Armani Smith struggles with living a good life. She's known as a troublemaker at school, a royal pain in the ass for her teachers, and an often visitor at the police station. Her parents, Karen and John Smith tend to have a passionate hatred towards...
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She remembers me? Even after 14 years .. she remembers me. I glance at Gio, he looks at me before speaking up.
"Armani. Do you remember anyone else or just Xander?" he asks, almost as if he's nervous. Armani looks at me still in a state of shock before responding to Gio.
"Um .. I only remember Xander .. sorry" she apologises, why is she apologising? It's not her fault. I look up at dad, hinting that I kinda want to talk to Armani alone.
"Alright um, why don't we give Armani and Xander a minute alone so they can talk" Dad speaks up. Everyone mumbles and eventually nods, getting up to leave. Gio pats me on the back before following dad out the door. The door shuts, it's just me and 'mani. I slowly inhale a deep breath before making my way to the couch she's sat on. She looks at me on the verge of tears.
"Karen told me you died" she whispers. Here we go.
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He looks at me with soft eyes. Almost as if he's bound to start crying too. As soon as the words left my mouth, a loud sob followed. He hugs me and I tense up. As much as I want to say what John and Karen did to me didn't affect me, it did.
"Relax 'mani. I'm right here" I hear him whisper before I start violently sobbing.
My breathing gets harder and harder.
'mani.
The nickname is embedded in my brain. No one's called me that in years. I cry so much, it's hard to stop. I cry for Xander. I cry for the man who asked if I remember anything else. I cry for the pain Karen and John have given me. I cry for my biological family, the pain they must've felt for who knows how long. Xander squeezes me, I wince at the pain of my ribs and he immediately lets go.
"Stella, what's wrong?" he asks slowly. I look at him with regret. I try to control my cries as I stand up. I know I can trust Xan. (Stella = star in Italian)
"Please don't tell anyone yet. I just want to tell them in my own time, I'm only showing you because I trust you." I say as I slowly pull up my sweatshirt, revealing all my scares and bruises. He stares at them in shock.
"'mani .. what happened?" he asks softly.
I pull down my sweatshirt and return to my original seat.
"Karen happened." I bitterly respond. He looks at me with soft eyes before staring at me to continue.
"For as long as I can remember, Karen and John have been abusing me. Treating me like a servant. Like I'm nothing but a waste of space. They would get so mad at the smallest things. I wasn't at home on time, I didn't cook or even if I went to school. They would beat me until they got tired of me. They would drink and do drugs right in front of me. They never cared for me. One time they even beat me until I was almost dead because I called out for you on instinct. They told me I was nothing but a dumb slut. Worst part is, I believed them." I look at Xander with tears in my eyes.
He's glaring at the floor before looking at me with soft eyes.
"You are so much more than that. 'Mani you're the light of our lives. You are so special in so many ways. You saved so many of our family members without even knowing it. You're incredibly smart in so many ways. You have been since you were two 'mani. TWO. Trust me 'mani, if there was anyone to exist that deserves the world and more, it's you sorellina. I understand if you don't want to tell dad or the brothers yet but just know, we'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe and make you happy. That's all we want".
He hugs me and strokes my hair.
"Thank you" I hug him back. We pull apart and he wipes my tears. I hold his hands, slightly squeezing them and he smiles at me.
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE"
A/N: kia ōra tangata (hey people). So how are yous liking the story so far? do yous favour xander yet? (cuz i sure as hell do HAHA) anyways hope yous are having a good day & please vote
