Bella
'No francesco, I don't care what you say you. You are not digging in her past anymore. I am already pissed at you and Ciro for running a security check on my Angel behind my back'
At first I couldn't register what they were arguing about. But when Lucca growled the words 'my angel' it all clicked angel - past - security check. They were looking into my past, the past I have been running from.
A shiver runs down my spine at that and I take a step back. I couldn't believe this was happening. God please not now. Not when I was feeling a bit a normal. When I was finally getting over that day and starting to welcome someone in my life. Someone special as Lucca.
It took me years to forget that dreadful day that ruined my life and to move on. But after all this year they were still haunting me and now everything came rushing back. I frantically shake my head as the memories from that day flood back.
I can't let Lucca know about me and what I have done when I was a teenager. What if he leaves me or worst he starts hating me. Just like everyone who knew did when they found out about my past. I take another step back planning to run and hide from the world, from Lucca.
But before I could make my escape Ciro turns around and look at me. He moves in my direction and stares at me with concern and panic written all over his face. Pretty sure the concern is over what both of us just heard. And he is in panic mode because he thinks I might run out of here and never come back. Never give Lucca a chance again. But what he doesn't know is I Lucca will leave me after knowing about my past. And I wouldn't be able to handle that, so before he kicks me out I think I should leave.
But then Lucca's next word stopped me death on my track.
"Francesco I trust her with my live and I think I am falling for her. So please don't do anything that can ruin us or worse ruin me forever." Lucca's sincere word stops me from jolting out. It was something I always did. I ran from my past for more than ten years and every time someone tried to get close, I shut them out. But when I meet Lucca for the very first time. He felt different. He felt like someone I should fight for. Someone I should trust. And that's what I decided to do.
I take a deep breath and get myself under control. I can do this. No I need to do this. If Lucca can trust me and stand for me in front of his brother, the least I could do is tell me the real truth. And hope that he still trusts me.
I side step Ciro and push open the ajar door to Lucca's room. A man quickly stands in front of me guarding Lucca, who was lying on the bed. The man was double my size and all that tremendous bulky muscles along with frown look on his face made him look like the Hulk. Except the green color. He gradually moves his left hand away from his handgun holster which was attached to his waistband. My eyes go wild at that but I quickly look away, trying to act nonchalantly.
"Angel" Lucca says from behind the hulk. His high pitch sounds tell me he is both surprised and worried.
I tried to look at Lucca over the giant hulks shoulder. But man he was literally a giant hulk blocking Lucca completely from me. I was about to side step him but Lucca spoke up.
"Francesco get out of her way." His voice left no space for argument but the hulk just narrowed his eyes on me. It was like he was trying read me or scare me but I couldn't tell which one it was. So I just remained quiet and tired not to quiver under his gaze. After a second he shifts and lets me see Lucca.
The moment our eyes meet I realised I had made the right decision of not running away this time. Lucca looked so fragile lying there in the centre of the bed all beaten up but he still smiled up at me. I quickly glance all over him to make sure he is okay. He had a sling on his left hand and his face was spotting some angry looking bruises. But he still looked the most handsome man I have ever seen.
I walk over to him and see his worried face ease up. I sit next to him on the bed and put my hand over his chest and feel his tense muscles relaxing. I smile softly at him and reassure him that I am okay. I don't want him to worry about me. I should be the one worrying about his recovery not the other way round.
"How are you feeling Lucca??" At that he grabs my hand my hand that was resting on his chest and gently squeeze it.
"Angel, he didn't mean to hurt you by..." I start shaking my head and don't let him finish his sentence.
"Lucca it's okay. I know he is your head security so doing a security check is part of his job." At that his eyes widen and I explain "Ciro gave me a brief run down about you guys on our way over. And I think he is just doing his job, so let him do." I take my other hand and softly pat on our joining hand over his chest.
Then I slowly move resting my back at the bed headboard and face the two other men in the room. I glance over at both of them and then fix my gaze at Hulk. "It seems like you have some questions for me???"
He narrows his on me like he is trying to read me or intimidate me. But I can't tell which on it is so I remain calm. Then he looks at Lucca and raises an eyebrow, was he asking him for permission to question me ???
