“Sorella”
Gio burst into Alita’s room without knocking, she didn’t seem to notice at first as she was lying fast asleep in the bathtub.
“Sorella?!” Gio seems unsure of what she was still doing in the bathtub, with a plaster on her left forearm, her body looks like a healing bruise, and her eyes are dark like she hasn’t been sleeping for days.
Something brought back his morals as he quickly placed his right palm over his open wide eyes and turned back.
“Alita!?” He waited for a few seconds but nothing, he got pissed and worried. He took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and yelled.
“ALITA!!!!”
Like someone running out of a terrible nightmare, Alita screamed and woke up, she looked around confused then covered her body with her robe, the one she kept beside the tub always.
“What the hell are you doing here?” She seems more confused “I will meet you outside” she sounds defeated.
As Gio slowly walk out of the bathroom, Alita blinked vigorously, snapping back to her right senses. Without trying to wash her body more, dived out of the bathroom to her room, freezing!
With teeth-gnashing, legs shaking and a disoriented mind, She jumped on her bed and buried herself in the worn-out duvet. She sighs after a while, feeling warm enough to have her brain working normally.
She rolled on her bed and her attention lead her to her dirty clothes, packed behind the door. She noticed the very dress she wore days ago, a strong unpleasant emotion sent a signal to her brain making her remember what had fully happened again.
“This can’t be happening” she cried as she shook under her duvet, crying.
Everything had returned like it just happened, even the wound seems bare. She managed to get off her bed and grab something to wear, something comfortable that hides every bruise she has.
In the next few minutes, she was dressed in a pair of black yoga pants, a tank top, and a sweater over it. Putting on a bra was never her thing, especially when she is at home, so she never bothers herself to put one on.
She walked slowly out of the room to meet Gio, sitting on a chair in the dining, staring blankly into the two plates of cake and a cup of milk. She kissed his head and walk to take her seat in the opposite direction, starting far from him the main time.
“Where did you get this from?” She asked as she began to eat from the cake, not waiting for a reply.
“Father Lorenzo” Gio stated.
Odd!
Normally, Gio would have refused to tell her after a little argument but this time, he just went straight and then muted. She knew he wasn’t happy and he wants to know something that only she knows, but she wasn’t prepared to tell him either.
She sip from the warm milk them forced a fake smile, she cut a huge part of the cake and shop it for him.
“I can stuff this all in my mouth at once” she smiled, she tilted her head, hoping to get a response from the boy but none “Talk to me boy, what’s the matter?”
“What happened a day before yesterday’s night?”
Alita had expected the question but not as a detective or blurt. She dropped the cake and giggled, her face visibly went red as she drank the whole of her milk and refill her cup.
“I so much loved milk” she nodded “Don’t you love milk?”
Gio stared blankly at Alita, then to her plate, next to the full plate, he seems not to be in his best mood or wants to eat.
“Gio?” She half-whispered, snapped her thumb and middle finger together, making a snap sound, and smiled broadly, hiding all her fears and worries.
“Tell me what happened, Alita,” he said almost sternly.
That sounds un-childlike as Alita dropped her fork and focused all her attention on him. She sigh then look at his left hand to see his phone which had never been done.
“I got into a bunch of bad boys that want to steal my purse and I freaked out,” She said sadly, “I thought they might want to trace me home that way why I texted you”
“Did the succeed in snatching your phone too?” Gio moved the food aside and lean forward toward his sister.
“I forgot it at work yesterday” she chuckled “I will get it back once I get to work today” she stretched to pat his head but he moved “Common! Did you call me? I will get it when I get to work okay”
Gio remains uncommunicative, watching his sister with deep concern. His hazel-green eyes stared into her sweet green eyes like he was looking for something.
His eyes watered as he looked away, looking at his phone as if getting irritated at the blank screen. A teardrop fell to the table, a few inches away from his plate. He cleaned it off immediately, sniffing angrily. He seems tense as Alita sprang up and rushed to him, pulling him for a bear hug.
“It’s something you don’t need to worry about,” She said “I promise you, I will take care of you as mum and dad had wanted”
“Does that involves running away from Ricardo?” Gio said quite uncertain, he took his phone and began to type something “Does that mean letting you feel like you are free?”
Alita stared at the phone shocked. It shows her a message from Ricardo to Gio, sent yesterday morning after she had escaped from his killer.
She looked at the phone closely and for a reason, she is yet to know, she read the message out.
“Alita is it? Take your day off today, just get Gio prepared for we no longer want you. Try to run, and we will kill you both.
Ps? Ricardo’s hell”
Fear engulfed Alita as she read the message over and over again, her hands shook as she hand the phone over to Gio and forced a fake smile.
“It’s nothing, Gio” her voice seems shaky “I will just call Ricardo to see if he was drunk. You know we broke up some time ago”
Her face went white as she stood up slowly.
“Smile Gio, it’s nothing to do-”
“I’m twelve not stupid, Sorella” he sniffed “stop lying!”
The tension in the room rose as they cried in each other’s arms, shaking, sweating, and praying.
“Please Sorella, I don’t want to go. Tomorrow is the new year” Gio sobs “Maybe after tomorrow I will go”
Gio’s sob hurt Alita like a bee bite. She took his face in her small palms and kissed his forehead, she wipe his tears and smiled at his confused face.
“Go get packed” She ordered “You are going to father Lorenzo”
“But he will kill us”
“Richard is dead!” She stated “Unless you want to end up like him with a bullet in your brain, go and get packed. NOW!”
Gio looked at his sister for the last time, as if asking if what she is about to do is right, in response, she nodded and grabbed his phone for the table while the boy ran to his room.
She quickly rushed to her room and grabbed the little money she have. She put on a pair of sneakers and muffled some clothes into her bag, her pepper spray not left behind.
Alita rushed to Gio’s room and find him staring at something in the window, he was so engrossed with it that he didn’t notice when she walked in.
“What the heck Gio” she exclaimed as she stomped towards him “Fucking get your things in your backpack- holy fucking shit!”
Her face turned white as she noticed what Gio had been looking at. Their men aligned from a black SUV outside the house, a few feet from her yard, and began to rush towards their house. She noticed a new van close to her home with the selling looking creepy.
On the opposite of Gio’s window is a young woman, she should be about Alita’s mate but a bit taller. She noticed the lady look in her direction and smirked as he had seen her.
“What’s going on?” Gio hugged Alita “I am scared, big sister” he cried out.
She is scared too but she can’t let it show.
“Hush !! I am her baby, nothing will happen to you” Alita stared daggers into the lad’s eyes “When I say nothing will happen to you, I mean nothing will happen to you”.
She pulled out to look at his face then smile, all fear gone replaced by anger and determination.
She picked up his bag, with a few of his things gave it to him, and pulled him out of the room, heading to the basement.
“I don’t want to go in there, it will come for me” Gio sobbed and hug her “please come with me” he begged.
Really?
Like now?
How can he be scared of the dark and I didn’t notice! I must be a very bad sister.
“You are staying here till I come back and ask you to go” She ignored his pleads “Until then, make sure you do not touch any light. I promise I will come for you”
“Today?” Gio asked.
Alita wasn’t sure of what to say, she pushed him gently inside thinking of what to say. She bent down, open the zip of her bag pack, and brought out a necklace.
The same one her dying mother gave her years ago.
“I will come back for this,” She said.