This book is being rewritten under a new title "Silently Drowning", although nothing is happening to this book or the series that goes with it, I do suggest reading the rewritten version.
Alessia Ferrari
"Manny, do you have your uncle's car?" I question as we hang upside down off of my bed.
"Yeah, he's off today but he works tomorrow so I have to bring it back tonight. I can walk back over afterwards, why?"
"I want to get some stuff from my room at the brothers place so i don't have to worry about it, can you bring me?"
"Can I take a brief shower real quick?" He asks.
"Of course."
Niccolò Ferrari
I've been staying at my grandfather's new house since she moved in there, I just didn't have it in me to leave. I know if Nonno knew what I had done he wouldn't let me stay there and maybe I'm being selfish.
I have tried to be discreet about the fact I haven't left but I don't think I'm doing a very good job at that.
Right now is actually the first time I left his place and I'm currently at my house - mansion - again.
To top off everything in my life that's going wrong, my girlfriend has been spamming my phone for God knows how long and I don't have the energy to deal with it. Does that make me a bad person? I can't help but wonder if she played a part in what happened with Sia, I never understood their hatred for each other but maybe I do.
Maybe I was too blinded by what I thought was love to realize what was going on in front of me, then the time Alessia was trying to warn me came rushing through my head.
"Nicky!"
"Sia!" I mimic my twin's childish tone.
"Where are you going?"
"TT's mama is picking me up and I'm going to hang out at her place for a while."
"I don't like her." I hear her mumble.
"Why not?"
"I don't know, something about her and her mama feels off and papa always taught us to trust our gut."
"Everything will be fine Sia, it's not like she's a serial killer." I joke knowing our family is the mafia, not much could be worse than that.
"I just don't want you to get hurt, you're my brother"
"I won't be hurt, Sia. I'll be home later okay?"
It's very possible that she had a reason to worry, but not for me. With everything going on this last week I can't help but question everything Tiara once said about my sister or why the fuck I blindly believed her.
I guess it's true what they say, love makes people blind to reality and I refuse to let it happen again until I figure out the truth. If she is innocent I'll spend a lifetime apologizing but something tells me she isn't and papa always taught us to trust our gut.
"I'm so sorry." I whisper while still sitting against the wall of my twins room, she's not even here and I can't seem to urge myself to get up, it wasn't until now that I realized I was crying.
"What are you mumbling on about?" Manny asks, not going to lie... he scares me a bit but I'm glad Sia has someone to protect her, even if it's against her own family.
"I'm sorry." I kept repeating a few more times as I pulled my knees to my chest and shut my eyes as tightly as possible.
"If you don't calm down you are going to send yourself into a panic attack." Manny says with a hint of concern in his voice, it only lasted a second before he spoke again with his normal anger that hid behind his sweet voice. "I really don't want to have to deal with that shit. I mean... I would because Angel loves you but I don't want to."
"I'm sorry." I begin to sound like a broken record.
"Dude, I need you to stop and breathe okay? No need to get all worked up over shit you can't change." He says as he sits beside me and places his hand on my knee.
"Look... I don't like you, I quite literally don't think I will ever like you, but what I want doesn't matter because this isn't about me, Alessia loves you. She loves you far more than she should in my opinion, you don't deserve her love and I won't lie and say otherwise. You can say you're sorry all you want but that wont change the fact that girl has always had your best interest at heart and you continued to treat her like absolute fucking shit.
You being safe and healthy was far more important to her even if she knew it would one day cost her life.
I'm not saying this to make you feel like shit... okay that's a lie but still...
You can say 'I'm sorry' everyday until your dying breath but it's all pointless.
It's such a pointless phrase if you ask me, break a plate... no amount of 'I'm sorry' will make that now broken plate go back together. You played a part in that plate being thrown to the ground. Maybe it wasn't your idea to throw it but you held the edge while I sat there with a bag to make sure there were no pieces lost.
If you really are sorry then fucking show it. You crying in her room while she's at her therapist's office isn't going to solve anything. You choosing to just watch her isn't going to solve anything.
I get you may be scared, I know I am, you saw a side of Alessia you probably wish you didn't have to see but what's done is done and you can't change it.
So if you are genuinely sorry and it's not some act to make her trust you then show it. Actions speak louder than words."
Lorenzo Ferrari
"Lorenzo... You're going to want to hear this." Matteo says, his voice breaking a bit as he did.
"Hear what?" I questioned.
Over the last two weeks Matteo and I have spent plenty of time in this control room attempting to scan footage, there wasn't much we could see our hear from Jasper and Alessia in school. The only time he associated with my sister was when he was pulling her into some room or closet of some sort which I really don't want to imagine what may have happened in there.
"Here." Matteo says as he loads up a new recording that I have not seen yet.
"A lot of the footage seems to be tampered with every time Jasper shows up which is alarming to begin with but here is a clip from outside Alessia's bedroom, the date was almost two years ago and although we can't get a visual just like all the other recordings we have scanned through... The audio..." His voice breaks once again as he finishes his sentence while shaking his head slightly.
Matteo is one that always has his emotions in check, I hate admitting it but he's always been the best at thinking logically, with his head instead of his heart, so the fact he seemed to have been getting slightly emotional over whatever he seemed to hear caused warning bells to ring in my head.
"Hit play." I demand.
"Just a warning, out of everything... This is the one that gives the most evidence against Jasper even without the visual."
"Just fucking play the damn video." I say while scratching my chin, slowly losing my patience with my stalling brother.
"P-please stop." We listen to my sister begin to sob.
"This is your punishment baby, I already warned you what would happen if you let any other man look at you. You are mine." Jasper's voice can be aggressively heard.
