Roman's POV
I can't believe Alessandro would keep something like this from us! I mean, fuck! Just looking at her made me want to kill a man. I know for a fact I won't be able to sleep until this is resolved. Those fuckers need to pay for their actions, even if it's the last thing I do.
I can feel my thoughts spiraling down a dark path, but I don't even care. This is our sorella, our baby sister we're talking about! I can't just stand by and do nothing! I can't be bothered with silence as I storm down the hallways. Let them know I'm mad, I don't fucking care.
"Alessandro!" I growl as I push through the door to his study. "How could you fucking keep that from us? Have you seen her back? The fucking words?" I demand, bile rising in my throat at the thought of her pale skin, marred with brusies and burns. And the damn words. Who could do that? I've tortured many a poor soul in my time, but to carve words like that? On a child? It's sick.
"No. I haven't seen, but she's told me a little bit about her story." He replies calmly.
"Only a little? You didn't demand answers?" I ask, my voice rising with each word. "At least tell me you have those fuckers in the basement so I can rip out their throats!"
"Of course I demanded." He snaps, before allowing a small smirk to roll across his lips, "She flat out refused until I agreed to her conditions." He shakes his head softly. "You can't force that girl to give up anything she doesn't want to give up. Not without one hell of a fight at least. You know, she tried to pay me fifty dollars to sleep on the hotel floor because she thought she would owe me something in return? For sleeping on the floor!"
"Please tell me you're kidding?"
"Unfortnately, I'm not. I believe we will have to tread very carefully around our little angioletto." He looks me straight in the eye, making sure I'm paying close attention. I almost scoff, as if I'd ignore something important like this. "You can not be angry around her. It's a trigger. I don't care what happened, if you start to feel the rage, you take it far away from her. You understand me?"
"Yeah, I get you. I wouldn't want that around her anyways." I reply, slightly miffed he thought he had to inform me of that. Of course I'll take it away from her. I've seen how jumpy she is.
"Now then, what words? And what's wrong with her back?"
***********
After my chat with Alessandro, I make my way down the hall to Elijah's in-door clinic. There's no way I'm letting my passerotta go to bed with her wounds not taken care of. And I know for a fact she's not going to let Elijah come near her right now, so I'm going to do the best I can. If she'll let me, that is.
I stroll through the open door, knocking on it as I go to alert him to my presence. Elijah always gets wrapped up in his work. We've startled him a few too many times and it always ends in being drenched in some form of strange liquid or another. Once, he spilled a new chemical compound he'd been working on. The hair on my leg didn't grow back for a month. So needless to say, we always knock now.
"Elijah." I say, my voice gruff, "I need supplies."
"Of course!" He replies, immediately bustling around to gather equipment, "What happened? Who's injured?"
"Nothing happened. It's Ember. I'm just going to bandage her up properly. She doesn't have clean bandages." I reply, trying to stick with my goal of keeping my promise. I can't tell Elijah what I saw. She'd never trust me again.
"Bandages? What does she need bandaged?! Bring her down here and I'll take a look."
"I can't do that man. The only way she'd let me even look at them was if I promised I wouldn't tell anyone. She doesn't trust you enough yet. Hell, I doubt she's going to let me fix her up. But I have to try."
"Fuck. I can't just sit here, knowing that she needs medical attention!" He groans.
"Then you better find a way to fix whatever the hell it is you and Enzo said, cause I agree, she needs to see you."
************
Ember's POV
What a long day. I think, sprawling out on the bed in relief that the day is finally over. I can't believe it's only been a few days since I met Alessandro. So much has happened since then. I mean, I have five brothers, and two of them hate me already. I thought that would happen, but I didn't expect it to happen so fast.
Pulling at a strand of my hair as I think, I barely notice the knock at my door. "Come in." I call out hesitantly.
"I brought you some supplies." Roman says softly as he walks in confidently. "Fresh bandages, cream for the burns, lotion for your scars..." He trails off when my eyes narrow.
"Why did you bring this here?" I demand, not caring if I sound harsh.
"Because, you have no clean bandages and I'm not letting you go to sleep with those wounds not properly cared for." He shoots right back.
I bristle in indignation at that. "Exuse me? I've been caring for myself for quite some time now and I'm perfectly capable of continuing to do so!" I spit.
"I understand that, but you don't have to anymore. We can take care of you. When you're ready, you can go get checked out by Elijah, but in the meantime, let me fix you?" He pleads.
I can't help it. I know that he's only trying to help, but those words. Fix you. It rings through my head on repeat."You think I'm broken? That I'm just some project to fix?" I ask lowly.
"No! Of course not! I'm just trying to say that I care about you and I want you to have clean bandages and medicine to help you heal faster." He explains.
"My bandages are clean. I wash them very well. Besides, I can't afford all those things right now."
"What do you mean you can't afford them? They're right here! You don't have to pay me for them!" He replies, his tone indicating annoyance.
"Everything comes with a price and I'm not willing to pay any more. I'll take care of myself." I say, trying not to sound too rude.
He groans loudly, rubbing a hand across his face before replying, "You won't owe me anything! Just take the damn medicine!" My eyes widen at his tone and I can't help but step back harshly, my breath picking up dramatically as I struggle to take in oxygen.
