When my heavy, irritated eyelids opened for the next time, the early morning light was just beginning to seep in from under the blackout curtains. Who closed those?

Something happened last night. It was right at the edge of my memory...

I moved to sit up and winced when my knees and palms stung. Oh, right. I cringed at myself. How stupid can you be? You made a fool of yourself in front of the brother that hates you the most. The Voice mocked. I tugged on my hair harshly in response. Silence.

My shoulders sagged as the mocking voice disappeared. I knew it was only temporary, though. It would be back. It always was.

Sighing, I hoisted myself out of bed and winced as my bare feet touched the cold flooring. I padded to the bathroom, flicking on the light. The stegosaurus clock on the wall read 4:03 am. That was expected.

Living with Sir—speaking of which, I should probably stop calling him that—Frank, I mean, I had to be up at four in the morning every day to prepare food and clean. It didn't seem like my body was going to adjust any time soon, either.

I slowly turned and looked at myself in the mirror as I pulled the shirt off of my back. I felt shame as my battered, bruised ribs practically gleamed under the bathroom lights. Varying shades of blue, purple, yellow, and green were splattered across my stomach.

S—Frank, liked to call me his little canvas. My stomach churned.

Shaking away the thought, I turned my attention from my stomach to my back, examining the bandage covering the burn on my upper back. The doctors must have done that, and I have no idea how to get it off.

That meant I had to ask my brothers. No way. Not a chance. I would just have to find another way to do it. Until then, I would manage. I always did.

Along with the bruises and burns, I was also covered in scars. Big, small, deep, shallow, you name it, I had it. All over. Not just my torso, but my legs and arms too. They littered my skin, some even carved into the shape of words I didn't like to repeat.

I didn't even realize I was crying until I wiped a hand across my wet cheeks. I tore my eyes away from the mirror and tugged my shirt back over my head, before leaving and crawling back into bed.

I knew I couldn't get up this early, and I especially didn't want to after last night. Did Marco tell the others? Was I going to get in trouble? That looked like an expensive glass...

My thoughts ran a mile a minute, and I knew I wouldn't fall back to sleep. Instead, I just lay there as the time ticked by. It hadn't even been 30 minutes before I heard my door creak open. Facing away, I seamlessly let my eyes fall shut, pretending to be asleep.

Shoes tapped gently across the floor and I felt the side of the bed sink as someone sat down. A gentle hand ran through my hair, and I suppressed a flinch. The weight lifted off the bed, and someone placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

"Buona giornatta, bambino." (have a good day, baby) Giovanni murmured.

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No one came in after Giovanni, which I had mixed feelings about. Why did I want them to come see me? They don't care. The Voice laughed.

I rolled over, ignoring the mocking voice ringing in my head, and checked the clock. 8:11 am. That's a reasonable time to get up, right?

I decided so. Hobbes in my arms (obviously), I shuffled to the door, opening it slowly and checking both directions before heading out.

This time, I made it to the kitchen with only two wrong turns. I smiled in my head—that was a win. Hobbes congratulated me, and I thanked him. When I walked in, the only person there was the lady from dinner. Francesca, right?

Whether or not I could remember her name was not a priority, however. Getting out before she noticed, was. I turned around, taking one step. As it would be, luck was not on my side. I pressed my foot to the floorboard, which proceeded to make an obnoxiously loud squeak.

A house as nice as this, and they don't even have quiet floorboards? I groaned internally.

"Luca?" the lady's gentle voice called, and I spun around slowly, shifting nervously from foot to foot. The older lady looked hesitant, as if she wasn't sure what to do.

"Did you sleep alright, tesoro?" (treasure) she spoke softly, looking slightly concerned. I just nodded. What did she call me?

"That's good," she mumbled as she stood there, also looking... nervous? "Listen, Luca. I am so sorry for startling you last night. I had no idea... I'm so sorry." She looked sheepish.

My eyes widened and I shook my head, hoping she would understand what I meant. When her eyebrows furrowed, I sighed. I really am not in the mood to talk.

