Luca
When I was 6, I took the initiative to teach myself how to ride a bicycle without training wheels. My curious young self had sneaked into our neighbor's yard and got on their bicycle and tried to ride it. In my mind, I was so sure that nothing could go wrong. But as soon as I got on it and tried to balance, I fell and scraped my knee. I didn't stop crying until Serena came. She consoled me and bandaged my knees. She also scolded me and told that she would help me learn how to ride the bicycle once I was alright.
I had the habit of removing my bandage repeatedly to check if the wound had healed so that she can start teaching me already. I was impatient and eager. Serena caught me doing exactly that and she told me something that stuck with me till now.
She said that to heal a wound, you need to stop touching it. The more you poke it, the more it will hurt and eventually it will leave a scar that you'll have to carry forever. That sometimes, it was better to leave things be.
Back then I didn't understand the full depth of what she said but as I grew up, her words started to make sense. I understood that she wasn't just referring to physical wounds.
It's been two months since I came to Italy and yesterday I had asked my dad about what happened to mom. It took him by surprise but he also knew that I would want to know, so he was prepared. He told me that she was murdered 4 years ago, probably by the same people that had kidnapped me. He didn't go into details about her death but rather promised to tell me all about her and also show me photos.
Now as I sit with my dad in the library, going through the photo album, I realize that he was revisiting his old wounds so that I can heal mine. The wounds that I didn't even know I had. I could see the love in his eyes for the woman in the photo. Her dark blond hair and light blue eyes, just like mine and a smile so captivating. My mother was so beautiful. Now I know why I look so handsome.
We had been going through albums of mom and my brother's childhood pictures for half an hour now when a sage colored album caught my eye. I took it out and sat next to dad. He was still staring at one of mom's old photos, so I opened the one in my hand and the first one was of a new born baby in a crib. I turned the pages and slowly I understood who this was. I felt like I had found some treasure.
I kept going through it until I stopped at one. My breath hitched. It was a photo of my uncle and Serena. She looked about 4 years old, sitting in front of her dad, while he braided her long black hair. They both had similar grins on their faces, their deep blue eyes shining with joy. Serena was holding the sage coloured dinosaur stuff toy she still had, wearing a white frock while uncle looked much younger and happier than he was now.
Serena looked so happy and carefree. I had seen my sister grinning and smiling before but never like this. I wished I could see her this happy again.
Perhaps I was staring at it for a bit too long that my dad diverted his attention to the album in my hand. He gently took it from me and stared at it, his thumb stroking Serena's face with a sad smile on his lips. "This was your sister. Victor had 4 children. She was the youngest." He said, his eyes still on her. "What happened?" I ask already knowing most of it. Dad sighed, "A car accident 14 years ago. To be precise, a day before you were born. Your mother couldn't handle Serena's death and the stress led to an early labor. You were born prematurely." He looked at me with his smile faltering as he recollected his memories.
"Serena was the most excited when we announced the pregnancy. She was the youngest at the time and was so happy to be a big sister." Dad chuckled and I smiled knowing Cherry loved me even before I was born. "She would sit beside your mother and tell stories to her belly hoping you could hear. In fact she was the one who named you Luca. We asked why that name but she never told us. And after you were born, your mom didn't even think twice about naming you that. Andrea loved that little girl. Everyone did. If she were here, you would've loved her too." His voice was sorrowful.
"I think I already do." I whispered with a smile, looking at her happy face. Dad looked at me and ruffled my hair. "Come on, Dante and Angelo should be back by now. We can have lunch." I nodded knowing that he didnt want to talk about this anymore. He got up and I quickly got my phone out and clicked a picture of the photo and put the album back. I followed my dad out to the dining room. Everyone except Dante, Angelo, Michael and Luciano were already there.
It's been 2 months and I have got to know almost everyone. Alessandro, my eldest brother was a bit closed off but not as much as Michael and also I felt safe with him just like I felt with dad. He was warm and loving and tried to make time to get to know me and I was super happy about that.
