Reconstructing Amelia (unedited)

Chapter 6

October 3rd, 2019

I woke up with a quiet groan, finding myself still sprawled across the stairs. Sunlight streamed in from the windows and the sounds of the city were already alive and bustling. Javi appeared beside me, concern written all over his face.

"Is you okay?" he asked softly. I nodded, forcing myself to sit up. Blood was still soaked on my clothes and dried on my skin. My entire body felt like hell.

"What time is it?" I mumbled, my vision still hazy.

"Deici," Javi answered. "Papa went already," Well at least that was comforting.

"Why aren't you at school?" I asked him.

"You needed help," he told me. "Couldn't leave," I forced a smile.

"Grazie, Fratello, but tomorrow I want you to go, okay?" he nodded. I weakly lifted myself up, using the railing for support. I slowly climbed the stairs, making my way to the bathroom. I looked awful. My eyes were puffy from crying, I had blood everywhere, and my cut looked ten times worse than it had originally. I got out the first aid kit and painfully began cleaning everything off, pouring peroxide on my wounds before bandaging them. I managed to restitch my cut, despite the heavy bruising around the skin. I ran my fingers through my tangled hair with a sigh. I wouldn't be going to school today, and from the looks of it, I wouldn't be going in for at least a few more days.

"Javi, come here!" I called. He came scampering in, an eager look in his eyes. I wet a washcloth and gently began blotting the cuts along his face, being careful to apply little pressure to the bruises.

Javi started to wince and cry out, pulling away.

"It's okay, Fratello," I told him soothingly, grabbing his hand. He nodded, and stood still, despite grimacing every so often. I put some more peroxide on his cuts before patching him up with some bandaids.

"All done," I told him, forcing a smile. He thanked me, throwing his little arms around my waist. For a child, he was small, underweight and very scrawny, but he never failed to cheer me up. Both Javi and Ella resembled Ben in looks, with soft brown eyes, curly brown hair, yet the two were miraculously optimistic. I missed my sister terribly, but it wasn't so dull with Javi around.

"Breakfast?" Javi asked, pulling me out of my thoughts as I nodded.

"I'll make some," I ruffled his hair, limping downstairs. It was days like these my limp came back. Only on the days after my beatings. Ben had given it to me right before Ella had died. It was her eighteenth birthday. We'd celebrated earlier that morning when Ben was out of the house. Ella had a single birthday candle she'd acquired years ago. We used it in secret on all of our birthdays to make a wish that would never come true. Except for that year. She'd gotten her wish. At least sort of. Ella's wish was always the same: that we could be free. So that day, she'd packed us all up, nothing but scrappy backpacks full of clothes. We'd left with the hot summer sun on our backs and a sheer will to escape. Ella was carrying Javi, who was not as happy to be walking for hours in the sun. He just wasn't old enough to understand.

But we got caught.

That night, Ben came looking for us. He dragged us back home and quickly put Javi upstairs. He was so angry - angrier than I'd ever seen him. He was screaming at Ella, cursing and threatening us. He grabbed his trusty baseball bat and began to beat me with it, ignoring Ella's shouting. My skinny leg had cracked instantly, wounding me forever. But I cared less about my leg that night, and more about my sister's death.

"Sorella," Javi said impatiently. I blinked, looking up. I was burning the eggs. I sighed, dumping the burnt mess of scrambled eggs into the rubbish bin. My head was aching and I was too caught up in my own thoughts to properly function.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I'll make sandwiches instead," Javi seemed content with the idea and nodded as I began to pull the ingredients from the refrigerator.

Eventually, I made two simple turkey and swiss sandwiches, and Javi ate it up quickly. I, however, only picked at mine, feeling too sick to really eat.

I hurried into the computer set up in the living room, logging into my email account I used for work. I hastily sent an email to Janie and her parents, explaining that I would be out sick for a while and that I wouldn't be able to come into the cafe. I felt bad about missing so many shifts, but I also knew there was no way I'd be able to work properly anyway. I sent the email, feeling slightly relieved.

There wasn't really a whole lot to do after that. The television was off-limit and there were no other activities in the house. I knew Ben had a collection of books upstairs in his bedroom. That part of the house was always taboo. But I was desperate for something to do.

I slowly made my way up the stairs and into the bedroom on the right. I was honestly surprised at how clean it was. I never cleaned his bedroom, it was always off-limits, so I wondered how he managed to keep it so clean.

I went over to the bookshelf, scanning the titles. I didn't really know many but I recognised a few. Ben used to collect Shakespeare plays whilst we were living in Italy, and he must've had them shipped over. I traced my fingers over the pristine titles, the golden lettering shimmering underneath my fingertips. I pulled out one of my favourite books; The Winter's Tale. It wasn't anything special, it just reminded me of how blind and cruel families can be, which closely resembled my own. Ella and I used to read old literature together. Those books were easily found at thrift shops and bookstores, so they were easiest to acquire. Shakespeare was my favourite. I'd read most of his plays, loving every word.

I opened the pages, seeing the familiar Italian writings. Everything in America was English - and it wasn't that I couldn't read it, it was just making me homesick for not being able to read in my common tongue.

I slipped back downstairs, finding Javi seated on the couch colouring in his phonebook. I wasn't able to get him any proper notebooks or colouring pads, so I'd given him a phonebook I'd found in the house upon arrival. Javi didn't seem to mind and was happily content scribbling over the listings.

I took a seat beside him on the couch, my body already screaming from all the movement. I settled into the soft cushions, gratefully embracing the spongy padding that eased my aching limbs. This was going to be a rough week. Ben was already stressed from moving countries and handling jobs and such, and now I would have to home for a few days to endure it. I was already barely able to function without being in too much pain, I couldn't bear to think about what I'd have to do for him now as well.