by M. T. Ossler
“He tried to have us killed the second we stepped off the fucking plane in Italy. Lorenzo and I got us out of there. We knew we had to come to Gio for help once we got back into the country safely. But his brothers found us first.” Before Val can finish, I lose it from hearing his name. The flashbacks of the shit he did to me, come crashing down on me.
I start screaming, violently and my legs give out from under me. Gio catches me, under my arms, in his stronghold, picking me up and cradling me in his arms. Then he brings me back to the couch, taking a seat in the center, with me on his lap continuing to get me to quiet down. He’s trying his best to calm me.
He knows the mention of his name set me off, on top of everything else in such a short time, and this is going to be bad. Bad, very fucking bad, I can assure you.
My brothers follow us over to the couch, keeping their distance, and I hear one of them growl. I’m not sure who it is, but it's most likely Val because he’s always been the closest to me. But it could be Romeo or Bash too. Who knows at this point?
“I’m losing my patience here, man. What the fuck is going on with my sister!” Val roars causing me to jump through my trembling body.
Gio ignores him concentrating on calming me down, talking to me, soothing me, looking into my eyes to center me to this moment, not the past. He’s trying his best to relax me, and reassuring me he is with me all the way, I’m his main priority.
I hear Jules, Ces, and Ace behind me speaking to Val. They are trying to cool him down while Gio tends to me.
I feel everyone's eyes still on us, causing my panic to rise. I don’t like having this kind of attention. I hate that I’m always causing some sorta drama around here these days.
“Gio, please tell us what’s going on with her. We have a right to know, she is our baby sister,” Romeo says trying to defuse the situation. He has always been the peacemaker in our family.
“Holy fuckin’ shit, Beast, why the fuck didn’t you tell me, asshole? I thought that bastard only beat your girl... her face and body all fucked up. Her fever... I didn’t realize he… Oh shit, Bella, sweetheart, I’m sorry. FUCK! I’m so fuckin’ sorry you had to go through that shit!” Blaze yells fuming. Before Gio can respond to my brothers, I hear Blaze punching the wall by the pool table, where he was playing with the guys.
He mumbles something like, “She acted just like mom. I should have known. I should have fuckin’ known.” I think that’s what he said, whatever that means.
Maybe we’ll find out more about his story one day.
I hear Ace growl, then he yells at everyone to get the fuck out. I can hear feet shuffling out of the room as shadows rush past us, clearing out the bar.
I calm down a little once everyone leaves, but I don’t let go of Gio’s embrace. I have my nails embedded in the skin of his chest through his shirt.
Val bends down beside us and lowers his voice to soothe me. “Bella, please talk to us and tell us what’s going on? What is that man going on about, sissy?” Val pleads with me. I want to tell him, but I can’t say the ugly words aloud.
Jules and Ces come to my rescue, yet again, taking a seat on each side of Gio and me, blocking me to protect me. They both place their hands on my back, rubbing circles to let me know they’re here with me.
Ace comes and sits next to Jules, enveloping her in his arms. Again, I hear a growl, this time I know it's Romeo.
Val makes a move to put his hand on my shoulder, and I jerk away from him. Moving closer to Gio, wrapping my arms around him tightly, and burying my face in the crook of his neck. I see Jules clutches her hand on Val’s wrist, stopping him as I move away from him.
The bar is quiet, and almost all empty except for my brothers, Lorenzo, Jules, Ace, Ces, Blaze, Gio, and I.
“Her body is in survival mode right now. So stay back and don’t touch her and I’ll tell you why.” Jules swallows hard, and we can all hear it. “The night that bastard killed your parents...”
“First, we don’t say his name, ever!” She pauses again to control her emotions.
“Guys, he attacked Bella that night too. By attack, I mean…” Jules whispers, crying and pausing to catch her breath. Ace pulls her back onto his lap, wrapping her in his embrace.
Then she whispers again so low, it’s even hard for me to hear her horrific words. “Lui l'ha stuprata. Violentemente!” She tells them in Italian, the most dreadful words in the world. He raped her. Violently!