He curses under his breath before moving closer to grab my shoulder. My eyes widen at the sudden movement and panic takes over. He's going to kill me. I refused a gift! How stupid could I possibly be?
Black spots cloud my vision as a flashback takes over. I see my seven-year-old self wearing my favorite little blue dress. I remember that day. My seventh birthday. "Ember! Come down here!" My stepfather calls. "I have something for you."
I race down the stairs in excitement. He has something for me? And more than that, he said my name! I was still young enough to dream that he cared. I should have known though. I hadn't received something since mom died. I reach the kitchen, panting from my lack of endurance, and see him standing there with a small red box in hand and an evil grin on his face.
"Here you go, open it!" He demands. Pulling gently at the red paper covering my prize, I pull out the present with a smile threatening to split my face in two. As I look down though, my smile drops slightly. The box contains garbage bags.
"Thank you for the gift." I say politely, forcing myself to keep the smile on my face.
"I knew you'd like it." He laughs, "It's perfect for trash like yourself, don't you agree?" His voice is laced with poison. "In fact, why don't you show me just how much you appreciate my generosity!" He demands, grabbing my wrist tightly and pulling my small body against his own.
"Oh yes, I'm going to enjoy this 'thank you' very much!" He sneers.
"What's wrong with her?" A faint voice demands, but I can't seem to place it. All that matters right now is getting away. A hand finds my shoulder and that's all it takes for me to start kicking and screaming as reality begins to mix with the past.
"Get off of me!" I scream. I don't like this anymore. I don't think I want presents if this is what I have to do to get them. "NO! Don't touch me!"
"You can fight all you want, it's not going to change a thing. You owe me." He replies, running finger against my cheek.
"I don't know, but I don't think she can hear us. She seems to be trapped in her own world." A different voice joins in, more familiar than the last, but I still don't know where it's coming from.
"Help me!" I scream, "Please! Someone!"
"Shit!" The first voice curses.
"What?" The second demands.
"She's having a flashback. We need to get through to her, remind her of where she is!" Number one shouts.
"No one's going to help you, girl." He growls, placing a large, meaty hand over my mouth, effectively cutting off all air flow. I thrash around desperately, clawing at his hand for a mouthful of air.
"She's not breathing! Why the fuck did she stop breathing? Fucking DO SOMETHING!" Number two demands.
"Ember! Listen to me. You are safe. Your stepfather is dead. You are here with your brothers. Do you understand me? Ember?" Number one asks in a soothing voice. I know that voice. I can almost place it, but when a hand touches my forehead, it's all gone. I can't breathe. I'm stuck with him.
I bite his hand as hard as I can in a last ditch effort to breathe. He loosens his grip just enough, cursing the whole time. "You bitch!" He roars.
"Sorella! Listen to me! He's dead. You are not there. You are safe. Ember!" Sorella... I know that name. But from where?
A massive hand wraps around my throat, lifting me off the ground. I try to call out for help, but it just comes out as a gurgle.
"SORELLA!" I twitch. I know that word. But who's saying it?
"It's me. It's Enzo. I'm here princepessa. I'm so sorry for everything I said. Please don't leave me!" He begs. Enzo. I know that name... Enzo- My brothers!
The realization helps me clear my head. Paul is dead. He's not here. I'm not seven anymore. I'm here with my brothers. Alessandro. Roman. Elijah. Enzo. Dante. I feel my body relax slowly as air floods into my lungs. My green eyes fly open to meet a pair of concerned blue ones. Enzo.
"Thank fuck you're back. You scared the shit out of me there sorella!" He cries, looking like he's doing everything in his power to keep from hugging the life out of me. I turn to the right and see Roman hovering over me, looking like he's about to kill someone. I flinch slightly and look to my left. No one. It's just the three of us, somehow.
Looking down in shame, I freeze when I notice that my shirt must've rode up as I was thrashing. Quickly, I pull the hem down, but the damage has been done. Enzo catches my gaze.
"What the fuck Ember!" He growls. I throw my head back and groan.
"I know, I know. 'This is terrible! How could someone do this to you?'" I quip sarcastically.
"Yeah. All of that." He replies seriously.
"Ember..." Roman says hesitantly, "I still need to take a look at those and rebandage everything for you."
"No." I respond immediately. "I will owe you nothing!"
"Okay, okay, how about a trade then?" Enzo intergects.
I cock my head to the side and debate with myself for a minute before responding cautiously, "What kind of a trade?"
"You let Roman bandage you, and I'll tell you anything you want to know." He offers.
"No." I reply after a moment. "Those two things are not equal."
"What do you mean, they're not equal?" Roman asks.
"I mean that it's not worth it to me. I will not let you touch me just to find out the answer to some question." I explain with a shrug. "If we're making a trade then they have to be of equal value."
"Okay... Then what do you want in exchange?"
"I want no questions asked tonight. Not about what just happened, not about any scars you see, not my favorite color. Nothing." I reply, offering no argument.
"Deal."
Hello everybody! What did you think? Enzo's trying to redeem himself here, do you think he's gonna win her over? Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions! I love hearing back from y'all! Also, this chapter is not edited at all.... so please be forgiving. I'll come back and fix it soon.