Natalie stares at me in horror with her hands covering her lips in shock.
Why was she staring at me that wa… Oh.I finally realized I was standing before her, naked and vulnerable at the moment, my scars completely visible to her.I stare at her silently, waiting for what she would do, i waited to see that look of disgust on her face, just like everyone else that saw my body.I am shocked when she breaks out in a sob, and I stare at her confused on what to do.With tears in her eyes, she walks to me wrapping her arms around me and pushing my face into her chest.My heart rate increases because of the physical contact between us, my body itching to get her off me."I'm not going to ask you what happened, I'm not going to make you tell me what happened. I'm going to wait for you to feel safe around me and tell me what happened." She says still holding me tightly.Even if she had asked now, I don't want to tell her."You do realize your holding a naked female right?" I ask her still standing there awkwardly with my hands by my side.Chuckling, she finally releases me cleaning the tears off her eyes.I want nothing but to scrub the places she touched, but I don't know how to act around her yet. Would she hit me when she finds out i feel revolted when she touches me."Look at you, you're such a toothpick. We have to get you filled up with food quickly." She says cheerfully changing the topic while dragging me into the bathroom."Let's get you cleaned up first and in new clothes."I stare at her as she drags me in, trying to understand her sudden mood changes."Do you want me to help you wash?" She asks while i step into the tub.I give her a side eye, not replying to her question.I still feel itchy about her touching me and she wants to wash me?I developed a dislike for people touching me because of Daniel, I absolutely loathed it when someone touches me."I'd be outside if you need me." She smiles at me about to step out of the bathroom.Before she goes, I needed to tell her something."Natalie." I call her name and she stops midway out, turning to look at me."Yes?" She asks confused about why I stopped her."Don't tell anyone about what you saw." I say. She looks confused for a moment then she smiles and nods."I won't tell a soul." She promises before leaving the bathroom shutting the door behind her.Sighing, I sink into the bathtub finding the hot water soothing.Did I really escape from Daniel? Was I really free from that man? After eleven years, did I finally get my freedom back?I did it. I really did it.Unable to control my emotions I let out a heart wrenching cry, my tears streaming down my face and mixing with the hotwater.I didn't care if Natalie heard me, I cried. I cried for all the times I wasn't allowed to cry, I cried for all I lost and for my younger self.Bringing my knees to my chest, I held myself tighter, praying this wasn't one of my dreams where I finally escape. I prayed i wouldn't wake up to find myself still in that dark room with Daniel standing over me.I scrubbed myself, scrubbing the dirt and dried up blood from skin. I scrubbed so hard my skin turned pink and was stinging, hoping to scrub out the effects of the past too, but that didn't work.Unblocking the drain, I watched as the blood and mud drained off."Do you want me to wash your hair?" Natalie asks from the door and I gasp in shock, covering my body with my hands subconsciously.I didn't hear her come in. How long has she been standing there?I stared at her suspiciously as she stood by the door waiting for me to either accept or decline her help."I swear I just got here." She raises her hand in mock surrender.Not saying anything, I looked at my reflection through the mirror on the opposite wall.Red hair, freckles scattered on my face, tiny malnourished body.My mismatched eyes was something that stood out more to me, the red and blue color of both irises staring back at me."So what do you say?" Natalie asks making me turn my attention to her.Sighing, I sit on the bathtub with my back to her, holding my knees to my chest.She shrieks in glee, rushing off to a cabinet by a corner. I hear stuff moving but I don't turn back to look at her. She placed the bottles close to me and I see it's just hair shampoo and hair conditioner.Her hand touches my skin and I immediately recoil."Don't touch me." I tell her, fighting the urge to take the sponge and scrub my skin clean once again.She remains quiet for a while not saying anything, finally she sighs grabbing the showerhead and wetting my hair. I bite my tongue when her hands come in contact with my hair, trying to stop myself from reacting.After about twenty minutes of me controlling the urge to throw her hands away, she finally washes it off, drying my hair with a towel.Carefully i step out of the bathtub, another towel tied around my body."I wasn't sure what your size was, so the clothes might be a bit large on you." She says but I don't really mind. The bigger the better.Daniel hated it when i wore clothes that weren't fit on me.He always wanted me to show off my body and look hot for him.I look at the clothes that laid on the bed, without much thoughts i throw them on without bothering