- Florence Colombo -
I was finally getting dismissed after being awake and capable to get up and down in bed for 3 days. I was so ready to get out of here, after being in here for like a month, but in reality was only 2 weeks.
"Florence" Lorenzo basically sung, as he ran into my room, right as I pulled down my shirt then my hoodie. No one but me had to see what had been done; how the cuts and bruises just made me look even more sick than I was before.
Apparently, he was over the moon, bouncing off walls with energy, all about me coming home today. I wasn't so certain, as I had not stepped a foot out of this room yet, uncertain about where the people I had called me siblings, had gone. If they were still there, lurking in the shadows.
They were just not the types of people to give up on something that they wanted; they would not want to give up on their source of fun, which was making me endure pain for as long as they wanted. It had always been what they wanted.
"Enzo" I murmured, as I turned towards him, hugging him. I was quieter than he was, as most of my brothers had mentioned. Initially, they had said how quiet he was, when he wasn't around his friends, in particular Elijah, which I had believed.
But, in comparison to the person that had always opened my hospital door with some new found energy, it was like one was talking about two completely people, but in reality, it was just someone who had two different sides to his personality; one with love and one with abandonment.
He always found a way to soften for me, when I didn't feel up for all the energy that he brought with him. "You ready to go home? We have done up a beautiful room with everything you could ever wish for, with hundreds of clothes, while I can show you around the rest of the house if you feel up to it"
Enzo had told me about the entire house, even allowing me to design up my room on his laptop, because apparently Leo was taking Nicolo and Enzo out to do up a room for me, that would be right in between our fathers room and Enzo's room, while it was across from Leonidas'.
I just nodded my head, as he pulled me in closer, giving me an extra squeeze before the two of us pulled apart. I leaned on his arm, while he swung my backpack that I had brought with me the day I was sick, and the bag that had been brought for me, filled with a change of clothes, over his shoulder, as his warm hand found my cold one.
"Ready?" Leo questioned, getting up from the chair he was sitting on as soon as the door opened. I had been told that Leonidas had been called into work, as had Francesco, but he had to go to his own business, while Nicolo had been sent to organize something for when I got home.
I didn't mind that they all weren't here, but I was definitely a little disheartened by it all. It was hard, going from having no one but Phoenix, to having everyone, to having only some people. Speaking about Phoenix, Enzo had told me that Elijah had seen him at school and told him what had happened.
He hadn't visited, and I got that, as I wouldn't of wanted him to, with all my brothers around. "Yeah" I muttered, taking one last look at the room that I had started to become familiar with. "Enzo, carry your sister before she falls asleep standing up" Leo ordered, sounding a little sterner on Enzo.
I had heard it the entire time I had been with them, making my heart ache for what could of happened to Enzo when I wasn't here. Were they only softening a little because I was around?
"It's alright Enzo" I murmured, wrapping both my small arms around his larger one, as I rested my head on his arm. I smiled when he used his free hand to reach across and ruffle my hair. I looked up at him, seeing him smile down at me as I smiled up at him. See, why couldn't Leo be nice to Enzo like Enzo was to me?
"Come on" Leo huffed, walking in front of us, as the two of us trailed behind him, keeping quiet a few paces behind his long strides. "I wonder who got his panties in a twist this morning" Enzo murmured, his smile dimming slightly.
Clearly, there had been a loss of touch between the two, where the relationship had fallen apart, only holding on like a flickering light or a loose string on a jumper. There was nothing much left to it, and neither of them clearly wanted to address what had happened between one another.
I wasn't about to be the therapist, as it wasn't my problem, but maybe I had to be the one that fixed the loose strand; that turned the light on, turning it towards the problem.
I didn't know that I had been focusing on having my steps match Enzo's, until he stopped at the front desk, making me realize we had walked down a set of stairs, and Leo was watching, waiting for the two of us. He stared, not a single movement happening to his face; no movement towards a smile.
I had noticed this about Leo, but Leon was the worst. He never once smiled unless he was looking at either me or his youngest two brothers, which was a real shame, as I was sure that he had a pretty smile, that was probably prettier than my crooked smile.
