Scorpia

Bruno walks into the kitchen and grabs three ice-packs from the freezer. He opens the huge fridge and moves some things around until he finds what he's looking for, pulls the bottle with the scorpion on the bottom from the fridge and walks over to the living room.

Scorpia is sitting on the couch. She turns sideways to face him as he sits down across from her in the same manner. "Place your hands on your lap, sorellina."

She does as he asks and he covers both her hands with an ice-pack before unscrewing the cap from the bottle and helping her to a sip. He takes a sip too, putting the third ice-pack on top of his own hand. They are seated with their knees touching as he patiently waits for her to find the words.

After a deep breath, she starts talking. "Please promise me not to share this with anyone. I will tell mamma something tomorrow but I don't think I'll be able to share the whole truth with her."

Bruno nods and takes another sip of the vodka before giving her another as well.

"Ten years ago, when you were at the tournament in England, I was home alone with Ciro and Dino. Mamma went to aunt Cora and was going to stay the night there. She had a stern talk with the boys beforehand and made them swear that they wouldn't have any friends over and they wouldn't drink any alcohol. Guess what?"

Bruno grumbles. "They did invite friends and they did drink of course."

"They sent me to my room and told me to stay there. I did but..."

She closes her eyes for a second and then continues in a soft tone.

"I heard Salvatore's voice on the landing. He asked them where I was and said that since he paid for me, it was time he got to see me. Dino tried to stop him but Ciro said that this was their big break, to finally be able to work for Salvatore. He opened the door to my room and let him in."

She starts to shake and Bruno holds his breath. He is fearing the rest of her story and is not sure he'll be able to handle it. He takes a big swig from the vodka before helping her to another.

Her voice is nothing but a whisper when she continues. "Salvatore came up to me and looked at me like he was going to eat me alive. He asked me if I ever kissed someone outside of my family and I shook my head. He smiled in a way that gave me the chills, called me Bambola and picked me up. I didn't want him to touch me and tried to escape, but he forced me to look into his dark eyes and got mad. 

"You wouldn't want anything to happen to your brothers or your mamma, would you? Imagine Bruno's plane crashing or mamma falling down the stairs."

"I started to cry as he carried me out of my room and took me outside and into the shed where the boys were always hanging out. Only this time the couch and TV were nowhere to be seen. There were two dirty mattresses on the floor instead."

She rubs her arms and takes the bottle of vodka from Bruno, swallowing two big sips in a row. Bruno follows suit, scared of what she is going to tell him next.

She hesitantly continues. "I saw a blonde girl lying on one of the mattresses. She was lying there naked, her legs spread wide. I wanted to look at her but Salvatore wouldn't let me. He kissed me..."

The tears stream down her face and Bruno rubs her knee gently. She looks up at him and the immense amount of sorrow, shame and pain he finds in her eyes makes his heart stop.

He whispers. "Tell me quickly, little sister. I need to know and you need to tell someone."

He holds his breath as she continues.

"He ripped my clothes off and touched me everywhere... He raped me, Bruno. And forced me to keep my eyes open the entire time, made me look him in the eye. Those eyes and that smirk... I see them every night when I close my eyes. He got up, said that I had the tightest pussy he ever fucked, and thanked me. I have no idea how long I stayed there, lying on that dirty mattress. But when I turned to my side to look at the other girl..."

She gets up and runs into the bathroom, kneeling in front of the toilet to empty her stomach violently. Bruno, who followed her, rubs her back, tears streaming down his face as he whispers her name.

She lifts her head and whispers. "She was dead, Bruno. The girl was dead."

Scorpia faints and Bruno barely manages to catch her in time to prevent her from hitting her head on the tiled floor. He holds her in his arms, wailing from sheer powerlessness and the excruciating pain breaking his heart into a million pieces.

He carries her upstairs and gently lies her down on the bed. There's only one solution coming to mind, finding Salvatore and his brothers and making sure they take their final breath today.

He looks down at his little sister as her eyes flutter open. "No. Don't. There's more. Wait until I've told you everything. Please."

He looks at her in shock, every cell in his body telling him to get revenge.

"Stay with me, Bruno. I'm scared. Please don't leave me."

He closes his eyes to be able to hear his heart better. It bleeds for this young woman, his little sister, who has only known pain and sorrow. Even after mamma took her in. She's only twenty-five years old and someone that age shouldn't have been through all of this.

