The Ones Who Saved Us

Chapter 38

Avalee's POV

My feet were planted on the skateboard as Matteo held my hands, wheeling me around the driveway. Teddy was a few feet away from me with Emilio keeping him from faceplanting on the hard ground, although with less care than what Matteo was showing towards me due to my still healing ribs.

As soon as our brothers and Papa had left for work, Matteo and Emilio had insisted on teaching us how to skateboard. We had started off in the house, but after breaking a rather expensive vase, we decided to continue outside where nothing fragile was in our way.

"Keep your knees bent, Ava," Matteo said after I stumbled off the skateboard, falling into Matteo's arms. Matteo bent down to grab the board that had rolled out from under my feet and placed it back in front of me before helping me back on it. "The last thing we need is for you to rebreak your ribs. I already lost my keys. I don't need to lose my head."

"I don't know. A headless Matteo seems like a sight to see," I smirked.

"I agree," Teddy shouted from his position ten feet away.

"I should've let you fall," Matteo muttered.

Matteo's hands had a painful grip on mine as if he wanted to break my fingers, and with the glare he had directed at me, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. "C'mon, fratello. I thought we came here to skate, not to fight."

Matteo sighed as he continued wheeling me around the driveway while I urged him to go faster until my brother was practically sprinting to keep up. The sound of a car horn honking diverted Matteo's attention away from me, and the skateboard flew out from under my feet, hitting the car that had reached our driveway.

I landed on my back, a sharp pain shooting through my ribs. I clenched my eyes shut, my hand clutching my side. A small hand cupped my face, and I immediately knew who it was. Opening my eyes, I saw my little brother's expression go from concerned to angry as he turned towards the car.

"Sandro, why the hell did you honk the horn?" Teddy yelled.

Alessandro poked his out from the car window and shrugged his shoulders, saying, "It was a bad judgment call." He paused for a brief moment before continuing. "But also, Matteo shouldn't've been taking Ava that quickly on the board when she's just learning. And definitely not when she's still healing."

Leo ran from the car and knelt down by me. He reached for the hem of my shirt and lifted it when he received a nod in approval from me. My wounds had healed considerably, but they were still tender if I exerted myself too much.

After a few seconds of probing the region, Leo let out a breath of relief. "You're all right, Aves. Let's stand up."

Leo kept a firm but gentle grip around my waist as I got to my feet. After directing a stern glare at Matteo, he took me inside with Teddy following closely behind. As Leo led me to the living room, I sucked in a breath, wincing at the jolt of pain that went straight to my ribs.

"Don't breathe deeply, Aves. It'll only hurt you," Leo said as he sat me on the couch.

Teddy sat next to me, resting his head on my shoulder and interlacing his fingers in mine. His eyes followed Leo, who left us alone in the living room, before whispering, "Ava, when Dad and Sandro come to check on you, act like you're in a lot of pain."

I narrowed my eyes at my little brother. "Theodore—"

Teddy covered my mouth as he glanced towards the two men approaching us. "Shush, they're coming! Now remember. You're in pain and a lot of it. And most importantly, it's all Matteo's fault."