“Of course.” I turned to face her fully. “Turn the other way.”
Her eyes popped open, her lips lifting into the biggest grin I’d ever seen. “Okay!”
She spun so fast she knocked herself off-kilter. Her giggle as she saved herself from falling completely had my own lips lifting into a smile. And I realized that since I’d been out here, I hadn’t thought about my apartment and what was happening inside it even once.
I pushed my fingers through her hair, finger combing it, then split it into two sections. I started at the top of her head, knowing that she was going to look so cute with two braids.
“See?” Cardo said, walking back toward us. “I’m a math genius.”
I chuckled, nearly finished with the first braid. “You are.” I glanced back at Chiara and tied off the first braid with an elastic from my hair. “Do you know the next one?”
Cardo shook his head. “My teacher hasn’t told us that yet.”
Biting down on my bottom lip, I wondered if I would be overstepping if I told him. I opened my mouth, about to reel off the next times table, when tires squealed behind us. An SUV pulled into the lot, and Cardo spun around as Chiara sat up straighter, but neither of them moved. We all stared at it as it reversed into a self-made spot.
“Who’s that?” I whispered, not sure who I was talking to, but no one answered me. I quickly tied off Chiara’s second braid and spun to face the SUV.
The door opened, a dark-gray-pant-covered leg appeared, and I tracked it down to pristine black shoes. By the time my gaze traveled back up the body and over the buttoned-up white shirt, I was completely captivated. My breaths came faster, my cheeks heated.
He slammed the door shut and stood there for several seconds, just enough time for me to see his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, displaying his tan skin and muscular forearms. I blinked, trying to take him all in. I’d never seen someone dressed like that here. He looked out of place.
Maybe he was lost?
I gasped as his head whipped around to face us. His gaze was fixated on us, Chiara in particular. I shuffled closer to her, my instinct to protect her kicking in. I didn’t think about it too much because I was afraid if I did, I’d open a Pandora's box of memories I kept buried deep down where they’d never see the light of day.
He moved toward us, and I wasn’t sure whether it was just me, but I was sure it was in slow motion. Each of his movements were measured, as if he didn’t do a single thing without thinking about how it would look or come across. He was hyperaware of himself, that much was obvious. And I…I couldn’t look away.
His attention moved from Chiara to Cardo, and then finally landed on me. For a second, I was sure that Chiara and Cardo didn’t know this guy, but as soon as he smiled down at them, they both ran toward him, and pounced on him. They wrapped their arms around him and squeezed as hard as they could. He didn’t hesitate to grab hold of them and pick them both up, causing his muscles in his arms to tense from the movement. I seriously couldn’t look away from his arms.
Slowly, I stood, wiping the back of my jeans off as I went. “Hi,” I greeted, lifting my hand in an awkward wave. He looked over at me, his brow raised, his dark eyes captivating me even more than his arms had. “I’m Luna.” I blinked, waiting for him to say something, but when he stayed silent, I continued, “I moved into the third-floor apartment a few weeks ago.”
“She braided my hair,” Chiara supplied, looking up at him with stars in her eyes. She doted on him, and when he met her gaze, it was clear to see that he doted on her too. His eyes narrowed on her hair and my stomach dropped. I didn’t know how he knew Cardo and Chiara, but I was starting to wonder if I’d crossed some kind of boundary I hadn’t realized was there.
“Nice to meet you,” he finally spoke, his deep voice echoing around us. I opened my mouth to say something—anything—but it was too late because he was turning away and heading to their apartment.
And I was alone again, just like always.
* * *
MATEO
I wasn’t sure what I was going to see as I walked into the apartment with Chiara firmly in my arms and Riccardo next to me. I hadn’t expected the empty living room, but I had expected the empty bottles of alcohol and the smell of vomit. I tried not to let it show on my face how much it bothered me, but I knew Cardo and Chiara could sense it.
Outside of this apartment I was the shirt-wearing Mafia soldier, but inside it, I was Riccardo and Chiara’s big brother. Their protector. The one person they could rely on. They’d only ever known me to take care of them, so in some ways I was more like a dad to them, but I would always be Mateo, their big brother. Everything I did was for them, but it was becoming clearer and clearer that it wasn’t enough anymore. I had to get us out of here, I just didn’t know how without turning my back on our mom.
“Go and wash up,” I said, placing Chiara on the floor. “I’ll sort Mom out and then we can cook dinner.”
“Okay!” they both shouted, running toward the bathroom of our small apartment. It was bigger than the one I grew up in, but it was still too small. Cardo and Chiara had to share a room. I didn’t want them to have to compromise, but I knew it was all they were used to. It didn’t mean it would always be like this.
I’d been saving to buy a house, one that would become a home. I’d wanted to wait, but as I walked toward my small bedroom, I knew now was the time. I had to take the leap, not for me, but for the two small humans who trusted me to take care of them.
I opened my bedroom door, cursing as I saw the sheets ripped off my bed. Mom had been in
here again, which was yet another reason we couldn’t keep doing this. My room was just big enough for my bed and a rail to hang my clothes on. It had done the job it was meant to over the last few years, but I couldn’t keep this up. It didn’t matter how much I wanted to help my mom, sometimes walking away did more good than harm.
Laughter floated from the bathroom, and the sound had my lips lifting. Cardo and Chiara never failed to remind me why I did this. Without them I wasn’t sure where I would have been. Maybe I would have ended up like my mom, or maybe I would have been a nine-to-five suit wearer in the city. The possibilities were endless, but the path I was on was the one meant for me. There was a reason I had to drop out of school; a reason that I had asked Lorenzo for a job that day. It had all led me to this moment, the moment of clarity.
It was time to get out of here. Time to put Cardo and Chiara first.