Where The Clouds Go

Chapter Nine {Unraveled Secrets}

Cecilia Caruso {Again, Again}

Frozen, it seemed like a block of ice formed around me. My grip against the glass of water tightened and it felt like no blood in my body was moving.

"Enzo...?" I asked in a hushed whisper, his face was gentle and knowing at that moment.

"Cecilia, did you know your mother's name?" He asked, that's when it fell into place. I knew it was true.

"Bianca..." I whispered, tears forming in my eyes, I didn't know why they were forming but they did.

"I knew it." He muttered as he looked away for a moment, he'd probably throw us out, or even worse kill us. He looked capable of killing.

"Would you like to go for a walk with me?" He asked me sincerely, I didn't know where he was going with this.

Still my life was a mess and there didn't seem to be any way to clean it, why not make it messier?

I placed the glass down and nodded as we walked shoulder to shoulder, it was silent for a moment before he cleared his throat.

I then noticed we were no longer inside, we were in a little gazebo, there were white roses that had recently been planted.

"We've got a lot to talk about, don't we...?" I asked my voice breaking a little, I'd didn't really want this conversation to take place.

"My name is Enzo, you stiffened at that name. Is there any reason why?" He asked, deep down he knew the answer.

"How do I start this...?" I asked myself quietly, I pulled out the note. It was in my sleeve, lightly brushing my fingers against the aged paper.

"When my mom, Bianca, left, she left this note in her belongings. Sebastian and I found it and held onto it. It's one of the only things we have left." I whispered and his face changed in an instant.

His features softened and no longer wore his intimidating poker face, he looked like someone I could talk to.

He gently took the note from my hand, I could've sworn I saw a little tear prick at his eye, his hand shook a little.

"This is from your mother, correct?" He asked me, his voice was slightly broke as he asked.

"Yes..." I whispered only loud enough for him to hear.

"I wrote this letter to a woman I loved, a woman I settled for, a woman I began my family with." He said and all of the news crashed down on me.

This man was my father, he left my mother before I was even born.

I lived with an abusive crap filled man who I thought was my father.

My mother left with nothing said, she left my brother and I knowing she was leaving us with an abusive man.

I spent nights cold and hungry, spent my days trying to protect my brother as he tried to protect me. We didn't have anyone to protect us, we didn't have anybody to love and care for us.

"W-why?" My voice was cracking and tears began to fall.

"I was trying to protect your mother, Sebastian, and you. Now I know I hadn't protected anyone, I just caused more pain." He looked me in the eyes, bending down to my level.

He knew what I meant, why I asked him about leaving. It was one simple word, why, but he understood it perfectly.

"Why did you leave?" I asked him, I wasn't mad at him for leaving. Why would I be mad, I never even knew this man, but I couldn't stop the pain welling in my chest.

"I made some mistakes, terrible mistakes. Socialized myself with the wrong people, bad people. Your mother tried to stand up for our family and she aggravated those people. They ordered me to kill her. It was for her safety that she fled." The man, my father, admitted his eyes showed nothing but pain.

"I missed my wife, the sun of my universe, she was the light of my life and without her I crumbled. It took many years before I was stable again, before I could be the parent my children deserved." He explained, guiding me to sit down on the benches with him.

"I thought about Bianca, and you two a lot." He said, smiling a little bit to ease the mood.

"When you walked in today, I thought you were Bianca, but I knew almost immediately, that you were my child." He said softly as I stared into his eyes, I was crying now, tears streaming down my face.

"You didn't try to look for us, did you?" I asked my voice had cracked as my lip quivered.

"I did, the problem was Bianca was an unpredictable woman, I would've never imagined she'd go back to her homeland, the same place she fought to escape." He slowly said, I knew what he meant.

My mom had told me a story when I was young, about a woman who left Austria to explore the world, away from her abusive father and controlling mother, away from the arranged marriages.

I now knew that story was not about some woman, but about her, Bianca, my mom.

"Would you like to tell me what you went through?" He asked me, I couldn't deny that.

I had carried the burden on my back for so long, not having anyone to talk to. I found myself telling the entire story to a man I had just met.

Telling this man about my abusive step father and flighty mother, about our times at the orphanage, that wretched week at the farm, and the escape.

My father had empathy written on his face as I told him about my cold and hungry nights, he had anger when I told him about Marcel. He was unreadable when I told him about the farm and how we were treated.

"That's when we-we m-met Luca." I sobbed, tears were in fat clumps now, my lip was quivering and I was hiccuping. I hadn't cried like this in a long time.

It felt like an eternity, sharing our stories and what we went through, the secrets slowly unraveling.

I found myself hugging him tightly, clutching to Enzo's shirt like a baby as I cried into his chest. He held me in his lap safely, rubbing my back as his shirt started to become wet.

"I'm sorry!" I sniffled, my eyes red and puffy as I looked up at Enzo.

"No, no, I'm sorry. I should've tried harder to find you, I shouldn't have left you and Sebastian." He said softly, cupping my cheek.

"But I made your shirt wet.." I hiccuped as I wiped my tears.

"I can change, it's just a shirt." He reassured gently, then something hit me.

"Sebastian..." I mumbled quietly, I was here knowing the truth, while he was blindly playing video games.

"We should probably go tell the family, about our new discovery eh?" He said trying to lift my moods.

I nodded as he helped me up, I clutched onto his hand as if he'd disappear if I didn't.

I didn't know why I was acting like this, a scared five year old, I never acted like this before. I just felt so safe with him, like nothing could happen as long as he was around.

I softly hiccuped as I sat next to my twin brother, everyone at dinner was in this room. Sebas asked what happened as he wrapped his arm around me, clutching me into a protective hug.

The truth and all of the secrets would be told, then what would happen?

We weren't apart of their family for twelve years, what makes us part of it now?

Would they cast us back outside when it was all said and done?

Would they welcome us with open arms into their family?

What was going to happen to Sebastian and I?

{HII! This chapter was a long one, a very interesting one too. Please give me your feedback, originally I was going to make CeCe very standoffish, but I changed my mind. Have a great day and don't forget to eat and drink lots of water!!🩷}