Emilio

Skylar’s POV

He looked just like the picture I had of my father with the exception of his hair that was raven black and the fact that he was slightly younger. Sharp brown eyes stared back at me as we spoke. He looked tired and not just the work kind of tired.

Apparently, his six year old had witnessed the death of her mother and seven other people in a bank robbery gone wrong. Someone had tipped of the police and the mother and child were among the people held hostage at gunpoint by the robbers for over ten hours at when the police had got to them, the robbers had panicked and shot twelve people, eight of which had died before they could reach the hospital, his wife included. His little girl, Valentina, hasn’t said a word since, coupled with other signs of trauma and has just recently started having night terrors.

By the end of our meeting, I have agreed to move over to Pittsburgh which should be about four hours from New York City where I stay, to monitor her and try to help her health and move on.

By late afternoon on Thursday, I was officially a divorced woman. I didn’t get to see Jared and so, I didn’t bother with talking to Jason aside the court room. I didn’t tell him I was leaving and even when he called out to me I ignored him. I was just thankful he didn’t make our divorce a matter of public interest and I didn’t find a single paparazzi anywhere near the court house. I went to my temporary residence and immediately my head hit the pillow I was out cold for the rest of the day.

I took a train to Pittsburgh the next morning, after I checked out of the hotel and had a light breakfast. I had contacted Mr. Rodrigo earlier that I was on my way and he was waiting for me when I arrived at the station. We said our pleasantries and he helped with my luggage as we walked silently to his car. The drive to his house was quiet and I just enjoyed the view as we drove to his house.

He seemed well off, if his car and house indicated anything. However, when we stepped out if the car, the heart wrenching screams that came from inside the house made me panic. Mr. Rodrigo just sighed and turned to me.

“She gets like this anytime I leave the house. I don’t know what to do anymore.” He sounded so defeated and I was at a loss for words.

“It’s fine Sir. She has probably developed some sort of anxiety and it’s only normal that she reacts this way after what she has gone through.” I said to him in a bid to comfort him and I wondered if my son was doing okay without me. Jared had never been away from me for a long time.

“Just call me Emilio please.” He said as he took my jacket from me and provided me with some slippers. When we step into the living room, I’m not surprised to find it a mess. Pillows are thrown everywhere, a vase is broken and in the middle sits who I assume is Valentina, and her nanny. The Nanny seems terrified and I see that she’s bleeding, probably from multiple scratches on her arms. When she sees us, she all but sprints out of the house, yelling out her apologies and resignation.

Mr. Rodri-…no. Emilio, tries to go after her but I tune them out and move towards the little girl still bawling her eyes out.

Emilio’s POV

I try to apologize to Jane, the nanny that had just fled the house, but she doesn’t even give me a second glance as she hurriedly get in her car and leaves.

“Well, that goes another one.” I sigh and turn towards my house. It is only then that I realize that it is awfully quiet and I just left a stranger with my child. I hurry through the front door and into the living room, to find Skylar rocking my daughter and muttering what sounds like a lullaby to her. Surprisingly, Val seems to calm down and even hugs Skylar to herself. I don’t say a word until she falls asleep and Skylar looks up at me.

“She’s fine now.” She says. I watch her struggle to get up with Val in her hands for a few seconds before I walk over to help.

“Val has never calmed so quickly before with me or any of the nannies she’s had these two months. That was the fourth one that just quit.” I quietly tell her as I situate Val on the couch and cover her with a blanket. I go to start cleaning up the room and Skylar follows suit.

“Well, I remember when I was three, my parents and my brother and I had gone on a cruise ship…” She starts as she picks up the pillows. “The ship has been hit by a huge wave and started sinking. Lots of people died, my parents and brother included and I had to identify their bodies when the corpses came in days later. I was traumatized for a while after that and when I’d start screaming, one of the workers in the orphanage I was brought to would sing to me. It helped me calm down every time.”

“I appreciate you telling me that Ms. Woods.”

“Oh please just call me Skylar.” She says while smiling at me and I’m hit with a sudden blurry image of someone with the exact same smile.

“We haven’t met before, right?” I ask her, a little bit overwhelmed with how familiar she seems. She laughs.

“I wouldn’t think so. I’ve been in New York my whole life and I don’t mean to assume, but you seem to have grown up in elsewhere. You have an accent.”

“Yeah… I was adopted here though. Then I was taken to Italy. But I was seven at the time and can’t really remember my life before the adoption. I had an accident in the water and it messed with my memory. I still have migraines and flashes of blurry images in my head. The old couple that adopted me died a few years ago though, so I moved back here with Sofia when Val was born in hopes of remembering something.”

“Oh. Uhmm… do we wait for her to wake up before we leave for the apartment?”

At the mention of the apartment, I silently curse. “actually, do you mind staying here?... I just-… you’re very good with her and I just don’t want you so far away from her.”

She seems to think for a while before she nods and smiles up at me. “I’d appreciate that.”

“Great!... Let me show you around then.” I take her through the house explaining what each room is for. I show her the kitchen, the laundry room and the pool. Then I take her up the stairs and show her mine and Valentina’s rooms then I get her to the room next to Val’s.

“this will be your room. Let me know if you need anything. Alright?” I say to her and she just nods. I leave her to settle down and go back down the stairs to retrieve Val.

The next couple of weeks we spend time getting to know each other and I must admit she is very different from every other person I’ve employed to take care of Val. She gets Val to respond to her, although non verbally, in two weeks and things just keep getting better. I also keep getting more flashes of things and my doctor seems to think I’m regaining my memory.