Severed Ties

The Fixer of All Things

Cameron

It was odd to see Vincent Torres behave so normally. To have friends who challenged him despite his reputation but I wasn't entirely sure that Alessia knew who he truly was. Many Mafia's and Gangs had a legitimate business to hide their more unsavoury avenues of income, but it was a little concerning that Alessia hadn't at least heard the rumours. Or maybe she had and she willingly ignored them.

Though none of that mattered, she seemed like a bright person who had taken a liking to me much to Vincent's chagrin. He was still sizing me up despite clearly saying that he approved of me and that I had passed his messed up test. 

"Hey, you ok?" Alara whispered to me as she took my hand we were walking through the Torres estate and I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge its grandiose high arching walls and curving double staircases which probably didn't have much use other than being a blatant show of wealth. 

"Yeah why wouldn't I be?" my tone was composed but there was a small minuscule pretty much insignificant part of me that was worried about this all. This was so much bigger than just back in England it had spread to other countries, the whole underworld after my wife and seeing all that was at the disposal of the Italian Mafia I was unsure whether I really was fit to protect Alara, could I let another person be responsible for keeping her safe.

Some may say it is brave to admit when you can't when you need help but I had been raised in a world where that meant nothing but weakness.

I could hear my father's voice calling me pathetic, and every awful name under the sun, forcing me to train day in and day out making me watch as he tortured traitors warning me that if I ever disobeyed him that could be me. The blood, there was always so much blood.

And it seemed blood was what was meant to follow me. Blood was spilt around me, by me and blood was what had been painted across Alara's back in a target for the whole world to see. And I had to admit I couldn't do this on my own, I just couldn't and if that made me weak so be it. My father wasn't here anymore, he couldn't control me anymore, the Vipers were more loyal to me and Leo than they were to him and that's why he had created the Duplicitous with Laurier. I should have never trusted him, it was clear he had made an alliance with my father. The Bloodhounds, another source of blood hunting me down, I swallowed hard. I was in too deep. And there was no longer a surface to swim to.

Drown in blood, the world screamed at me.

And looking into her eyes, the sparkle that still hadn't dimmed, I was afraid, so very afraid one day I would  look over and that glimmer would be gone and her eyes would be as dead as mine used to me. They only began to brighten after I had met her and after I had loved her more than anything else.

"Ma," she cried out suddenly and was rushing into a plush living room, she wrapped long spindly arms around her mother, who was crying tears welled in both of their eyes as Alara pulled back, searching her mother for any sign of hurt.

She gulped, "So you know Alara dear, you know that Damon is not your father?"

Alara nodded but she didn't seem to care about that particular detail her eyes were wild searching her mother for any sign of hurt, "Did he? Did he do anything to you Ma?"

She sat down slowly on one of the sofas pulling Alara close and brushing her hands through her hair, they looked incredibly similar the same long brown hair curling in waves that cascaded down their backs, brilliantly wide eyes that were pure gold in the sun, the only differences were the crow's feet around Mrs Mortello's eyes.

"No, Damon didn't hurt me, he just made sure I wasn't there to object," she paused a moment as though she was going over what words to use, " Your stepfather," Alara's face fell at the words but her mother continued, "He does love me and Theo, it's just you're not his own, he's always planned to use you and I tried, I really did try to stop him," her eyes drifted over to Vincent for a moment who didn't appear to be fazed by the fact that the mother of his child was clearly not in love with him, it seemed they had a mutual agreement with no hostility just as much as there was no love there, "I thought maybe he loved me enough to protect you to keep you safe, but how wrong I was. A man's love is nothing but a facade, he loved me when he needed to and behind my back did everything to destroy you, because you were a reminder that there was another before him," this time her eyes zeroed in on Vincent and it almost looked like she wanted to laugh like they were sharing a secret between too old friends but they very well might be, "I'm sorry Alara, I was devastated when he told me that you were to be married to a Grayson,"

I tried not to take too much offence at the comment because I'm sure I would have felt the same had my daughter been forced into a marriage she was unaware of.

"But Ma-"

"I know I shouldn't be you clearly have found love, but that was a risk I wasn't willing to take," her eyes struck me and for a moment I didn't think I could take a breath without more scrutiny, "Cameron had a reputation how was I to know he wouldn't hurt you."

"I would never-"

"Hush child," she scolded me and I really did feel like a kid being told off at that moment, "I know that now but like I said there was no guarantee. That pushed me over the edge. Every day I and Damon would fight until I realised you were so much safer with Cameron."

Alara laughed at this, "I was kidnapped three times,"

I scowled at this it was true and it had happened under my watch and I wasn't ever going to forget it.

"You would have been killed if you stayed."

And the laughter dissipated as soon as it came.

"Ma, so what now? What about Theo, he's still my brother right,"

Cassandra Mortello smiled, "He will always be your brother, half or not, you guys were made to protect each other. I have never seen a stronger bond between siblings, this news will break him for a while because he wants you to be his full sister more than anything. But he needs to understand that biology be damned you are truly full siblings,"

I had talked to Theo before we left he was getting everyone ready for a war because we were on the precipice of all hell breaking loose, we had to be prepared. 

"How did you leave? Wouldn't d-" she stopped herself her gaze snapping to Vincent who had visually become terse at her almost calling Damon Mortello, dad, "Wouldn't Damon stop you? If you say he does love you?"

"It's a complicated thing love you know, and it's time you realise that Love is not a fixer of all. It can be beautiful but it can destroy you bit my bit. He convinced himself that everything he was doing was for the betterment of his family and unfortunately to him, you aren't his family."

I could tell even though there was unparalleled hatred towards Damon Mortello there was sadness, for twenty years she had believed he had been her father and had always blamed herself for the lack of love she got from him. And it made my heart hurt. 

But there was truth in all that Cassandra Mortello's words.

Love wasn't the fixer of all things.