Julian came in, looking shitty as well. He had dark circles under his eyes and his shirt was slowly unbuttoning itself. He came and sat on the other side of me, leaning himself against my other shoulder.
'I like Izzy.' He murmured. I widened my eyes and a smile took over my face. I remember how excited she was when she told me about him, and to understand that he likes her too makes me so happy.
'Are you going to ask her out.' Gio must have heard him as he pulled his head of my shoulder- with quite a struggle may I add- and looked to see if his friend was being serious.
'I'm going to give her flowers and a rose, and maybe flowers.' He waved his hands everywhere, accentuating his words.
'Are you going to give her flowers.' I lightly mocked.
'Oh yeah, and that too.' He nodded.
'I think you should take her out to get pretzels, then give her a red rose and ask her there.' I suggested Izzy's ideal date.
'Can you remind me when I will remember.' He yawned, but jolted awake when he smelt a fresh scent of baked goods waft into the room. 'Did I make that?' His eyebrows creased in confusion.
'No, you came here and fantasized about Izzy.' I chuckled as I helped them both up and walked them to the kitchen. We sat around the breakfast bar and fed on the warm cupcakes, talking to each other. Everyone had left their phones upstairs, so there were no distractions. I sometimes wonder what it would have been like to live in the 80's or the 90's, where everyone knew no different other than to communicate verbally with their friends. It feels so nice to just talk. It's the simple things.
'We can put a movie on, fall asleep if you want.' Gabriel suggested as we arrived back into Izzy's room. Izzy and I took the long sofa in the corner, sleeping on either side so that our feet met in the middle. Gio took one side of the bed and Leo took the other, the rest slept on the floor with heaps of pillows and blankets.
Everyone fell asleep instantly, not one person was watching the movie. An odd noise incorporated itself into my dream, a strange tapping noise. I forced my eyes open as I looked around the room, everyone was still sleeping. My phone was on the floor beside the sofa, so I checked it, seeing that it was almost 12am.
I checked around the room once more, a scream got caught in my throat as I saw a hooded, shadowy figure standing still outside the balcony window. Not only couldn't I see this man's face, but I also noticed a large butcher knife spinning in his left hand. The silhouette making this even more terrifying. I knew the door was locked, but it wouldn't be overly difficult to break the glass.
I reclined back onto the sofa and my breathing quickened as I fiddled with my phone in my hand. I scrolled all the way to the bottom, but got frustrated when I couldn't find Vince's contact. I called Michele instead.
The first time, no one picked up, I tried again and again until it was finally picked up.
'Yes.' His tired voice filled me with a sense of relief even though I wasn't out of danger, I clasped my hand over my mouth, not making a move to talk. 'Yes?' He repeated.
'Is there supposed to be a man standing outside the window with a butcher knife in his hand.' I squeaked out silently, hoping that he was there for protection and defence. He didn't answer, but I did hear some shuffling on the other side, mainly a door open and then close.
'Are you all sober?' He asked, his tiredness fading instantly.
'Of course, what do you mean?' I played dumb, I heard a sigh from the other side as more voices filled the background.
'You think I am stupid?'
'I was hoping.' I silently prayed for my safety, I heard a tapping noise again, the man put his face against the glass then reached for the handle, trying to open the door. 'He's trying to get in.'
'Wake everyone up, but do not let him see you moving- knowing that you are awake will only stimulate his actions.' He efficiently explained. 'We are all coming, just stay put for the minute.' I heard louder banging on the window and I'm sure Michele did too.
'He's banging his head against the window now. I think he's mad.'
'Wake everyone else up.' He ordered, repeating himself from before.
'Don't come, he will have a clear view of your cars from where he is standing. I can try and direct you through the back roads so that you will end up on the semi-opposite street. Or I could fight him off.'
'Do not go near this man, do you understand me?' He harshly instructed, I heard a few more hushed voices before the phone was passed to someone else.
'Who is this?' I asked, sensing that it was no longer Michele.
'Your favourite brother.' I heard Romeo's voice over the phone, so I decided to mess with him since it might be my last few moments on earth.
'Armani?' I played dumb again, I seem to do that a lot when I'm tired and still intoxicated. I heard the classic Armani laugh come through the speaker as Romeo grunted.
'You're my favourite too Polpetto.' I could almost hear the wink.
'If you don't die tonight, I will gladly kill you.' Romeo joked, but I heard him being smacked, probably at the back of his head.
'Kill me, I will revive myself and make sure that no girl ever sleeps with you again. Your manwhore honour will be confiscated.' I smirked as I got comfortable with the phone against my ear. I forgot about the manic, psychotic man who was enduring behind the thin glass. I didn't hear what was said on the other side of the phone because I heard the loud thumping again. I turned and saw the others begin to stir awake, groaning as they rubbed their heads.
'Guys, stop shuffling.' I whispered loudly, my phone on the table even though it was still on. 'Stay down, and don't make any movements.'
