I highly suggest that you guys play Deep End by Birdy on repeat during this chapter. Also, I'm sorry in advance.
"I just forgot. I have a horrible memory." I lied quickly.
Vincenzo narrowed his eyes.
"We'll talk about this in the morning. Take your water and close that cabinet." He sighed.
Technically, it's already morning.
I nodded and reached up to close the cupboard, my shirt riding up my stomach a little bit.
I heard Vincenzo take a sharp breathe.
Why is he- oh shit.
The bruises. I could probably get away with the ones on my ribs, but the ones are my stomach are too old. And these boys are familiar with bruises. They'll know a week old bruise if they seen one.
And Vincenzo just did.
I hung my head and cursed under my breathe.
"What happened?" He asked, trying to keep his anger in.
He wouldn't look at me.
"The ground happened. I fell out of a window when I was escaping the Spanish. I'm fine, it's just a little sore." I told him. I mean, I wasn't lying. Just concealing the truth a little bit.
"That explains the ribs. What the fuck happened to your stomach, Marlowe?"
I thought for a minute then thought of something. "I had a mission. Last week. I got a little bruised up. I'm fine."
He shook his head, scoffing. "In what world do you think I would believe that, Marls. Did you think that Lorenzo wouldn't do any research on you? We know that Alvarez would only send you out for missions a couple times a year. And he wrote them down when he did. He didn't send you out on a mission last week. We know that you were in a car crash 3 years ago. We know that when you were 5, you told a teacher that Alvarez was abusing you. We know that that teacher was never heard from again after contacting him. Did you think that we wouldn't see past your strong act? The fact that you flinch at everything? The fact that last night, I heard you sobbing in the shower? You need to get it through your head, Marlowe, that you aren't alone anymore. You have us. And we'll be damned before we let anything happen to you. We lost you once, we won't let it happen again."
I stood in shock after Lizard's rant. I couldn't meet his eyes. I felt a hand cup my chin gently. My head was lifted up and I saw Alessio. Vincenzo must have woken him up with how loud he was talking.
"Marlowe, how did you get the bruises? The truth this time." Alessio said sternly, yet softly at the same time.
"I got into a fight at school. Some girl was making me mad, so I punched her. I didn't take into account that she was a senior and she was the girl's weightlifting champion. So, yeah. She left some bruises." I said, making up a story that definitely didn't happen.
"Did a teacher break up the fight and send you to the office?" Alessio asked.
"Well, yeah. It was during lunch, everyone saw." I responded with some sass.
"Then how come that visit wasn't in your school file?" He finally stumped me.
Shit. I give up.
I looked away and out the window, wondering how I was going to get out of this.
If they find out and try to go after him, he'll kill them, too. Like everyone else that got in his way. Like that teacher. Like Haidyn's dad. I got lost in my thoughts of guilt.
"Marlowe."
I heard a voice swimming with me in my head, but I couldn't focus on it. I lost it.
"Marls."
"Marls. Wake up."
"Hey."
"Vin go get Orlando. Now. And Lorenzo. Go!"
I felt hands on my shoulders, shaking me.
Finally, I snapped out of it. I jumped and backed into the counter behind me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't look at my brother. I heard thundering footsteps from above me.
I could see white spots start to cloud my vision.
"Where is she?" I could hear someone's voice that created a small light in the dark that was slowly consuming me.
I couldn't focus on it.
I couldn't reach it.
I lost it.
I couldn't hear anything. The last thing I heard was who I think was Orlando.
"What did you say to her?"
Marlowe collapsed in my arms. I caught her and carried her over to the couch.
"We need to get her to the infirmary. Now." I demanded.
Alessio nodded and went to start the car. I picked up Marlowe. Vincenzo stayed behind to be with Antonio and Dino, who somehow managed to stay asleep during the whole fiasco.
I carried Marlowe to the car and laid her down the back seat, making sure she was in a position so that she could breath properly. I stayed in the back with her and Lorenzo got in the front with Alessio. We sped out of the garage.
We got to the warehouse and Alessio parked the car quickly.
I got out and ran into the warehouse, leaving Alessio and Lorenzo behind to carry Marls in. I ran to the infirmary and got a gurney. I went back the way I came, meeting Alessio about halfway. We set her down on the gurney and rushed her to a private room. I grabbed the oxygen mask and secured it on her face.
I had one of the female nurses change her into a gown, put on her heart moniters and hooked her up to a fluid I.V.
