28
Karina
I head inside, and Francesco ushers me upstairs to Ashton’s room.
“What’s going on? Where’s Aurielo?” I don’t like the silence or the fact I’m being manhandled and given orders.
That’s not what I signed up for.
Not that I wanted any of this, but Francesco is supposed to protect me, not boss me around the house. Who the hell does he think he is?
“Aurielo is busy working,” Francesco says with a grunt. “Get in the bedroom and don’t leave until one of us comes to get you.”
He yanks the door open, and I’m surprised he doesn’t rip it off its hinges with the amount of force he uses.
Ashton is sitting on the floor with several toy trains playing quietly.
I flip on the overhead light. The window shades are open, but the room isn’t particularly bright at this time of day. The sun is shining on the opposite side of the mansion.
“Did you go to school today?” I ask.
Aurielo was supposed to enroll him at the private school. I had the paperwork sent over, along with the necessary documents and anything else he might have required.
“Yes.” Ashton presses his lips together, his brow tight.
“How was it?” I ask and come to sit on the floor beside him.
I need a distraction from my shitty day.
He shrugs.
That’s not the type of response that I was envisioning. “Did you go to a new school?” I ask.
Ashton nods and glances up at me. “I had to wear a stupid uniform.”
“Did the other kids at the school wear the same uniform?” I ask. I can’t imagine that he was singled out, but it’s certainly not something he’s been accustomed to doing.
Ashton has been picking out his clothes, even at the store when we go shopping. He doesn’t care if he wears mismatched socks or plaid pants with a striped shirt.
And I’m not the fashion police. Whatever makes him happy and wearing his clothes and being independent is a big part of that, but so is following the rules.
He doesn’t answer me.
“I know you’re not crazy about your new school, but I bet that if you give it time, you’ll make lots of new friends.” I want him to get a better education. It’ll help him in the long run, not that he understands any of that now. But this opportunity, it’s huge for him.
“I want to go home,” Ashton says.
I exhale a heavy sigh. “I know, but this is our home now.” I wish I could explain it to him, but I don’t know how to tell a five-year-old the truth without telling him all the scary stuff that we’ve been entangled into by a simple mistake.
Besides, he shouldn’t shoulder that type of burden.
He’s a kid.
“Can we play outside?” Ashton asks, putting his truck down on the floor.
“Not right now,” I say. I’m honestly not sure why we’ve been sequestered to the bedroom. It seems a little like overkill.
Is Aurielo punishing us for some reason?