TRIGGER WARNING: DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE

"If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently,"

I sighed as I tucked the well-loved comic back under my pile of tattered blankets, forcing a weak smile at Hobbes as tears dripped down my cheeks. No, I'm not actually Calvin, and Hobbes isn't real. But Hobbes (my stuffed tiger) has been with me for as long as I can remember and is the only one who has seen it all.

Everything hurts. So much. I just got a beating because one of the neighbors came over saying she heard yelling. They probably heard him yelling at me this morning when I didn't realize we were out of that one drink he likes. He was mad.

I don't understand why they would care, though. It was my fault. I should've known, and I wasn't paying attention. I deserved it.

As of now, I was curled up in the corner of the basement, on my pile of tattered blankets, shaking and crying. As much as I knew I deserved it, a small part of me wondered, deep down, if other kids lived like this. I had never been to school, but sometimes I looked out the window and saw kids walking by, smiling and chasing each other. I never smiled like that.

Why did they get to and I didn't?

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"You piece! Of! Shit!" Sir screamed as he bashed my frail body with a broken beer bottle. I didn't even know what I did this time. I had lost track.

By the time he was finished, I was just a battered, bloody mess on the floor. He gave me a few strong kicks to my stomach for good measure and stalked away. I couldn't move, silent tears streaming down my cheeks and soaking into the carpet, which was already covered in broken glass and white powder.

There was a knock at the door, suddenly, and I flinched. However, I made no attempt to move. I knew I wouldn't be able to. I could feel a few of my ribs cracking as he kicked me, I knew what it felt like. I curled in on myself as I heard Sir's work boots thump across the room and the front door creaked open, rusty and swaying on its hinges.

Good thing I was out of the line of sight of whoever was at the door. Sir says I'm too pathetic to be seen.

"Whaddya want?" I heard Sir's hostile, gravelly voice grate against whoever was on the porch, but I couldn't hear their response, my heart pounding in my skull as pain radiated through my body, tears blurring my vision.

In the distance, I could hear the voices get louder until they were yelling, but I didn't move until I was violently yanked off of the ground by my collar. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut as pain shot through me, but I slowly peeled them open when I realized I was just hanging in midair by my collar.

I looked around, taking in the situation. Sir was holding me up by my collar in midair in front of him as if to... shield himself? Then I turned around and tensed. There were two men in blue suits at the door, pointing guns at us. In the background, I vaguely recognized the next-door neighbor, Ms. Wilkins. I had seen her a few times working in her garden when I was on my way to the market.

She was... crying? Why was she crying? I felt something cold jab my side, and that's when I noticed Sir's gun pressed against my side. I tensed up, tears welling in my eyes again. I could tell the men were yelling at Sir, but my heartbeat was too loud in my ears to understand.

There was a black car with red and blue flashing lights in the background behind Ms. Willis. Cops. Sir always said those were bad. That they'd kill me in an instant if they had the chance.

The voices got even louder and Sir was practically digging his gun into my side as I winced, biting my tongue as tears fell down my cheeks. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and I felt Sir's grip on my collar loosen, and then I was falling

d

o

w

n.

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Massimo stepped in the door, rubbing the crease in between his eyebrows as he set his briefcase down and loosened his tie—only slightly, who do you think he is?

It had been a long day, to say the least. Details were irrelevant, but let's just say he had to... put some people in their place. Not that he doesn't enjoy that, just... not today. He still wasn't sure why.

The house, however, was quiet. Too quiet. His eyes narrowed as he crept noiselessly through the empty kitchen—an absolute shock, considering the animals he lived with—and wandered into the living room, only to find all of his brothers, sans Giovanni, who was still at work, sitting around the TV.

The news was on, "...and that's all for today on the shootout on highway 880 in Oakland, California. Now onto..." the woman's voice faded into the background as Massimo's brothers noticed his presence.

"Hey, Mass. How was your day?" Alessio asked, ever the friendly brother. But Massimo didn't respond. He was too focused on the news now, which had switched to a different story.

