Gianina laughed as she stuck her skewer in the fire. “Really?”
I nodded, smiling fondly at the memory. “Yeah. We had a lot of fun here.”
“I guess brothers are more fun when you’re a boy. I don’t have memories like that of my brothers.”
I chuckled. “Definitely a different dynamic between brothers and sisters than brothers and brothers.”
“Tell me about it. Being the only girl in a house full of brothers is not fun. Everyday was like navigating a war zone.”
“I bet. We can be gross creatures.”
“That’s an understatement. The smells of multiple boys and the nasty things they leave behind have scarred me for life.”
I laughed as Gianina pulled her marshmallow from the fire. She eyed mine as she sandwiched hers between a graham cracker and chocolate square. “That’s going to burn.”
“I like it burnt,” I replied, swirling my marshmallow in the flames.
She scrunched her nose. “Gross.”
When mine was almost completely black, I pulled it out of the fire and assembled my s’more.
“That looks inedible,” Gianina commented before taking a bite of hers.
I took a bite of mine. “It’s perfect.”
She scoffed playfully. “If you say so.”
After our sweet treat, Gianina wrapped herself in a blanket and sat on the couch as I went to the kitchen to make dinner. As a bachelor, I knew how to cook several things, but nothingfancy. I decided on spaghetti since it was quick and I’d never met anyone who didn’t like spaghetti.
When I took the plates to the table, I called out to Gianina, “Dinner’s ready.”
No response.
The living room was around a corner from the dining room. When I peeked around, a grin curved my lips.
Gianina was cuddled up in the corner of the couch, asleep. The firelight danced across her face, and she looked even more beautiful than normal.
You can’t have her.
I went to the couch and carefully scooped her up, hoping not to wake her. I knew firsthand how draining a fight like she’d been in the night before was. It would take days, maybe even a week, for her to start to feel normal again, and that was just physical.
The mental toll would last longer given the extent of her trauma.
As I laid her down in bed and covered her up, I hoped that she wasn’t haunted by what had happened to her for the rest of her life. I knew how hard it was to live with ghosts.
Chapter Five
Gia
Iwoke up drenched in sweat, a scream ripping through my throat.
Pounding feet sounded seconds later, and in moments, Enzo was rushing in my room. “What’s wrong? Is someone here?”
The room was dark, but I could hear him moving around, searching for the threat.
Panting, I tried to catch my breath. “I’m sorry. I guess I had a nightmare,” I said each word between breaths.
I heard him exhale a heavy sigh, then felt his weight next to me on the bed. “Are you okay?”
