Behind this Mask

Chapter 1 // New beginnings.

• Before you start I just wanted to thank you for giving my book a chance it means a lot to me I hope you enjoy reading it;) •

'I watch in awe as the monarch butterflies fly over me into abuelos vineyard. "Abuelo! Abuelo! Mira ya llegaron las mariposas!" ( grandfather grandfather look the butterflies have arrived!) i shout. "Aren't they just beautiful?" Abuelo says. I nod my head, astounded by the sight in front of me, year after year they come yet they never cease to amaze me. I start chas-'

BAM! BAM! BAM!
I bolt up from bed, startled until i realized someone was at the door, glancing at the clock it was only 5. I quickly got up to open my unit door since all the other girls were sleeping. I swing open the door to see my case worker Karen stands there 5'4 in her usual black slacks white button up and black blazer, her short blond hair was up in a high ponytail and she had no makeup on today which was strange, she always wore red lipstick and had on mascara to bring out her eyes. She looked bored as usual, engrossed in her blackberry, i clear my throat causing her to look up at me. When Karen catches me staring at her a look of guilt crossed her face but she quickly covers it up. But
that was all i needed,  I turned on my heels and grabbed a change of clothes, after a quick shower I put my stuff back into my suitcase. I repacked the few things i had unpacked and quickly did my bed. With one last glance I grabbed my thing and headed towards the exit. Karen took this as her cue and started walking towards the main building.
As I followed Karen I couldn't help but wonder how long it would last this time. A few days? A week? In the end it didn't matter in few months they would kick me out, happy to have gotten rid of me. By the time i caught up to Karen in the main office Karen had already gotten all the paper work set and was out the door. I followed Karen to her black 2013 BMW X1 before I finally spoke "What's the point?" Karen was confused for a moment until she realized what i meant , she sighed loudly before unlocking the doors so we could get in. I quickly put my bags in the back seat, it wasn't much after all just a small suitcase and a duffle bag.
We drove in silence for the majority of the ride until I realized we were heading to the outskirts of town, to the airport. "Where are we going?" I ask sounding indifferent. Karen glances over at me a few times before she decides to talk. "Their names are Luca and Stella Barone. Luca is a well known doctor and Stella is a clothesline designer." She explains. "They live in Italy.. which is where your going." Her voice is a whisper by the end of her sentence. I turn to look at her in shock as her words sink in "Italy?" I ask she nods her head but doesn't turn to look at me.
"They're nice people Izzy, you should give them a chance, get to know them, they can't wait to meet you."
The rest of the car ride was quiet, neither of us willing to break the silence. As soon as the car was parked just outside of the airport Karen handed me a folder and spoke. "All the paper work is in here including your passport and airline ticket, once you get to Italy someone will be waiting, don't worry." I looked at her unsure of what to say. I waited to see if she had anything else to add but she looked ahead. I nodded my head and got out. As i grabbed my carry on bag and suitcase she turned to look at me with sad eyes and said "take care." With those words in mind i closed the door and walked away. The rest of the day went by in a blur as i checked in, boarded the plane and took off.
After a long plane ride the plane finally landed in a city called punaccu (poo-na-coo). Even though the journey was long i couldn't complain i mean after all i was sitting in first class (courtesy of my new foster parents). The view looked amazing. For once i felt something about seeing my new 'home'. After getting off the plane and collecting my bags i set off too look for my "parents" until i realized i hadn't met them yet, unsure of what to do i sat off to the side to wait. After a few Minutes i noticed a man in a black suit carrying a sign with my name on it. He was tall around 6'2 maybe he looked bulky but toned he was light skinned but he had glasses on so I couldn't see his eyes, I watched him for a bit, curious but after a few moments i decided to introduce myself and walked up to him. When he noticed me he talked into what seemed to be an ear piece and walked the rest of the way to me. "Hello Miss Martinez my name is Paulo i work for Mr. and Mrs. Barone would you like me to take your bags?" He asked. I carefully eyed him before shaking my head, he stared at me before nodding and replying "very well, shall we go then?" Once again not talking i nod my head and follow him to the car. The car ride was silent but interesting the sights were ones of true beauty.  Soon we turn onto a street that had a few houses and pulled up to the second house on the left, it was a yellow, very elegant looking house with a water fountain centered in the middle of the drive way. I watched as he went around behind the house and pulled into one of the garages in the back. After turning off the car Paulo got out, opened my door, and grabbed my bags from the trunk before i could protest. I trailed behind him to the house. I couldn't help but stare at all the plants that surrounded the house. It was a lot better than my last "home". As we leave the garage and enter the home we ended up in a small room it was mostly empty  with the exception of a coat rack on my left but even that only had one coat on it, to my right was an opening that led to a wide hallway I followed Paulo through the hallway I couldn't help but observe as we walked through it. There were a few doors but they were all closed and they all seemed like rooms except one which was on my right it had two white swinging double doors it was close to the end of the hallway. Finally after what seemed forever but was really only about 45 seconds we emerged from behind a stair case in front of it was a huge open space that led to the front door. To my right there was a huge dining room it had a long table, there was a bouquet of  mixed Roses and Lily's. To the left there was a pair of white swinging doors which I presumed led to the kitchen, across from the doors there was a large window which was currently covered by the curtains. To the left was an opening to the living room it was bigger than the dining room, Paulo walked into the living room allowing me to follow him and see the living room better. To the right there was a large window taking up most of the wall in front of it was a long black table that seemed to sit perfectly underneath it. There was a tv mounted to the wall in front of me, with what seemed to be a dresser underneath it, a long white couch sat a few feet away from the tv, on each side of the couch there was matching furniture on the right there was a love seat and to the left a lone reclining chair. Behind the chair there were shelf s lined with pictures and awards the house seemed homey but... empty. Paulo told me to take a seat while he informed Stella of my arrival. I sat patiently waiting when I heard the clicking of heals coming closer. " Amazing isn't it?" I turned to see a beautiful slender woman, She had short blonde hair her cheek-bones were prominent and she had royal blue eyes. She wore a blue sleeveless dress  that fell above her knees and silver wedges that matched her necklace. She smiled at me before she spoke. "Thank you paulo, I'll take it from here." Paulo nodded before he put my bag down and walked away. We stood quietly for a moment before Stella spoke. "Hello Isabelle I'm Stella. Luca's working right now im sorry we couldn't go pick you up darling we both just got so busy." I stared unsure of an appropriate response and decided to stay quiet. The silence soon became uncomfortable and i found myself wishing i was back at the orphanage . "Would you like a tour?" Said Stella. I nodded quietly.