"Sheesh, obviously not—" Massimo cut off Alessio's grumbling.

"Silenzio," Massimo snapped, reaching for the remote and turning up the volume, "And today, in West Oakland, not far from the shootout, a treacherous hostage situation involving two Oakland police officers, a man who has been identified as Frank Brandt, and, tragically, a young boy.

Brandt, the boy's legal guardian, had taken the boy hostage when police came to do a wellness check. Thankfully, the situation was resolved, and our sources say the boy is safe.." the woman's voice trailed off as Massimo's heart pounded in his ears.

Frank Brandt. He'd know that name anywhere. That was the man his mother had just begun seeing when she left with Luca. Luca. Their baby brother. That was... 6.5 years ago. Making him... eight years old now. Who was he kidding, he didn't have to think about that.

That (growing) number was practically ingrained in his skull since the day his mother (though he hated that term) had dragged his brother, at just 18 months, kicking and screaming out the front door, never to be seen again.

But that news clip... that news clip had stirred something in Massimo he hadn't felt in years. Hope.

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Giovanni walked into Massimo's office without knocking, earning him a fierce glare. He just rolled his eyes.

"Sio seems shattered you didn't ask him about his day," Gio probed gently. He knew Massimo wasn't a touchy-feely person, but he was normally receptive to Alessio. Today was not one of those days.

"Did you watch the news today?" Massimo spoke sharply, completely ignoring his remark.

Giovanni was confused, to say the least, "Uh.. no? No, I didn't. But Massimo, that's—"

"—Very important." Massimo finished, swiveling his computer screen around to reveal the same news clip he had watched over and over since he saw it when he got home.

"Why is the news important, Mass? We have other—" Massimo snapped his fingers and pointed down at the screen, "Guarda," (watch) he snapped.

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Holy shit. Holy shit. "You think they're talking about Luca?" Giovanni looked up at Massimo in disbelief. Massimo raised an eyebrow.

"I can't be sure. I need to make some calls." He picked up the phone. Giovanni nodded once, standing up, "The others are not to be alerted until I am confident, capische? We don't need any... false hopes" Massimo ordered, and Giovanni left.

With that, he began dialing.

First was the news station. Using some... incentives... he was able to weed out the exact address and timetable for the hostage situation that had taken place. After running that through his completely legal database, he confirmed. It was Frank Brandt. The Frank Brandt. Which meant the boy had to have been Luca.

Before his hopes were up, a few more calls had to be made. All nearby hospitals until he pinpointed which one Luca had been taken to, the coroner's office (just to ensure Frank was dead, of course), and social services (that took a little bit of convincing, but everyone caves for a price).

By midnight, Massimo had re-secured his baby brother's custody. He made his way downstairs quickly, jet awaiting on a nearby tarmac, when he remembered his brothers.

"Right," he sighed, spinning around in the foyer. He shouted from the entryway, summoning them all within seconds.

"Where are you off to so late?" Marco shot him a suspicious look, eyeing the briefcase he had grabbed on his way out.

There was no easy way to say this. "I have located Luca." The words hung in the air before, as predicted, the room blew up, sans Giovanni.

"This is not time for questions! I am taking a flight to Oakland right now. No one is coming with me. I will be back by tomorrow with Luca, best-case scenario. Capische?" Massimo spoke sternly but calmly, waiting for each of his brothers to respond.

Unsurprisingly, there was pushback, "What? Can't I just go? Please? You won't even notice I'm there!" Alessio whined instantly, pouting.

"I said what I said. You will all see him, if not tomorrow, then Friday." He placed a reassuring hand on Alessio's shoulder "And my day was fine, thank you for asking."

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Here we go my munchkins! Let me know how y'all feel about this slightly different version!

I wanted to mix it up a bit b/c a lot of these kinds of stories seem to have a similar beginning and I wanted to mix it up?? Let me know if it flopped lol. Lots of love!

Rosie :)