The plane ride felt longer than it actually was, I tried getting some sleep but with my overthinking mind on overdrive and the little kid behind me that would not stop kicking my seat, sleep just didn't come.
As I walk through the airport after getting my luggage I realize I have no idea where I'm suppose to go. What if they forgot about me coming? What if they don't like me once they meet me? Their my only family I have left they wouldn't just leave me, would they? Of course they would, everyone leaves no matter how much they love you, or even if they didn't at all and my brothers, I don't even know them and they don't know me why would just being blood related to someone stop them from leaving?
As I'm in my thoughts I don't even realize the person standing over me until his hand is on my shoulder, I flinch away from him the second his hand makes contact with my skin.
"I'm sorry, are you Miss Gabriella?" The man looks to be in his 60s with the wrinkles covering his skin and the laughing lines around his mouth that become more prominent when he smiles. His smile is comforting and friendly, but I wouldn't fall for that again, John had the same smile when I first met him and for a few years later, but then when my mother died he snapped, and his true colors showed.
I looked up at the man who was towering over me and I stepped away, he was wearing a nice clean cut suit and nice dress shoes, he also had an expensive Rolex on his wrist which he checked the time once before looking back at me with that same friendly smile, his eyes were like hot chocolate, like the kind my mom would make from scratch on cold winter nights for me, and his brown hair was starting to grey.
He retracted his hand and a look of confusion overcame his features for a second and then it was gone and his friendly smile was back.
"Yah?" I didn't really know what to say, this man seems nice enough but so does everyone until their demon comes out and takes control.
"I apologize Miss, I'm Albert I work for your brothers as their personal driver, I've been sent to come and take you home" his eyes showed longing and brightened at the mention of taking me home.
Home.
Something I haven't had for a while. But would it really be my home, sure I would be living there but I was living with John and that wasn't home so what would make this place my home. Home isn't always where you live it's who your with and my home died two years ago.
He grabbed my bag that contains the limited items I've been able to get through the years and we started our walk out of the airport. Although I am curious as to why he came to pick me up instead of my brothers I mean I have six for God's sake one of them couldn't of come?
Maybe they just decided I wasn't worth it maybe they've already given up on me without even meeting me yet. I don't know why that hurts, I don't even know them but just the thought of my family, the only family I have left, giving on me just creates a sharp jab of pain in my chest.
So enough we're walking up to this big black car with tinted windows that I can't see anything through them.
Albert opens the back car door for me and I thank him while getting in. I'm not used to expensive things let alone this princess treatment even if it is just opening the door for me.
When Albert gets in the car I can see him glance back at me a few times before he finally speaks.
"I'm sorry Lorenzo wasn't able to get you, he had meetings all day for the business." He smiles again at me.
"It's fine I didn't expect him too." I don't know why I thought for a second he would come pick me up, I don't even know this man, brother or not so why would he come pick me up, or send any of my brothers.
Within a half hour later we were pulling up into this mansion. Of course they live in a mansion if they have their own personal driver then they must be rich, makes me wonder what they do for a living, I've heard of the family business but I don't actually know what it is.
The mansion was beautiful, it was around 4 am so the sky was dark but with the moon shining on the home it looked like something out of a fairytale, they have beautiful rose bushes all around the house I wonder if one of my brothers has a green thumb or if they have a gardener, I'm thinking the latter but I don't want to judge them without meeting them yet.
Albert opened my car door for me and then grabbed my luggage as I stepped out, it was weird being someplace this nice, I feel like I don't belong with my worn out jeans and loose fitting T-shirt.
"Welcome home Miss Gabriella" Albert said with a wide grin on his face, not the evil kind of grin John would wear, this one was sweet and filled with nothing but warmth.
Albert lead me up the stairs and open the gorgeous front door and motioned me through, I was nervous when walking in because I didn't want to wake up any of my siblings, but it looks like they're already awake because most of the lights inside were on and Albert told me that my oldest brother, Lorenzo was busy with work. Why would he be working this late, or early, anyway? All I did was sit on a plane for 5 hours and I'm exhausted.
When I stepped into the entryway my jaw dropped to the floor, there was two separate staircases leading to one landing, and the marble floors shined so much that I could basically see my reflection, it made me want to take off my dirty shoes that were a size to small for me. There was two open doorways leading into two rooms, and then under the stairs balcony was another doorway leading into a hallway.
A deep chuckle came from the side of me and I jumped at least 5 feet in the air, I don't like being sneaked up on it reminds me of the too many time that John would do the exact same thing specifically of one time when he did just that and when he found me I wished I could switch places with my mom in a heartbeat, that was the first time he ever beat me black and blue, I will never forgot how he held me down after taking his belt off and ripped my shirt, or how he started whipping me with his belt, I'll never forget how much blood there was, there was so much, to much. I remember begging him to stop telling him that I'd do anything for the pain to go away, I remember him bending down in front of me and when I looked up into his eyes I no longer saw the person I once loved instead I saw a monster, the kind he used to protect me from, instead I saw the devil as a person. I'll never forget the hatred in his eyes when he looked at me like that, like I should have been the one who died that night not my mom, and the sad thing was that overtime I believed him.
Overcoming my senses before a panic attack starts I focus on the person in front of me, he was tall much taller than my 5ft height, he had brown hair a little lighter than my dark almost black hair, but he had the same vibrant green eyes as me, that I'm guessing we both got from our mother who had those exact same eyes I love my eyes because I got them from my mom, it was probably the only feature of her I got besides my short height, I guess I got a lot of my fathers features.