All hell breaks loose in the bar from her words. Curse words are flying out my brother’s and Lorenzo’s mouths at an all-time speed, in both English and Italian.
Gio’s hold on me tightens, I hold on to him practically crawling into his skin and continue to sob.
Chairs and bottles are flying into the walls.
This is too much to cope with in one night. My body can’t fight the emotional break inside me, I’m overloaded, and I feel dizzy and weak. I can’t catch my breath, and I’m starting to hyperventilate.
“I told dad not to send all four of us. He assured me that he could handle things in our absence and the girls would be safe. Fuck, why didn’t I follow my gut,” Val screams.
“Stop, Val, no one knew anything like this would ever happen,” Lorenzo says, trying to calm Val down.
“Shit, who knew he was capable of any of this fucked up shit and would kill our parents to get to her?” Romeo says.
I squeeze my eyes closed, warding off the dizziness. It’s not helping, and the walls are closing in on me, fast. I’m panicking.
I pull back from Gio a little bit and see his panicked face. I know my face is pale as I move to stare at him. I can feel everything draining from my body. The room starts to spin, and spots are filling my vision. I’m scared and afraid of my body taking me over, but I know I’m safe in Gio’s loving care.
I feel like I did that day Gio came back after leaving me for his Club business.
“Help,” I croak out weakly. All the life drains completely from my body, and the lights go out as I collapse forward into Gio.
“Shit.” I hear Gio say from far, far away, as I float down a tunnel farther away from him.
Chapter 15
Bella
When I wake up, I’m in bed, in our bedroom. Gio is sitting next to me on one side looking down at me as my eyes flutter open. Sam is on the other side of me, standing by the bed with a blood pressure cuff on my arm.
“Hello, beautiful. How are you feeling, baby?” Gio asks me with a gleaming smile on his handsome face. He runs his hand up and down the side of my face, causing shivers to run through my body.
Did I miss something? Why is he smiling? Didn’t I pass out not too long ago?
“What’s going on? What happened to me?” I ask them, searching both their faces for answers. Why did I pass out? Did I get myself that upset overseeing my brothers and hearing his name? Yeah, that probably what I did.
“Bella, you did pass out, and your blood pressure raised up way too high. We have to get it down and fast. It was a good thing I was on my way here when Gator called me, or Beast would have had to bring you to the hospital,” Sam says pausing, reading the results on the little machine.
I hear yelling coming from the living room. They’re familiar male voices, my brothers, and Ace. I don’t have time to decipher who's saying what, though.
“Do you remember talking to your therapist about what might happen when you saw your brothers again?” Sam asks me.
“Of course I do. Is that what happened? Did I get so emotionally mixed up?”
“Yeah, your body went into overload from the shock, causing your blood pressure to rise. You’re going to need to see your therapist soon to deal with these new developments.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I should have probably told you they were coming to prepare you. I was just thinking how good it would be to see them after all this time. I should have spoken with your therapist first, I never thought you would get so distressed,” Gio says u
pset with himself. He kisses my forehead, and I take it all in and process my emotions. Sam finally removes the blood pressure cuff from my arm, leaving it sore from it squeezing me.
We all stay silent for a minute. I can tell Sam wants to ask me something, but she’s afraid or doesn’t know how to approach me.
“Um, Bella, when was your last period?” Sam asks with an apprehensive look on her face. “Beast seems to think you last had it two weeks before the wedding.”
That’s a strange question to ask me after passing out. Why would she want to know that? What does my period have to do with any of this?
I think about it for a moment, though. Gio and I got married six weeks ago, and I did have it two weeks before… I gasp. “OH, MY GOD! NO!” I shout not meaning to, covering my mouth with my hand, and close my eyes for a second.
Then I look up at Gio with a huge smile on my face. “Could we be pregnant?” He nods, yes. I lift up to hug Gio with a desire to be in his arms. He stops me, pinning me down with his hands on my shoulders.
