Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
S afe
Michael
I knew from my research on this assignment that Don Trovati’s granddaughter has special needs. However, I don’t know what I was expecting. Given the trauma she’s been through today, I can’t say I’m surprised that she’s behaving this way.
I’m a stranger, she’s in a strange place, and that asshole tried to violate her. Since waking up, she has bitten me, hissed at me, and kicked me in the balls. I’ve given up on trying to get too close.
Instead, I’m sitting on the floor a few feet from where she has planted herself as she rocks and hums while alternating between crossing her fingers and pressing the tips together. I remain still as I hold an ice pack in my hand with a sandwich and bottle of juice sitting at my side.
Suddenly, she quiets and tilts her head to the side and begins to study me. Her left eye is swollen and there’s a knot on the side of her head. I want to be the one who finishes that bastard off, but I know Uri will take care of him.
“My name is Michael. You are safe here with me. We’re going to take you to your nonno. He is waiting for you,” I say gently.
“Nonno? In Italy?” she whispers through her busted lips.
“No, he’s waiting for us in London.”
“With Mommy? Did she go to see Nonno?”
I swallow hard. I don’t want to be the one who tells her what happened to her mother. This is all hard enough.
“She’s gone. You can say it. My mommy isn’t coming back.
“The bad man did something to her. I hate him. He always made Mommy cry and he called me names.
“I am not a retard. I’m just a little different from the other kids. I like different stuff from the kids at school,” she says into her lap, not lifting her gaze to me.
Though her speech comes off robotic, there is a deep intelligence to the way she speaks. Almost as if she’s put this all together and accepted her loss already, and still, there is an innocence to her at the same time.
“Are you hungry, Symphony?”
“Yes, I would like something to eat, but I don’t know if I can trust anything you give me. You might try to poison me.”
Finally, she lifts her gaze and blinks at me. Her one good eye stands out. It’s large and bright, and her lashes are extremely long. I cleaned her face and placed one of my dress shirts on her when we first arrived before she woke. She looks so small as it swallows her while she sits there.
I release a small chuckle. “I have no reason to poison you. I could take a bite of the sandwich first if you would like.”
She makes a little face at me but seems to be in thought. Her stomach growls and she frowns then begins to chew on her tongue. I pick up the sandwich for her to see.
“You look like you have lots of girlfriends. I don’t want to be poisoned, but I don’t want any STDs you might pass to me by biting my sandwich.”
This time, I let out a full laugh as I unwrap the sandwich. I tear off a corner and pop it into my mouth. Her shoulders sag in relief and she holds her small hands out for the sandwich. I lean forward cautiously and hand the sandwich over.
“Thank you, Michael. I am Symphony Isabella Mansilla-Trovati. I’m not supposed to tell anyone I’m a Trovati, but you said you know Nonno, so you know who I am.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Symphony. Here, you should take this ice pack for your face.”
“Is that juice for me?” She points to the bottle beside me.
“Yeah. You want me to test it first too?”
She wrinkles her nose and twists her lips up. “Can you do so without putting your lips on it?”
“ Sì, posso farlo ,” I scoff.
Her eyes light up as I speak in Italian. “Oh, you speak the funny words. I have learned Nonno’s funny words and Mommy’s. Do you speak both as well?”
I think her words over. Carmelita Mansilla spoke Spanish. Don Trovati is a native Italian speaker. I give her a smile as I realize what she’s asking.
“Yes, I speak Italian and Spanish. Do you?”
“Yes, I’m fluent in several languages. I love to learn them. That bad man would try to make me watch cartoons. I would grab my tablet when he would leave to watch my jujitsu and language videos,” she says as I open the juice and tip my head back to pour a sip into my mouth.
I swallow and hand the juice over to her. She takes it and sips at it gingerly as she looks anywhere but at me once again. We continue to talk as she becomes more comfortable with me.
This young girl is highly intelligent. After about an hour, she begins to give me eye contact every now and then. I also note that the finger stimming has stopped and she doesn’t chew on her tongue unless I ask her something she has to think about for a moment before responding.
With each moment, I grow more protective of her. Like a big brother who wants to make sure she’s taken care of. I can’t help wondering what will happen to her now.
I know the don cares for her, but will he know how to take care of her. I think of Annabella. She might be my older sister, but I’m protective of her as if she were the younger one.
I couldn’t imagine her being out in the world with challenges and no one to help her. Since Uri is good friends with the don, I hope I can check in on this girl every now and then.
Symphony yelps and scurries behind me when Uri returns. She hides behind my back, clinging to my shirt as he moves into the apartment we’ve been waiting in.
“We need to move. Collect your things. We are to be on the move in five,” Uri orders.
I stand to move into action. Symphony climbs to her feet and wraps her arms around me. I can feel her shivering as she holds me tightly.
“Symphony, this is Uri. He’s here to help. We need to go,” I say soothingly.
“To Nonno? No more abuse, right? I trust you. I don’t know him.”
“Uri would never hurt you and he won’t allow anyone else to hurt you. I promise you, you are safe with us. Think of us like family. We never hurt our family.”
“Family,” she repeats.
However, she doesn’t release me. I have to gather my things while she clings to my side. Especially when she starts to chew on her tongue making a loud sound with the action.
I move as fast as I can with her attached to my side. I don’t dare to ask Uri what’s happening. I don’t want to scare Symphony and Uri’s vibe says he isn’t in the mood for questions anyway.
Symphony
I am on a plane with the two handsome men. I like Michael. He doesn’t make me feel like something is wrong with me like new people usually do.
I feel bad for biting and kicking him when I woke scared and alone with him. I thought he was friends with the bad man. All I knew was that I had to fight to keep him from hurting me.
They both have been kind to me. However, the Uri man is quiet and doesn’t speak to me as much as Michael does. Uri has a funny accent.
He spoke to Michael in Italian until Michael told him I understood their words. That’s when he stopped speaking. Only speaking in hushed tones every once in a while.
“How is your head feeling?” Michael whispers as I sit curled into the seat beside him.
I turn my gaze to his blue eyes and hurry to look away. He’s so pretty. The two men look alike, but Michael has kindness in his eyes.
“It is a little better,” I say.
He takes the blanket the lady brings to him and then places it over me. I pull the soft fabric under my chin. It’s a weighted blanket.
I can tell because all the noise in my body settles. It’s just like the one Mommy has at home for me. Mommy.
I’m not going to see her again. It hurts, but it’s the truth. I feel so sad.
The music in my mind is all wrong. The colors have become dark, and the notes seem off. I burrow down further into the blanket and the music dies down some more.
I’m safe. Michael is going to get me to Nonno. I can go to sleep now.