I watched as Leo's back turned to the two of us, as we followed him at a quicker pace towards his Range Rover, that too me, looked like a mom car. If Leo was in a better mood, maybe I would have told him, but I bit my tongue, holding back any comment that should have been funny, and made the three of us laugh until our stomachs hurt.
We sat in silence, driving to god knows where, but yet it all seemed familiar for some odd reason. Like I had walked down here everyday, but I knew I hadn't. Some of the houses I definitely recognized, but I didn't know why or who they belonged too. I had no friends, none that would even live out this way.
This was the upper-east side of the city, as even the hospital and cafes were on the richer side, compared to where I knew Phoenix lived, which was a cute, little town, that had the houses with the pointy rooves and were two stories. That was the complete opposite side of the city.
Suddenly, the giant house, that I had known as being the mansion that belonged to the rich kids from school. Those rich kids were now my brothers, while I had no sisters, as far as I was aware. Not that it had mattered before, as I didn't even have brothers, or even a motherly or fatherly figure in my life either.
We all clambered out of the car in silence, as Enzo had not once let go of my hand, rather tightening it when the front door burst open, allowing me to see Elijah, Nicolo and Stefano, waiting for the three of us.
In a blink, arms were wrapped around my neck, making me panic, before the arms disappeared, and Enzo was standing in front of me, checking every part of me. I nodded at him, before he moved from in front of me, allowing me to hug Nicolo, then Stefano, finally Elijah, whom I hugged the tightest.
"Not fucking fair!" we all heard a shout from inside, while my eyes flashed to Enzo's looking at him for some sort of reassurance. He seemed to look just as shocked as I did, grabbing my hand, as I fell out of Elijah's hold and back into Enzo's.
I noticed how shaky he had turned, making me hold onto him even tighter. "Wait here" Nicolo murmured, as him and Stefano walked back inside the house, as the three of us were left, waiting in silence.
Within a few seconds of waiting, Francesco popped out of the front door, nodding at us, which allowed us to walk in, while he directed us to the kitchen, rather than the living room, where I could Leo, and two other people. It looked heated in there.
As we entered the kitchen, I saw balloons and banners, while Stefano was standing in the kitchen, by himself. "Welcome home!" he tried to sound happy, but I know that the shouting had affected him in some way; it seemed to of had an affect on all of us for some reason.
"I asked you not to do this; it's too much" Leo's loud voice was much closer than I expected, as I jumped slightly. Enzo wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling his face into my neck as I felt something wet slide down my back. I held his arms tightly as I pushed my face into them.
My heart was racing at this point, and I was sure that if Enzo listened close enough, he would be able to hear it rattling in my rib cage. My hands were shaky, as were my legs, but I was trying my hardest not to show it; to keep myself together.
"Leo" a stern voice brought attention towards the two of us, as I heard someone stand in front of me, as it sounded as though Leo was behind us. "Leon, I'm doing this for them. I asked him to leave, after everything he has been doing. We can take care of them now" Leo sounded like he was on the verge of a breakdown.
"Leo, take a walk" and with that, I felt Enzo being unraveled from me, as I opened my eyes to see him in Leon's arms, shaking. Nicolo came over and wrapped his arms around me, as I clutched tightly onto his front, my hands shaking as I did so.
"I'm sorry" I murmured, while Nic just rubbed up and down my back, sending me into a bliss. My eyes were starting to droop as I didn't realize I had been picked up like a small child, weary of my injuries, as they carried me somewhere.
"Nic" I questioned, holding onto him tighter, in my exhausted state. "Yeah, piccola raggazza?" he responded, as I felt him about to place me down, but I clutched onto his shoulders tighter. "Enzo didn't get to show me my room. He wanted to show me the entire house; the pool, the movie room, he wanted to show me it all"
I felt bad that this is what it had become; I would panic then get tired. I wasn't getting the chance to do anything other than that one cycle. "Flo, rest. We can show you everything when you wake up. It will all be here when you wake up, trust me"
And I did just that. I collapsed onto the soft surface that Nic had left me on, as I had the best sleep I had had in a while. I didn't notice the person that had slipped in beside me, keeping my cold body warm.
Everything was changing, and I guess I wasn't used to it just yet.
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thoughts? xx