Au Pair
All Rights Reserved
© 2017 Luna Black
~*~
A week later, I was discharged.
Thankfully, Luca didn't talk much about the two weeks we were separated. Quite frankly, I didn't want to be reminded of it whilst I was awake.
My nightmares consisted of Ulysses and his methods to try and torment me. I swore during the beatings that he wouldn't break me. That I was stronger than he gave me credit for, but now that I didn't have to psych myself into wanting to survive, I realised that I was fücked up.
The little that I had managed to salvage from the beatings my mom had given me, seemed to break a little. My resilience slowly shattered and now I was left with an empty hollow, trying to smile and reassure everyone around me that I was okay.
Knowing that I was on my way home with the people I loved, helped to relief my worried mind. Every night, the lights had to remain on. If I woke up, alone, in the darkness, I'd have a really bad panic attack.
Luca had experienced them twice. The first time, he had gone outside the room to answer an important phone call and my body decided to wake up at that exact moment.
It felt like I was back in the cell, but this time without Alexia to keep me sane. I was alone and freaking out as I waited for Ulysses to enter the room and beat me senseless.
The second time, he had left the room to get something to eat. I felt terrible that I interrupted him with all the panic attacks, but it was like my body realised when I was alone. It was one of the worst things that could happen to my sanity.
I didn't like that I couldn't be alone in the darkness, but my pride didn't have any energy left to intervene and make my esteem feel even worse.
On the flight back to New York, Mrs. Maggie entertained us with stories about her past with Noah. Most of them I had heard, but I didn't mind listening to them all over again because they kept me distracted.
For a short moment, it was like everything had gone back to normal. Like I hadn't been used as a punching bag for some asshole and my family hadn't traded me in to pay off their stupid debt.
The doctor assured me that my organs were fine. Most of my pain was just major bruising and that all I needed was a lot of bed rest.
I was healthy physically, but mentally that was a whole different thing.
I forced a smile, though. I answered the questions that wouldn't make me seem crazy or broken.
That was another thing my mother had taught me well. I should've been an actress with the amount of acting I did through high school or even a makeup artist with all the makeup I blended to hide the bruises.
Our first stop in New York was Mrs. Maggie's home. We stayed for a little while, just making sure that she was okay and then went back to Luca's apartment.
He carried me out of the car, up the stairs and into the apartment. He was gentle and careful, doing his best to take care of me.
In any other occasion, I would have been upset that he seemed so worried of me falling apart in his hands, but I understood his worries. And I understood that he just wanted to care for me, so I didn't put up a fight or let it bother me so much.
He sat me down on the couch and walked over to the kitchen. "Do you want anything to drink?"
I turned my head back to look at him and nodded. "I have to drink my pills now, so a glass of water would be nice."
He nodded, manoeuvring himself around the kitchen quietly.
Toby ran into the living room and meowed at my feet desperately. I grinned, lifting her into my lap and cuddled her to my side.
"Hey, girl!" I cooed, petting her little body gently, "How are you? Did you miss me?"
She licked my hands, purring loudly as she burrowed her little head against my body and I grinned.
"Did Luca spoil you while I was gone?"
Just in cue, Luca walked in holding a glass of water and my medication in his other hand. "Killian fed her while I was in Florida with you."
I smiled, still caressing her furry little body. "Thank him for me, please?"
He nodded, handing me the cup and pills. Toby jumped into his lap and he smiled, letting her lick his hands and fingers.
I raised an eyebrow, watching as she cuddled up in his lap and shook my head. "I leave her for a little and now she's trying to steal my man."
Luca let out a quiet chuckle, resting an arm over my shoulders and looked down at Toby quietly. There was so much he wanted to say, I knew it, but I didn't know how to exactly bring it up or if I wanted to hear anything he had to say.
I felt like I was holding my sanity in by a thread. I didn't want it to snap and bring up unwanted thoughts into my mind.
He seemed to realise it and didn't say anything about what was in his mind. Eventually I would talk about my fücked up family and answer any of his questions, but now that I was back home, surrounded by familiarity, I wanted to enjoy that.
"I bought her a litter box and food, so, that she can stay, if you still want to live with me." Luca broke the silence first. His voice was awkward, almost distant; formal.
"Thank you," I whispered, looking down at my fingers and forced a smile. "It looks like she likes it here."
He nodded, his eyes shifting down to the feline in his lap and I watched as his jaw muscles ticked in annoyance.
Now that we were alone, in an extremely familiar setting, I felt like I was with a stranger.
~*~
While Luca worked on the kitchen table, I cuddled with Toby and watched TV silently. I had fallen asleep on the couch and Luca must've moved me to the bedroom sometime during the night.
I woke up around 3 in the morning alone and in the dark. The bathroom light was on, but the door was partially closed, so it didn't have much effect in calming me.
His side of the bed was cold, unwrinkled. He hadn't slept with me.