to wear undies. Liking how comfortable they made me."So do you like them?" Natalie asks, looking at me with her usual smile.I look at my self in the mirror, my reflection completely difference from how i looked yesterday.A loud knock sounded on the door and I jump, completely frightened.Natalie looks at me in pity, before her attention goes to the door."Who is it? I was certain I told no one to disturb us""Open the door Natalie." He orders her.My anxiety shoots up as my heart beat increases because of fear.Him? Why was he here?"Natalie." He calls her name knocking once more on the door.Rolling her eyes, Natalie walks to the door unlocking it."What do you want?" She asked him, staring up at him in distaste.He ignores her, his eyes falling on me. He gulps as he looks me over, taking my small frame in."That's the best I could do." Natalie says but he doesn't reply, his eyes still on me.Why was he looking at me that way? Does he think I'm attractive?Oh God, what am I even thinking?I rubbed my arms awkwardly, feeling hot under his gaze."Why do you look like you want to eat her?" Natalie asks, looking between the both of us.Not saying he word, he turns around banging the door as he left.What was that?After he left I found out he was Natalie's older brother Santino, but everyone calls him Saint. He was obviously not a Saint like his name suggested. He has killed more people than I could count and he has ruined the lives of many more. He was the devil himself.Well, that's what Natalie said, not that I cared about that, I need to stay as far away from him as i possibly could, until i run away from here. But where do I go after I run?"Hellooo, earth to Minny?" Natalia snapped her fingers at in my face, snapping me out of my reverie."Come on, start eating." She urged me, taking a bite from her food which was placed before her.I drop my gaze down to the plates staring back at me, glancing at her once more before I push the plate away. She looks at me, her brows raised in confusion."I'm not hungry." I murmur, an obvious lie. But it's not like she would figure out I'm lying….My stomach grumbles loudly at that exact moment making my face red in embarrassment.I look away from the tab
Morning came by faster than I had expected. I couldn't sleep after all that happened and Natalie stayed in my room for the rest of the night."Hurry up, hurry up!" Natalie urged me as she walked excitedly down the staircase.It was just breakfast, why was she so excited?Initially things were awkward between us, but soon enough we started talking about ourselves.Well more like she talking about herself while i listened.So the person we saw in the kitchen last night was her older brother Luca, who was younger than Santino.It was just Santino, Luca and Natalie. Their parents were dead and Santino owned everything around here.I felt eyes on me and I turned around to find one of Santino's men watching me intently, the conversation I had with Natalie last night coming to mind."Who are all these men on suits?" I asked her immediately they all left the room"Santino's men." She said taking a bite from the burger she ordered one to get her.Santino's…men? What does she mean.Natalie sees
We all sat in silence after Santino stormed off, no one wanting to say anything first.The sound of cutleries against plates resumed and Natalie and Luca goes back to their meals like that didn't just happen.They were accustomed to it.I look at the both confused on what to do.What Luca did was wrong, but I don't think he would accept it. I wonder what happened between them three, what did he do to the person that gave the name to him? But isn't that their mother? Or was it that father?"Micini for your own safety, never call him Santino again. Ever. We all call him Saint, so you should too." Natalie tells me without looking up from her food." I don't see what the issue is though. Is he feeling bad about what he did to her? Does that name remind him so much of her that he refused to go by the name??" Luca asked. I looked at him, my eyes widening in shock when I see he was clutching the knife tightly and his hands were bleeding."If you want to cut yourself up, do it where no one c
I was walking down the staircase unsure of what to do.Natalie had left for college earlier, and Luca went off to work.So it was just me here. Each of Santino's men I walked past watched me like they were waiting for me to do something, slip up and show the real reason I was here.Ignoring them, I went into the kitchen. I was bored and had nothing to do and Luca told me to make sure I ate by 1pm and it's fifteen minutes past.I was browsing through the pantry with a cookie in my mouth, looking for something to eat."What are you doing?" Santino asked from behind me and I stilled, cookie still in my mouth. I remained still, hoping that he would maybe leave or something if I don't answer to him."I asked a question." He says and I could tell he was holding back from snapping at me, the irritation evident in his tone.Straighting my back, I slowly turned around meeting his dark eyes."I-I…" I stuttered unable to form any coherent sentence.I felt nervous around him, but why?"You-you..