I sat next to her. Making sure that I would be the first thing she saw when she woke up. The last thing we need is for her to have another panic attack because she thought she was alone in an unknown place.
The nurse that dressed Marlowe called Alessio out into the hallway. She had a pitiful look on her face. Like the one that the nurses and doctors gave us when Mom died.
I gave him a nod and he walked out.
"This has better be quick." I snapped.
"She has scars." The nurse blurted out.
"What do you mean scars?" I started to feel my breathing become unregulated.
"I mean like bullet wounds. And whips. She looks like she was tortured."
I gripped the door knob. "Was there anything else?"' I asked, begging the answer to be no.
And I don't beg.
"I didn't look any farther. That's just what I saw on the surface." She responded.
"On the surface?" I strained.
"There's no telling what else happened without digging further. Which we can only do when we get her consent. And she better not be pressured into it." The nurse told me, emphasizing the part about her consent.
I squeezed my eyes shut and hung my head. I pulled out my phone and told Vincenzo to bring the boys.
This is all my fault. If I would have been paying attention to Narcisa, she never would have been able to run away with Marlowe in her arms.
My father was right.
This was all my fault.
My eyes blinked open and shut again due to the blinding white light that was flooding the room. I groaned at the massive headache I had.
I heard Orlando's voice. "Hey, shh. It's okay. You're okay. I'm gonna turn off the light okay?"
He let go of my hand and left. He came back within a couple seconds. "Open your eyes. It's okay, capretto."
My eyes slowly fluttered open and focused on Orlando's face. "Where am I? What happened?" I started firing questions at him, not giving him time to answer.
"You had a panic attack and passed out. We took you to the infirmary at the warehouse. Did Vincenzo or Alessio say something to you? What caused it?" He turned the tables and started asking me questions.
"I just- I don't know what happened. I thought I saw someone I kno- sorry. Used to know. She moved away to live with her mom. I think it just took me for a spin." I tried to explain without going into too much detail. As terrible as it sounds, I don't trust them fully yet. And I don't want to hurt them.
"What happened with that person before they left that caused you to have so many bad memories and have a panic attack?" He continued to ask me questions that I didn't really want to answer. But I had a feeling that everything was soon going to be revealed. With Vincenzo seeing the bruises and this panic attack, I won't be able to hide what really happened with Sebastián for much longer.
Maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing for them to know.
But then they would treat me like I'm broken. And maybe I am. But I'd walk through hell and back before I let them see me as a weak ass little girl that can't handle her own.
"We were in an... accident. Her father was driving and he, uh, he died. Not on impact, though. No. He suffered. I was in the back seat, so I barely got anything from the crash. Just a couple cuts and bruises. Haidyn was awake, but refused to leave her dad. I didn't have a phone at the time, Haidyn's was dead and we were out in the middle of nowhere. I didn't want to leave them. But I had to. I walked to a gas station and got help. But, by the time help got there, he was dead." I felt a single tear roll down my cheek and a hand that wasn't Orlando's wiped it off my face. I looked up and saw Lorenzo standing next to me, with his hand now cupping my face.
I looked straight ahead and saw Alessio standing there with anger in his eyes. I held eye contact with him, not allowing myself to break in front of my brothers.
"Orlando. Lorenzo. Can you leave me alone with your sister, please?" He asked quietly.
The boys nodded and both left the room, not before giving me reassuring looks as they walked out the door.
Alessio slowly walked to the chair that was sitting beside me. He sat down and looked at his feet.
"The nurse that dressed you in the hospital gown. She uh, saw some things. Concerning things. I never asked you the question that has been rattling in my brain ever since I saw you sitting in that interrogation room trying to look tough, but you were masking what was going through your mind. You were scared. Of what, I didn't know. But I think I have it narrowed down now. And I really hoped that it wasn't the case, but from what that nurse told me, I think it was. I'm going to ask you some questions. You don't have to answer them, but try your best." He told me as my heart dropped down in my chest.
He knew.
If they go after Sebastián, I won't be able to protect them. Even though I've only known them for 3 days, I didn't want to lose them. In those 3 days, I've felt things that I never have before. Love. Security. Hope.
I slowly nodded, tears building in my eyes again. I refused to let them fall.
I will not break.
"Did Sebastian hit you?" He started off with what seems like would be an easy question, but when everyone that asked you that question and got the truth died, I was hesitant to answer it.
