Long Lost ~completed~

Secrets

It's been a day since we arrived back in New York and I still felt achy. Matteo told me the night we arrived that it will take awhile to get the poison out of my system. I was a bit scared hearing the word poison, but Matteo made me feel safe and he told me not to worry.

Today Matteo informed me that he wanted to speak to me once I wake up. I was a bit nervous hence why I've been sitting in my room for an hour already.

It was 8 am and I was worried about what he wanted to talk to me about. I knew I shouldn't worry but the thought about everything made me tense up.

I decided to finally get out of bed and head over to Matteo's office. I could her shuffling around inside, signaling that he was already in there so I decided to knock a few times.

"Come in!" I heard a voice on the other side of the door and I twisted the knob to open the door. I walked inside right away and closed the door behind me.

"Good morning Matteo~" I hummed and walked towards his office desk.

"Take a seat please, I have a few things to tell you." He stated and motioned for me to sit on the fabric chair that was in front of his desk.

I nodded and sat down quickly as I watched him take a seat also.

"So..I've decided that I should tell you what we do for a living. I don't want you pushed into the shadows of our work lives and since you are being targeted because of it..I want you to know." He said softly and looked up at my face to see if I was okay with it.

I chewed my lower lip and sighed softly, "okay..that's fine with me..I've always wanted to know anyways." I said with a tiny grin as I shrugged my shoulders.

Matteo gulped and leaned back in his chair, "we are in the mafia..we aren't bad people Bella, we don't harm any innocent people or anything.. and there's people after you right now cause you are our sister. I want you to know our true business because we want to keep you safe. You need to know the dangers, we lost you once and we can't lose you again.." Matteo spoke as he took a deep breath trying to forget the bad memories of when I was kidnapped as a child.

I was a bit shocked hearing what my brothers do for a living. I didn't really expect it to be true but the money, the injuries, the blood, the weapons, etc made me suspicious from the start.

Matteo was staring at me intently watching my facial expression change from excited to surprised.

"Principessa?" He whispered, placing his finger under my chin and lifting my head up. I was tense and I looked up at him with fear in my eyes.

"I..Is someone trying to kill me..?" I stuttered out and my eyes began to water, tears threatening to fall.

Matteo inhaled sharply and stood up walking over to me. He stroked my head and tried to comfort me, "Don't worry Bella, we will protect you." He muttered and placed a kiss on my forehead.

I never thought that I'd fear for my life this many times, but I knew my brother's were here to keep me protected from dangerous things. I just need to stay close to them and I'll be fine.

My arms immediately wrapped around Matteo's body and I sniffled, holding back my tears. "If I do get taken...will you get me back.." I whispered nervously, the fear of being kidnapped was wrapped around my mind and I wanted to be reassured.

Matteo instantly hugged me back and he rubbed my back. "Don't worry Bell, that will never happen so don't ever think of that. You hear me?" He answered and his grip around my body tightened.

I gulped and and wiggled my way out of his tight hug. "I..I'm sorry, I won't think of it again.." I mumbled and looked down at my feet. I knew I was lying to myself and to Matteo, but I can't have him worrying about me all the time.

I sighed and stood up while looking up at him. My hands were fumbling around at my sides and I gave a small smile.

"Can I go back to my room please?" I asked softly as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. Matteo chuckled and ruffled my hair.

"Fine, but come join us for breakfast once it's ready." He replied and motioned for me to exit his office.

I stood up right away and left the room, breathing heavily. All the information I have been told came rushing back to me at once. I went straight to my room and jumped on my bed sighing heavily.

My brothers are in the mafia...wow I didn't really expect that but at the same time I did. Everything that has happened makes sense, but my brothers are sweet, caring. Super protective...I never really expected them to be in it.

This was just too much for my mind to handle. I groaned and clutched my head in frustration. Suddenly I felt the bed dip and a furry monster jumped on top of me.

I giggled and lifted him up in the air. "Yah koda! You scared me." I chuckled and he barked, lapping at my face with his slobbery tongue.

I put him back down and stroked his ears gently, "oh koda...there's just so much for me to take in and now I have to worry about more people coming to harm me." I whispered and nuzzled my face into his furry soft chest.

Having Koda with me was soothing and his cute face eased my worries. It was amazing to have someone to talk to who couldn't talk back but replied with tail wags and happy barks and licks.

While thinking about Koda, my mind came across some memories with my Uncle Matthew. Matteo told me he had to move away but he would come visit sometime. I wish he was back, I enjoyed spending my time with him and talking about my problems. He helped me through some tough times but he always reassured me everything was going to be okay.

A smile appeared on my face as I thought about him. I wonder when he would be coming back to see us. Maybe soon, I hope.

1106 words