A New hope

Chapter 10-exploring

I'm starting to get sick of this shoulder brace, I've only had it on for two hours but it makes me feel so claustrophobic, not being able to use the left half of my body. I groan as I move around my bathroom, trying and failing to get this thing off so I can change. After five minutes of struggling I give up, deeming Tullio's shirt comfortable enough to sleep in.

I'm worried about him telling Alessio and Giovanni but I know there's nothing I can do about it, I just hope they don't make me go to a hospital where they will most likely do a full body check. I could see Tullio's brain working as he figured out what was hurting me, and he knows I'm hiding something. He's scary, unreadable and curt, but with what he said tonight and that he helped me he seems a little less terrifying now.

I pull down the covers before slipping into the bed, sighing as I melt into soft bedding. Today was different, but fun, exciting. More than I've done in years. Going out shopping, getting to go to a mall and spending as much as I wanted. Money was always tight with Diane and John, not that I cared much, considering I wasn't let out of the house, but it was nice not having to worry about that. Even what I got to experience today was more than I remember from the past five years.

I'm still hesitant about this whole thing; a new family out of nowhere, a new country, the kidnapping. Some things are not connected in my brain, and I know some things are missing in the picture, and I don't know who to trust or who to be comfortable with. I've been closed off my entire life, never allowed to have any friends and it's not like I could talk to my parents.

I dreamed of having siblings when I was younger, but now that they are here I don't know how to act around them. They seem so content without me, and I know that they lived happily without me. I feel like I'm intruding on them, that I'm not actually a part of the family. And I don't know if i'll ever be truly be a part of it.

-

I'm gently nudged awake and I slowly blink open my eyes, getting used to the daylight streaming in through the large windows. Before me are Alessio, Giovanni, and Tullio. I quickly become alert, sitting up. I knew that they were going to want to talk to me, but I really had hoped that they would have given me a day or two without mentioning it.

"Good morning, sorellina." ( little sister) Gio says sweetly from where he's sat at the foot of my bed. He smiles at me. "Morning." I say, it comes out more timid then I want. I look towards Tullio who's perched against the wall, then towards Alessio who sat right besides me. My body shifts away from him instinctively, Alessio looks hurt before quickly masking it.

"We wanted to talk." Alessio starts. Waiting for me to acknowledge him. I nod slowly, grabbing a pillow with my right arm, the left still in the horrible splint, tucking it into my body. " Tullio let us know that some things have been hurting you, " he states, eyeing my shoulder, " we understand you are not comfortable with us right now but we wanted to let you know that we will always be here for you and that you should never be afraid to come to us, ok?" I nod slowly.

"I forgot to tell you the importance of your arm brace." Tullio states from the wall, all of us turning to listen to him, " it's imperative that you wear it if you want your shoulder to heal right." I make a face, " I know it's uncomfortable but I think if you wear it for two-ish weeks straight then it should be healed enough to go without it."

"Speaking of two weeks, we were thinking of having you join the boy's school. We don't know what your situation was with school but we think you would enjoy this new school. What do you think about that? The triplets and Cassio along with some more family and friends attend the school too, so you won't be alone." Gio adds. They all look towards me, expecting an answer "Umm, I guess that's okay." I mutter. School definitely wasn't my favorite thing but it allowed me to get out of the house. I wasn't always treated well at school but with all of this change whos to say that that won't change as well.

"Great, well school is off right now for a fall break so you don't have to be worried about it for some time, it starts back up in two weeks so we'll see if we can't get you enrolled by then." Alessio nods.

"By then you should also be able to take off your brace." Tullio adds from the corner of my room. I nod, happy at that part. We end up talking more about my health before they all end up leaving my room, soon after I end up going after Tullio and asking him how to get the brace off. He looked at me suspiciously before reminding me the importance of wearing it. I had rolled my eyes before stating that I needed to change and shower. He reluctantly showed me how but told me to be extra careful when I have it off and only for small amounts of time. I nodded before leaving and getting ready for the day. Wearing a tight black long sleeve shirt and some cute patterned pink sweatpants.

Lucio ended up being the one to lead me down to breakfast today. He gave a sideways glance at my shoulder brace but thankfully said nothing about it. I made sure to memorize the hallways as he led, determined to remember how to get around the house.

Breakfast went great, and no one mentioned my arm. They were probably told ahead of time by the older boys, for that I was grateful. I didn't feel like explaining it at all. I was mostly quiet at breakfast only answering questions directly asked to me. Apparently they also figured out that I was joining their school, since most of the time Lucio was droning on and on about how horrible a certain teacher was or a course that I needed to avoid taking. I ended up eating around half of my plate, which I considered an accomplishment. Though from the looks between Gio and Alessio they didn't think I ate enough.

I'm now exploring around the house. I realized I never truly got to see it all. It's quite beautiful, even with all of the furniture and decorations being dark or black, the natural light really sets this place alive. All of the rooms are brightly lit and look stunning. I found that the hallways to the left of the staircase led to mostly offices and storage rooms, though I was surprised to find a huge library towards the back of the house that I planned on visiting again. 

There was also a massive gym at the end of the hallway, complete with every single type of workout equipment you could ever think of and what looked like a boxing ring. The room had a very tall ceiling and one wall of the gym was completely glass and looked like you could fold back the entire wall of glass to open up into a massive patio area that had a hot tub and an ice bath. Beyond that lay a huge yard, a grandiose pool and a pool house, and a great forestry area.

Coming back to the staircase I instead went down the right hallways. Their I found, cleaning rooms, a laundry room , a huge cinema room, a room with a full basketball court, a freaking bowling alley, and another huge room that had a similar set up to the gym area but this one was full of couches, tvs, gaming areas, board games, seating areas ranging from bean bags to massaging recliners, a kitchenette, and a full bar with stools. I stood there for a while, imagining all of the fun times throughout the years this room has been used. I sighed before exploring the second floor of the house. It was mainly bedrooms, the used bedrooms to the right of the stairs. My brothers and I room there. Then to the left were more rooms, some looking more used than others. Most Likely rooms of my brothers good friends or distant families rooms when visiting.

There looked to be another floor to the house and a basement but I honestly was getting tired and didn't feel like exploring anymore. It was crazy that these people lived like this, I truly couldn't believe that while some people lived in luxury that others didn't have homes. Before coming here I never could have even imagined a house this grandiose and luxurious. I feel like I don't belong here at all, despite what Alessio said about me being a part of this family I don't think I will ever get used to this much wealth. I feel like an outsider in what is supposed to be my home. I don't know who to talk to or how to explain any of this to them.

The change that I have experienced in so little time is messing with my head and I don't know how to process it all. This morning my brothers mentioned getting a therapist shortly but I quickly turned it down. I know they are supposed to help but I don't feel like I can open up to anyone at all or tell them what I have gone through. Alessio told me I can go to any of my brothers if I need anything. I might just suck it up and ask to see a therapist even though I doubt that I can truly open up to one.