Izzy threw herself back on the sofa in an instant when she saw who was outside the window.
'Alessa, there is a man banging his head on my window.' She screamed. I nodded and put my finger on my lips, picking up the phone again.
'Are you still there?' I asked and heard some noises which answered my query. 'I might go and see what's up with him.'
'Are you crazy?' I heard Romeo's alarmed voice.
'He's obviously hurting himself, and the window is only a few ply's thick. It will not be long until it starts to crack.' I made clear the reason behind my idea.
'Do not move. I am telling you Alessa, do not fucking move.' There was the slightest bit of distress shown in his tone.
'He's breaking the door handle now.' I breathed out. 'I don't know what to do.'
'Just stay calm and don't move. There is a high chance that this man in mentally insane, there is a correction hospital a few miles from there. He could have escaped, he is dangerous.'
He is dangerous regardless of where he came from.
I heard the man begin chanting some words as he took his hand away from the handle and started scratching at the glass instead. 'You're not safe, you're not safe, you're not safe' he repeated over and over again as he maniacally laughed, throwing his head back.
'Am I on speaker?' I murmured.
'Yeah.'
'Tell Michele to listen to this.' I held the phone slightly closer, in the direction of the window where he increased the volume of his chants. 'Do you remember that message?'
'I do.' He confirmed.
This was becoming terribly scary. But what scared me even more was when he pulled a small handgun out of his belt.
'He has a fucking gun!' Julian yelled as he hid under a pillow that was on the floor. Luckily, the area that they were sleeping was out of view of the mad man.
'He can break the glass with one round.' Gio muttered as he crawled across the floor, safely arriving beside me. Izzy and I slid down together and sat down cross legged on the floor. A few moments later, the others joined us, and we all started to plan what to do if he did use the gun to his advantage.
'What gun does he have?' I heard Rocco's voice come through.
'Jesus, how many people are in that car?' Izzy drifted again.
'Gio, what gun is in his hands?' He ignored her question and focused on what was important. Gio peered above the sofa and narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the darkness.
'It's a classic 1954 revolver, 2.6 percussion era. Most likely stolen because that type is only manufactured in the South of China. Awfully expensive and a man like that couldn't afford weaponry like the one in his hand, let alone his young age wouldn't ensure a valid licence to handle a gun of that kind.' I explained as I saw the unique trigger in the silhouette.
'How do you know that?' Gabriel exclaimed, looking to me as if I was an alien.
'Lucky guess.' I shrugged and he shook his head unconvinced. 'It only has a 2 bullet round before it needs a refill. My assumption about the steal could vantage us if it has already been used.' I muttered as I looked over the sofa again to see him still standing there.
'I'm guessing he has no knowledge of how to use it. His finger is inside the guard, brushing the trigger but the safety is still on.' Gio elucidated.
'How do you both know so much about guns?' Gabriel inquired.
'Interest.' We both mumbled at the same time.
'We are around the corner.' I heard Romeo tell us. 'We're stopping outside the parliament.' He let us know as I heard a few car doors open and close.
'Wait, stop moving.' I quickly ordered as I saw the man looking to the side, down the road where the parliament was on the corner. 'He can hear you.'
'I'm going to hang up the phone. Don't do anything stupid or I will take away your bear.' He threatened as I heard 3 beeps, signifying the call ending. I held onto Acer extra tight, as I let out a deep breath into his fur.
'We'll be ok.' I felt Angelo hold onto me, and squeeze my arms tightly.
'Everywhere I go, trouble follows me. I'm putting you guys in danger.'
'Our lives would be boring without this kind of thrill.' Julian smiled as the others nodded. 'Trouble follows Gio around everywhere, he's still our brother.'
'Same with you Less.' Leo continued. 'You haven't been the most acquitted person in the world, but we wouldn't know what to do without you.'
'Damn, you're going to make me cry.' I laughed quietly.
'No don't cry.' Izzy shuffled closer to me as she wrapped me in a warm hug.
The sound of glass shattering caused us to break apart, Izzy to scream and Gabriel to let out a non-masculine shriek. I looked over and saw the man dynamically shaking his head, as though he was possessed.
He let out a low growl as he shivered and loosened up his fingers.
'Come out, come out wherever you are.' He rashly called out, leaning forward slightly as if sniffing the air.
'Listen to me, all of you are going to crawl around the other side of the sofa. I am going to briefly distract him, and you are going to make a move towards the door. When he hears the door open, he will spin around and I will knock him out, he won't expect it and we will all get out safely.' I spoke in a hushed whisper.
'Alessa, this is a stupid-' Gio started but I held my hand up.
'He is a few metres away from us, there is no time to reflect on a better plan. With this, we actually have a chance.' I said and they hesitantly nodded, Gio being the most hesitant.
I gave them a signal and they all made their way over to the other side. I gave them all a reassuring smile as I stood up, instantly gaining his ravening attention.