She cries and begs him to stay again. He crawls into bed with her and she snuggles up to him. His arms pull her closer, while they cry themselves to sleep.

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Logan

Logan gets dressed quickly and brushes his teeth. He walks into the cafe, unlocks the door in advance, turns the coffee machine on, and makes himself a sandwich in the kitchen, taking a bite as he makes himself a cup of coffee. The cafe is closed during the daytime on Mondays because this is the day all the deliveries come in.

He hears a familiar voice yell from the front door as he catches a ginger-haired whirlwind running in. "Uncle Logan! I get to stay with you!"

Lexy follows the boy at a slower pace, talking into her phone. "Yes, I will be right there. Offer Mrs. Jansen a cup of coffee. I will explain it all to her when I get there. She has kids herself, so I'm sure she will understand. Yes, I'm on my way."

She hangs up with a sigh and looks at Logan with her gray eyes, running her fingers through her ginger hair. "Miss Pia is ill. And they haven't been able to find a substitute teacher for today."

Logan lifts Lucas up and sits him down on top of the bar, while he looks at his tense sister. "It's alright, Lex. But Lucas has to help me out here because I am very busy today." He winks at her and makes her a cup of coffee in a paper cup.

He hands her the coffee. "Now go! Before Mrs. Jansen walks out of the salon."

Lexy moves around the bar to kiss the two most important men in her life and then quickly walks out with a wave.

Logan breathes out slowly and takes a big sip from his coffee with his eyes closed.

"Uncle Logan? Are you not happy I'm here?"

Logan grins at the pouting boy. "What!? Are you crazy? Of course, I'm happy! Because now I won't have to carry all those heavy boxes myself. I finally have help from a strong man. I'm not that young anymore, you know."

Lucas chuckles and flexes his muscles.

"Wow, someone ate all his spinach I see." 

Logan lifts the boy onto a bar stool. "Please stay seated, okay?"

He grabs a tumbler. "Would you like me to pour you a whisky, sir?"

Lucas looks at him with a sparkle in his eyes. "Yes! The most expensive one."

Logan chuckles and grabs a small bottle of apple juice from the fridge, pouring a little bit into the glass. Lucas lifts the glass with both of his hands, takes a sip, pretends to taste it and swallows slowly.

Logan looks at the little boy that made him leave his motherland five years ago to support his sister. She was left with a broken heart and a growing belly, so he packed his bags and left Scotland.

They went through a lot together and with the help of his savings, he managed to buy this small cafe. Lexy is an amazing hairdresser and makes a good living. And he doesn't need much to be happy, they manage just fine.

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Scorpia

She sits on the edge of the bed and calls in sick. Bruno's awake and listens to her hoarse voice. She hangs up and turns around to face him. "There's more you don't know about yet and I want to tell you everything."

Bruno nods and pulls the comforter back. "Come back to bed, sis. All in good time." She gets under the covers and snuggles into him. He kisses her forehead. "Ti amo."

She sighs and relaxes in his arms. "I love you, too. You are the only one I fully trust. So please don't do anything stupid, okay? If I lose you, I'll be all alone." A tear rolls down her cheek and he wipes it away.

"I promise I will wait until you've told me everything. And if I do end up killing someone, I will not do it impulsively."

She chuckles softly, knowing how hard it is for him to not respond with his fists right away.

The door to the bedroom opens slowly and they feel something crawl onto the bed. A little boy with black hair wiggles his body between them, sighing happily as soon as he's comfy in the middle. Scorpia kisses his cheek and Bruno does the same on the other side.

This kid has changed her brother. Right from the second Enzo's mother decided to leave the baby in front of Bruno's door. And for that reason alone, Scorpia feels a deep, protective love for the boy. He doesn't know who his mom is and thankfully doesn't know what he's missing.

Bruno took him to mamma, who did what she always does. She opened her heart to the little baby with the black hair and showered him with love.

No one is sure if Bruno really is Enzo's father but her brother just decided he was. Because it doesn't matter. This boy needed a loving home and mamma could give him just that. Bruno tries to be the best father he can be, even though he never wanted kids of his own.

Enzo has made him calmer and gave mamma someone to take care of again. And the unconditional love that Enzo has given Scorpia from the first day they met, is the best medicine in the world.

A little hand runs over her knuckles. "Soppia ouchie?"

She looks at him and nods.

"Soppia sad?"

She realizes she's crying when Enzo wraps his little arms around her neck for a hug.