“You need to rest, baby. Sam’s not positive if we are, but you’re late, really late, so it’s possible. You also haven’t been yourself lately, getting sick a couple of times and your emotions have been out of sorts. With everything going on, I never thought about it until now.
“I sent Dusty to the drug store to buy us some tests. You can take them when he gets back if you’re up to it or it can wait til mornin’.” He leans down and kisses me on the lips softly.
“Sam, my period was eight weeks ago. I’ve been drinking, not a lot, just a glass of wine here and there because I haven’t had a desire for it. Tonight, I had a half a glass of wine. Will that hurt our baby? Could that have added to why I passed out?”
I don’t know much about being pregnant, but the one thing I do know is that you can’t drink alcohol. Did I hurt our baby? I’m the worst mommy already, and I haven’t even had our baby yet.
“Relax, Bella. If you are, its fine you just have to stop. You passed out because your blood pressure was up way too high. I’m not sure why it went up so high, could be from not drinking enough water in this heat and the excitement of the night,” she says, tapping her pointer finger to her chin.
“Beast told me what happened earlier with your brothers. My educated guess would be that your body went into protective mode because of the things that have happened to you, and added to your anxiety. If you are pregnant that could enhance it too, which stressed you out. Beast and I talked about it a little before you woke up, he can fill you in later.
“But for right now, what’s most important is getting your blood pressure down. If we don’t, and you are pregnant, it can cause more issues for you. We should probably bring you to the hospital,” Sam says, and I panic. I can’t go to the hospital; he or his goons could find me there and come for me and then Gigi and Jules.
“No, I can’t go! I won’t go!” I shout and then close my eyes. I need to calm myself down fast with deep breaths.
“What do I have to do to get my blood pressure down, here at home?”
I’m freaking out I know I am. I’m willing to do anything to keep us all safe and here at home. Taking a few deep breaths, I start to calm down.
Truth be told, I have had a sneaky suspicion that I might be pregnant. I really haven’t thought much about it, though, because so much has been going on around here, and I’m scared, really scared. I don’t know if I can handle having a baby when I still haven’t finished healing from everything. I’m afraid how I will act once I have the baby.
I’m still trying to figure out how to survive daily and be a wife and sister/mother or whatever to Gigi. How am I going to be a mommy to a baby? I’ll be alone, well not alone, I’ll have Gio, but I don’t have my mother or any close women around to help me like I would if we were home...
My body has been feeling different lately, in a weird way. Actually, if I’m really being honest, it’s been going on for quite a few weeks, I’ve just ignored it. I’m tired all the time, and my breasts have been heavy and sorer than when Aunt Flo visits. I’ve been having mood swings, and not wanting to be touched. Only Gio, Gigi, Jules, and Ces have hugged me. I’ve also gotten sick a few times in the morning since Gio left and been back after his Club business.
“First, you need to relax and calm your breathing. In the morning contact your therapist and set something up immediately.
“Once Dusty gets back, you take those tests. Not knowing is going to stress you out more.
“You’re going to have to change your diet, exercise more, yoga is good, and drink lots of water and juice to stay hydrated. I’ll probably have to change your meds or take you off them. I’ll order you prenatal vitamins in the morning, and one of the prospects can pick them up from the pharmacy for you. We’ll figure all that out later, though,” Sam says, talking about taking me off my anti-anxiety medicine I’ve been taking.
She’s right, I need a session with my therapist right away, and I need to find out soon if I am pregnant or I won’t be able to relax.
I take her advice to heart, starting with breathing in and out, clearing my mind. This may be a good time to take up meditation. I take Gio’s hand in mine and concentrate on our entwined fingers. Our connection always helps to ground me and put things into perspective. I need to sort through everything I’m feeling, figure out why I’m feeling this way, and how I can work through them.
“I’m going to give you two a few minutes alone. When Dusty gets back, I’ll bring you the tests,” Sam says, leaving our room. I look up at Gio and see he’s still smiling down at me.
