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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Mariella's POV
The crutches under my arms are irritating my skin, regardless of the two not actually touching. Relying on two sticks to carry all of my weight isn't very comfortable. After my surgery, I had to wait three weeks before even trying to walk so that my foot could heal properly. Now, almost a month later, I finally get to leave.
The wait time was ridiculous and with Mateo pushing for them to let me stay longer, it felt as though I was trapped. Sitting in that bed, no matter how much I showered, there was a smell. Hospitals typically smell clean and sterile, but after a while, it gets boring and starts to burn your nostrils.
The kids were the only thing keeping me going. They expected me to be happy, so I was. Or at least I pretended I was, but I've been miserable. And now, to top it all off, I'm going to be on a plane for 11 hours. Don't get me wrong, I've always wanted to travel to Italy with Teo, but now things are kind of awkward.
Everything has slowed down. Seeing Mateo again had been in the midst of craziness, like an action movie. I mean, being kidnapped and thrown into a car, trapped in a closet and then kidnapped again, I didn't have much time to think. My mind was spinning, it had been for a while. How do you process all of that happening in such a short span of time?
Well, I'm not sure how anyone else would have, but I cried. A lot.
Call me a crybaby, I know, but with everything catching up to me in different waves, I had many breakdowns. Luckily, I hid them from everyone else.
Mateo's been acting weird, no doubt a result of my own behavior. He seems perfectly fine with just jumping back into our relationship as though it never ended. I, on the other hand, can't seem to accept it. I'm not sure how to just continue something that's been put on hold for seven years.
"Mama," Vivi says, looking up at me. Her hand rests on the bottom part of my left crutch, using it as though she's the one with an injury. "Will you use these sticks for long?"
I smile at her, "Maybe for a little bit longer, but not forever."
Her response comes in the form of a childlike nod. Her attention quickly focuses on the many things in the hospital lobby, but she doesn't say anything else.
It took a lot of me convincing Mateo to let me leave the hospital for him to agree. Disagreement was still obvious in the way he talked, making me wonder if he was hiding something. He was in a hurry to get to Italy not long ago and somehow he can't stand the idea now.
His posture is tense, as usual, as he argues with the nice lady behind the desk.
"You're all fottuti idioti Let's go!" He exclaims suddenly, twisting around and marching out of the building. With Vinny already gone on a plane home, it's just Vivi, Angel and I left standing there shocked. That jackass.
(T: Fucking idiots)
The lady at the desk- Natalie, I notice written on her medical ID, looks fed up and tired.
