"Sleep well my Bambina" I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, she tensed a little which surprised me but then again she had only just met me. I watched as she left my office and I thought to myself...
What has happened to my precious sorellina?
...........................................................................................
Theodora
Once I closed the door to Luca's study I made my way to my room as quickly as possible. I made sure to remember where it was after my altercation with Dante. Once I was in the safety of my room I let out the breath which I didn't realize I was holding. While they are my brother's they still make me incredibly nervous. I don't know how well I can hide my past without them noticing which is worrying.
I hobbled over to the bathroom, grabbing my t-shirt and shorts for bed on the way. Hoping a quick shower will wash away some of the worries from my mind and relax me for a peaceful sleep...although I knew that was unlikely to happen.
"BITCH" Steven was furious, I've never seen him so mad over dinner before. I scrambled to my feet and was about to make a run for it when I felt a force knock me down...it was Steven. He had kicked me down by my back.
"Ahh Stop please! I-I'm sorry I'll make it now j-just please let me go!" I begged pathetically when he wrenched me up by my hair, I desperately tried to relieve some of the pain by holding myself up but it was no use, It felt as though my scalp was on fire.
"Oh, now she'll make my dinner she says, it should have been ready when I walked through that door" He threw me back down but not before striking me hard across my face.
I lay their pain radiating through my body, this couldn't get any worse I thought to myself...Oh how wrong I was.
"YOU - WILL- COOK - MY - DINNER - NOW - BITCH -" He punctuated each word with a kick to my body. I couldn't move, I couldn't think, all I could do was focus on the pain, not only the physical pain but the emotional scars this monster left behind with each kick, slap, punch, cut, and bruise.
Just as I attempted to pick myself up off of the ground Steven had grabbed a beer bottle and proceeded to smash it over me, sending my body tumbling back down to the ground. I felt shards of glass sink into my skin on my back and on my arms.
"AHHH no please stop" I cowered on the floor in a fetal position, protecting myself the best I could, all I could hear was a laugh, this monster enjoyed the pain and misery he inflicted on me...and that left my stomach churning.
I mustered enough courage to look up at the man standing above me only it wasn't Stephen....it was Luca
"L-Luca? What are you d-doing?" My tears were flowing uncontrollably now.
"Giving you what you deserve you worthless bitch" He sneered at me, he looked just like Steven...a Monster.
Just as he was about to strike another blow.....I jolted awake with a scream.
"Oh no no no" I whispered to myself, I silently prayed no one heard me. Sadly that was not the case as I heard panicked footsteps approach my room.
They're going to send me away, or worse my nightmare will become reality.
I laid back down on my bed, facing away from the door as soon as it began to creak open. I was hoping whoever it was would believe everything was fine and they just imagined it. I could hear them inch closer to my bed and then they sat on the edge.
"You okay my Tesoro? I heard a scream" I didn't immediately recognize the voice and my curiosity eventually took over, I opened my eyes and was shocked to see that Dante was sitting on my bed with concern in his eyes.
"I'm fine it was just a nightmare, I'm sorry I woke you" I could barely hear myself as my voice was only above a whisper, fear and worry laced my tone, I was positive he was going to start yelling at me or worse, will he hurt me like Steven did?
He raised his hand and due to the recent nightmare, my past was raw and so were my instincts, I flinched back closing my eyes, and was left speechless when I felt a warm hand comb through my hair. The concept of comfort was foreign to me and Dante probably assumed that too since he looked taken aback, only for a moment before a small smile graced his lips. Mom never played with my hair before and that thought brought a wave of sadness. I closed my eyes in an attempt to trap the tears that are desperate to escape.
"It's okay angel I'm here, It was just a dream okay" His soft words were slowly encouraging me back to sleep. As bad as I wanted to sleep, I knew I couldn't, I couldn't risk any of my brothers asking me questions I knew I couldn't provide an answer to. I pretended to fall asleep and waited for Dante to leave. We stayed like that for what felt like hours, It was extremely difficult to not fall asleep, Dante kept rubbing soothing circles on my forehead and running his hand through my hair. He kept whisperning comforting things to me and it was hard to believe any of them. He said I was okay and that I was safe, but was I? was I okay? was I really safe? safe from my past, my demons, myself?
