Follow Antonella's story as she finds out she has six older brothers, and has to learn how to trust them after being alone for eight years.
Can she do it while hiding secrets? What happens if she isn't the only one hiding something?
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Since when did they know about me? I mean, my life was pretty shitty so far. I guessed then, I would be able to have some calm before the storm. There where millions thoughts in my mind, so I asked the most emotional one
"Why did you dump me at the doors of an orphanage?" I asked while a single tear escaped my eyes and my voice barely audible
"We didn't dump you. You were and still are, the one that brings light to our lives. We would never do that!" Carlos said
"What are your names?" I aked
"I'm your oldest brother. I'm Emiliano and I'm 28"
"We already met, but I'm Massimo and I'm 26" friend A said
"Before I knew your name, I was calling you friend A in my mind" I said
"Really? Now, I'm assuming you were calling Marcos friend B. Am I right?" he said and I nodded. They laughed.
"Well now I don't need to introduce myself" Marcos said angrily
"You can still do it if you want"
"I'l repeat myself just for you principessa. I'm Marcos and I'm 24" (princess)
"I'm Fabrizio, your fourth older brother, and I'm 22"
"If you remember me, I'm Carlos and I'm 20"
"And finally I'm Giancarlo, your soon to be favourite brother, and I'm 18"
I giggled and said "I'm Antonella, I'm 15 but I'm guessing you already knew that. It's nice to meet you"
"Now that the introductions are over, let's go get some breakfast" Emiliano said while we were all going to the kitchen
"Quick question" I said and everyone stopped on their tracks. "Well, when someone says Italy one of the first things that goes through my mind is pasta, but the second thing is mafia. So my question is, are you part of a mafia? Because if I had to guess I'd say that you are, of course if that's the case I don't mind..." I started rumbling but Emiliano cut me off.
"How- you know what? I'm not gonna ask why one of the first things that come to your mind is the mafia, but to answer your question no. We are not part of the mafia." Of course I knew they were lying. I mean the house, the guards and their looks gave it away but I acted as if I didn't know.
"That's good to know. Now we can get some breakfast" I said and contiued walking to wherever the kitchen was, while 'my' brothers stood there. It feels weird saying that i have brothers, but i guess with time I'll get used to it.
"You do realize that I have no idea where I'm going? And you standing there does not help to the fact that I'm hungry" I said and that seemed to get them out of their trance.
"This way principessa" Emiliano said guiding us, most specifically me to the kitchen.
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Once there, a few maids brought us some pancakes, bacon, juice, fruits, etc. When one of the maids put a plate in front of me I said "Thank you" and she looked at me as if I had grown two more faces.
"Did I say something wrong?" I asked confused
"Not at all sweetie. It's just that you look so much like your mother that it amazed me" She said
"Oh. Umm, thank you?" I didn't know what to say. They said that I looked like the woman who gave birth to me, but I didn't even know her name. "What's her name?"
"Who's name?" Fabrizio asked
"Your mother's, i mean, ours?"
"She was Katerina Aleksandrova, and our father was Niccolò Lombardi" Giancarlo said
"Are they dead? I'm asking because you said she 'was'"
"Unfortunately, yes" Massimo said
"I'm sorry for your loss"
"It's ok, it was a long time ago. Now let's talk about the important thing..."
"And what would that be?" I asked
"We want to talk to your adoptive parents about you moving in with us" Marcos said. At the mention of them wanting to talk to the adults responsible for me, I froze.
How was I supposed to tell them that I've been on my own for a long time? It's not like i was able to say 'i ran away from the orphanage because i suffered from verbal abuse'. So instead I said "They are not available at the moment"
They looked at me confused and Emiliano asked "why?"
"Because I never had any"
"So we'll talk to the orphanage"
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that" I said while playing with my food. They looked confused
"Why can't you let us talk to the orphanage?" Fabrizio asked. I guess that was the moment I decided to tell part of the truth
"Because I haven't been in one since i was seven" I said, cautiously watching their reactions
"What do you mean? Did something happen?"
"Kind of. But I don't trust you yet to tell you the reason. So, if you excuse me I'll get going" while I was saying that some looked hurt while others looked at me with sympathy. Of course I wasn't able to go anywhere because Emiliano said:
"You're not going anywhere. We have a few things to discuss" dammit. I signaled for him to continue. "There are a few rules. 1 You will respect all of us; 2 You'll go to school with your brother; 3 no cursing in the house; 4 no boys, you will not talk to any boys; and finally 5 you're not allowed to go to the basement nor the fourth floor. Understood?"
If it wasn't obvious, with the last rule anyone would guess that they're in the mafia.
"1 respect goes both ways, you respect me and I'll respect you, you can't demand it; 2 I actually don't mind about that; 3 if I want to curse then I'll do it; 4 I'll talk to whoever I want to, it doesn't matter if it's a boy; 5 why the hell would you have four floors? I know you only said five things but I'll add a few more. 6 don't act as if I'm not in the same room; 7 I'll tell you more about myself when I trust you, so don't pressure me; and 8, if I'm gonna stay here I'll need a few things from my home" I said
They looked shocked but in the end, they agreed with me. I think with time we'll be able to trust each other.