Realizing that he was talking but had realized that I wasn't listening so he stopped talking and just stared at me waiting for me to come out of my thoughts I began talking to him.
"Uh I'm sorry what were you saying" I didn't know who he was and I felt bad seeing as he probably knew who I was.
"I just said how I didn't mean to scare you, it's just I've been waiting to see you and seeing you completely mesmerized by this was something I'm glad I got to see" he laughed and looked at me again with a soft smile and a look of longing in his eyes.
"Oh, so who are you?" I felt bad having to ask him who he was since he seemed nice and knew who I was but I don't know who these peoples true colors are.
"I'm Matteo your second eldest brother" his smile didn't drop from his face as he told me that.
"Oh, I'm Gabriella which you already know..." I didn't know what to say to him. There was an awkward silence that he broke by laughing.
"Yah I do know. Would you like me to show you to your room? You must be tired." He started reaching for my bag on the ground and it was then I realized that we were alone and that Albert left, I didn't realize that being a spy cane with being a personal driver.
"Um yah I'm sorry by the way for keeping you up this late." He surprised me by just laughing and walking away up the stairs and motioning me to follow him.
"Don't worry about it Gabriella I would've been up even if you weren't coming" he lead me down a hallway and past another staircase which had voices coming from the top. I'm confused why there was more people up.
I tried to not be nosy, but I just couldn't understand why they would be awake this late.
"Why are there people still awake this late anyway?" I could see Matteo's back stiffen at my question and it just made me even more curious.
"Oh just work stuff." He said it so vaguely it filled me with even more questions but before I could ask them he was walking away down the hall and turning the corner, so I took one last look at the staircase leading up to the voices and made my way after him.
"So this is your room, all of our rooms go from oldest to youngest so yours is at the end of the hall, it's also right across from Antonio's room." All of our names are on the handle of our room, I'm surprised to see that my names on a handle to, but I guess it must have been put on when I was born, before me and my mom left.
"Thank you Matteo I appreciate it." I really did, not a lot of people have shown me kindness in the past few years so I'm glad at least one of my brothers is nice. I wonder how the others are.
"Don't worry about it Gabriella, I'm just happy to have you finally home." He handed me back my bag and opened the door for me.
"You'll see everyone else in the morning and tomorrow will be busy so try and get as much rest as possible. Goodnight Gabriella." With that he gave me one long and hard look before walking back down the hallway we came from, but past his door, I wonder why he isn't going to sleep if it's gonna be busy tomorrow.
Walking into my room I'm amazed by how big and beautiful it is, it's ten times the size of my old room back with John. There's a white queen sized bed with a beautiful bed spread with white pink and gray triangles and matching pillowcases and a big fluffy white blanket at the bottom of the bed, there's a white desk in the corner with a bunch of shelves going up the wall, a big walk in closet that's empty but holds a lot of space for clothing, and my own bathroom that's the same size of my old room. But that's not my the one thing that caught my attention out of everything, there was a bay window seat with white curtains and pillows all around it, I've always wanted a bay window after my old friend moved and had one in her room I always thought it was the perfect place to read.
After I was done gawking at my new room I look at the clock on the nightstand by the bed and realized it was 4:51 am so I changed into an old pear of sweatpants and kept my lose T-shirt on and climbed into the comfiest bed I have ever laid on, almost to comfy I'm used to a worn out mattress so this will be different.
As I lay there in this princess like bed I can't help but think back to what both Albert and Matteo said about me finally being home. If I really am home than why don't I feel like it, why do I feel like I'm just lost and trying to find my way back home? Why do I feel like I'm just going through the days until I'm finally back home with my mom? Why do I feel like if my brothers new me, the real me and all of the baggage I came with, that they'd send me away? Why do I already feel like a disappointment when I haven't even met all of them but one yet?
I feel like I'm not meant to be here, that I'm meant to stay with John and continue with his beatings or lessons as he liked to call them, because that's what I deserve, because I really did kill my mom even if I wasn't the one who pulled the trigger.
What will happen to me once my brothers find that out? What will happen once they realize that I'm not their innocent little sister that they think I am.
Thinking about that my hand goes to my collar bone where theres hickeys covering them because John wanted to 'claim' me because he saw me talking to a boy.
I feel like I can't breathe that I'm trapped in this dark abyss and I'll never get out.
Snap out of it Ella, come on hold on to something real not the past don't let him beat you again.
Frantically I grabbed my neck thinking that will help me breathe somehow, when I find my necklace grabbing on to that I feel like I can't breathe again, like it's my lifeline back to reality and not to that night a week ago where he ruined me.
Holding onto my necklace like I might die if I let go I feel my breathing get back to normal and I'm not in that abyss anymore instead I'm in this new room with the only light coming from the moon shining in through my window.
Staring outside at the moon I feel my eyelids start to drop, I always loved the moon I always found it peaceful with how it's miles and miles away from us but we can still see it shine along with the stars, I don't know why but the moon gives me hope, and that's really all I have at this point hope that one day it will all get better.
Hoping that this is it, that my world of pain can finally stop and turn into something worth living for and good.
So with that last thought in mind I finally fell under into slumber, almost like the abyss but peaceful.
Hey guys sorry I haven't posted in a few days my dog wasn't feeling well so we had to take her to the vet, and I've been so busy but I want to thank you for the people who have wrote positive comments about my first book and I hope you enjoyed this chapter I know it was really long but bear with me were getting to the good parts soon.
I hope you all have a wonderful day!😊