VERITY'S POV ~_______~_______~

I forgot my 'family' was coming to visit today. I didn't think there would be so much of them though- like, holy crap man.

"Chi è questo?" Asked a voice from the corner of the room. A frail, old woman was speaking. "Valentino, perché una delle tue puttane è vestita da maschio e gira per il soggiorno?" (Who is this? | Valentino, why is one of your bitches dressed as a boy and walking around the living room?"

Matteo snickered in the corner and I said nothing. They didn't know I spoke Italian, and I'd like to keep it that way.

"Mamá, this is Verity. We took her in last week, she's been alive this whole time." Francesco said as if it was a casual thing to say. The woman, who I now knew as my grandmother, opened her eyes wide in surprise. She shuffled over as fast as she could and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Is it really you, my love? It's me, your grandmama." She had tears in her eyes. I was stiff due to the fact she was touching me and showing affection.

I wasn't repulsed or anything.. just terrified. I looked around frantically and Valentino slowly pulled her off me.

"She's shy. She doesn't like being touched, or talking, but she will listen to you." He said gently to our grandmother.

I didn't miss the flicker of hurt in her eyes but she quickly covered it up and smiled, showing she understood. I relaxed a bit but was still on edge. There was about 11 people in here I didn't know.

Everybody introduced themselves. Esmé was my grandmother, married to Giovanni. Rosalie was my aunt and she was married to Diego- they had 2 kids, Carlo and Castor. They were funny and outgoing. Carlo was 17 and Castor was 15. They were my cousins. Then there was Markus, my uncle. He had 4 children, Antonio (19), Rocco (21), Aldo (18), and an adoptive child- Santino (19). My other cousins. Everybody seemed happy to see me but I didn't say a single thing to them. Just slightly smiled and nodded at whatever they said.

It was finally time for dinner, and we had to bring some more chairs for the table so the seating we usually sat in was different.

Francesco Markus - Diego Esmé - Giovanni Rosalie - Carlo Verity - Matteo Valentino - Castor Lorenzo - Leonardo Aldo - Rocco Antonio - Santino Emilio - Enzo Andrea

"So, Verity, what was your life like? Before you got taken back in?" Asked Diego.

I went stiff at the question. Nobody asked me about it since I got here, so I haven't said anything. I just gave a thumbs up in hopes he would drop it. But, of course, he did not.

"Who did you live with?"

I shrugged.

"What were they like?"

I shrugged.

"Did-"

"Oh my god , just drop it, she obviously is seeking for attention. She probably had a picture-perfect life, whoring around with jocks at her school." Matteo scoffed, cutting him off.

The table was silent. My heart dropped. I put my fork down and didn't say anything. Me and Matteo weren't close, not at all, but he was still my blood. To hear him say that about me.. it hurt. I didn't know why. It's not like I cared what he thought of me. Before anybody could scold him, a voice spoke up.

"What the fuck did you just say?" No way. No fucking way. Leonardo was standing over Matteo, saying the first words today- he barely ever spoke. His voice was threatening and cold as he glared at Matteo.

"You heard me."

"Repeat it. I fucking dare you to."

"Now, boys, let's settle down-" my mother tried to get them to calm down but Matteo decided he wanted a death wish.

"I said she was a whore. We got a problem?"

The table was silent and in shock. My hands were shaking. Matteo was reminding me too much of John right now. Way too much. What happened next, though, shocked everybody even more.

Leonardo grabbed Matteo by the collar and dragged him out the dining room, proceeding to punch him repeatedly in the living room. Everybody scattered after them, trying to pull them apart as they wrestled and fought.

"YOU WON'T FUCKING SAY THAT ABOUT OUR SISTER-" Leonardo was yelling, beating the shit out of Matteo.

My throat closed. I was reminded of John, now more than ever. This situation was too familiar to me.. I hated it. I ran upstairs as people shouted my name behind me, and shut my door quickly, locking it and sitting on the floor. My breathing quickened, my eyes blurring.

I saw black spots and felt a shooting pain go through my ribs as darkness took over me.

Flashback start. TW: r@pe scene and abuse. I looked at my surroundings and realized I was in a memory, replaying it in my head. I walked into the house, where I saw a young version of me sitting on the couch, coloring some unicorns on paper.

If only she knew what was to come.

The door flung open and John walked in with a man behind him. The younger Verity smiled up at her stepfather.

"Hi dad!" She smiled.

"I didn't fucking say you can call me that." He grumbled, turning back to the man behind him. "An hour is 20$. Two hours is 50$."