Spotting a notepad on the counter, I padded over, scribbling down a note. It read:

Not your fault. Mine.

She leaned over and read the note, shaking her head sadly. "Not your fault, Luca. Never your fault." She murmured, a sad look on her face for a moment before it was gone.

"Now, take a seat," my shoulders dropped. "Massimo and Giovanni are at the office all day," On a Saturday? "The twins are still asleep, and Marco is likely working out," she placed a plate in front of me, filled with eggs, bacon, and toast. My stomach rolled.

"You must eat well, and the rest of the day is yours, besides dinner tonight. Oh, and once the twins are up, one of them will help you order clothes online. Massimo figured you would prefer online over going to the mall," she finished, wiping her hands.

Buy clothes? I don't have any money...

I would worry about that later. I just nodded at Francesca as she grabbed a purse off of the counter. "I must run some errands. I will be back later, tesoro. Have a great day!" she smiled and left the room.

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Surprise surprise! I didn't eat.

Well, that's not necessarily true. I ate a quarter of a piece of toast, two bites of eggs, and half of one piece of bacon. Something, I guess...

The rest I dumped in the trash, making sure to hide it under some boxes already in there so it wasn't noticeable. Guilt shredded me as I threw away the perfectly good food, but I knew if I ate any more, I would be over the toilet for the second time in 12 hours.

After I cleaned up my plate, I grabbed Hobbes and slowly headed back upstairs. I was still exhausted and it was taking its toll on my body as I climbed the stairs slowly, taking each step two feet at a time.

I rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, towards my room, when I stopped. In front of me stood a pair of bright white trainers. Those were really clean. When the wearer cleared their throat, my wide-eyed gaze shot up.

Marco stood there with only athletic shorts on, holding a water bottle in one hand and a towel in the other. He wiped the sweat from his face before looking down at me, scrutinizing what seemed like every inch of my face.

"Where are you going?" he grunted, taking a sip from the bottle. I just pointed in the direction of my room, down the hall.

He looked down the hallway and then back to me. "Nope," he replied, "Follow me," he turned and walked away, and I had no choice but to follow.

We went back downstairs, what a waste of energy going all the way up, and he waited for me at the bottom, tapping his foot impatiently as I took the stairs slowly. He strode back into the kitchen and went straight for the fridge.

"Francesca fed you?" he grunted. Is that a question or a statement? I couldn't tell, but I nodded nonetheless.

He turned around and narrowed his eyes at my lack of response, and I shrunk under his gaze.

"And you ate it all?" he continued, staring at me pointedly. I nodded meekly, the lie making my hands shake under the table.

He stared at me for a moment longer, before turning back around, "Good." He spoke, the towel now draped over his shoulder as he began prepping something over the stove.

"The twins should be up soon. I am going to work at 10:00. You are to stay here, in the house. Alessio will buy clothes for you online. Just sit with him and pick what you like. I should be home by five o'clock. Massimo and Giovanni won't be until dinner, or later." He finished, and I nodded, taking in the information. But I still don't have any money...

I waited patiently until he turned around to look at me before I whispered "No money." I dropped my gaze under his harsh glare, fiddling with Hobbes in my lap and chewing on my lower lip as I waited.

I would've used the notepad I had written on with Francesca earlier, but I was afraid Marco would've made fun of me for it, even though I wasn't in the mood to talk. Eventually, he scoffed.

"Gesù Cristo," (Jesus Christ) he muttered, taking a seat across the island from me as he ate, staring intently at me, "You don't need to pay. We pay," I instantly shook my head before he cut me off.

"I don't want to hear it. That's final," he grunted, turning his attention back to his food.

I just stared down at my gauze-wrapped hands, picking at the fraying edges of the bandages.

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Guysss things are happeningggg and I know this is very different from the original version and I'm so sorry if that's upsetting I really didn't want to stray too far but it just got a bit different.😔I'm really enjoying it but if you're disappointed lo siento!!

I hope everyone (if you celebrate) is having a good holiday season. Feel free to reach out to talk about whatever! Love y'all

Rosie :)