Chapter Forty-Five
Sabrina
The racket downstairs carried through the floorboards. Matteo and Carlo were arguing about something, Enzo was only making it worse, and every few minutes Mum's voice floated above the chaos in a hopeless attempt to restore some order. I smiled to myself and turned another page.
Years ago, I'd imagined family as quiet dinners and peaceful evenings. Instead, I'd found eight loud brothers, constant arguments, and a house that never seemed to know silence. It was chaotic and exhausting, but somehow, it felt like home.
Curled against the headboard, I tucked my legs beneath the duvet and continued reading, letting the familiar noise downstairs become little more than background chatter.
A soft tap against the glass caught my attention.
I almost convinced myself I'd imagined it until another tap echoed through the room. My eyes lifted from the page and settled on the balcony door. Slowly, I lowered the book onto the bed beside me.
Moonlight filtered through the curtains, outlining the silhouette of someone standing on the other side of the glass. Broad shoulders. A tall frame. Whoever it was stood well over six feet, perfectly still.
Instinct took over. Without taking my eyes off the figure, I reached beneath my pillow and wrapped my fingers around the familiar handle of my knife before silently rounding the bed and stopping beside the curtains. Whoever stood outside hadn't tried to force the door open. They'd knocked.
Taking a slow breath, I gripped the handle with one hand and pulled the curtain aside with the other. I unlocked the balcony door, yanked it open and stepped forward in one smooth motion, driving the blade beneath the stranger's jaw before they had the chance to react.
“Give me one reason not to–”
The words caught in my throat.
Warm brown eyes met mine with complete calm, not a trace of fear crossing the stranger's face. I knew those eyes.
“Luis?”
A slow grin spread across his face despite the knife resting against his throat.
“I was wondering how long it'd take you.”
I lowered the knife, though I kept it in my hand.
“What are you doing on my balcony?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “You know there's a front door, right?”
“There is.”
“Yet you climbed onto my balcony.”
A hint of amusement crossed his face.
“Fewer questions.”
“You never minded questions before.”
His smile barely moved.
“Not when I'm here to see you.”
The words were spoken so matter-of-factly that they took a second to register. I folded my arms.
“So you climbed up the side of the house?”
“It seemed easier.”
“Easier than knocking?”
“I would've had eight brothers asking questions.”
I frowned. “They wouldn't have questioned why you were here. You're practically family.”
“They wouldn't have questioned why I was here.” A slow smile spread across his face. “They would've questioned why I was asking for you.”
I opened my mouth to answer, then closed it again.
“...Fair point.”
His smile widened, subtle but undeniably satisfied.
Before I could think of anything else to say, a tiny meow broke the silence.
I blinked and looked down. Luis glanced towards his chest, as though he'd almost forgotten what he was holding. Nestled securely against him was a tiny grey kitten. She blinked sleepily before letting out another quiet meow.
I stared at him.
“You climbed onto my balcony carrying a kitten?”
“I did.”
“...Why?”
“The climb would've been lonely otherwise.”
I laughed before I could stop myself.
“You're unbelievable.”
“So I've been told.”
He looked down at the kitten as she attempted to climb further up his arm, her tiny paws slipping against the fabric of his jumper.
“Can we continue this inside?” he asked. “She's starting to shiver.”
Only then did I notice the cool night air drifting through the open balcony doors.
“Right.”
I stepped aside and let him walk past me before locking the balcony door behind us. My knife found its usual place under my pillow, and by the time I turned around, Luis had already lowered himself onto the rug beside the bed.
The kitten immediately decided his hand was her greatest enemy.
She pounced with all the confidence of a predator ten times her size, wrapping both front paws around his thumb before attempting to bite it.
Luis didn't pull away. He simply watched her with quiet amusement as she wrestled his hand with fierce determination, completely convinced she was winning.
A smile tugged at my lips as I sank down onto the rug opposite him, crossing my legs beneath me.
“Where did she come from?”
“I found her alone in an alley. I waited for her mother to come back, but she never did, so I brought her home.”
He gently scratched beneath her chin, earning a tiny rumbling purr. The kitten abandoned his thumb in favour of attacking the sleeve of his jumper, kicking at the fabric with her back legs as though she'd conquered a wild animal.
I smiled, watching her roll onto her back so Luis could rub her tiny stomach. For a few moments, neither of us spoke. The room settled into a comfortable silence, broken only by the kitten's occasional purrs and the muffled laughter drifting up from downstairs.
Eventually, Luis looked at me.
“I actually came to bring her to you.”
I blinked.
“Me?”
He nodded.
“Tomorrow's your birthday.”
I looked up.
“It's your first one with Carlo.” His gaze drifted towards the kitten. “I thought you deserved an early present.”
No one had ever thought that far ahead for me before.
“So...” he said quietly, “happy early birthday.”
I looked down at the kitten.
“Why aren't you keeping her?”
“I can.”
His answer was immediate.
“If you'd rather I did.”
Before he'd even finished speaking, I leaned forward and carefully scooped the kitten into my arms.
