Family Comes First

Chapter 35

- A m a r a   R u s s o -

"I'm going to be hiring you a bodyguard." Salvatore said, and I jerked upright.

"What?"

"I'm going to be hiring you a bodyguard." repeated Salvatore, "You three as well."

The twins and Sandeo looked at him in shock.

"Why?" they protested.

"Because there are too many things at risk now." Salvatore responded simply, "I can't afford you guys getting kidnapped because you didn't want a bodyguard to protect you."

"But that's not fair." Salvino complained.

"Life isn't fair." he countered, "And no arguing. My decision is final."

'Look at that,' the voice cooed, 'You're getting special treatment.'

'No,' I objected weakly, 'The twins and Sandeo are getting bodyguards too.'

'But why do you think that they'll suddenly get bodyguards if none of them did before?' the voice countered, 'It's because of you. Since Salvatore thinks that you need protecting, he hired you a bodyguard. But because he was considerate enough to think about your feelings, he decided that it would be best if Sandeo, Salvino, and Santino all got bodyguards.'

'How do you know?'

'It's obvious,' the voice huffed, 'Maybe if you weren't this stupid, you would be able to figure it out.'

I felt myself deflate at their words.

'That's right,' the voice sneered, 'Go cry like a baby. Pathetic.'

'Stop,' I whimpered, 'Not with my brothers present.'

The past few days have been extremely hard on me. The voices had been wearing me down, and the secrets my family is keeping from me isn't helping either. Every single second awake is spent wondering what they were trying to hide, and every single second asleep is spent plagued by the voices and nightmares of the past and possible future.

"- your bodyguard."

Silence reigned the room for a minute as I waited for the person who Salvatore was talking to to respond.

"Bambina?"

"Huh?"

"Did you understand what Salvatore said?" Salvestro asked kindly, and my eyes went wide.

Salvatore was talking to me?

"Uhh, no?" It was meant to be a statement, but my tone made it sound more like a question.

I heard the twins snicker at my words as Salvatore sighed.

"Were you listening to anything I said?" he asked exasperatedly.

I felt myself flush at his comment, and I shook my head in embarrassment as Sandeo let out a dramatic sigh.

"Wow, Amara." he commented, "I can't believe you spaced out on Salvatore."

"I didn't mean to." I murmured bashfully.

"God..." muttered Salvatore, running a hand down his face. "Alright. I'll explain how everything is going to go now, so listen up."

I nodded my head feverishly, and he took a deep breath.

"Alright, now since you are each getting your own bodyguard, this means that he or she will be following you everywhere you go."