Francesco, who was taller than I was, with a hint of salt and pepper along his sideburns, sputtered a little then tugged at his tie. “Miss Sienna, if you ever need help, you need to understand that I can help you.”
“What do you mean?”
“No one should hit a child or a young woman. Such scum.” His face softened as he sidestepped my question. Then he placed a kind hand on my shoulder and smiled warmly. “You’re safe when you are here.”
“Thank you, Francesco.” I let out a shaky breath and knew in my gut he meant it.
I used the cloth Andrea had given me to dab the wound on my temple then pinched it together and used a bit of tape to close the cut. Satisfied it would hold, I covered it all with a small bandage. I knew it probably needed a stitch or two, but this would have to do. It wasn’t the first time I’d had to do a makeshift job. I washed my face and finger brushed my hair as best I could then swallowed a couple of Advil from a bottle in the cabinet. A wave of self-pity overcame me as I studied myself in the beautiful mirror.
I closed my eyes and put my hands on the sink and let out a silent scream, wishing things were different, that my mother hadn’t left me with an empty promise to return, and that I’d had a better life than the one that was forced on me.
The idea of leaving the Di Vaio house terrified me as much as living there did. I’d never been on my own. I had no idea how to handle money, or even how to get a job other than the one I’d been given at the dockyard, and then there was the one thing that rested in the center of my heart. What if my mother came looking for me? What if all this time she had to wait for some reason and finally came to find me and I wasn’t there? Then what? If I ran away there would be no way for her to ever find me. I pushed back the thought that I wasn’t sure I could ever forgive her for abandoning me, anyway. The worst part was I knew nothing about who I was or where I came from. Cara told me to make up a new past, one that I wanted. I tried, but I always circled back to the start.
I shook myself free of the thoughts that threatened to overpower me with more self-pity and forced myself to stand up straight and smile into the mirror. I had to move on.
“Sienna?” Andrea knocked lightly on the door. She came into the room to check on me. “I just wanted to see if you needed anything.”
“I’m fine, thanks. I was just heading down.”
She smiled and came toward me, wrapping her motherly arms around my shoulders.
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry for what you are going through.”
“I’m okay, really.” More pesky tears leaked out. “I just,” I stumbled to find the right words, “I’m just thankful you’re so kind to me.”
“Of course, Sienna. You mean so much to my son, therefore you mean so much to us.” She kissed the top of my head and gently dried my tears with a tissue from her pocket. “Now, come. We will eat together.”
“That would be wonderful.” I sniffed and fought the raw emotion back down.
I followed her downstairs and heard a commotion as we neared the front of the house.
“Where is she?” I heard Elio speaking to someone in the entryway.
“She is all right,figlio, but did you speak to…?” His father lowered his voice, and I couldn’t hear the rest.
“Of course, Papa, I did. Why do you question me on that?”
“Then I need to make some calls.”
I rounded the corner to see Elio in a pair of jeans and a damp dress shirt.
“Calm down, dear,” Andrea spoke up, as she was a few feet ahead of me. “She just needed a moment to clean up.”
When he spotted me, I saw relief rush over him.
“Hi,” I whispered, uncomfortable with the attention on me.
“Mama texted me and said she brought you here.” He came over and wrapped me in an unexpected hug. I hesitated but returned his embrace and found myself leaning my head against his shoulder. His strong arms and the smell of his skin had all kinds of feelings racing through me. “Are you hurt?”
“Just a bump, nothing that won’t heal.”
As he pulled me back to inspect my head, I noticed Andrea and Piero exchange a glance.
“She needs to eat.” His mother nodded for us to go outside. “Papa and I will join you shortly.”
Elio took my hand and led me out to the patio area. He pulled out a chair and nodded at Francesco to go ahead and serve us.
He watched me take a bite as he rubbed his stressed face. His mother appeared at the doorway and waved him over.