GiaMy father was disappointed in me and I didn’t care. With San and Mr. Xavier standing there, I didn’t say what I needed to. I wanted to know what happened with San’s mother and why she was dead. I wanted to know everything and I was tired of living with my father’s sins. Alessandro had shown me I was not responsible for his mother’s death.It seemed strange to have everything out in the open. San’s crew accepted me as one of them or so they made it seem. Their concern for Marino was awesome. I liked them and I never thought I would.“Gia,” San whispered.I didn’t know he’d walked up beside me in the kitchen where I was grabbing snacks. I turned into his arms.“Thank you for being here,” I whispered back.“When the guys settle down, you and I can go into your room. You need sleep.”“I won’t be able to sleep. I haven’t heard a word on Maria since she went into surgery.”“Okay, you don’t need to sleep but we should probably talk.”We needed to. Alessandro was nothing like I thought he
Gia“Your friend kicked him in the balls so badly, he couldn’t rape her, though she said it was his plan. He beat her after that, and at some point she lost consciousness. That’s all she remembered. He told her he was going to kill her and she thought it was over.”Poor Maria. She was all alone and had to be so scared. Knowing her, she was relieved I wasn’t there and he couldn’t hurt me. We’d waited for the revenge for so long and he hadn’t struck until we’d let our guard down.Matteo was a sick bastard.“What will happen to him?” I asked, wanting it to be so horrible people would hear his screams for miles.“No one knows. His entire crew has been removed from the school. They won’t be returning.”“So, he’ll be a rumor from here on out.”“Not if I can help it. Being permanently expelled is too good for him.”I was okay that San wouldn’t get a chance for revenge. Just the word made me sick to my stomach. He tipped my chin up.“You’re mine,” he said softly. “Neither your father nor mine
AlessandroI left Gia’s late in the afternoon after she assured me she wouldn’t leave her room. I’d swiped the card Mr. Xavier gave her after entering it on her phone when she wasn’t watching. I had some business with him.I made the call from my room.He wasn’t happy, but then again, neither was I. I knew I was playing with fire but I didn’t care. Matteo Romano had retribution coming. It wasn’t an easy argument to win.“I’ll see what I can do, Mr. Brambilla. If it happens, I will not interfere no matter the outcome.”“I’d prefer it that way,” I told him.The call ended. I would bide my time. I owed Mr. Rossi a debt I would never pay. Romano would not get that lucky.Monday morning, I waited for Gia outside her dorm. Before I left mine, I’d texted her, letting her know I would be waiting, then left my phone and headed out. She would not walk alone, and I would stay by her side until Maria was back.Students watched us and whispered. Gia’s back went straighter and I saw the subtle chan
GiaMaria returned on Wednesday, one day before the challenge, though it wasn’t really a challenge because Matteo would not return even if he somehow managed to win. My fear was Alessandro would kill him. Mr. Xavier wouldn’t allow it or so I assured myself.Maria looked like hell. The top half of her face was so badly bruised, it wasn’t black eyes because it all blended with her nose and cheeks making her features hard to define. They had to put a plate in her cheek, but that scar was at the hairline. Three fingers of her left hand were broken and were in splints, and her wrist was in a removable brace. It wasn’t broken but there was some ligament damage that had also required surgery. Most of the swelling had gone down in all locations or so she assured me. I couldn’t imagine what she looked like before coming back to campus.“Che palle,” she said once she rested back against the couch. “I’m exhausted.” She pulled one of the small couch pillows closer and used it to help prop herself
AlessandroSchool sucked without Gia. The guys teased me about being a pussy while I mentally prepared for the fight that night. Beating down Matteo’s ass shouldn’t be hard but I wasn’t stupid and wouldn’t drop my guard. I wanted to kill him; school rules be damned.Without Gia, the day dragged by. Marino acted strange and I wasn’t sure what was going on in his head. He had a secret and it was starting to piss me off that he hadn’t shared.After school I called Gia but the call was short. There was a physical therapist with Maria, and Gia was learning what needed to be done. After the conversation, I had time to think.My future seemed jumbled. I’d known my role in the family since birth. My mother was everything to me when she died. My father frowned upon her coddling me sometimes, but he really didn’t interfere. I had a mean streak which he finessed. Marino’s father did the same with both of us. An eye for an eye. I was raised that way, and then my mother died.I still don’t underst
AlessandroWe returned to our crews and a few minutes later, Xavier called the start of the fight. There was no messing around this time. I didn’t need his fucking reach. I wished I could say there was really a fight. There wasn’t.I dodged his fist and mine connected with the first punch thrown. Within sixty seconds, I had Matteo on his back. Within another sixty seconds, Xavier stopped me from killing him.I didn’t recognize his face when I came out of my frenzy and saw him beneath me. Xavier helped me up and walked me a few feet away. Matteo’s dad went to him. My father moved closer to Matteo’s dad and they looked at each other. Matteo’s dad nodded and so did mine.It was over. Whatever shame Matteo had caused was his family’s responsibility now.Gia came up to me and I hooked my arm around her.“Mr. Rossi, his wife, and I will be waiting in your dorm for you.” My father said after approaching from my other side.He walked away and I didn’t see Gia’s parents any longer when I looke
GiaAlessandro and I crashed in his room and didn’t come out even when Marino and the crew arrived. We needed time to ourselves. Maria, Stephie, and some of her crew were with them. We’d been notified by text and San told Marino we would be absent. No one disturbed us.“It’s sad,” I said aloud once we were settled. “I’m so sorry.”“Why are you sorry? The entire situation is fucked up, but their choices had nothing to do with us.”“They had everything to do with us,” she said stubbornly. “Maria’s father and mother had her at the same time I was born. Marino’s parents the same. It was all set up. It’s your father I feel the worst for. Has he ever loved a woman?”“He had affairs on my mom and I discovered it early on. I hated him for it, and then she died. I didn’t understand and I considered him weak when he didn’t go after your father.”She hugged me tighter.“Are you going to tell Marino?” she finally asked.“No. It stays with us. The secrecy behind it all is something we can’t fuck w
AlessandroThere were bumps in the road. With Laterza backing down and his crew stepping up behind me, there were no further challenges. Kicking Matteo’s ass so decisively helped too. I’d cemented my reputation and proven how dangerous I truly was.We still had schoolwork and other drama happening around the academy.Stephie and her crew joined ours along with Maria who made it official when she started dating Andre.Mr. Caleb’s class became interesting. For a quiet man, even I admitted he was badass. As the year passed quickly, I began dreading graduation and what would happen between me and Gia. We were young and in love. We were not ready for marriage. Gia came up with the plan and with Marino and Maria’s help, we put it into action. Stephie and Andre were included if their parents came on board.The seniors had an assembly two hours before graduation and were told to come to the gym with our laptops fully charged. It was strange but many things over the four years were, and we wen