"Angel, you don't have to answer any of his questions" Lucca interjected trying to diffuse the situation but I continued to stare at the hulk.
It is better if we get everything clear now than later. So when I don't budge Lucca just sighs loudly. "I didn't mean to disrespect you Miss.Gabrielle but as his brother and head security I do a few inquires about your past. Hope you don't mind answering them for me??"
He sounded so formal and with so much authority. And if it wasn't for Lucca's hold on my hand I would have thought I was been interrogated.
"Call me Bella and it's okay please go ahead."
Lucca looks up at me and I wonder if he knows that I am so scared right now that I want to just rush out of the door and never comeback. "Angel, you don't have to do anything. I trust you and I don't care what anyone else says." He whispers just for my ear. I can't believe Lucca is standing by me instead of his brother, his family. He is choosing to trust me and that's all matter.
I look back at hulk and gesture for him to go ahead and ask me.
"Okay, so tell me Miss. Gabrielle how come you have not even a single parking ticket??" He still calls me Miss.Gabrielle even when I asked him to call me Bella. Something tells me that it's his work that has made him all rough and tough but I don't correct him this time and calmly reply his question with a smile on my face.
"Simple. I hate driving and I don't own a car. Yes I do have licence because as a paramedic I need one. But when at work my partner, Ethan - I bet you looked him up too." I give him a look letting him know that I know what he is doing. He is gradually building it up. First he is asking me easy questions the one he is least curious about. And then boom he will ask me the hard one, the one about my parents.
It's like he is a FBI agent who has all this interrogation training - Don't give away what you are thinking from you look, make sure to intimidate the suspect, Gradually lure him/her into your trap...blaah blaah.. I continue when he doesn't response. "So as I was saying Ethan, my partner drivers our van when we are at work. It's not because I don't want to but because he loves to drive and doesn't let me drive. And for after work hours I use public transport all the time. It's both easy and cheap."
He nods as if he is believing every single thing that I am telling him and is agreeing with my reasoning. But I doubt he is easy to conceive type.
"What about your parents?? There is nothing about them on your record except the basic??"
Boom.. there it is. It came way quicker than I anticipated. My smile fades and body tense up. Lucca can feel it to because he tightened his hold on me and snarl at his brother "Francesco I swear to god if I wasn't so dizzy because of the pain med I would get up and kick some sense into you." Lucca threats Francesco.
Ciro chimes in from next to Francesco"Bro that's low and take it easy. She is someone Lucca cares about."
I couldn't believe how both Lucca and Ciro came to my defences so quickly. They were been so good to me that I wonder what will happen when they will hear the truth. Will they still stand by me?? Will they still want me around??
I take deep breath and try to calm my rapidly beating heart. "I was an orphan." The moment those words leave my mouth I feel Lucca's gaze on me. But I was to scared to look at him now. I wanted to tell him the whole truth because if I stopped now. I don't think I would be ever able to continue.
So I continue to look at our entwined hands " I stayed in foster care for almost 10 years and then got adopted by a beautiful married couple. My adoptive parents - Giana and Karmelo Gabrielle, couldn't have a child of their own after 11 years of their marriage so they decided to adopt me. They were good people and they took care of me like I was one of them. We never argued which to my friends was weird. But I didn't know how real parent were so I thought it was normal."
"But exactly on my 18th birthday. I came back home early from school than the usually. Just so I could get ready for the evening birthday party with my mom." I close my eyes remembering my old house living room. It was decorated with different types of balloon and decorating stings. All three of us have spend hours doing it ourselves last night. It all looked so pretty and I was so excited for the party.
"I was supposed to be at my friends house across the street but I wanted to get something from my room. So I entered my house using the front door which was slightly open." My parents never left the front door open and I should have realised then but I was so high on my birthday party that I didn't care.
"So they didn't hear me coming in and when I was about to head up stairs I heard them arguing. They never fought, not even once and they never raised their voice at me. So I remained quite."
I shutter at that memory. I was a naive 18 year old girl who thought eavesdropping on a conversation was a smart idea. But little did I know it turned out to be my biggest nightmare. "They were arguing about me and my trust fund. And how they couldn't wait to get their hands on my money and kick me out of their house." I always thought they loved me but it seems like they were after my money.
