The old man falls to his knees at the same instant. Emanuele runs to him and hugs him tight, but Joseph does not respond. Instead, he seems to be doing his best not to scream as loud as he can."Dad!" The girl says."Adriele died? I had two daughters, and one of them died? Is that it?! Is that what you are telling me?!'Emanuele tries to hold back her sobs, but she can't. Instead, she says:"Yes, Dad. I'm really, really sorry. It all happened so fast! I lost my mother, my sister, and now... Now you are all I have left. You are literally all I have as family!"Joseph can't say anything for a while, only cry. The two of them are shaking very hard. Sarah, when alive, said that Morgan couldn't get the proper reaction, that he was too broken inside. But now he seemed quite emotional. I wonder what had happened.The smell of her father, enveloping Emanuele's nostrils, is soothing and familiar. In a snap, she remembers that the same scent enveloped her when she was in the arms of death, tra
. . . . . . . . FIVE MONTHS LATER . . . . . .Emanuele looked at herself in the huge full-length mirror. The girl hardly knew where to look, which detail to care about first.She didn't know whether to look at the beautiful hairstyle in her now dark brown hair; her natural color.She didn't know whether to look at the impeccable makeup on her face, which made her even more beautiful and radiant than she was feeling.And I also didn't know whether to look at the beautiful white dress, simply cut, adorned with small mother-of-pearl beads. Despite the simplicity of the outfit, it was undeniable to say that the bride looked divine that day.Smiling, she turned around in front of her own reflection. Her heart was pounding with happiness, and she felt the stars in the night sky outside wishing her good luck. The curtain behind the door opened. A short, pudgy girl smiled sympathetically as she entered the room, openly admiring her."Miss Parker, you look beautiful!"Emanuele smiled."Thank
Every step Emanuele took down the huge hallway on the fourth floor of the apartment was painful, tiring, and absolutely hellish. The pouring rain outside didn't help either. The heavy suitcase she was dragging was soaked, as was Emanuele herself, and it was past eleven o'clock at night. She had rented a room in that building, and the landlady must have been asleep. The girl tried to call Alexandra's cell phone, but apparently it was turned off. The girl's red dyed hair was stuck to her face, mixed not only with raindrops but also with sweat. Almost growling in frustration, dying of shame, cold and irritation, the tan-skinned, the girl rang the doorbell. A clap of thunder rang out. Would the landlady be annoyed that she had arrived at that hour? A few seconds passed. Well, it wouldn't be surprising at all if she was asleep. Emanuele's hands were trembling from exhaustion, hunger and apprehension. The last few hours had been extremely difficult. But at least she was far away from the
Emanuele's heart felt like it was going to come out of her mouth. The hand that held the strap of her bag loosened immediately. A real nightmare, hellish and terrible, took possession of his consciousness. Inside herself, she tried to find some spark of calm, of tranquility. Something she could hold on to while a huge hurricane of doom raged inside her. But instead, beyond pure lethargy, there was fear. An icy, dark, empty fear, like the mouth of a huge beast about to devour everything in its path. Would that... would that be the day he would finally die? Those would be your final minutes, those in which the memories of our life pass before our eyes like a short movie? She could not see her attacker, nor recognize his voice. The breath that exhaled from her profane mouth was horrible, a mixture of alcohol and rotten teeth. The icy blade lay close against her neck, and Emanuele felt a thin trickle of blood pouring down her lap. Soon other noises took over the alley. Rough, evil lau
"Are you okay?" Emanuele continued to stare at Joshua's face; his breathing panting and difficult. "Are you okay?!" He repeated once more, paying attention to the details: the blouse almost open, the trickle of blood dripping down, the jacket thrown (and wet) a few inches away. The woman tried to speak, but could not. Instead, a murmur came from her lips, mixed with what sounded like a wail or cry. Joshua immediately tore a piece of his own shirt from beneath his jacket, pressing it to his neck. "They're not coming back," Joshua said. His eyes were shining with an unknown emotion. "Not punched like that. That's if they survive." The man took a breath and continued, "I'm taking you to the hospital." The redhead finally managed to say something. "No... Sleep. Hotel." "You're not sleeping in a hotel, Emanuele." The girl lets out an agonizing noise of protest and pain, and Joshua puts his big, warm hand on her shoulder. "I am Alexandra's brother. I... I went after you when you l
Emanuele opens her eyes and stares at the ceiling. The bed is comfortable and slightly messy. The wound on her neck hurts, although it doesn't seem serious, and the early morning has been terrible because of the nightmares. The night before, after Joshua left the bathroom after cornering her against the wall, leaving her with a mountain of questions, she tried to take a shower. Her hands shook from the adrenaline, and several times she had to hold back tears as she cleaned herself. When she finished, the girl noticed that her clothes were still in her suitcase, which was in the living room. Not wanting to disturb her host, Emanuele wrapped herself in her towel and went into the living room, silently thanking Joshua for not being there. Apparently he had gone back to his own room. It had destabilized her. In fact, more than she was already unsettled. He saves her one moment, only to leave her alone the next? The dark-skinned girl stood up. Despite the great risk she had taken the ni
"Joshua told me you were coming this morning, and his sister said the same thing. But you showed up late last night. Why?"The accusatory tone and the total difference in attitude from Thabata's earlier moment causes total distress to Emanuele, who can't even formulate a sentence.But the blonde doesn't even let her manage to organize her own thoughts. Slowly walking around the room, Thabata continues:"My boyfriend is a very good person. He would throw himself off a bridge to save a helpless person. But don't put any ideas in that head of yours, you hear me?""... What?""What?", Thabata repeats debauchedly. Then she returns to her angry countenance. "He won't be here long, it's only until my sister-in-law returns from her trip. And I'll be keeping an eye on you.""But-""He's quite handsome, isn't he? Attractive, charming, brave.... Everything a girl like you has probably never seen in her life."Emanuele just stands still, listening endlessly to the offenses uttered by her roommate
The two girls stand still, looking at Joshua. The man places the package on the table, and then asks once again:"What's going on?"Thabata's face changes completely: the hostility previously shown turns into contemplation, politeness, and concern."Hi, dear. Thank you for bringing what I asked for!" She hugs him, but Joshua does not enthusiastically reciprocate. "Emanuele and I were talking about the horrible night she had last night. She came to apologize to me for locking herself in her room."Emanuele could knock down a wall of so much hate, but she decided to play along. All she didn't need now was to be the enemy of the apartment owner's brother."Yes, I... I came to get something to eat and took the opportunity to apologize. But I saw that you had left. So I will apologize to you now. It was very rude of me to do what I did.... I'm sorry."Joshua raises his hand in a soothing gesture."It was nothing. It's all right." Then he turns to Thabata, a gleam appearing in his eyes. "I'