28 - Alessia
F or the first time in a very long time, I feel completely helpless. No amount of money or fighting can fix her. Harper is going in and out of nightmares all day and night. I haven’t slept in the last forty-eight hours, I needed to keep her safe, to keep her from clawing at herself.
For a brief moment, I step out of the room. Needing to breathe for a second without seeing the love of my life reliving her trauma over and over again. I lean against the closed door, my eyes closed, bouncing my head against it in frustration.
“Sis?” I hear Lorenzo’s voice.
I open my eyes and he’s standing next to me, worry etched across his face. Bella is standing beside him. It’s the first time in weeks she came here.
“What are you two doing here?” I ask bitchy.
“Hold back the bitchiness please,” Lorenzo scolds. “I came to relieve you so that you can go home for a bit with Bella.”
“You know I’m not leaving her alone; I promised her.”
“She w on’t be alone; I’ll be here and you’re going home with Bella to get a decent shower and some sleep.”
“Lorenzo, you don’t understand,” I say, my voice dropping to a whisper. “Every time she closes her eyes, she’s back there. And I’m the only one who can pull her out.”
“And you won’t be able to pull her out if you collapse from exhaustion,” Lorenzo counters firmly. He steps closer, his presence grounding yet unyielding.
“You’re running on fumes, sis. Harper needs you, yes. But she needs you to be strong, not a walking zombie.”
I clench my fists at my sides, trying to fight the irrational anger bubbling up. He’s right, and I hate it. “I can’t just—”
Bella steps forward, her voice soft but decisive.
“It’s not abandoning her to take care of yourself. You’ve done everything for her, but if you don’t rest, what happens when she needs you the most? Let Lorenzo help. Let us help.”
I glance between them, my resolve wavering. They’ve always had a knack for breaking through my walls. I look back at the door, hearing Harper’s faint murmurs through the thin wood. The weight of it all presses harder against my chest.
“Just a shower,” I mutter, caving, though the guilt already gnaws at me. “And a nap, maybe. But you have to call me if she needs me. I mean it, if she so much as stirs—”
“I promise,” Lorenzo interrupts, his hand resting on my shoulder. “Go. We’ll be here.”
Bella ge ntly loops her arm through mine. Her warmth feels foreign, almost startling, after days of living in Harper’s icy anguish. She gives me a small smile, a reassuring one. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
I glance back one more time as we walk down the hall. My heart twists, a part of me screaming to stay, but my body is screaming louder. For now, I have to trust them.
As we exit the building, the cold air hits me, a sharp contrast to the heavy atmosphere inside Harper’s room. Bella leads me to her car, and for the first time in days, I sit still, letting someone else take the wheel.
“She’ll be okay,” Bella says softly as we pull onto the road.
I nod, staring out the window, hoping she’s right.
We walk into my apartment; it feels foreign after being away from here for over a month. Carmen rushes over as soon as I’m out of the elevator and hugs me. It isn’t something we used to do but her warmth feels like it’s just the thing I need right now.
“I’ll make you some of that Risotto you love.” She says as she releases me from the hug. A small comforting smile on her face.
“I would like that. Can you make a little extra for Lorenzo and Harper? I’ll take it with me when I go back there.” I reply.
“Of course, Ma’am, I’ll have it ready for you in half an hour.”
Bella ta kes my hand and leads me down the hallway to my bedroom and into the bathroom.
“Let’s get you cleaned up, okay sis?”
I nod and follow after her.
She runs the bath and it fills the air with steam and a lavender scent.
“I’ll leave you to it then…” she trails off when the bath is full and turns to walk away.
“Fioro?” I call her, my little pet name for her.
Bella turns around and faces me, “Yes, sis?”
“Thank you, I know I’m not an easy person to take care of, and I don’t say this enough…” I start.
“You don’t have to thank me; it’s what sisters do.” She interrupts.
“Yes,” I continue, “I do have to thank you, for always being here for me… I love you, fioro piccolo.” I give her a small smile.
“I love you too, big sis.” Then she walks out, leaving me to take care of myself for the first time in weeks.
