Mariella grew up in the foster care system, abused every day until she found solace in the most unexpected form; Mateo, the son of an Italian mob leader.
Fate brought the two together, but when it tears them apart, how is she supposed to cope? Espe...
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7 years later..
I wake up with a start, hearing the familiar automatic ringtone of my phone. If it weren't 3 in the morning, and I hadn't gone to bed only 4 hours before, I most likely would have checked the called id. I would usually never in my right mind answer an unknown call, but I'm not in my right mind.
Hopefully, nobody is in trouble, but I would be pissed to find if someone that knew I had raised two kids on my own and still am raising them called, interrupting my rare sleep.
The kids are only 6, but they can be such a handful. They are, however, the most important things in my life, that is never giving up. Ever. Nobody could separate me from the two babies that have made my life worth living for the past 7 years. Honestly, I figure I'd be dead in a ditch already if I didn't have them.
It is hard to raise them though, day after day getting questions even I don't know the answer to. "Momma, where is my papa?" Gone, I want to tell them. Gone from my life and yours, before he even knew about yours. I haven't heard from him once since that one night that changed my life.
Jen, my best friend has been with me since the start, since before I even met Matteo. She always warned me about him, "he seems shady", she'd say. Be careful. Maybe I should have been. Maybe I could have saved myself from the years of depression causes by Teo's betrayal.
I never knew what he even left for. Was it for another woman? Probably. I never had experience before him, so it'd make sense. Maybe I really just wasn't good enough. But here I am, tears down my face, wondering how this perfect man I'd planned my whole life with ruined it with just one note.
I'm knocked out of my reverie when the phone rings once more, mindlessly I reach over and answer the call.
"Mari, baby, is that you?"
I immediately hang up, my whole system shocked. I have to be dreaming. There is no way, that 7 years later he could have found me. I've had my number changed, multiple times. Not to hide from him, but to get away from the countless people who have taken advantage of me and my children.
How? How would he know my number? And why? Why would he call now, why would he leave me wondering for years and then out of the blue show up?
My brain goes into overdrive. All this thinking, all the dumb thoughts that I can't get out of my mind. Crowded. I can't breathe. I need air. I need to breathe. A panic attack.
I haven't had one of these since the kids were 4. I had Jen with me though, what did she say? She always knew what to say after Teo left, she would help me with panic attacks. She'd say exactly what Teo used to.
I see five things, touch four, hear three. I smell two and I taste one.
"Mommy?"
Looking up at the sound of the small voice, I find my baby Vivi standing in the door frame. Oh great, I've probably scared her now. Way to go Mariella, calm down. I beckon her over with the wave of my hand, and slowly, she stalks over.