Elijah, my second eldest brother was silent but still greeted me every morning and made sure I knew that I could go to him if I had a problem.
Angelo was the funny one in the group. He was in his first year of internship to be a doctor instead of going into business like our other brothers, so most of the time, he's busy at the hospital or busy studying. But he still made time to spend with family. I did notice that they valued family a lot.
Dante, on the other hand, was an annoying little shit but I loved him nonetheless. I would never tell him this but I liked bickering with him. He was cute I guess, mostly when he didn't talk.
Michael, my oldest cousin brother, even though in this family, there was no difference between cousins and brothers, was closed off. He always had a blank face and in the two months, we barely talked a few words. I only saw him at dinner, even then sometimes he wouldn't be there.
Armani was always so calm and had a small smile when he talked to me and Dante. He always had a book with him when he was at home. He was silent like Elijah and preferred to not initiate conversation. When Michael wasn't home, he wouldn't be either.
Now Luciano, to put it nicely was always angry or atleast he looked like he was. He was the grumpy one, glaring at everything. He always had his phone or laptop with him. Sometimes he would catch me staring at him because of his similar features to Serena and I would scramble to look away, hoping he wouldn't call me out. He never did. And all the time that we did talk, which were very few, was because I started the conversation.
My dad, Vincent was a great father. So caring, loving and attentive. I was glad Serena sent me here. Now that I do know him, I realized I secretly wanted this all along. I just wished my sister could experience this too.
My uncle Victor was the opposite of my dad. While dad was calm and silent, uncle was loud and outgoing. He teased his children, even Michael and Luciano and was a kid at heart. I always wanted a fun uncle and he was exactly that. Dad and uncle were opposites and yet they loved each other, just like me and Cherry.
My grandfather, Alexander Esposito was something else. His personality reminded me of Serena a lot. The way he would look at you like he knows all your secrets made me hate eye contact with him. He was intimidating even when he was smiling. The silk shirts, tattoos, his cuban cigars and glasses of whiskey added to his intimidating appearance. Most of the times he looked like a mobster.
"Angelo and Dante aren't back yet?" Dad asked Alessandro as we took our seats. "No. Not yet." Sandro replied as Michael and Luciano entered talking in low voices. As Luciano sat, he leaned forward and his chain hung out of his black t-shirt which caught my attention. That silver chain, I had seen it before with a slight difference. The pendant he had was an 'S ' while the one I had seen before had an 'L '. I always thought the letter represented my name and I was so happy that Serena had a chain like that for me.
"Where did you get that chain from?" I ask without thinking twice. I wanted to know if my suspicion was right. Luciano looks up at me and this time I don't look away. I want to know. Once he's sure I was talking to him about the silver chain around his neck, his gaze turns cold. "None of your business kid." His voice is rude and uncle warns him by calling his name, just like the first time we had dinner together. "Does the S stand for Serena?" My voice is low as I ask this and he stills. I think everyone around the table does.
Does nobody talk about her openly? Even after 14 years? I look back at Luciano and his jaw is clenched. So it is. I was right. It wasn't my name the L stood for. It wasn't Luca. It was always Luciano then. A sudden wave of jealousy washes over me and I clench my fist under the table. Now my question is, does Serena know about this? Our staring contest is broken by Michael.
"That's enough." I look at Michael and he's staring at Luciano in warning. He then looks at me and his gaze turns less threatening. "Yes. The S stands for Serena. They both had each other's first letter as a pendant since they could walk." He then diverts his attention towards Elijah ending the topic and shutting any further questions from me. "Call Angelo and ask them where they are." Eli does as he asks and I don't look at Luciano anymore.
Elijah calls but frowns, "The call isn't going through." This alerts dad and he looks alarmed. Angelo must be driving or something, why is it a big deal? Elijah tries again but shakes his head at dad. "The guards can't be reached either." Dad looks at Luciano. "Trace Angelo's phone." His hard voice makes me sit up straight. Luciano takes out his phone and clicks on it for a few seconds before his eyebrows furrow.