The water went cold before I decided to get out of the tub. I put on my robe and walk over to the bed to get under the covers. Just a little nap won’t hurt. I grab my phone and check my messages, there are a few notifications on my screen.
Lorenzo: Just wanted to let you know we’re doing fine over here. Go rest up .
I close the thread and click on the next message.
Elio: We’ve got a lead on Anna, hoping to find her soon.
I close that thread as well and click on Bella’s name.
I’m going to take a little nap, wake me in an hour please.
Okay. Sleep tight.
My eyes instantly feel heavy and I drift off into sleep.
It’s dark outside when Bella wakes me.
“What time is it?” I ask groggy.
“Around eight pm.” Bella responds.
I jolt up from the bed, “I told you to wake me in an hour! You let me sleep for the entire day!” I bite at her.
“I know,” she counters, “But I also knew you wouldn’t give yourself time to rest so I made that decision for you.” She smirks. I can’t argue with that.
“Come on, Carmen has the risotto ready for you and after that I’ll bring you back to the hospital.”
I get out of bed and put on leggings and a hoody and follow the delicious smell of risotto to the kitchen.
My mouth waters and when I take my first bite, I can’t even think of the last time I had a proper meal.
I have been doing a shit job at taking care of myself.
I’ve been so focused on Harper that I totally forgot about myself for days.
I can’t help myself and take a second serving of risotto.
Carmen puts the rest in containers for me to bring back to the hospital.
I grab my coat and meet Bella by the elevator, driving back in silence.
When we walk on to Harper’s floor I’m greeted by familiar faces as I see a few of my men stationed throughout the hallway. A doctor with a friendly but serious look on his face walks over to me.
“Miss DiSanti,” he says subtly.
“Yes?”
“I’m Doctor Miller, I would like to talk to you about Miss Davis. We haven’t had a moment to talk about her injuries or her mental trauma.”
“No, we haven’t.”
“Would you please follow me into my office?”
“Yes, lead the way.”
I follow the doctor to his office and he takes a seat behind his desk. I take one of the seats opposite the desk and Bella the one beside me.
“Let’s hear it.” I’m wasting no time. I’ve been running my mind ragged about all that could have happened to her in the weeks she was kidnapped.
“I spoke at length with her doctor in Rome, he sent along her complete file following her admission there. What I am about to tel l you is by no means easy but in order to understand what Miss Davis has to deal with, it’s important for you to know.”
He falls silent for a moment.
“Go on, please.”
“Okay… Miss Davis has had too little food available to her for an extended period of time. She probably had no more than one meal a day and almost no water given the state of malnutrition and dehydration she came in with. In addition, the rape kit revealed that she was raped by multiple men before you arrived on the scene.”
Anger churns in my chest, the need to kill those fuckers over and over again. If we ever find Gianni I’m going to torture the hell out of his ass, literally. Let’s see how he likes to be fucked by something he doesn’t want.
“Then there’s the physical injuries. In addition to her internal injuries to the most intimate parts of her body, from the brutal force used during the rapes, Miss Davis had cuts all over her torso and upper legs.
Apparently, this was something that excited her rapists.
Fortunately, she did not contract an infection from the various bodily fluids found on her body. ” He continues.
I stare at the nameplate on his desk, my mind whirling, trying to comprehend everything that Harper went through. I hear Bella sniffle beside me, disgusted to hear all that happened to Harper.
“And now?” I croak.
“Now you must give Ms. Davis time to heal. Her physical injuries have now healed but her mental wounds are deep. Gi ven the way she has been plagued by nightmares in recent days and nights, she still has a very long way to go toward her recovery. To give her more peace of mind, I have decided in consultation with the psychiatrist to administer anti-depressants to her. In addition, we would like her to participate in trauma therapy.” He explains.
“I would love to be able to take her home to her own bed and things, is that possible?” I urged.
The doctor looks at me with compassion in his eyes.
“It would not be my preference to take her home. Miss Davis is frail and I would prefer to have her admitted to the psychiatric ward.”
“No!” I roar. “She would never want that! I’ll take her home and the psychiatrist can come to our house. I will make sure a room is available for them to do their sessions.”
