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“Get the hell off me!”
Gripping me by the arm, he twirls me around, his body is pressed against mine again as he stares into my eyes. All I can think is I can’t let him do this to me, I have to get away. I push against him with all my might, but my arms are pinned, and my body is exhausted.
“Give up yet?” His breath is hot against my skin, and it feels wrong. All of it is wrong, but there’s nothing that I can do about it. He nips at my neck as his hand begins to slip into my pants. I shake my head back and forth, trying to make myself forget, and remove myself from the situation.
With the last of my strength, I scream. I scream until tears are streaming down my face, and I know I’m going to be hoarse.
“If you don’t shut the fuck up, I’ll gut you after I fuck you,” Eli growls into my face. “Or I’ll choke you to death with my cock.”
The door above us is open, so I know someone has to have heard us. Footsteps fall on the floor as I hear someone coming. Enzo’s coming, he’s going to save me. It’s going to be okay…
A shadow appears in the doorway, but instead of Enzo, an older woman peers down at us. Her face contorts into anger as she descends the steps. Her words come out in a dialect that I don’t understand… It sounds Italian, but I’m not sure.
Whatever she says has Eli getting up and backing away from me. His eyes never leave me, though. The way he’s looking at me tells me that he’ll be back, and he’ll do whatever he wants to me.
“Come, piccolo.” Her hands are gentle, and her voice soothes me, as she pulls me up the stairs, leaving Eli behind in the basement. Tears spring from my eyes, and I grab her, wrapping my arms around her small frame. She’s my savior, my saint.
In the haze of it all, all I can focus on is that word. The one Enzo always calls me.
“What does that mean, the word you just called me?” I ask between sniffles. She smiles at me softly—the kind of smile my mom used to give me.
Her frail fingers reach out, pushing loose strands of my hair behind my ear. “It means little one in Italian.” Her voice is heavily accented, and as I listen to it, I want her to keep talking. The way the words sound and come together is soothing to my shattered soul.
I look back down the stairs where I was just assaulted. Eli has already left. I make a promise to myself that when he comes for me again, I will be ready.
“Let’s get you some food.” My face softens as I take her hand, letting her lead me to the safety and comfort of the kitchen.Dinner is delicious. Adaline, Addy, as she likes to be called, is the head maid in the house. She has worked here for a long time and the stories she shares with me make me forget all about the horrific things that could’ve taken place just hours before.
She only comes in three days a week now, which is why I haven’t seen her before. I wish she was here all the time. I enjoy her company so much, and not just because she saved me from a horrible situation.
Addy is kind and has a way about her that makes me feel comfortable and taken care of. I wonder if she knows why I’m here or if she would possibly help me contact my father.
“Do you know why I’m here, Addy?” I look at her weathered face as I curl my hands around the cup of tea.
“Yes, I know how you got here, and I’m sorry it happened that way. Lorenzo can be a little rough around the edges. He wasn’t always like this, life made him that way.”
I nod, understanding what she is telling me. I’ve seen that part of him, the part where he shows kindness. It’s small, but it’s there. I’m sure that’s who he used to be.
“I wonder if he can find his way back to who he was before?”
“He’ll never be exactly like he was before. But with the right person leading the way, he can be better than what he is now.” She smiles at me like she believes it’s me.
“You think I’m that person?” I furrow my brows together. She doesn’t even know me. Hell, I barely know Lorenzo.
“I think you could be.” Her smile widens, pulling at the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth. Even with them, she is beautiful, her dark brown eyes full of wisdom.
While I finish my tea, I think about what she just told me. Could I help him? Change him for the better?