“No.”
One eyebrow lifted.
“No?”
“You offered her to me.”
The kitten curled against my chest almost instantly, purring so loudly it made me laugh.
“You can't take it back now.”
A soft chuckle escaped him.
“I wasn't planning to.”
I stroked a finger over the kitten's impossibly soft fur until she tilted her head, looking up at me with hazy grey eyes. Luis watched the two of us for a quiet moment.
“She reminded me of you.”
I looked up.
“Me?”
He nodded once.
“When I saw her... I thought of you.”
My fingers stilled. Something strange tightened low in my stomach. It wasn't fear, and it wasn't nerves. Whatever it was, it caught me completely off guard. I looked back down at the kitten before he noticed.
Neither of us spoke again. We simply sat there while the kitten purred beneath us and the sounds of my family drifted up from downstairs. For once, I didn't mind the silence.
The quiet was broken by the sound of tiny footsteps padding along the hallway. Luis looked towards the door.
“Dario.”
A soft knock followed.
“Sabrina?”
“I should go,” Luis murmured.
I nodded, crossing to the bedroom door while he slipped onto the balcony. Just before he disappeared into the night, he glanced back at me.
“Happy birthday, Sabrina.”
Before I could answer, he was gone.
I waited a moment before opening the bedroom door.
Dario stood on the other side in oversized dinosaur pyjamas, squinting up at me.
“Who were you talking to?”
“I was on the phone with Asher.”
“At this time?”
I shrugged. “He had something stupid he wanted to ask me.”
Dario considered that for a moment before nodding.
“That sounds like Asher.”
Then his eyes dropped to the tiny grey kitten tucked against my chest.
“You have a kitty!”
Before I could answer, he'd already slipped past me and climbed onto the bed beside me.
“Where did she come from?”
“A friend brought her over.”
He reached out carefully, letting the kitten sniff his finger before she batted at it with one tiny paw. A grin spread across his face.
“She likes me.”
“I think she'd like anyone willing to play with her.”
He giggled as the kitten wrapped both front paws around his finger.
“What's her name?”
I looked down at the little ball of grey fur nestled against me.
“I haven't thought of one yet.”
Dario frowned thoughtfully.
“You should.”
I smiled, studying her hazy grey eyes for a moment.
“...Nebbia.”
Dario tilted his head.
“Nebbia?”
“It means fog.”
He smiled at the kitten.
“I like it.”
“Me too.”
The following morning began with Nebbia racing across my bedroom floor as though she'd lived there her entire life.
Dario and I had been awake for almost an hour, taking turns dragging the ribbon from one of his dinosaur toys across the rug while she chased after it with unwavering determination.
She missed every pounce, yet somehow seemed convinced the next one would be successful.
The bedroom door burst open.
“There you are. Mum's been looking for–”
Carlo stopped abruptly.
His attention landed on the tiny grey kitten skidding across the wooden floor, and whatever he'd come upstairs to say vanished from his mind.
“...Is that a cat?”
“Nebbia,” Dario corrected proudly.
“When did this happen?” Carlo asked, looking at me.
“Last night.”
“And nobody thought to wake me?”
“You were asleep.”
“I would've forgiven you.”
Before I could answer, he'd already crossed the room and lowered himself onto the floor beside us. Nebbia wandered straight over to him, sniffed his hand, then batted at his fingers with one tiny paw.
“I think she likes me.”
“I think she's just curious,” I said.
“I prefer my explanation.”
A few minutes later, Luca wandered into the room in search of Carlo. He took one look at the scene before quietly joining us on the floor, and it wasn't long before Dad appeared in the doorway.
“There you all are. Your mother sent me to–”
He stopped, smiling as soon as he spotted Nebbia.
“Well, aren't you beautiful?”
Within seconds, he'd forgotten why he'd come upstairs altogether.
I exchanged an amused glance with Carlo.
“Dad.”
“Hm?”
“Weren't you looking for us?”
He frowned thoughtfully.
“I was.”
“And?”
His eyes drifted back to the kitten.
“I forgot.”
I laughed.
Of course he had.
The moment Mum appeared in the doorway, she took one look at the five of us sitting cross-legged on my bedroom floor and sighed.
“Rafael.”
Dad looked up innocently.
“Yes, dear?”
“I sent Carlo upstairs to get his birthday twin.”
She pointed at Luca.
“Then he disappeared.”
Her finger moved to Dad.
“And somehow, you disappeared too.”
None of them had the decency to look guilty.
Mum folded her arms, but the second Nebbia looked up at her with a tiny meow, her expression softened.
“Oh... well, aren't you adorable?”
She reached down to stroke the kitten before straightening again, as though remembering she was supposed to be cross.
“Birthday breakfast. Downstairs. Now.”
Carlo climbed to his feet with an exaggerated sigh.
“Worth getting told off.”
“It really wasn't,” Mum replied.
Dario slipped his hand into mine as we followed everyone out of the room, Nebbia tucked securely in my arms.
For the first time in my life, I wasn't walking downstairs to celebrate another birthday alone.