Almost as if he could sense as to why I didn't answer him, Alessio started talking again. "He can't hurt you. Not while you're with us."
"Yes. He hit me." I said sitting up and taking a deep breathe.
Alessio inhaled sharply. "Is that how you got the bruises?"
"The ones on my ribs were truly from me jumping out of a window while I was running away. The ones on my stomach were because I talked back to him. Which I did frequently. It was my fault."
"No. Don't do that. Do not blame anything that that monster did on yourself. He hurt you because he is a coward that took his problems out on a helpless teenager." He consoled me. Well, tried.
"I am not helpless. I fought back. But he was stronger than me. He always has been." I snapped.
"When did it all start?" He asked, moving on.
"When I was 4. At least, that's when the punishments started getting worse. It went from him just emotionally abusing me to locking me in closets and making me miss dinner. I started training to become a fighter when I was 7. He would take me to the warehouses and hit me. He claimed it made me stronger. He taught me to fight back. I was 10 when he sent me on my first mission. Of course, he couldn't throw me a soft pitch to get into the game.
"He made me go to a man's house. And kill him. I didn't know he had kids and a wife. Or that they were in the next room. I will never forget the horrified look on her face when she walked in on me climbing out the window, leaving behind her husband who had a hole in between his eyes. I will never forget her scream. The way her children came running into the room. I ruined their lives. The kids were young. Maybe 5 or 6. One of the main memories that they have of their father is him lying on the ground with his brains splattered across the room.
"The missions continued. He only sent me out when he needed a quick kill. Not because I was the best of the best. But because he knew that I wouldn't be able to do it slowly. He didn't do this because he cared about me, more like the fact that he know that the person would most likely end up being free. Because I wouldn't be able to finish the job. When I was 11, I met a girl at school. Her name was Haidyn. She had just moved to Houston with her dad. Her mom still lived in New York.
"We became good friends. Even after a year, I never told Sebastián that I had a friend because I was scared of what he would do to her. And rightfully so. One day after a particularly bad training, Haidyn's dad offered to take us swimming. I covered up the bruises with makeup and snuck out of the house. Of course, while we were swimming, the makeup washed off. Haidyn saw the bruises and pulled me into the bathroom. I told her everything. Not the mafia, but how Sebastián would hit me. She told her dad that we were ready to leave, so we piled in the car and went to McDonald's to get food. Haidyn wanted me to spend the night. They didn't know I snuck out, so I told her I couldn't.
"A truck drifted into our lane. Haidyn's dad tried to react, but he wasn't fast enough. The car was flipped upside down. The driver of the truck died on impact. I saw his face. It was the Spanish Mafia's best hitman. I knew instantly that it was because of me that the crash happened. Sebastián found out about Haidyn. He found out where I was and sent someone to kill them. He wouldn't dare kill me, though. I was too useful to him. So he went for the only people that gave me a sense of family."
Alessio sat back and digested my words. A look of realization came over his face. "You're scared that he will come after us."
It wasn't a question. It was a statement.
I nodded.
"I won't have anyone else die because of me." I said quietly, but he caught it.
"Sorella. I can't promise many things, but I can promise two. One. Sebastián Alvarez will never fucking touch you again. And if he does, I will destroy him and his mafia from the inside out. Two. He will never hurt our family. And if his weasel looking ass somehow finds a way to do that, we will make him hurt a thousand times worse. That I can promise." He looked me sternly in the eyes.
I nodded and a sob broke out. Alessio immediately hugged me and stroked my hair, whispering reassuring words in my ear.
I cried in his arms before I heard the door open. I felt five more pairs of strong arms wrap around me.
As I cried in my brothers' arms, I felt my breathing become slower and my thoughts become groggier.
I let my weight rest completely against Alessio and closed my eyes, slowly falling asleep in their arms.
After years and years of holding it all in and hiding everything, I did it.
I finally broke.
-
hiiiiii :)
sorry for the late update. On Wednesday, I had a softball game and yesterday I had work and another softball game. Softball is over now, sadly, so I should have more free time.
Question for the chapter: What's your favorite sport if you play one?
Mine is definitely softball. I've been playing since I was 4 and I am currently 15. I've played in Little League my whole life. I age out of Little League next year and I'm probably not going to play in college. So I only have four more softball seasons left. Three with school and one more with Little League. And let me tell you. After playing that game for more than ten years, I don't know what I'll do with my life.
Anyway, that's chapter 8. Thanks for reading!