"Ilaria." "Where. are, you?" Alessandro's stern voice reaches me through the phone, making my freeze. My eyes widen with surprise, and my muscles tense. Oh my goodness. Oh, no, no, no... no way. Taking a big breath in, I adjust my phone to my ear to avoid dropping it. Matteo's body is leaning against mine, his small arms wrapped around my hips, little sniffes escaping his chest. "A-Alessandro" I whisper out my hands shaking. "I'm going to ask you once more Ilaria. Where. are. you?" He gritted out once more leaving me in silence. "I-I um... I'm i-in the l-library." I stutter, hoping he'll believe my lie. If he finds out that I took Matteo out I'm dead. Literally. "Really? ...so why did I go in earlier and you weren't there? You were also not in your room... nor was Matteo. And one of my guards... informed me that you left earlier today... with my approval." Oh noooo. The guard snitched on us what the hell."So this is your last chance Ilaria. Where. Are. You". He asked one last t

This morning, I awoke to a warm weight on top of me. I shuffle slightly as a result of the cramp in my leg, which causes the weight to snuggle into my neck and confuse me. I squint as the sun slithers through the gap in the curtain, stinging my eyes. When I turn my head to the left, I see Matteo's head snuggled into my neck, his body under my covers, his arms around my stomach clinging tightly to my shirt.I smile, caressing Matteo's soft black hair, and he smiles back, snuggling even closer to me, his nose tickling my neck. I try not to laugh out loud because I don't want to wake him up. I was shocked by the fact that Alessandro wanted to put Matteo to bed last night, he hasn't done that at all over the past few days I've been here. I guess he wants to try again. At least he's trying. I'd rather someone try and fail than to never try at all. "ILARIA!" I hear a familiar voice scream, followed by loud banging footsteps speeding up the stairs. My heart rate increases as I hear him appr

"I never liked Allison." Lucas said this while slouching against the bed and munching on a slice of pepperoni pizza. Abbey just nods, her gaze fixed on the TV; I doubt she understands what Lucas just said, but she agrees anyway."Oh no." Lucas says it with sadness this time. Looking to see what he's upset about, I notice him staring at the last slice of pizza in the box, as Abbey does. I watch as they both turn to look at each other before shouting about why they should have the last slice."I saved you from babysitting your sister!" Abbey screams pulling the box towards her. "Yeah... well I ordered the pizza!" Lucas screams back tugging the pizza box towards himself now. As they fight over the pizza box, they begin tugging it between themselves. My stomach rumbles as I gaze at the pizza in the box. They wouldn't know if like you know.... I stole a small slice of pizza? Right? Deciding to go for it since you know it's pizza. I reach forward and take the slice. Abbey and Lucas both ob

"Ilaira.... I'll ask again. What are these?"Alessandro inquires sternly and softly at the same time. I can't say anything as my body freezes and tears flow once more from my eyes. Little sniffles escaping from my chest. I feel his hand reach for my arm. I flinch at the memory of him dragging me to the car earlier, but he doesn't. He traces over the pink scars on my arms, the lightest touch I've ever felt on my skin. His breath is coming out in quick, uneven bursts compared to my now slower breathing. I feel his hands move to my other arm rolling up the other sleeve revealing the rest of my scars, his breathing coming to a halt.I close my eyes, not wanting to see his disgusted expression. My scars are unsightly and stand out against my pale skin. I try to hold back my sobs as they try to escape my chest. But one seems to escape, my sniffles intrrupting the silence in the room.This time, I feel his hands come up, unbuttoning the chunky cardigan and lightly removing it from my should

"You can't catch me!" Matteo yells at me, his little giggles echoing down the corridors as I run after him, shaking my head in amusement. I chase after him, my breath coming out unevenly as I try to figure out where he's gone. I should have asked Alessandro for a map of this place. Walking down the corridor, I try to keep my steps quiet so he doesn't notice if I'm approaching him."Matteo." I sing, when I find that I can't see him anywhere. I notice the curtain moving in front of one of the large windows. I turn the corner and enter what appears to be another sitting room. I quickly open the curtain, expecting to see Matteo, but he isn't there. Looking up, I notice a small window open at the top, causing the curtain to sway slowly. Sighing I turn around to see Matteo standing by the door with a sly grin on his face. "Oh your in for it now." I laugh as I run after him again, his little giggles filling my ears and making my heart skip a beat. How does this little guy run faster than me