My chest began to constrict, the familiar feeling of a panic attack settling in my stomach as I stood up and tried to control my breathing.
I rushed out of the room and abruptly stopped in the middle of the hallway, staring at Luca on the couch.
He was awake with his hands holding his head in a defeat position. His shoulders trembled and I frowned, trying to figure out what he was doing.
His breath was shaky, uneven and forced.
My panic attack immediately stopped as my heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach.
He was crying.
I quickly walked toward him, almost tripping over my own feet as I knelt in front of him.
"Luca?" I slowly pulled his hands away from his face and bit my bottom lip.
His eyes were bloodshot red, his nose a lighter pink colour and tears drenched his face.
"Luca," I whispered again, my voice breaking as I pulled him in for a hug.
He spread his legs a bit, allowing me to get closer as I held unto his waist tightly and he burrowed his face against my neck, sobbing quietly.
"I'm sorry, cariño," His voice was muffled against my neck, "I promised that I would protect you and I couldn't even find you in time."
I shook my head, running my fingers through his hair and held him tightly. "This wasn't your fault, Luca."
"I couldn't keep you safe," he growled, "I couldn't even keep my word and that's why you went through hell."
I opened my mouth to try and convince him otherwise, but he shook his head, interrupting me.
"I saw what they did to you. I have the files of what that bastard did to you for fifteen days and it has been torturing me every night. I can't even look at you without thinking of-" He choked mid sentence, gritting his teeth loudly. "I'm sorry."
My arms tightened around him and I blinked my tears away. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Luca. Please don't torture yourself anymore. This had nothing to do with you. This was Veronica and my mother, and Ulysses." I shook my head, lowering my voice, "Not you."
I pulled back to look at him and caressed his cheeks, wiping his tears away with my thumbs. "We are not going to blame ourselves for the actions of those bastards."
"Cariño," His voice was quiet, emotional, "if I had realised that it was that bïtch in your place, we could have avoided this whole ordeal. I had my suspicions, but I just...I didn't realise it until it was too late."
"Luca," I hugged him tightly, forcing myself on his lap. He sat back, welcoming my body against his and wrapped his arms around my waist. "My family is shïtty. This is what they wanted, what they planned. No matter what we had done, it still would've happened. Might've been an entirely different way, but I know them. We couldn't have stopped them unless we knew what they were planning."
Luca sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "As soon as I realised that you were taken, she left. She got what she wanted and went home to the fücking security that her mother gives her. They threw parties and celebrated, while you paid for their recklessness."
I leaned my head against his shoulder, looking down at our entwined hands. "That's how they are. I'm honestly not even surprised. That's how it was while I lived with them. I just wish I had stayed and ripped her hair out of her freaking head."
He breathed in deeply, resting his cheek against my head and rubbed his thumb against my hands gently. "They'll get what's coming," His voice was sure, a promise.
I frowned, tilting my head to look up at him. "Why do you sound so sure of it? Karma seems to skip over them."
The corners of his lips turned upward in a small smile and he kissed my forehead gently. "I won't let them get away with what they did to you. I'm compiling all the evidence I need to make sure they spend the rest of their miserable lives in prison."
My frown deepened. "How will you even do that?"
He smiled against my forehead. "You seem to forget that I have a lot of money and I can hack into a lot of things."
"Isn't that illegal?" I couldn't stop smiling then.
He shrugged. "Only if you get caught. Trust me, with all the information I've found so far, me hacking them will be the last of their worries."
I genuinely laughed. I hugged him tightly, breathing in deeply. I felt safe in his arms, like no matter what happened, I knew that eventually things would be okay.
"Daniela?" His voice was soft, careful.
I tilted my head to look up at him. "Yeah?"
"I'm sorry," His pretty blue eyes stared deep into mine, "I'm so sorry I couldn't find you sooner."
I shook my head, laying it back down against his shoulder. "It's not your fault, Luca."
"The moment I found out you were gone, I lost it. I couldn't concentrate. I couldn't work. I couldn't...I couldn't function. I didn't sleep for nights, just hacking into every fücking thing I could just to find you. I didn't even want to eat until I knew that you were okay." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair and leaned his head against the back of the couch. "Mrs. Maggie was the one that forced me to do things. I didn't want to tell her that you were kidnapped because I didn't want her to worry, but she knew something was wrong when you didn't call or visit. I couldn't keep it from her."
"Luca," I whispered, kissing his knuckles gently. They were bruised and slightly scarred, as if he had punched someone or something to the point that his skin peeled back. "Please don't blame yourself. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm fine. I'll probably break down once in a while, but I know I'll be okay. I survived living with my mom, I know I'll get through this."
"And that kills me!" He groaned, "There's no reason why you should have gone through something like that. No one should experience what you did and it tears me apart knowing that this is something you feel used to."
I shrugged, pulling myself closer to him and breathed in deeply. He smelled like home and I didn't realise until then, just how much I had missed it. "Let's just leave that in the past. I want to live my life with you and I don't want to bring that with us to the future."
