There are so many buttons.

After Marco had finished his food (which consisted of him eating slowly as he stared at me for 20 minutes), he directed me to the movie room (the movie room!) and told me to watch whatever until the twins were up.

So, here I sat, staring down at the complicated device. There were so many buttons. Who needs this many buttons for one device?

Apparently this one. Because it was huge. The TV spanned almost across one wall of the room, which was filled with giant leather seats that moved up and down with buttons!

Does red mean on? I thought that was the button Frank pressed when he wanted it on. I pressed the button and voíla! I smiled softly down at Hobbes. That feels strange...

I turned my attention back to the TV, frowning when I noticed the complicated screen. I didn't know what to do. Frank's never looked like this. He just turned it on and watched what turned on.

As I stared at the massive screen, a voice piped up from behind me, "You'll probably want to watch Disney+. That's my favorite," I practically lept into the air, turning around to find Alessio standing there, arms crossed over his bare chest. What is it with the lack of shirts in this house?

I just looked between him and the remote, trying to calm my heart rate down to a reasonable pace. "Good morning, fratellino," He winked and made his way over to me, smiling. I offered him a small wave.

He grabbed the remote from my hold and I let him, watching as he navigated the complex screen with ease. He selected a blue box, with the word Disney+ on it, and my lips parted slightly as the blue filled the screen, making a noise as the letters bounced across the screen. Wow.

He turned to me, an expectant look on his face, "Which movie, fratellino?" I froze. Movie? I had never seen a movie.

I just shrugged, pointing to him. I hoped he knew what I meant. His brow furrowed.

"You want me to pick? If you say so..." He mumbled, flicking through until he landed on a movie with... cars with faces on them?

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This movie is so cool. The cars can talk and they're super fast!

We were about 45 minutes in when Alonzo shuffled in. He took one look at the screen and scoffed, "You guys are seriously watching Cars? That's so lame,"

Without missing a beat, Alessio gracefully flicked a throw pillow backward, over his head, hitting Alonzo square in the face. Alonzo made a noise of surprise, and I tried to conceal my half-smile.

Suddenly, Alonzo lept over the back of the couch, tackling Alessio to the ground as they wrestled around. My eyes widened and I clutched Hobbes close to my chest. What if they hurt each other?

They continued wrestling with each other, rolling around on the floor of the theater, grunting and growling at each other. Tears began to well in my eyes and I wiped them away, ignoring the shaking in my hands.

I finally built up the courage to whisper, "S...stop," but they didn't hear me. If one of them got hurt, it would be my fault. I agreed to watch this movie. Stupid. Alonzo doesn't like it. Why didn't I think of that?

"Stop, please," I whispered, bringing my knees to my chest, keeping Hobbes tucked close to me. I began to rock back and forth slowly, tucking my head to my chest. "Stop, stop," I mumbled continuously, even as tears rolled down my cheeks.

With my eyes closed, the sounds of their fighting sounded even more realistic, and suddenly Frank was there, standing in the corner of the room, laughing in the way he did where his head would tilt back and his eyes would widen a little more than normal.

I scrambled backward in the seat, breathing increasing as tears fell down my cheeks, "No... no.. please.." was what I now mumbled, trying to get away. He can't be back. Not yet, please.

I flinched violently as someone grabbed my shoulder in a tight grip, whipping around, eyes wide, to watch Alonzo's expression morph from one of confusion to panic.

I whimpered, yanking my shoulder out of his grasp and shooting backward. Out. Now. Must go. My brain chanted, and I lept out of the chair and dashed around Alessio's legs, avoiding his outreaching arms as I took off out of the room.

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He was everywhere, now. The cracked closet door, under the bed, sitting in the chair in the corner. I could picture him everywhere.

I huddled in the corner of my room, hiccupping and crying silently as my chest heaved for air and my hands shook. I could practically see him, his crooked teeth and oily hair and grimy fingernails.

A strangled sob slipped from my throat as the visceral image jarred me, spurring me to push myself further into the corner, hiding my face in Hobbes' comforting fabric.

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A gentle knocking on the door tore me from my rest, and I shot up, bending over immediately due to the screaming pain throughout my body.

