Lost Lombardi

Chapter 1

It was around six o'clock in the morning when Dino woke up. It was his 16th birthday, and he knew there would be no celebration.

Dino was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson when he was a baby. They never told Dino why they adopted him because they treated him like he was a burden to them. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson had their daughter, Christy, who was a year older than Dino.

Dino got out of bed and went to the bathroom to clean himself. The house had two bathrooms: one on the upper floor for Dino and Christy and another on the lower floor for their parents. The house was perfect for four people, with extra rooms for visitors.

"Come on, hurry up," Dino heard Christy knocking on the bathroom door while he was inside.

"I haven't finished yet," Dino shouted, looking at his face in the mirror. He knew he was Italian, with dark hair and dark eyes. He was somewhat popular among girls at school for his looks. Everyone knew he was adopted because the Johnsons had blue eyes and blonde hair.

Dino and Christy did not have a good relationship as siblings because of their parents. They constantly mistreated and neglected Dino, treating him like he was unwanted. Dino did not dare to ask them why they adopted him if they didn't like him.

Finally, Dino finished in the bathroom and emerged wearing a white towel around his waist. Christy was waiting outside when he appeared.

"Finally," she said. "I thought you were going to stay there the whole day."

"I'll do that next time," Dino said as he went to his room. He quickly got dressed for school. His books were still on his table from doing his homework. He briskly put them in his backpack.

"Breakfast is ready," Mrs. Johnson called from the kitchen. Dino quickly went downstairs. As usual, pancakes were on the menu for breakfast. He detested eating pancakes every morning.

No one remembered Dino's birthday, but he wasn't surprised as they had never remembered it. Dino sat down in his chair at the dining table. Mr and Mrs Johnson didn't bother to look at him, which was typical of their behavior.

Dino put some food on his plate, and Christy descended from upstairs. She was ready for school, wearing makeup and fancy-looking clothes.

"Good morning, my princess," Mrs. Johnson said to Christy.

"Good morning, mommy. Good morning, daddy." Christy kissed both her mom's and dad's cheeks.

"Good morning, sweetheart," her father said, smiling at her. Christy sat down on her chair as if she were a supermodel.

"Oh, you know today is Milo's birthday. So I made a special cake," Mrs. Johnson said as she placed a beautifully decorated cake on the table.

Dino noticed Christy glance at him from the corner of her eye.

Dino realized that they remembered his birthday. Now, she was playing this sick game to tease him. Milo was a cat they had adopted. No one knew when that fat cat was born. The only thing it did was eat and sleep. Mrs Johnson had decided to celebrate the cat's birthday on his birthday.

"Let's sing happy birthday to Milo," Mrs Johnson said, and Dino felt cringe-worthy about her behavior.

"Honey, the cat doesn't give a fig about its birthday," Mr. Johnson said. But Mrs. Johnson started to sing "Happy Birthday." Dino saw Christy's face flush with embarrassment. Christy used to be like her mom when she was little. Christy habitually joined her mom in teasing Dino. But now that she was seventeen, she understood how cringeworthy her mom could sometimes be.

"Mom, stop," Christy said, looking embarrassed. Dino felt happy that no one enjoyed Mrs. Johnson's stupid game.

"Oh, come on. Don't you guys love our Milo?" Mrs. Johnson said, looking at everyone.

No one answered. Mrs Johnson tried her best to keep her stupid fake smile. She wore red lipstick on her thin lips, as usual. Mrs Johnson was a housewife, but Mrs Johnson always dressed like an actress. She wore fancy clothes. Sometimes, Dino wondered where they got all that money. Mr Johnson only had an ordinary office job and was as dull as hell. Mrs. Johnson was someone who talked nonstop with a fake smile. She liked to boast about what she had in front of others. She thought everyone competed with her regarding how they dressed, looked, put on makeup, cooked, etc.

Mrs. Johnson cut the cake and gave huge pieces to everyone except Dino. Dino looked at the cake, and it looked delicious. But he was used to this nasty treatment all his life, so he kept his face straight without showing emotion.

"Mmmm.... The cake is so delicious. Right, darling?" Mrs. Johnson said, eating a big piece of her cake.

"Yes, it is. Where did you buy it?" Mr. Johnson asked.

"Buy it? I made it," Mrs. Johnson said, but everyone knew that she couldn't make food that delicious. So, no one said a word.