He smiled and began to advance towards me. 'Hello, sweetheart.'
I didn't answer him and began to move back slightly. 'You know Alessa, after you left London, you made me crazy. I spent every day, every night looking for some kind of lead on you. Your little friend – Angelo I think his name was- directed me to believe that you were in South Africa. I went insane trying to get my hands on you, now look at this, look at who is stood right in front of me, willingly giving herself up.' He smirked, holding the tip of a knife to my neck, making me suck in a nervous breath. The door slam came just in time as he quickly turned around, causing me to strike my foot into the back of his leg. He let out a scream as I saw his mangled knee. I stepped back then progressed towards him again, this time, pulling his neck up then turning it to the side. Not enough to break it and kill him, but enough to render unconsciousness.
I stepped back and closed my eyes, shaking as I stumbled back into the broken glass. I paused and looked up to see that the door had not actually closed, it had in fact opened and my brothers were standing in the doorway.
'Shit.' I whispered inaudibly under my breath. 'I didn't know what to do, he was scaring me and I didn't want to be taken again.' I rambled as I saw Armani come over to me, engulfing me in a tight hug as he sat on Izzy's sofa. 'Please don't let them take me again.' I begged in a whisper as I clung to his shirt.
'Shh, calm down, slow your breathing.' He rubbed my back comfortingly, giving me the brotherly devotion that I unintentionally craved.
I tried to listen to the sound of his soothing voice, but I couldn't hear myself think. Panic is frightening, and from what I have experienced, there are two kinds, through strongly interwoven, naturally.
The first is a kind of intense worry that you could override if you wanted to, that in this panic, painful though it is, you can keep on functioning. It is still chronic stress, it damages your body, your brain, even alters the expression of hundreds of genes. It's bad, very bad.
The second kind is worse.
The second kind is when your brain is so bombarded by fear that your actions become erratic and escalate, in this time some become a danger to themselves and others, they can poison society with their paranoias, also poisoning the mind in the process. This is where my occasional panic attacks come from, I hadn't had one in years and I didn't feel one brewing which eased my mind. But my infectious thoughts didn't ease my body language.
I felt someone sit on the other side of me, also putting a hand on my shoulder. Gio. 'You saved us all Alessa. Everyone is safe.' He reassured which made me feel slightly better.
I only realised when I pulled my head out of Armani's shirt that it had been a few minutes since the attempted attack. Guards were littered around around the room at this ungodly hour.
'Is Elenora and Silvia alright?' I breathed out.
'They slept through it, Izzy has gone with the others to wake them up and tell them what happened.' He explained as he turned to look at the others who were inspecting the body.
'Oh god.' I turned away and faced Armani again. Dark chocolate and Rich wine, the scent that consoled me more then I would ever like to admit.
'We're going to send Isabella and her family to stay with Angelo and his family for a couple of days. We will pay for the damage and they will be back home in no time.' Luca came to crouch in front of me, telling me the plan. 'We are going to take you and Gio with us to the organization, safety precautions.' He winked.
'But I'm only in a t-shirt.' I mumbled.
'Take my coat.' Vincent showed up behind the sofa, putting a hand on my shoulder as he gracefully removed the folded coat from his arm.
'I won't get cold.' I said, even though I knew myself that I was lying and I think my brothers saw it too.
'My orders.' He left his trench coat hanging on the back of the sofa.
When I slipped my arms through, It was still warm. The familiar scent of expensive gentlemen's perfume still lingered around the collars. I breathed it in and leaned back just as Izzy came back. She immediately swapped places with Gio and wrapped me in a tight hug.
'I'm so sorry.' I blindly apologized.
'Never make an apology for something beyond your control. How were we supposed to know that this would happen? Anyway, look on the bright side- I get to annoy the shit out of Angelo whilst I stay with him.' She playfully nudged me when she pulled away.
'Thank you.' I nodded as she handed me Acer who was on the floor. 'Hold him extra tight for me.' She said as she got up and walked to her family who all waved at me, mouthing 'thank you's.'
'Some of our men will be here soon to clean this up. We should head to the organization now.' Luca muttered checking his fancy watch. I yawned as I stood up, accidently bumping into Romeo on the way. I mumbled an apology as I tried to get past him, instead, he walked out of the room with me, silently guiding me to the car.
He opened the door for me as I quietly thanked him, still holding onto my phone and Acer. He slid into the front passenger seat and turned on his phone; I didn't fail to notice the worried looks he kept on giving me through the front mirror from time to time, but every time he did, I gave him a small elevating smile.
Someone very soon would be returning this uplifting goodwill: this time, in favour of my spirits.
Hi beautiful readers, exams have been stressful but slowly and surely, I am getting through them. I finish all course work in around 4 weeks, and my updating schedule will be regular- maybe even more frequent ;) Have the best week, until next time. Stay safe!