The Ones Who Saved Us

Chapter 29

Avalee's POV

I didn't know how triggering reading a simple book could be. Or how hard it would be to stop reading the book as I got sucked into this world of lies and death and abuse, a world that was all too familiar to mine.

It was a tragic story of a young girl in search for her missing friend, a friend who was taken too soon from this world by the hands of her abusive mother. How social services and every adult figure in her life had failed this thirteen-year-old girl by letting her stay in that house.

Maybe that was what prevented me from putting that book down—the similarities between my life and the character's life. Each word, each sentence, each page served as a reminder of how lucky I was to have survived being under Damon's guardianship, especially as the severity of the abuse increased with each year.

Maybe that was why I couldn't put the book down even when the words began to blur together as tears pricked the back of my eyes. So many tears had spilled from reading this horrifying tale of friendship and the search for answers, answers that had left loved ones distraught. And I couldn't help but wonder if my brothers' reaction to every detail of the abuse had left them in a similar state because if it had, I wasn't sure if I could forgive myself.

When I had finally finished the last page, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep alone in my room. The events in the book had already triggered a panic attack that I had dealt with alone, not wanting to alert my brothers of what I was doing to myself by reading this book. Nightmares were easier to explain since I had them often enough. My family wouldn't question it.

After the incident with the twins, Alessandro and Papa had decided that we weren't allowed to be alone at home without a more responsible adult's supervision. So when Leo, Alessandro, and Papa left for work, the rest of us were left with Elijah babysitting us.

I walked out of my room towards Elijah's and knocked on the door before opening it. Elijah was fast asleep, but the sound of the door creaking open seemed to have awoken him as his eyes fluttered open. His voice, groggy with sleep, sounded through the room as he asked, "Hey, Aves. What's up?"

Rubbing the back of my neck, I said, "I know it's late, but I need someone to talk to, and you're the only mature person who's home."

"I'm aware of that," he chuckled. Raising the blanket, he said, "Come here, amore."

A sad expression took over Elijah's face as I got under the covers, his eyes scanning my tear-stained face. "It's one of those nights, isn't it? What happened, amore?"

"Are you sure it's okay to do this now?" I asked, noticing the bags that laid under my older brother's eyes. "Lijah, I know it's late, and if you're tired—"

"Aves," he said, interrupting me. "It is never too late to talk to me or any of your brothers. And anyways, I know that if I wait until tomorrow morning, you'll lose the courage and never tell me. I'll never be too tired to talk with you, sorellina."

I sat up against the headboard and pulled my knees to my chest. Elijah rested his hand on my arm, his eyes filled with so much adoration for me, as he asked, "Do you know what triggered the nightmare?"

"Lijah, it wasn't a nightmare," I explained. "I never fell asleep."

A frown pulled down on my brother's lips as he checked the time on his phone, the frown deepening when he saw that it read 2:17 AM. "Aves, why didn't you sleep? It's the middle of the night."

"I was reading a book, and I couldn't put it down until I finished it."

Elijah smiled at me, shaking his head in amusement. "You're just like Mom. She used to do the same thing—stay up until the early hours of the morning to finish a book. You and Teddy are so much like her." My brother lifted my chin up as he said, "But I have a feeling there's more to it than that."