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twelve

M A S S I M O

flashback

"Flo Flo, where are you?" I call, in a childish voice. We are in the middle of  hide and seek. I have already found the others, we like to let her win.

Only at this game.

When I do not hear anything except a string of toddler giggles, I dramatically sigh and look to my left to see Emilio smiling knowingly. "Emilio," I proclaim. "Do you happen to know where our baby sister is?"

He places his finger on his chin, tapping it thoughtfully while purposely avoiding eye contact with the small girl who is peeking her head  out of her hiding spot behind the cherry blossom tree.

"I don't know Massimo!" He pretends to act worried. "I don't know where that booger is off too! Oh my goodness! What if Luci stole her?!" Another string of giggles comes from behind the tree.

We need to change tactics.

"Maybe we should just end the game," I suggest, sighing loudly, with disappointment in my tone. When she doesn't come out I speak up again. "Let's go get some chocolate cake."

"Nooo! Wait!" The four year old cries, leaving her hiding spot.

"Oh my god!" I exclaim. "There's our princess!" I scoop her up and pepper her face with kisses. She squirms, with a pout.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Emi asks pulling her dark brown locks behind her ears and adjusts her pink headband.

"You guys almost leave me! And no chocolate cake for Flo Flo!" She likes to refer to herself in the third person. Mom hates it but the rest of us love it. She's so adorable. She's got her chubby cheeks, massive green doe eyes, and freckles scattered across her baby nose.

"What?! We would never, ever, ever, have cake without you Flo! You silly goose!" She squeals when I start to tickle her belly.

"Massy... stop... it tickles!" She laughs so loud that Dominic and Lucien make their way over to investigate the commotion. Emilio picks up Lucien and all five of us plop down on the grass.

I stopped tickling the baby by now. Dominic has forced us all to play duck duck goose.

"Duck...duck...goose!" He smacks my head way too hard and I immediately begin to run around the circle. I scoop Dom off the ground when he almost makes it and pretend to hold him hostage.

We may let Florence win all of the time but that is only cause she is small and too cute. Dominic is older and he needs to know how to lose and Lucien, well he's an entirely different story. He's eight years old but man does he have a temper. We are scared to let him lose...

I wouldn't trade my siblings for anything. When I turn eighteen I'm taking them and we are going to live far, far away.

Only one more year. Then we can be free from our mothers restraints and we can play duck duck goose or hide and seek all day long. We won't have to fear her drunk ass.

Speaking off, all laughs from the boys and giggles from my baby abruptly stop when the sound of our mothers all too familiar car pulls up the long gravel drive way. We watch her storm out of her car, looking pissed and ready to kill.

I see the boys move closer to Florence as I stand to confront the approaching woman.

"Where the hell is your father!"

-

Having Florence in my arms again is the same feeling I felt eleven years ago in the front yard. Knowing that she will be safe with me feels rewarding and for the first time in ten years everything is right where I need it to be.