The man looked at the young girl and smiled, handing John 70$. He walked over to Verity, towering over her.

"Hi, little girl. We're going to play a game. If you don't play by the rules, I'm afraid I have to punish you." He said.

"I don't want you to punish me. Daddy already does that," younger me frowned.

"Good. You will do as I say. I want you to put this up to your nose, and sniff it in. It's medicine, okay?" He held out a bag of powder, and spread it across the table.

"Okay.. will this make me feel better? Will it take away my boo-boo's?"

"Stop asking questions and fucking do it."

Younger me shuddered at his tone and sniffed it in. It burnt for a minute, then she started to breath faster.

"I dont- I don't like it.. make it stop!" She shrieked, starting to have a panic attack.

"Shut the fuck up." The man went over and took his belt off, took a knife out, and took his pants off. He started to undress younger me.

"Please don't... just stop- STOP!" This time It was me shrieking, watching as the young version of me was violated. I started to shake, my screams blending in with those from the smaller version of me, as she got used and cut into. Flashback over. (TW: SH👇)

I woke up, on the floor of my bedroom, sweating.. I started to sob, I just saw my innocence being taken. My breaths were uneven as I staggered to the bathroom, looking in the mirror. I pulled up my hoodie and saw my ribs, that were looking even worse then before. I started rummaging through the drawers until I found a razor. I pulled up my sleeve and with shaky hands, and put the razor to my skin. I cut deeply, watching as the blood came oozing out of my wrist. It made me feel better. My breathing started to even out as I cut more lines along my wrist. There was a knock on my door.

Fuck. I quickly rinsed off my wrist and looked at it, the new cuts overlapping the old ones. I wiped the floor that had drops of blood on it and I quickly wiped my tears away and fixed my hair in hopes I looked normal.

I opened the door, expecting to see Valentino or Lorenzo but was surprised to see Emilio. Me and Emilio don't talk, we just say hi to each other or goodnight and see eachother in the halls or at meals.

"Hey.. can I come in?" He asked.

I stepped aside, allowing him entry. He came in and I closed the door behind him and sat on my bed. He did the same.

" Uh.. are you okay?" He mumbled. I nodded. "You dont look okay. Your eyes are red and puffy, have you been crying?" He pointed out. I shook my head. "It's okay to cry, you know. You don't need to hide it. What Matteo said was messed up. I'm sorry he said that."

I nodded my head and tried to avoid the stinging in my wrists. Emilio laid on my bed and he carefully wrapped his arms around me. Pain shot through my ribs, but I said nothing. "I'm here for you. I don't know what you went through before you got here, Verity. I don't know what made you stop talking so much even though you were so chatty the night we met you. I don't know why you don't like physical touch. But I know that I will always be here for you to talk to, to vent your feelings, or even if you just need a hug. I'm always here for you."

His words were sweet, genuine. They made my heart grow 3x. I slowly melted into his touch, allowing him to embrace me as I hugged him back.

"I was abused." I said simply. Nothing more, nothing less. I didn't look up at him, just kept talking. "Before I came here. He didn't like it when I talked, and I remembered that the second day here, so I stopped." My voice was quiet, hoping that he didn't hear me and was asleep. I didn't want him to know the details.

Emilio's arms tightened around me. "I'm so sorry, mia sorella. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I'm here now. And that isn't enough to make up for it, but I'm here." There was a comfortable silence for a few minutes before he broke it again. "We thought you were dead. Somebody had sent a video to father, a video of a man torturing you until you died of blood loss. It was horrible.. it was so real. I cried at the sight of mia sorella being hurt like that. When father said you were alive, I didn't believe it. I wanted to hug you, to never let you go, I thought you were going to leave again so I didn't get close. But I realize now that it was a shitty thing to do." (My sister | my sister)

My breath hitched. My family didn't abandon me? They thought that I was dead? All these years, I despised them- hated my father and mother for giving me away to a man like John. I blamed them for everything that happened over the years, but it was never their fault.

"I'm not leaving, Emilio." I said quietly. He hugged me tighter. My ribs were now aching and hurt like a bitch, but I bit my lip and didn't say anything.

Emilio and me talked for hours about random stupid stuff, watched a Twilight movie and fell asleep. Today was a shit day, but Emilio made me feel better about it. I heard the door creak open and shuffling around my room, but I said nothing and kept my eyes closed. __________________________________ Word count: 1892

This was a shit chapter. I hated writing it, especially the flashback. Anyway, some parts in here were sort of foreshadowing some stuff- but they won't happen til later chapters.

Anyway, bye bye! Stay hydrated lovelies and pls comment or vote<3