Carlo : Ti salveró amore mio

Chapter 26

"What happened?" Isabella looks at me once the second 'Stitch' movie finishes.

Turns out the big fluffy thing in her arms was a onesie. So fucking soft!

"When you were gone. I mean." She persists.

"Nothing." I mumble, finding a different movie.

"Something obviously happened. Even if you don't tell me... you have to speak to someone."

"You're a child Isabella." I look at her from the other side of the bed where I'm sitting to have space. "Not a therapist."

I hear her huff and the bed make a slight noise as she turns to face me. "I'm just trying to help."

I look at her. "Don't." I get out of bed and unzip the onesie and step out of it, I'm already wearing leggings and a shirt underneath.

I grab a hoodie and put it on as well as fluffy socks. I walk out of the bedroom leaving Isabella in there by herself.

"Ahh, Angel."

I look down the hallway and see Giovanni walking towards me.

Can I not just have one fucking second to myself?

"Giovanni." I greet as he starts to walk beside me.

"Alessia just made some cakes you should go eat some." He offers looking at me hopefully.

"Maybe later." I mutter looking at the paintings along the walls.

"Or now." I see him shrug from the corner of my eye. "You could talk to me. Let everything out." He stops right in front of me. "Over some cake obviously."

"No. I'm okay. Thank you though." I manage to walk a little faster and he is behind me.

I hear him sigh but I proceed to walk and let him be on his own.

****
CARLO'S POV:

"Where are you going?" Emilio asks as I walk down the basement steps.

"Take my anger out." I mumble.

"Giovanni tried talking to Adelaide. Get her to eat something, you know?"

I pause on the steps halfway down and turn to look at him. "Tell him to piss off and leave her alone." I start walking down the stairs again. "She just wants space." I mumble. Mostly to myself.

She needs space and none of us have given it to her because we all want it to go back to how it was before. Because our old 'normal' was broken because of a specific dickhead.

I realised that after I shouted at her, which I regret. A lot.

"Good morning Rye!" I cheer sarcastically whilst slamming his cell door open.

I chuckle slightly at the sight of both his eyes swollen and bruised to the point they are nearly closed. His leg looks a little broken and his nose is crooked.

Axel told me about some of the injuries Adelaide received and now I am reciprocating them onto him... just more harsher.

"I have people, Carlo. They'll come find me, and if you kill me they'll kill you." He states matter of factly.

No they won't.

"Hmm, shame." I stick my bottom lip out and walk closer to him. "I won't kill you yet."

"How is the little princess?" He asks, smiling as best as he can with a swollen top lip.

I punch him and he falls to the floor still strapped to her chair.

"My men and I could never get her to eat. Is she doing it for you? Actually we would tie her to a chair just like this." He chuckles.

I kick him in the stomach and he coughs a few drops of blood.

"She was very loyal to you." He spits a mixture of spit and blood onto the floor. "I don't know why. I mean. It took you nearly a year to find her."

This time Emilio, who was standing at the door, shoots him in the right leg. "Shut up." He grumbles and walks away.

Rye screams in pain and I sit down in a chair opposite him watching how he tries to stop the blood and rolls around.

I bang my fist on the door and a guard walks in.

"Get him stitched up and then send five men down to beat him. When they're finished sew him up." I order and leave the basement.

Nicola comes running over to me out of breath. "Do you think I can see them?"

"Parents?" I question.

"Yeah. It's been a while and I know they've done bad. But..."

"They're still your parents?"

"Yeah." He mumbles looking at me.

"Next week? I'll put them in a different cell so it's easier."

He latches his arms around me. "Thank you Carlo. By the way, Rose is looking for you in her room."

"Alright, I'll see you at dinner." I ruffle his hair and he runs off whilst I walk in the opposite direction towards my moms bedroom.

I knock on the door before entering, the smell of paint floods my senses and a very cold breeze blows against my face.

There's two canvases set up and the balcony doors wide open with the small curtains blowing with the wind.

Mom is painting the doors on hers and the one I can't see is hiding Adelaide's small body frame. She's moved her canvas a little further away.

"Hey momma." I kiss her forehead and walk a little closer to Adelaide but not too close.

"Hey Amore." I look at her painting and it's almost finished. She's drawn the whole wall with the curtains and the doors opened showing the trees and the balcony, then in the small corner is my mom painting.

"Hello." She mumbles. I look at her a little shocked but quickly hide it and smile lightly.

She criss crosses her legs on her stool and focuses on the painting of my mom in the corner.

"You wanted to see me." I look at mom.

"Oh yeah. You and Adelaide are going to make Mac and cheese for everyone." She smiles at me and then goes back to painting. "It was Adelaide's idea."

I look at Adelaide but she's not looking at me, she's hiding behind her canvas. I watch as the paintbrush carefully presses against the material.

Her sleeve falls down a little and I can see a few little red lines continuing to go under her sleeve. I look at her eyes and she swiftly pulls down her sleeve to pretend to wipe some paint away.

If I hadn't have been watching so closely I would've just passed it as her doing it for her painting.

"We should do that now." I smile at Adelaide when she looks at me.

"I haven't finished." She points to her painting.

"I'm sure you can finish it tomorrow. Right momma?"

She nods her head in agreement and moves her hands to usher us out of the room.

Adelaide sighs and waves goodbye I do the same and we leave the room. We walk in silence until halfway to the kitchen her lukewarm hand finds mine and she intertwines our fingers.

I look down at her but she's looking at my moms paintings on the walls. Mom painted some of them but most of them were brought and I think a few are Adelaide's.

I hold her hand back and squeeze it lightly as we walk to the kitchen.