He was silent for a second, by moving or saying anything. Then he nodded and kissed my head. "You're right. The bastards that took you paid for what they did and Veronica and Maria will too."
I bit my bottom lip, frowning. "What happened to them?"
Luca rubbed his thumb against my arm in circles. "Police aren't exactly sure what happened. The cameras were disconnected for five minutes and when they were connected again, all the fückers were killed."
"Damn," I muttered.
He nodded in agreement to my surprise. "Their throats were ripped out. Killian said it was an extremely gruesome crime scene. His exact words were something out of a Saw movie. I really don't care what happened, I just hope they suffered and I'm happy they paid for what they did."
"I hope so, too," I whispered, "I'm glad the girls were returned to safety."
He was quiet again, just rubbing his hands up and down my arms and I looked out the window, watching as the stars began to hide and the sun brightened the sky.
"I thought I was going to lose my mind," he whispered, "we found the location where they held you, but a group of women were already being shipped off to sell. When we found the place where they were holding the transactions, you were already off with the sick fücker that bid for you. I thought that I had lost you forever. I knew that you were still in the country, I just...once you were with him it would've been harder to find you."
Luca swallowed hard, squeezing me into him tightly. "I was ready to torture answers out of anyone, when the cops began to talk about an almost naked woman that stumbled into the hospital, through their private line. They sent officers to check out what happened and as they described her, I immediately went to check it out."
He breathed in deeply, his voice sounding heated with desperation. "Jesus, Daniela, when I saw you on the hospital bed, I could have died from happiness. I didn't care that you weren't awake for two days as long as the doctor said you were okay. I didn't even want to leave your side until you woke up, but Mrs. Maggie is rather grandmotherly," he chuckled, softly, "and she forced me to sleep."
"Mrs. Maggie is awesome," I whispered.
"They found him," He murmured against my forehead, "and they understood the situation. You won't have to testify unless the lawyer thinks its needed. He said he'll use that as a last resort, though."
I shook my head. "I don't want to think about it or talk about it. I'd rather all that stays in Florida and leaves me alone."
Luca nodded, kissing my head gently. "I'll take care of everything, cariño."
I breathed in deeply, snuggling closer to him and closed my eyes, growing a little more tired. "Te amo, Luca. Te amo con todas mis fuerzas."
His fingers reached down to my chin and he lifted it, pressing his lips against mine gently. This was our first kiss in weeks and it felt just as amazing as all our others, in fact, even better.
I closed my eyes, tightening my hold on him and kissed him with everything I had. I missed him more than I could even explain.
"I want to do a couple of things," I caressed his cheeks, pressing a couple of pecks to his lips. "Before we continue with our life, I want to get help. I don't want to keep waking up covered in sweat and having nightmares. I want to feel in control of my life again."
He nodded. "Anything you want, cariño."
"I'll go talk to a therapist and get better. I want some sort of tracking device on me because I can't trust that my family won't ever do something stupid again."
"I won't let them," he clenched his jaw, "I'll put them all in prison before."
I smiled, kissing him again. "Okay, well, while you gather all the evidence you need, I want you to be able to know where I am. I'll feel better that way."
"Okay," he nodded, brushing my hair behind my ear.
"It could be like in jewellery or something."
He pulled me toward him, gently pecking my mouth with his. "I'll start working on it immediately."
I grinned, feeling happy for the first time in weeks. "And," my cheeks turned a slight shade of pink, "I want to marry you. I want to start a family with you eventually, if it's something that-"
"If it were up to me, I'd drag you down to the courthouse and marry you."
"Now?" I laughed.
He nodded, smiling up at me. "Now."
"You don't want to get married in a church or some fancy ass place?" I raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged. "I couldn't care less. As long as we're married, I don't care."
My grin widened. "So, you want to marry me now? It doesn't scare you or anything? I mean, you don't think we're moving too fast?"
"Every relationship is different, cariño." He kissed my nose, making me laugh, "I don't care when we do it. I just know I am a hundred percent sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"What about a family?"
He nodded, kissing my hands gently. "I told you, I want to do everything with you. Just let me know when and I'll set everything up."
"You're amazing, you know that?" I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and knelt over him, with a knee on either side of him. "Y te amo como loca."
"And I love you, cariño. More than you can ever imagine."
"Right now," I pressed a kiss against his throat, "I want to cuddle with you in bed and sleep."
Luca grunted, standing up from the couch and held my ass as he walked to the bed. I let out a laugh as he nibbled on my shoulder and laid me down on the bed, kissing me deeply.
I was certain now that things would definitely be okay - better than okay.
~*~
I'm at the beach without my laptop, meaning I wrote everything in my phone, so please pardon all my mistakes, but I was just trying to not make y'all wait very long.
Next chapter is gonna be very fun to read 😈
Xo, Luna