Survivor

23 (part 2) > 'Family is the heart of a home.'

Warning: unedited chapter
Be aware of the dangers of spelling and grammatical errors.
May cause a case of readers phobia.

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Thump thump thump thump

My heart sat in my throat as I descended the stairs alongside Ales, my sweaty hands nestled in my pockets. Removing them, I quickly wiped my hands on my jeans and took a deep breath.

"Relax, you gonna be fine Giovanna." Ales sighed, halting infront of me. "Everyone's been waiting to meet you guys."

"Yeah, that was before I threw a knife at one of them." I retorted sarcastically.

"It was self defence." He shrugged like it was no big deal which it wasn't to him. They are apart of the mafia afterall.

"Tell that to the judge," I muttered underneath my breath.

He either didn't hear my comment or chose to ignore it as he began walking ahead of me once again. I logged slightly to catch up and slowed down falling into step with him.

As we neared the living room, loud voices could be heard talking over one another. Ales walked straight into the room, leaving me to my own devices. I stood outside contemplating whether it was necessary to enter the room, but the decision was made for me when Enrico called out my name.

It's too late to run.

I took a deep breath and took one step over the threshold of the room, standing as close to the doorway as possible. Every pair of eyes in the room fell on me, conversation long forgotten. It was 27 pairs of eyes, too many.

The silence was broken by none other than my lifesaver, Toni who came bounding over to my side and dragged me by my arm around the room, taking care not to trip over anyone's legs.

"Slow down, Toni," Giovanni interrupted grabbing a gold of the little boy and tossing him in the air, his smile wide as he stared at his smallest son. He swiftly caught him and placed him gently on the floor, Toni taking off the moment his feet made contact with the ground.

I scanned everyone in the room as discreetly as possible when my gaze met a pair of warm chocolatey brown eyes, filled with kindness and wisdom. She is the type of person who is remembered by her warm hugs and sweet memories.

A beautiful huge smile stretched across her face when she looked at me, the joy present in her eyes indescribable. I was so caught up in her beauty that I didn't realise that she was already standing infront of me until her arms pulled me into a gentle embrace.

"It's good to have you home, principessa," (Princess) she whispered, and when she pulled away, her eyes were glossy with unshed tears.

She studied my face closely, her eyes running over my face as she held onto my arms and a small tear ran down her cheek.

"Don't cry, Nonna." I told her, wiping the tear away with the pad of my thumb.

She gently grabbed my hand before I could retract it, and pulled me into another hug, smiling through her tears.

"It's nice to see you again, cara" (dear). Her soft voice rang through the room, making me realise that we were not alone.

"My name is Francesca Lara Accardi, but you can call me Nonna, sweetheart." She introduce herself, the bright twinkle in her eyes returning.

"Ok, mum you can stop hogging her," a deep but bright sounding voice came from behind her.

"Rafael," Nonna said in a warning voice and 5 males took a noticeably large and cautious step back, Giovanni being one of them.