Ten years ago, Avalee was sent away from her brothers and father with her pregnant mother, Alessia, for their safety. After the sudden death of Alessia, Avalee and Teddy are left in the care of their abusive stepfather, Damon, until his death. The s...
First class tickets for a short flight to New York. What a waste of money. Well, at least Teddy was enjoying it. Having never been on a plane, he couldn't keep his eyes off the window. And then the snacks and drinks. This kid can't get enough of the pretzels and coke. It probably hasn't helped that he hasn't had a proper meal in a while.
I wish I could enjoy the flight as much as Teddy, but I can't stop worrying. My emotions were all over the place, but I had to keep myself together for Teddy. For the past few hours, I had been running through every possibility on what my life with my brothers would be like.
They could abuse us, tolerate us, but I doubt they could love us, love me. Maybe Teddy, but he's a loveable kid. But someone like me? All I can ever be is a failure. I failed at preserving my little brother's innocence. I failed at saving my mom.
I quickly shook those thoughts out of my head as I hear the flight attendant announce, "We will be landing shortly. Please return to your seats, fasten your seatbelts, and welcome to New York." Home sweet home, I guess.
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We made our way to the exit of the airport since we had no luggage except for our backpacks and one duffle bag filled with our clothes, books, and first aid kit. Feeling a vibration in my pocket, I pulled out my phone and noticed a text, "This is Alessandro, your oldest brother. I unfortunately cannot pick you two up from the airport, but I have sent a driver who will be there in 5 minutes. Wait inside the airport by the baggage claim."
I showed Teddy the text, and I could tell he wasn't happy. I guess he was hoping that they would care enough to pick us up instead of sending someone to get us like we're a burden. Me too, fratellino, me too. Dragging him over to the seating by the baggage claim, we sat down, and I faced my baby brother.
"How are you feeling?" I asked. I knew my brother like the back of my hand and knew exactly what he was feeling, but he needed to vocalize it. It's not healthy to keep everything bottled up.
"Hungry," Teddy responded shortly. I raised one of my eyebrows to show him that I wasn't amused by his answer. "Okay, okay, I'm scared. Living with our brothers and father? 6 guys? One was bad enough, but six might mean six times the abuse. Six times the hate. And I can't deal with that. I know you'll protect me no matter what, but I want you to be protected as well. You don't let anyone take care of you, and I know it's because of Sir, but another few years of abuse will break you. You're the strongest person I know, but every human has their limitations, even superheroes."
I opened my mouth, but no words came out. I knew that the abuse affected him. He was the one who would tend to my injuries after a particularly painful punishment, but did he really think I would break? Sure, I feel broken, like I'll never heal, but I thought I did a good job of hiding it. I guess that's another thing to add to the list of things I've failed at.
We're suddenly interrupted by a man dressed in a suit. "Are you Avalee and Theodore Russo?" the man asks with a slight smile.
"It's Medvedev, but yes," I answer coldly. I didn't want to be associated with my brothers, at least not without putting up a fight.