"His phone is off the grid. The last location showing is a mile from his hospital and after that, it's gone dark." Luciano's deep voice just makes the news even more horrible sounding. The atmosphere tenses. Micheal and Alessandro start making calls and Dad walks to Luciano to see what's on his phone. Armani places a laptop in front of Luciano and he starts furiously typing, with dad, uncle and our grandfather all standing behind him.
I don't know what to do. I take my phone out and call the only person I can think of calming me down and possibly tell me what to do. She always has answers. I walk to the corner of the dining room and stand with the phone to my ear. The phone rings but she's on another call. I cut the call and wait for a few minutes for her to call me back but she doesn't. So I call again and this time it rings but after 4 rings, the line goes dead with a long beep. I try again and now the call doesn't go through at all. I get a bad feeling in my gut and I start pacing.
"It's some kind of jammer, blocking their signal. I'm trying to override it." Luciano's low voice travels across the room to me. He is still on his laptop. A jammer? Angelo's phone probably lost signal because of it but how can Serena's phone be affected. We were in Italy and she was in London. Unless-
My heart starts racing and I feel the anxiety rising. Where was she? What was she doing here? Why isn't she answering my calls? I call again and it still doesn't go through. Our family has too much drama. People dying, going missing, murder, what else. How far does business rivalry go?
A hand on my shoulder stops me from pacing and I look up. Uncle looks down at me with a reassuring smile. "Sit down. Your brothers will be okay." I wasn't worried about them. I knew they will be okay because Serena was there, near them. I was almost sure of it. I was worried about my sister. And she always told me to trust my gut feeling and right now I don't feel so good.
If I was right, Angelo and Dante weren't the only ones 'off the grid'. Serena was too. I sit down and continue panicking. After 10 minutes, Luciano's laptop pings and everyone's attention goes towards him. He speaks after a moment. "He's back on radar." As soon as Luciano finishes speaking, dad's phone rings. He picks it up and starts firing questions. "Angelo, are you alright? Where are you? Is Dante okay?" He goes silent listening to the reply from the other side. "Who?" Dad asks with a frown and I guess Angelo is speaking again. "Okay. Be safe. See you soon." He hangs up and Uncle asks him what Angelo said.
"They were attacked on the way. Our guards were ambushed. Angelo and Dante are okay. They are on their way." Dad says and after a second continues, "He said someone helped him. A car suddenly appeared out of nowhere and distracted the others so that he could drive away." Almost everyone frowns and my heart stills. "Who?" Alessandro asks and Dad says he doesn't know. But I know.
Serena. Always the savior.
How did she even know about the attack? I call her again with shaking hands, praying to hear it ring. But it doesn't. The call doesn't go through. I feel like someone just stabbed a knife through my heart. My hands grow clampy and I breathe in and out deeply. I trust her to be safe. I will give her time to sought it out and she'll call me back. I know it. Maybe this time my gut is wrong. Hopefully.
Everyone relaxes a bit after the call but I don't. Because to me, Serena isn't dead. She is alive and probably in danger. And I'm the only one with this knowledge and it's killing me.
Angelo arrives carrying Dante who has tear stains on his cheeks. He starts crying as soon as Dad takes him in his arms. My heart aches at his silent sobs. Angelo looks angry. That's the first I've seen him with that emotion. Dad consoles Dante and soon enough he's tired and is asleep on dad's shoulder.
"Can you stay with him in his room just in case, while we talk?" Dad asks me but it isn't a question. I nod nonetheless and he hands me a sleeping Dante. I carry him to my room instead considering it has a bigger bed. I lay him down and tuck him in while wiping the few tears on his cheeks and sit on the edge of the bed with my phone in my hand, waiting for her call.
They are all talking downstairs, not knowing that she's out there alone. I'm angry at her for putting me and her in this position. And I'm scared out of my mind not knowing where she is. Only one thought goes through my mind now.
Please be okay Cherry.
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This will be the last chapter this year.
See you next year guys :'(
Happy New Year's eve ♡