“But Miss-”
“I said, no !” I fix my gaze on him, not giving him a chance to counter me.
“O-Okay Miss DiSanti. I will see to it that Miss Harper can be discharged tomorrow morning. The psychiatrist will also contact you tomorrow morning regarding her treatment.”
“If that’s all, I’d like to go back to her now.
” I stand and reach out my hand. “Thank you, doctor Miller.” He takes my hand and Bella and I leave his office.
We continue through the hallway towards Harpers room.
I can’t wait to see her again. After everything I just heard I just want to hold her and make her feel better.
I want to comfort and soothe her and take every bad memory from her.
When I ’m just about to enter her room my phone dings with an incoming text.
We found Anna!
Good work! How is she?
She’s alive… but barely. We are bringing her back to LA and see if we can contact her parents
Get Luca on that! And ask Gabriele to help, he might know something more about her abduction.
I’ll tell them. See you in a few hours, Boss.
Good to know you’re coming home, friend.
Glad to go home.
I step into Harpers room, feeling a little lighter now. Lorenzo is hanging back in the chair, talking animatedly with Harper. A little spa rkle shimmers in her eyes, she looks a little brighter than when I left her earlier today. They don’t notice me standing by the door.
“Hi, babe.” My voice barely went above a whisper.
She looks up in surprise and a smile stretches from ear to ear.
“Hi!” She sighs contently.
“What where you two talking about?” I raise my brow at Lorenzo and give him a nod. He returns the gesture with gratitude.
“He was telling me about Amelia.” She chirped.
“Oh, something I should know?”
A devilish grin spreads over Lorenzo’s face before he shakes his head.
“Nope,” Harper lets the ‘p’ pop innocently.
I stride over to the bed and lean in for a kiss.
Her lips meet mine and a little flame whirls to live inside my core.
I thought it was snuffed out because of all the shit that went on these past months, apparently it wasn’t.
My heart grows in size and arousal floods my system, short circuiting me.
All I want is to wrap her golden hair around my wrist and ravish her.
This isn’t the time though, so I hold back.
“I come with news.” I chirp and smile at Harper with loving eyes.
“Oh, something good I hope?” Her eyes dart over my face.
“Yes, you’re going home tomorrow.”
“Really? These walls are closing in on me!”
“Would I lie to you, Tesoro?” I smirk.
She squints her eyes at me in response. I laugh and give her another kiss. God, it feels good to kiss her again.
“Doctor Miller is making sure everything is in order for you in the morning and…” I trail off.
“And?” She repeats.
“It’s under one condition though.”
“Which is?” She’s getting impatient now.
“You’ll need to have daily sessions with the psychiatrist. He’ll come to our house and I’ll make sure there’s a room available for you to feel comfortable in.”
“Oh…Okay… Yeah…” She mumbled. That little spark I saw earlier nowhere to be seen now. I take her hand and rub soothing circles with my thumb.
“It will be okay; I’ll be here every step of the way.” I sooth.
“Will you?” She questions.
“Yes, what would make you think otherwise?”
She looks at me with sad eyes and lets out a heavy breath.
“I don’t know how to fix me. You saw what they did to me, that’s just the physical evidence, and I feel broken beyond repair. All I want to do is sleep and cry and I’m trying my best to put on a brave face for all of you.”
My heart cracks hearing this.
“Will you still love me, support me even when I can’t love myself, if I can’t find my way back? Even if the darkness swallows me whole? Even…” She trails off.
“Even what?” I encourage her.
“Even if my love for you, or your love for me, isn’t strong enough to keep me alive?” She bows her head and tears land on her sheets. I’m stunned, not knowing what to say, or do, or feel. I look at Lorenzo and he slowly shakes his head, not knowing how to respond himself.
“I don’t know what to say…” I croak, my voice breaking with emotion.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She huffs. “Could you both leave now, I’ll see you tomorrow, I’d like to be alone now.”
Lorenzo stands and takes my hand, guiding me out the room, I set the risotto I brought with me on the counter and follow him. At the door I glance over my shoulder at Harper, her back already turned, shutting me out every way she can.