“Why are they yelling in our living room? They’re going to wake up Gigi.” Gio’s face changes, turning dark instantly and I continue my steady breathing, not to stress myself.
“Gigi woke up when I brought you up here. They all followed me, barging in and yelling behind me. She was so excited when she saw them, she wouldn’t let go of them. I didn’t have the heart to deny her some time with them before sending her off with Cesare and Jules, to his room. She’s staying with him for the rest of the night,” he says huffing.
“You’ve been out awhile, baby. We’re all concerned about you, me the most. You scared the ever-lovin' shit out of me when you passed out in my arms, Princess.” He pauses for a minute.
“I realize now I should have told you they were coming when I found out the other day. I put too much on you without warning. I’m sorry for pushing you too far. I’ll call the therapist in the mornin’ and take you to see her. I just hope I didn’t set you back with your progress too far,” he says regrettably.
I have mixed feelings about this situation. I love my surprise of seeing my brothers, but emotionally it was a lot. I need time to departmentalize everything before it’s thrown at me. I see where Gio’s heart was with all this and I love him for it. I hate myself for the way I reacted to all this, but emotions are a strong thing, and they can take you over, which they did.
I missed all my brothers so much over these last few months and am so glad they are finally here with us. I want to embrace them and I will soon. Once the shock wears off, and I process everything, I should be good. I talk to Gio about all this.
“Your brothers, mostly Val and Lorenzo, are pissed to shit at me for marrying you without Val’s consent. Ace is out there calming them down and filling them in on what they’ve missed the last few months.
“Val wants to see you, if you’re up to it, baby,” he huffs again.
I sit myself up, and Gio helps me, leaning against the pillow on the headboard. Then he hands me a glass of water knowing how thirsty I am.
I’m at a loss for words here. I want to see my brother, but I’m afraid to face him. I definitely can’t do it alone, not yet at least. I think about it more for a minute.
As long as Val can stay calm, I might as well get this over now, with Gio by my side. I need to explain some things to him after the way I acted.
“I’ll talk to Val no
w. Amore mio, you have to stay with me and don’t say anything about the possibility that I’m pregnant. Please, one thing at a time,” I say squeezing his hand tight, digging my nails into his palm.
“Are you sure, Princess? He can wait until tomorrow, you need to rest.” I love how protective he is of me and is always concerned about my well-being. However, this is something I need to do, and I want to get this over with now. I know Val won’t leave until I talk to him and I do need to rest, I’m so exhausted.
Plus, Gigi shouldn’t have been woken up and should be in her own bed. She needs her rest to concentrate on her schoolwork.
“I’m sure. I’ll stay calm, amore mio. I can handle seeing him now,” I say with a smile to reassure him. He watches me for a few minutes carefully.
Then he kisses the tip of my nose and gets up heading to the door.
He doesn’t leave the room when he calls Val over. Gio whispers something to him before allowing him to enter our room. Gio returns to the bed sitting next to me and takes my hand in his. Val remains standing by the door inspecting us. I gesture for him to take a seat at the end of the bed in front of Gio.
“I’m sorry I freaked out when I first saw you. My therapist said it could happen. I was so happy and surprised to see you all. But the shock made me panic. I haven’t seen you since before...” I shake my head and turn to look in the opposite side of the room from them. I can’t look at him, them, I’m so ashamed of myself. I pull Gio’s and my hands onto my lap and concentrate on our entwined fingers to ground me. Gio adjusts his sitting so he can wrap his arms around me to hold me. His warmth cocoons me with strength and his love.
Val then says, “Bella, you never have to apologize to me. If anything, I owe you one, a huge one. I should have never left you to deal with all this shit alone. I’m your older brother, your protector. I’m supposed to take care of you and Gigi.
“You didn’t deserve any of this shit. I’m sorry, sis. I get why you reacted the way you did. I’m going to kill him for what he has done to you and our family. I’ll make it all right again!” Val says venomously. I hold back my tears from his words.
