Amore Inaspettato

Capitolo 7

Ginevra opened the door to her house. She sighed as she saw the trash and dirty dishes that littered the living room. She hadn't been home in probably a week so there had been no one to clean it.

Her dad should currently be at work. He would be fine for a short while after he got home until he got drunk. Maybe she'd have enough time to clean all this up and lock herself in her room before he got back.

She walked over, collected the trash, and walked into the kitchen to throw it away. It always disgusted her when her dad would let the house get like this. Her mom would roll over in her grave if she could see it. A dirty house would be the least of her worries if she saw the way he was treating Ginevra.

She was grabbing a few dishes when she heard the front door click open. Her whole body froze in fear, goosebumps covering her body. The only sound that filled the air was her breathing and keys jingling. She slowly turned around to face her father. As soon as he saw her he stopped dead in his track.

"Where have you been?" Alessio asked. As soon as the words left his mouth she could tell that he'd been drinking.

"I've been staying at a friend's house," Ginevra said. She'd learned from experience that not answering always ended worse for her. It made him angry more quickly.

"And you didn't think that maybe you should have told me that?" Alessio asked walking closer to the girl.

"I'm sorry," Ginevra said.

"What friends?" Alessio asked.

"Mainly Camilla's house," Ginevra replied making Alessio start laughing. The laughter sent more goosebumps across her body.

"The perfect Rossi's," Alessio said walking toward the refrigerator. Ginevra didn't know how to respond so she just watched as her dad pulled a bottle of alcohol out of the refrigerator. "You know I never liked that family. They always thought they were better than us. You shouldn't associate yourself with them."

"They're good people, and Camilla is a good friend of mine," Ginevra said.

"Of course, you would say that," Alessio said taking a drink out of the bottle in his hand. Ginevra turned her back to her father, walking toward the sink.

"I don't think you should stay there anymore," Alessio said following his daughter.

"I like staying there," Ginevra said as she turned on the water.

"What's wrong with staying here?" Alessio asked.

"Nothing. I just-I enjoy staying over there," Ginevra said.

"Do you like them better than me?" Alessio asked. The slight change in his tone scared her.

"No," Ginevra said turning around to face him, "I-"

"Don't lie to me Ginevra," Alessio said walking to stand right in front of the girl. Her father wasn't a small man, he towered over her small teenage figure. "You know there's nothing more I hate than when you lie to me."

"I'm not lying," Ginevra said.

"Then tell me why you've actually been gone for a week," Alessio said grabbing ahold of her arm.

"I was just spending time with Camilla. We've been working on a lot of school stuff," Ginevra said.

"Well, I don't want you to spend a lot of time there anymore. You need to start doing more around the house to earn your keep," Alessio said letting go of her arm.

"But dad," Ginevra said. The smashing of glass against the floor made her jump. Alessio stalked back toward his daughter. He grabbed both sides of her arms, pinning them down to her sides.

"You will not argue with me," Alessio spat in his daughter's face, "You're going to listen like the obedient daughter I raised you to be, you got that?"

Ginevra squeezed her eyes shut and she shook her head that she understood.

"I can't hear you," Alessio said pressing her back harder into the counter behind her.

"I understand," Ginevra choked out.

"Good," Alessio said taking his hands off his daughter and walking back over to the refrigerator, "Now clean this mess up."

Ginevra blinked away the tears that brimmed her eyes as her father walked back into the living room. As soon as she heard the tv turn on she let the tears fall down her face. She quickly cleaned up the glass that was on the floor before going straight to her room.

She climbed onto her bed and pulled her knees closer to her chest as she cried. Things hadn't always been like this, but she also didn't see them changing any time soon.

After a few hours, Ginevra was anxious to get out of the house. Her dad was probably passed out on the couch by now. She could always tell how long it would take him to fall asleep by his level of intoxication.

Even though he told her she had to start staying home more, she knew she couldn't. Anything was better than being here when he woke up. So she grabbed her bag and threw a few clothes in it that she'd need for a few days.

Ginevra quietly opened her bedroom door so that she could sneak down the hallway. She could still hear the tv blaring but there was no other noise coming from the living room. She peaked her head around the wall and could see her dad slumped over in his chair with his eyes closed.

She pressed her back firmly against the wall before taking a deep breath. Ginevra opened her eyes and quietly walked into the living room. She was taking small quiet steps as she neared the front door. As she walked in front of her dad he started to shift making her freeze. Fear ran through her body as she started breathing heavily. The last thing she needed right now was to get caught sneaking out.

Alessio stopped moving so Ginevra continued her way to the front door. She grabbed ahold of the handle, turning it as slowly as possible. Quietly she pulled the door open just enough so that she could slip outside. She turned to slip out of the door, sending one last glance at her father's sleeping body before leaving the house.