𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐱

𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞

♥ ♥ ♥

Hestia and I waited in the car as Alessio stood outside the house on the phone with Devon. She glanced toward me and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. She rested her head on my shoulder. She sighs lightly, "Alessio has seemed a bit distant lately." I let out a deep breath before responding, "They found his sister's body in a lake last week. He got the call while we were at the ceremony."

"Oh god."

"He's not okay. He's burying everything inside. Alessio is the type of person who won't admit how he feels until he breaks.''

I paused before continuing, "His sister was missing for years. Now she's dead. He'll need us to be there even on the days he pushes us away." Hestia leaned back against her seat with her eyes glued to Alessio. She exclaimed, "He can't do this."

Tears filled my eyes. Neither of us met his sister. But we know what it's like to lose the people we love. His sister was all he had left, and now she's gone. He held onto hope for all these years that she'd be okay, but deep down, he knew how hostage cases end. His sister wasn't an exclusion. She was brutally beaten and sold for sex trafficking at the ripe age of twelve. She was a child. Alessio tried to protect her, but he was a child. We deserved better. We were children fighting for our lives. We haven't experienced living. We had our innocence stolen from us before we got to live. We aren't cold-blooded people who kill for no reason. We kill to make people pay for their destruction.

Hestia began to sob. Alessio hung up the phone with Devon with an annoyed glare in his eyes as he approached the car. He opened the back door and got into the car. He glanced into the rearview mirror. He blurted out, "Did you two go to a funeral?" I chuckled, wiping the tears from under my eyes. I turned around, locking my eyes with his eyes. I reached my hand out and caressed the side of his cheek. He placed his palm on top of my hand. Alessio has a soft spot for Hestia and me. He may not show it all the time, but it's there. He asked, "Is everything alright? Did I miss something?"

I let out a soft breath. Sia turned around with dried-up tears on her cheeks. She exclaimed, "No. It's not alright. You lost your sister. You can't do this alone. We won't force you to talk, but we can't let you suffer alone." He let out a deep sigh. He fell back into his seat, closing his eyes. There's nothing either of us could say to make his pain disappear. Pain will always be there. All we can do is make it hurt less.

Alessio opened his eyes. He took a deep breath before confessing, "There's nothing much to say. She's dead. People die. We can't change that."

I felt my heart sink.

He was the sole provider for his sister. He wanted to give her the world. When she went missing, he felt like he failed her, but he didn't. He loved her. He gave her all he had.

I placed my hand on his. I told him, "We may not be able to change anything, but we can be there for you if you let us." He leaned forward, pulling his hand from under mine. He responded with a firm voice, "There is nothing that either of you can do to make anything feel better. Deep down, I knew she wasn't going to come out of this alive, but facing it is a different type of pain. I saw the photos of her deceased body. I saw the bruises that trailed up her body. The hospital that identified her told me that she died a slow death. She struggled. Her body showed signs of rape. She died before her body hit the water. Whoever killed her is still alive and breathing while she isn't. I tried to protect her, but I was only fourteen. When you came to my doorstep with tears trailing down your cheek and bruises on your arms. You told me what your ex did, and I didn't want to fail you the way I failed my sister. I wanted to protect you from the cruelty the world has to offer. I'd kill any man who lays a finger on either of you."