A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand alerted me of the time: 1:17 pm. I ignored the aching throughout my body from the uncomfortable position I had been in, wiped my crusty, irritated eyes, and shuffled to the bedroom door.

"Luca? Monkey? It's me, Gio," at the calm, comforting voice, I slowly opened the door, looking down at a pair of shiny, leather shoes. Then, somehow, I was looking at... a leg? And then Giovanni's face.

He knelt in front of me, gently lifting my chin with his fingers as he scanned my face, concern etched across his features. He tsked softly at my red, irritated eyes.

"What happened, monkey?" He questioned softly, gently tilting my head in different directions as he examined me. I just shook my head quietly.

"Nothing? That's not what I heard from the twins..." he murmured gently, not accusatory, just curious. That's new. I just shrugged.

He redirected my gaze to his kind but intense one. "I'm gonna need a bit more than that, Luc." I shuffled back and forth uncomfortably, playing with a loose string on Hobbes' arm.

"Just nervous," I whispered, trying to avoid his gaze, to no avail.

"Just nervous! You had a full-blown fucking panic attack because you were nervous!" I watched Giovanni's expression morph into one of anger as he whipped around to face Alonzo.

"Alonzo, out. Now." Giovanni practically seethed. Alonzo glared at me, rolled his eyes, turned around, and strode back into his room. My eyes were wide and my frame was tense as Giovanni turned back around, gaze softening.

"I'm sorry, monkey. He gets a bit... agitated, sometimes. We're working on it," I nodded in response, avoiding his gaze. That didn't last long. "However," he continued, tilting my head back up, "Alonzo is not entirely wrong. Based on what I heard, you were pretty shaken up, huh?"

I just shrugged, but when one finger moved from my chin to tap gently on the side of my face, I hesitated and nodded.

"There we go, bambino. Do you know why you got so scared?" he murmured.

Of course I do. Not that they'll ever know. But I could tell them something. For Giovanni.

"Didn't want them to get hurt," I whispered, almost inaudibly, as I nuzzled Hobbes close to my face. I heard Giovanni release a soft breath.

"Oh, monkey," he breathed, half-chuckling, "They won't ever hurt each other on purpose. Unless it's over Uno. But that's another story," I shot him a semi-confused glance, but he just continued. What's Uno?

"Point is, the twins do a lot of play wrestling. It's like real wrestling but they aren't actually trying to hurt each other. They just do it when they get into silly arguments or fights. Like when Alonzo said Cars was lame, right?" I nodded. That kinda makes sense.

"Which, by the way, is completely untrue," Giovanni added, quirking my mouth into a half-smile. He looked pleased at that.

"Truth is, Alonzo, and most of your brothers, sometimes say things just to annoy other people. Except for me. I'm perfect," He shot me a goofy smile, and my mouth quirked up just a little bit more. "However, Luca, you must know," His expression turned serious, and I straightened up a bit.

"None of us would ever hurt you. Or each other. Ever. We all love you very much, despite what you may think," He shot me a knowing look, and I chewed on my bottom lip. "You are so, so loved, monkey. Don't ever forget that." His eyes softened.

"Can I give you a hug, Luca?" He asked, and I tilted my head slightly. A hug? A flash of sadness crossed his features at my confused look, but it was gone as soon as it came. "Here, I'll show you," he murmured, before gently pulling me into his arms.

I almost flinched, but I was able to hold it back as he pulled me close to his chest, gently wrapping his strong arms around my thin frame. I was tense at first before I slowly began to relax.

When I hesitantly rested my head against his shoulder, keeping Hobbes tucked under my chin, I felt Gio's chest rumble as he hummed calmly, comfortingly. One hand ran gently up and down my back, soothing me as I relaxed just a bit more.

"Ti ho preso, bambino," (I've got you, baby) he murmured softly as he rested his chin atop my head.

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AHH I LOVE WRITING FLUFF YALL PLEASEEEE

Also not gonna lie this chapter did not go the direction I thought it would but I f with it honestly. Also I feel like a machine cranking these chapters out but I'm having so much funnnnn. Let me know what y'all think! Lots of love

Rosie :)