For The Empire - Conseguenze

Chapter 24

Annalisa, Samantha and I are sharing a bottle of wine over the Chicken Cacciatore and caprese salad Annalisa made for dinner. She definitely cooks way better than she bakes.

Samantha is quiet, which is not like her, but given what she went through, we know she's still processing and dealing with everything.

I struggle with myself on what I want to say, but I want Samantha to feel safe, that she can talk to us if she wants to.

I clear my throat, setting my fork down. "A year ago...Annalisa and I were abducted." Annalisa's head snaps up in my direction. 

"There was another friend with us, too. We were starved, and beaten. They tortured Annalisa and our friend Joey. 

For days I had to watch these monsters hurt my friends and I couldn't do anything to stop them. I still hear their screams or cries at night, sometimes...I don't even remember what my friend Joey's laugh was like."

Annalisa sniffles, quietly. "Annalisa and I were both sexually assaulted. I was pregnant at the time and when it was all over, I woke up in a hospital a few days later, I learned I lost my baby." A tear falls down my face.

Samantha reaches over and holds both mine and Annalisa's hands. "I'm so sorry, for the both of you."

I wipe my face and take a deep breath, "The world is full of evils, lies and pain and you can't hide from it. I'm sorry for what you went through yesterday, Sam." Her eyes glisten as she looks back at me. She leans back on her chair and then looks at her hands. 

"It was planned. I had turned down the man that was in the room, when he first approached me out on the streets. Something about him, just wasn't right. As the night went on, the second one approached me and he seemed nice..."

"Little did I know they were working together. The first guy followed us and they ambushed me as we walked into the apartment..." She begins crying. They told her they were going to 'cleanse her', that they are doing her a favor because no one could ever love who she is.

She tells us her parents had said something similar to her, telling her she was evil and going to hell. They told her, in their eyes she was dead to them. "Maybe they were right. I mean, look at what happened..."

"Don't you believe that shit, Sam." Annalisa tells her.

"You're amazing Samantha. Don't let their narrow-minded beliefs change how you see yourself. People are always afraid of what they don't understand. They try to justify their own insecurities by trying to tear others down around them." I tell her.

Both Annalisa and I stand to give her a hug. After a while she pulls back. "Thank you girls. And thank you for sharing some of your past with me." She tells me.

I sit back down. "It's the first time I've talked about it with someone other than, Annalisa or Paolo. So thank you for making me feel safe around you to share it with you." I smile at her.

We start eating our dinner again but I see her eyeing me suspiciously. "What?"

"It's literally eating at me." She sets her fork down and crosses her arms. I look at Anna who shrugs and then looks back at Sam.

"What?" I repeat.

"Paolo, how good is he in bed?"

"Samantha!" I look at her exasperated. "I told you before, he's our cousin!"

She snorts. "Right..." Apparently she wasn't sold on that. "So, who was the father....of the baby?" I shake my head, not looking at her.

"Maybe another day." She says quietly.