Eventually Dante left, I missed the comfort but at least I could relax a bit. I checked my phone for the time and saw it was 4:30. I fell back against my bed and stared at the ceiling, everytime I almost fell asleep I would pinch my arm. I needed to do something if I wanted to stay awake. I pulled out my sketch book from my backpack, I kept it in there just in case. I began sketching the first thing that came to my mind, my demons. I found that it helped to calm me down, it was as if I removed them from my mind and onto the page. I stayed like that for a few hours, when I checked the time again it was now 7:00. I took one last look at the page which was filled with the demons that haunt me night and day and a small tear slowly fell, why do I have to be like this I pushed the thought to the back of my mind.
I got out of bed and went to leave my room but stopped unsure if was I allowed to leave my room this early? Steven always beat me once when I snuck out to get some food. It will be okay they're not Steven. I left my room and made my way to the kitchen, while I was slowly walking I began to think of Dante, last night his whole demeanor caught me off guard, I didn't think he could have a soft side as he showed me last night. Then again, I have only been here a day or so. Hopefully, he doesn't mention anything to Luca or any of my other brothers.
As I entered the kitchen I saw it was empty, I decided to make breakfast for myself and the guys. It would be rude Theo if you made breakfast for yourself and not anybody else, I thought to myself. I flicked through a cookbook I found and settled on some banana pancakes and also plain ones in case someone doesn't like bananas. I used to be up earlier around 6 or so to cook Mum and Steven breakfast, so this wasn't unusual for me.
Just as I finished the last pancake I felt my throat was dry and scratchy, I grabbed a glass and helped myself to some water. As I was drinking, a voice boomed behind me.
"What are you doing?" The deep voice, which I again didn't recognize scared me half to death. It caused me to jump and drop my glass, it shattered on the floor across my bare feet.
"Ahh shit" I looked towards the source of the voice and it was Matteo, he was swift to pick me up and sit me on top of the counter. He caused a searing pain to shoot through my chest due to the pressure he applied to my ribs and the bruises that decorated them. Luckily the pain etched on my face could be directed to the shards of glass stuck in my feet.
"Fuck I'm sorry Theo, I didn't mean to scare you" He was being very kind and sincere which I didn't expect from such a poker face guy.
"It's o-okay it was an accident" I feel so pathetic when I speak, my voice is so quiet and weak sounding.
"Let me grab the first aid kit" He walked over towards another cabinet in the kitchen and pulled out a small first aid kit. He placed it beside me and took out rubbing alcohol and some bandages, he also grabbed small tweezers to remove the glass.
"This is going to hurt a little okay" he looked very focused as he examined the small cuts where the glass had broken the skin. He plucked out a few shards, luckily there were no bigger pieces, that would have hurt. He was cautious when attempting to remove the glass, looking up at me to make sure he wasn't hurting me too much, he looked surprised when I wasn't crying or squirming if he only knew that this was minor to me in comparison to other injuries I have enjured.
"I'm going to clean the cuts now, this is going to sting but only for a moment" He gave me a small smile and applied the disinfected, I was used to the feeling so it didn't bother me at all. It also reminded me that I need to check on my other injuries later.
Matteo carefully bandage my feet, he was so gentle it made me inwardly smile at how kind he was being.
"There we go, all better again I'm sorry I scared you" He looked sincere and I felt guilty that I had caused him to feel bad.
"It's okay it was my fault, I was clumsy" He gave me a confused look, and I couldn't read what he was thinking as he stared at me.
"What are you doing up this early anyway?" He questioned me as he started up the coffee machine.
"I was hungry so I came down and thought I'd make everyone some pancakes...I hope that was okay I wasn't sure if I was allowed or if it was okay for me to leave my room or-" Before I could ramble on any more Matteo interrupted me.
"Theodora, it's okay you are allowed to leave your room and if you're hungry to make yourself something, as long as you're careful and thank you for making breakfast although you didn't have to" He smiled down at me and I felt comfortable around Matteo, but I had to remind myself to still be cautious I can't trust them...not yet.
"Would you like plain or banana?" I nervously asked him.
"Oh banana all the way" he replied with a smile
As I handed him a plate with three banana pancakes, I could hear distant chatter and footsteps approaching the kitchen.
A new day, It'll be fine....hopefully