Miss Marino - 1 (Complete)

12 | Mr Lincoln Red Roses

"Sometimes I would have trouble sleeping, so I would make myself a cup of tea. Sometimes my mind will keep going back to that one moment, whether it's the sound of the bullet, a scream, or the blood. So I might take a trip down to the gym we have at home and I'll work myself until I can no longer think straight."

I turn to look at Daniella. Her face holds a calm expression but the flash of fear she holds in her eyes makes my heart twist in on itself.

This girl has been shielded her whole life. No wonder why she's terrified.

"When I really can't sleep, like two or three days after the whole ordeal, I'll sneak out of the house. I'll climb up onto the roof, but the only way is to go through one of my brother's rooms and climb out of one of their windows."

I smile to myself, as I remember the multiple times Andriano almost woke up to me about to fall out of the window.

"I'll climb up to the roof and sit and watch the stars. Sometimes I stay up there for that long, I even watch the sunrise. It's my favourite time of the day because no one is usually around. People are still awake when the sun sets, but not when it rises."

"So what you're saying is that I need to find a way up to the roof of my house and watch the sunrise?" Daniella has confusion written all over her face.

"No. What I'm saying is that you need to find something that you like, something that brings you peace."

As we continue walking through the store and browsing all the clothes, shoes, and accessories, I keep glancing at Daniella. I can tell she wants to say something. Eventually, her question comes out. "When was the first time you saw someone die?"

I took a while to answer her, not really sure if I should either tell her the truth or lie.

"I'm sorry that was rude. I shouldn't have said anything." Daniella says quickly, she starts to walk away but I grab her wrist and pull her back.

"No va bene. I was just deep in thought." (It's okay.)

Our eyes meet and Daniella is quietly waiting for me to answer her. I cave. "I was 9 years old. I didn't understand what happened at the time, but as life went on I eventually understood what happened."

To say that shock was written over Daniella's face was an understatement. Her jaw was reaching the floor. I continued to tell her the story. "It was late at night and I couldn't sleep. I got out of bed and I was walking down the stairs to go to the kitchen for a cup of water. Little did I know that I was walking into one of my Father's business dealings going wrong."

We had reached the back of the store, so we turned around and started walking back to the front.

"I don't remember hearing the gun go off. All I remember was seeing this guy, a complete stranger, fall on his stomach right in front of me. His eyes were open, he was shot square in between the eyes. I don't know how or why I didn't scream or run away from my Father when I saw him lower his gun. For some reason, I ran up to him and hugged him." I shake my head at the memory. "But now that I'm older. I kinda wish I knew what actually happened, I should have run away from my Father but I didn't."

Sometimes I think I should have never run to him. It was possibly a sign to my Father that I was able to handle death like a champ. I was 9 fucking years old, what was I supposed to do. How was I supposed to know that my Father wasn't the monster he is?

We reached the front of the store and couldn't see any of the girls anywhere. I pulled out my phone to see that both Alessia and my Mother had texted me saying that they were heading down the street for some gelato.