"N-no, I don't want this. Please stop." She continued to beg.
"You should have thought about that, let's have some fun okay princess?"
"Turn it off." I demand.
"I need you to have Luca contact Jasper and get him here, if any of us do it then it may be suspicious. Also, see if Manny is still here, if he's not, try and find a way to contact him and fill him in on what's happening. Alessia is due home any minute now and if she sees Jasper then she will need Manny. As much as I hate to admit it, she needs him more than she needs me and I know that's my own fault."
Luca Ferrari
I've been locked in my art room all day, I decided to stay here instead of heading out to my studio because even if I'm not in the same room I still wanted to be closer to my sister just in case she needs something and she doesn't want to go to one of the many people that can't seem to let the poor girl breathe.
I know she's here currently which also makes me feel better, but even if she wasn't the studio in the Ferrari mansion is closer to Nonno's house than my separate art studio. Maybe I will ask him if I can set up some form of shed in the backyard and keep some of my art stuff there.
I am currently working on a new painting that I actually plan to give to Alessia. Ever since her friend informed me of the fact she has my first painting I started working on a replacement for her.
I originally painted that one when I was fourteen and since then my art style had changed and improved so I wanted to give her something with a similar theme but better, I guess it's sort of a thank you.
My thought process was interrupted by the sound of the room's door creaking open.
"Whoever decided to enter my room when you know damn well that I will flick this paint at your face, it better be important." I say, not turning away from my canvas.
"Call Jasper and invite him over." Matteo's voice caused me to turn around, he never enters this room. I was half-expecting Lorenzo or even Alessandro.
"Why?" I questioned.
"None of your damn business Luca, just do as you're told for once." The harshness in my brother's tone did not go unnoticed which I did find quite odd, I've never heard Matteo seem so demanding?
"If it involves my friend then it sure as hell is my business." Something I said caused my brother to wince.
"Dammit Luca he isn't your damn friend. Now please just contact him, say it's a family movie night or something."
"Fine." I reply shortly, having no energy to question the situation further.
**
I decided to finally leave my in-house studio just to see Alessia and Manny curled up with each other on the living room couch.
I wasn't too sure what to think of him at first. Manny seems so stand-off-ish but he's also fiercely protective of Sia. At first I thought it may be because he was in love with her or something but as I silently observed their interactions... They sort of remind me of Alessia and Niccolò when they were younger.
My thoughts were interrupted by the loud chime of the door bell. It must be Jasper, I called him as I was told about four hours ago and like usual he showed up on his own time.
Romeo is the one who let him in, and everything that happened next happened far too last for my brain to comprehend.
Manny and Alessia quickly stood to their feet, Manny tucking her securely behind him. Niccolò finally left his twin's room and was now standing protectively in front of both of them, Romeo was blocking the door with his body, then finally Lorenzo and Alessandro entered, coming on either side of the guy who I claimed was my best friend.
Then here I am, standing in the middle of the chaos with no idea what's going on, and as it seems... I may be the only one left out of the loop just based on the pure hatred on everyone's face.
"Bring him to lockup." Lorenzo demands, Alessandro immediately grabs him and starts pulling him out of our view.
"Luca! You can't let them do this!" Jasper yells as he disappears down the stairs.
I don't say anything, I may not know what's going on but I do know they wouldn't put on this large show for no reason and family always comes first.
[A/N: lol tell Lorenzo that... considering he chose to believe Jasper over his sister. Alright back to the story.]
"Now can someone please explain what the fuck is happening?" If Jasper did something that requires him to be sent to the cells then okay, I won't disagree even if he is - or even was - my friend, but I would appreciate to know the reasoning behind what just went on.
"Manny, can you take Alessia to her room?" Lorenzo asks, since when does he ask, that's the main question, this is the brother that just demands and expects results.
"Actually, it is time for us to head out anyway, your grandfather is waiting for the princess' arrival." He gives a sarcastic salute while dragging my sister in the direction of the door. I think Lorenzo has a secret soft spot for that kid.
"We need to talk." Lorenzo says while gesturing for us to follow him back towards his office.
As we enter the room the atmosphere seems to have turned cold as Lorenzo lets out a long breath.
"We have recently discovered that our sister had been suffering abuse at the hands of Jasper for years."
"What?!" I exclaim.
"Alessia came to me and told me about it a few months ago and I chose to brush it off."
"Wait hold up, our sister went to you and told you someone was hurting her and you fucking... brushed... it... off." I seethed. I didn't even try to conceal the anger that was rushing through my veins, I knew my eldest brother could be a fucking idiot but this is to a whole different extreme.
"It wasn't just anyone, it was your childhood best friend." He attempted to defend himself.
"And she's our sister, I get you're a 'believe it when you see it' kind of person but so fucking much could have been prevented if you put her before your own damn pride, but I'm sure you know that so go on..."
"You're right and I'll have to live with that. When Alessia was hospitalized we found out about different bruises and scars that ranged over a few years old so I had Matteo go over some footage from both the school and around the house. The school didn't show much except for her being pulled into a closet."
"Wait which closet?" I ask.
"Here, I'll show you." Matteo says as he pulls up a saved recording on his phone.
The junior hall.... That's when it hit me.
"Where the hell have you been, you missed last class!" I nearly shout at my irresponsible best friend.
"Ya know, just banging some chick in the storage closet in the junior hall." He shrugs.
My breath quickens as I feel my legs buckle underneath me.
"Well that was just dramatic." That was the last thing I heard before everything went black.
[Words: 2575]
[Edited: August 2, 2023]