When I was twelve, I was allowed to graduate early and though I was extremely young, my parents agreed with the school. That fall I found myself in college. College was an eye-opening experience. To me college was just an extension of high school with the social clicks, parties and bullying. Add in the fact that I was about six years younger than the average freshman and well, there wasn’t a day that I didn’t get picked on. My classes helped and so did my professors but overall, the experience was exhausting.
I was fourteen when I graduated for the first time. It was also about that time I was moved to another university. My whole life had been one school after another.
Degrees, graduation, then transfer.
Rinse and repeat.
“What in the hell is that?”
Hearing Lorenzo shout, I turned to find him standing in the massive living room, looking up at the ceiling where a deer antler chandelier hung. Grinning, I walked over to him and said, “What’s the matter your highness? Don’t you like the rustic interior?”
“I can handle rustic. That is something else.”
“I think it looks nice. It fits with the ambiance of the place.”
Lorenzo scoffed and walked off. “If I hear banjo’s I’m leaving.”
Shaking my head, I didn’t know what to make of Lorenzo Valentinetti. He was nothing like what my sister described. My first impression was that the man was a child. He was selfish, inconsiderate, spoiled and full of shit. He worried more about his things than those around him. He had no filter, cried foul when things didn’t go his way and had significant big brother issues.
All in all, Lorenzo Valentinetti was nothing more than an overgrown man-child who needed a time out. How my sister worked for him I would never know. Five minutes with him and I was ready to punch his face and I had more patience than my big sister.
Moving about the large house, I saw that it did have all the amenities. A large family room with a massive tv, several fireplaces, a beautiful chef’s kitchen with two stoves, two refrigerators and a large pantry that was fully stocked. There was also an office downstairs. The first floor was open and very roomy, with lots of windows for natural lighting. Heading upstairs, I found several bedrooms and a game room, which had me shaking my head. I just knew Lorenzo would love this room. The whole upstairs was shaped in a large U, with a hall that opened to the main living room below. Leaning over the railing, I took stock of everything that was before me. I didn’t know how people lived like this. How did someone afford a house this massive? Who was going to clean it? I was having a hard time processing it all.
Figuring that Lorenzo would complain about every room in this house, I turned around and opened the first door I came to and walked into what looked like the biggest bedroom on the planet.
Seriously, this room was bigger than my whole apartment.
A colossal log canopy bed sat off to the right. The bed was so big. I knew I could fit my research team class on the bed comfortably. Beside the bed was a nightstand on each side at the head of the bed. At the foot of the bed was a large trunk. Several paintings and pictures decorated the walls and a very plush angora rug lay on the floor. There were two doors off to my left. Opening the first, I walked into another room. Well, I thought it was until I saw the walls lined with clothes. It was hands down the most oversized walk-in closet I’d ever seen. While one side was full of men’s suits, the opposite side was empty. Void of anything. Backing out, I opened the other door and smiled. “Now, this is what I’m talking about,” I whispered as I walked over to the double-soaking bathtub. Just looking at it, I would give anything to strip naked, fill that bitch up and just soak. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been able to just enjoy a hot bath. Having a roommate who hogged all the hot water, I was regulated to ten-minute cool showers. The bathroom also held a double tiled shower with over fifteen spray heads, double vanity and lots of storage. But what caught my attention was the French doors next to the large bathtub. Opening them, I gasped, because when the French doors were opened, whoever was in the tub could feel as if they were bathing in nature as the doors opened to the back of the property. It was stunning.
“How are you holding up?”
I turned to find Giovanni leaning against the door jam.
The man was an enigma. I could clearly see power radiating from him. He was the leader. The head of his family. I hadn’t known him long, but the man was good at controlling all things around him from what I'd seen. He didn’t mince words and though I thought he was fair and considerate, I could see where Lorenzo might have issues with his big brother. Giovanni Valentinetti was the oldest. The firstborn. With that Giovanni had an air of responsibility, the need to ensure that his family legacy continued and to make sure his siblings fell in line. But that wasn’t going to be the case with Lorenzo. Technically Lorenzo was the middle child. The loner. The outcast. The one child who broke from the family tradition and followed his own path. I didn’t need to take a psychology class to understand that. When it came to the middle child, nothing generally worked. There was no way to corral or reign them in.
It wasn’t that Lorenzo was being difficult on purpose. It was just who he was. He knew he would never be as important as the firstborn and therefore he didn’t feel the need to measure up. In a way, I found myself feeling sorry for the man. It wasn’t his fault he was born the middle child and a twin at that. As if being a twin was bad enough, he wasn’t even born first. He was the second twin.
“I’m good.”
“You know you don’t have to stay with him. Since he was your sister’s best friend, I thought he would like to look after you.”
“No. You thought making him responsible for me would make him behave,” I countered and Giovanni smirked. “Well, that too.”
“You realize that whatever you have planned for him will backfire right? He isn’t like the rest of your siblings. He doesn’t follow any path but his own. Bringing him to heel will only increase the rift the two of you have.”
Gio sighed and straightened, placing his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “You are probably right. Lo has always gone his own way but I do have his best interests at heart.”
“I understand. My sister was the same way. She always wanted the best for me and after our parents died, she jumped into the parental role which was not what I needed. Unlike you, my sister gave me space to live my life and make my own decisions. I know I am not part of your family Mr. Valentinetti and I am probably overstepping here but if you keep insisting he live his life as you do, then you will be sorely disappointed.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
I didn’t bother stating that I was. Most people I knew didn’t like it when I gave my two cents. Sometimes it sucked being me. I always saw things from a different perspective. Some have actually said that I was too damn smart for my own good but I wasn’t showy like other geniuses. I didn’t believe in parading around my brain as if the world owed me something. No. I preferred the solitude, the quiet recesses of a classroom or my own domain. I didn’t need or want fame. I just wanted to make a difference, quietly. Being a child prodigy wasn’t easy. Everyone wanted a piece of me for one thing or another. The fact was, I honestly believed that no one could accurately measure a person’s potential. Different strokes for different folks and all that crap.
“Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I was able to get the police report from your parents’ car accident and I agree with Lorenzo and your sister. It wasn’t an accident.”
I could have told him that. I wasn’t stupid. I too saw the report.
“What about my friend Carrie? Or the two men who followed me from the library?”