The Ones Who Saved Us

Chapter 13

Alessandro's POV

The worse feeling for an older brother is knowing that your younger siblings are angry at you for doing something to protect them. I didn't want to keep Ava and Dad apart, but I was hoping that this would be the tough love Dad needed to admit that he had a problem and get help. Ava wasn't there eighteen years ago to see Dad when he was so dependent on alcohol that he neglected his family. She wasn't there eighteen years ago when he was practically drinking himself to death every day. She didn't understand nor did I want her to understand.

Maybe I should've given her a better reason for why I was doing this by telling her the truth, but I didn't want to see her getting hurt again. I saw the way Ava looked at Dad. She thought he was the greatest man to have ever walked the earth. Dad was Ava's hero from day one, and I didn't want her image of him distorted because of this. Even if Dad had relapsed, he was still that same father who would do anything to see his daughter's beautiful smile.

When I heard that knock on the door, I expected for Elijah or Leo or even Dad to enter. But definitely not Ava.

There my sister was standing, only a few feet in front of the door. In that moment, all I could see was the scared girl from a year ago, her eyes lowered to the ground and her hands clasped tightly together. I thought we made progress over the past year, but I was wrong. It was all a lie, a lie that that only got deeper because I refused to investigate all the secrets Ava was hiding from us. I thought ignorance was bliss, but I was so wrong. This was all my fault.

I stood up from my desk and walked towards Ava, wrapping my arms around her. "What's wrong, tesoro? You can tell me."

"I messed up, Sandro. I really messed up."

I took Ava's hand and led her to the couch in the corner of my office. Once we were seated, I lifted Ava's chin up and asked, "Aves, what happened?"

Ava took a deep breath, her hands in her lap with the nails digging into her palms. I pried her hands apart, saying, "You're going to hurt yourself doing that, bambina." Drawing small circles on the back of her hands, I asked, "What's going on? What are you so scared of?"

"You're going to be so disappointed in me, and then you're going to send me away," Ava cried. "I know I have to tell you, but I don't want to leave you guys. I'm such a fucking mess."

Ava wrapped her arms around my neck, burying her head in my chest. I hugged Ava back, a strong grip around her waist. "Ava, you're not a fucking mess. You just need time to heal."

As I was about to continue, there was a knock on the door, and Dad walked in. He narrowed his eyes at me when he noticed Ava, placing his hands on his hips.

"What did you do this time?" he groaned.

I held my hands up in defense as Ava pulled away from me and wiped her tears. Turning around, she said, "He didn't do anything, Papa. I just have to tell you both something, and I'm scare of how you'll react, how everyone will react."

Dad sat on the other side of Ava and kissed the side of her head. "You have no reason to be scared, Avey. We'll always love you. Now, what do you have to tell us?"

Ava glanced between Dad and I, her eyes eventually settling on her lap. "Leo told me that you think Papa relapsed, but it's not true."

I furrowed my eyebrows, my hand brushing Ava's hair away from her face and turning her towards me. Looking at her, I saw her trembling lip and glassy eyes.

No, this couldn't be what I thought it was. Dad made sure to break the cycle with us.

"Aves, what do you mean?" I asked.