"Shhh Soppia. Ti amo."

Bruno's eyes become watery and he thanks God for the day he found the crying baby boy in front of his door.

Scorpia kisses Enzo on his head. "I think we need to go wash ourselves before nonna gets mad at us."

Enzo looks at her all excited. "Together?"

Scorpia chuckles. "Okay. But daddy has to fill the bathtub for us first. With lots of bubbles!"

Enzo shoots up all happy. "Yesyesyes bubbles!"

Bruno shakes his head. "Why does daddy have to fill the bath? Can't zia do it herself?"

Enzo crosses his arms and gives his dad an angry look. "Soppia ouchie!"

Bruno looks at his little sister and sees the pain in her eyes, the kind Enzo can't see. "Okay, one bath with a lot of bubbles coming up. Will you look after her for me while I'm gone? Give her lots of kisses, okay?"

Bruno walks out, towards the bathroom with a grin on his face while Enzo takes his job very seriously, throwing himself at Scorpia to kiss her face.

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Logan

Logan opens the cardboard box with a knife, pulling a packet of napkins out. Lucas is waiting next to him, anxious to carry something too. Logan hands him the napkins. "Please be careful with these, they are very expensive. You can carry them into the kitchen for me." 

Lucas nods with a serious look on his face and Logan follows his nephew into the kitchen, carrying two boxes in one go.

They put all the delivered goods in their rightful place and when they're done, Logan says: "I think we deserve a glass of chocolate milk. What do you think?" 

Lucas nods enthusiastically and sits down at the kitchen table. Logan pours the chocolate milk in two glasses, sitting down at the other side of the table.

They drink in silence until Lucas suddenly speaks up. "Can I draw something? I want to make a drawing for Miss Pia. I hope she's better soon."

"Of course you can, boy. I think she will like that a lot." Logan gets up to pull paper and pencils from a drawer and places them on the table in front of Lucas. The boy starts to draw, while the tip of his tongue sticks out, filling the paper with orange circles.

He looks up at his uncle. "Could you write something for me?"

Logan walks over to Lucas' side and grabs a gray pencil. "What do you need me to write?"

"Eat lots of mandarins and you'll be better in no time." Lucas frowns and focuses on writing his own name. When he's done he looks at Logan. "You have to write your name on it too."

"Me? Why?"

Lucas rolls his eyes. "Because otherwise Miss Pia won't know who wrote that. Duh."

Logan chuckles and pretends to have difficulties writing his name.

His nephew giggles. "Yes, try your best!  Don't ruin my drawing!"

Logan pretends to be shocked. "I always try my best!" He stands up. "Roll that drawing up and come with me. We are going to eat a sausage roll and go to school during recess. I'm sure there's someone there who can give the drawing to Miss Pia. And maybe we should buy real mandarins too."

Lucas jumps up with a glimmer in his eyes. "Yes! Come!" Logan smiles, helps Lucas into his jacket and grabs his wallet and keys. They walk over to the supermarket around the corner to buy a bag of mandarins.

Lucas wants to carry them himself and runs ahead, towards the schoolyard.

Logan follows him with big strides, making sure he doesn't lose sight of him and hears him yell at a teacher. "Mister! Mister! Look!" He holds the mandarins up and the tall, bearded man crouches down at the other side of the fence.

"Wow, that's a lot of mandarins! Are they for me?"

Lucas shakes his head. "No, they are for Miss Pia. To help her get better soon." The tall man looks worried for a second and Logan wonders if Lucas' favorite teacher is just suffering from the flu or if there's something else going on.

The man takes the mandarins and the drawing from Lucas. "That's really sweet of you, Lucas. I am sure it will make Miss Pia feel better. Oh, and Logan. Did he draw mandarins too?"

Logan clears his throat. "No, uncle Logan had to write the message and pay for the mandarins."

The men exchange smiles and Lucas asks: "Mister? Will you take the mandarins to Miss Pia?"

The teacher stands up. "I'm definitely going to try Lucas, thanks."

Lucas turns around to face his uncle and yells. "Sausage roll!"

Logan holds his hand out to the boy. "Okay! Let's go buy one and eat it!" 

He looks at the teacher. "Have a good day mister... Can Lucas come to school tomorrow?"

"Thomas. Mister Thomas. And yes, there will be a substitute teacher for Miss Pia tomorrow. Have a nice day, men!"

Lucas waves before pulling Logan along towards the bakery.

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