I laugh but in actual it's just a huff of air "Apparently my real parents left a huge sum of money for me. And the fund would be completely transferred to my name once I was 18 years old. Until then I would be just getting monthly allowances. It was there way of apologizing for ditching me when I was just 12 hours old."
I close my eyes remembering the moment I found out that my adopted parents only adopted me so they could confiscate the money under my name. They didn't love me as their daughter. They resented me and was planning to ditch me once they got their hands on that money. Because of that I despised my real parent even more. They not only left me when I was just 12 hours old but they even made sure I was never loved or cared for.
"Angel, I am so sorry that you had to go through all that. Please stop you are hurting me." I feel Luccas touch on the side of my face. I didn't even realised when Lucca has shifted and now he was resting his back on the bed's head rest.
Lucca gently pulled me to his side and went in willingly. I wanted his warmness, his touch and his everything. I tilted my head up at him and he gently wiped away the tear that escaped from my eyes and then cupped my cheeks.
His ocean blue eyes were filled with so much affection, care and love. It was like he didn't even care about anything and just wanted me. God this man is worth fighting for. "It doesn't matter to me if you have no parents or that you are orphan. We are your family Angel and you are mine." His words were whisper but they were loud and clear.
But I needed to continue so I tired to clear my throat to continue but before I could continue Lucca interjected "Angel you don't have to continue. I can see how much the memory is hurting you. Please stop it's killing me seeing you cry."
I cover his hand with mines "No Lucca you have to know about my past before we make any future decisions."
"The moment my dad said he was tired of taking care of a kid that wasn't even his to start off with, I gasped. And they both looked in my direction and before they could say anything I ran out of the house. They kept calling me, yelling for me to stop but I didn't care anymore. I ran across the main street to over my best friends house and they followed me. But while crossing the road they got hit by a truck and passed away on the spot."
They died because of me, because I ran away and didn't give them a chance to explain, to tell me why they adopted me if they were never going to love me.
I finally look back at Lucca and say "I didn't know this would happen. I didn't mean to kill them. I just wanted to get away from them, from everything. And that's what I did. I moved to another city and started my life alone, without anyone. But they still haunt me."
I have been living alone for so many years now that when Lucca came into my life. I was so scared to let him in but at the same time I was more scared to let him go. That's why I needed to tell him everything and I just wished he didn't resent me like my parents did. I wish he just did call me murder like the town people called me.
"Oh my sweet Angel you didn't kill them. It was the truck driver that killed them." He pulls closer and engulfs me in a tight hug. Until then I didn't know I need it, but tucked so close to him I could breath once again.
After a few minutes pass away he reluctantly lets go of me and scans my face for assurances. I let him cause it only make my heart to pound faster. He doesn't care about my past. He doesn't care that I am an orphan. He doesn't care that my parents died because of me. He is not like other. He doesn't think I am a murder.
I smile at him and he does the same.
Then he looks at front and his expression changes "Francesco if all your questions have been answered, could you get the hell out of my room and Ciro you too. I will deal with both of you later." He snarls at both of them and they leave without arguing. I move my gaze at their retrieving back and then the door shuts closes.
"Lucca are you really okay with everything I just told you."
"Angel" He looks straight at me before he continues "Not even for once I doubted you and I don't care about your past. I only care about our present and future. One which I hope includes me."
I shift more closer to him and rest my head over his good shoulder. He smells like warm honey and amber. A scent that immediately calms my racing heart and make me feel like home. "It does Lucca. It does.I can't tell you how important you are for me and how much I need you."
I felt like I could breath again. I was so worried that he will leave me, like everyone else did and hate me that I was about to run out of the house. But thankfully I did and I am so grateful that I decided to fight for us.
He throws his arm over me and I snuggle in closer to him "Angel I need you more. I know this is fast but the moment my eyes landed on you I knew you were the one for me. And I would never let you go."
Smiling at his words I just enjoy the feeling and hug him gently from the side, keeping account of his injuries. It felt good to be in his arm, in his warmness and knowing that he is mine just like I am his. Only his.
I close my eye in contentment and inhale his scent deeply.