"I-I am sorry. I didn't mean…." I stuttered my spoon falling from my hands as they shake in fear.Why was he reacting this way? It's just a name isn't it? If he doesn't like it he should say he doesn't like it. Why is he-"You should learn to mind your business." He snapped at me. His reaction a complete opposite of how he was yesterday, I see him gradually putting back the walls he let down earlier." I'm so-" I reach out to him but he pulls his arm away before I could touch him, still glaring at me."What's that delicious thing I smell… Oh." Natalie walks into the kitchen, stopping when she sees us both. Santino glances at her, but he doesn't do more than that. "I feel the tension here and I'm about to back away slowly… " She trailed off as she starts backing away, retracing her steps when she came here.I give her a pleading look and she sighs, walking over to us. "You're scaring her. Stop it." She tells him as she sits beside me, putting her arm around me."Is she a child? Huh Na
A knock on my door causes me to look up, making me finally move from the curled postion I've been in for the past few hours.I wonder who it is, I'm not expecting anyone to come see me. Maybe they came to finally throw me out of the house, they all seemed really angry then. I kept staring at the door expecting the person to come in because the door wasn't locked.When the person knocks a second time, I am forced to voice out a ‘come in’, my eyes still on the door waiting to see who was at my door.Slowly the door opens, and Saint walks into the room slowly, his shoes clicking against the tiled floor. He sweeps the room with his eyes and his lips form a frown when he doesn't see me.“Micini?" He calls out, his voice sounding cold and yet my name coming from his lips sends some sort of heatwave down my body.Come to think of it, I don't think he has ever said my name.“I'm down here." I say, barely audible. I don't think he heard me. I'm about to clear my throat and talk a bit louder
_Santino’s POV_I leave her room just as Luca turns a corner, about to go down the staircase. .“Luca." I call his name and he stops, turning to look at me with a knowing smirk on his face and I fight the urge to wipe the look off his face with my fists. “I just knew you would chase after me." He says smugly, leaning against the wall with his arm folded across his chest.Luca is my younger brother with a seven years difference between us. He's not just my younger brother, he's practically my son because I raised him.After the death of our mother he started hating me and we drifted apart.He's only doing this to piss me off and I know it, he probably took an interest in Micini just because he thinks I'm interested in her. Not that he's wrong.“This is about Minny,isn't it?”He asks and my fists fold by my sides, hating the nickname he calls her. I see how you look at her.” He says and my eyes snaps to him, waiting for what he would say next.“I see the way your eyes follow her every
_Micini’s POV_I stood still in shock as he claimed my lips with his, my eyes widened like saucers.What is happening… .I clamp my lips shut when his tongue pokes at me, asking for entrance into my mouth, when I don't grant him access he bites down on my lips harshly causing me to cry out in pain, which he used as an opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth.I could feel the hard muscles under his shirt as he presses his body against mine, my hands still hanging above my head. Our kiss intensifies when I finally give in to him, kissing him back.He holds my wrist together with one hand, using the other to hold me tightly against him, like he wanted our bodies to fuse and become one. After a few moments of kissing, he starts peppering my neck with kisses earning a moan from me.I am surprised by the sound that comes out from my lips.“You. Are. Mine." He says in-between kisses before his teeth clamped down on my neck. “Ow." I screamed out in pain pushing him away with a glare.