La Rosa Gialla

Chapter 46

I just wanted to say a quick thank you for all the reads and votes. It means a lot to me that you like this story. :)
-B.

August 2024

"This is pointless," Alessandra sighed, holding little Silvia closer to her chest. "But you were supposed to stay here until the end of the week," I protested.

"Obviously it will be better if we go back to Rome and not spoil your vacation." It didn't make sense to me that my brother would make such a fuss about Paola, and certainly not about us taking Eli go-karting. Nevertheless, he was very pissed all afternoon, giving everyone around him only frowns and refusing to participate in any further discussion on both topics.

"Is he really that annoyed by Paolo and go-karts or is there more to it?" I asked Alex. She sighed again and sat next to me on the bed in my room. "The company he worked for went bankrupt. We thought that with his education and experience, it would be easy to find another position, but it turns out we were wrong. Moreover, now that we have Silvia, the expenses are bigger, but at the same time, she is too small for me to find a job. He's been annoyed for a few weeks now, but I thought a change of scenery would benefit him. I guess it was a mistake," a tear rolled down her face. I hugged her tightly from the side and let her rest her head on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and stroked her back with my palm. "Why didn't you say anything? We could have helped you," I said after a while, to which Alessandra just laughed sadly. "Do you not know him? He thinks he can solve everything by himself. The first week he didn't even tell me he was fired. He pretended to continue going to the office every morning." I smirked. "Yeah, that sounds like Luca." There was a soft knock on the door, which was then cautiously opened. "Are you okay?" Charles asked, looking at us both with his green eyes. "I am very sorry for the go-karts. Adri said Luca wouldn't like it," he said apologetically towards Alex who just waved her hand and shook her head. "I'm glad you took Elio away," she smiled at him, and Charles finally relaxed a little for the first time since arriving back at the guest house.

I decided to take things into my own hands and found my brother in the garden. "We need to talk," I began lightly. "We have nothing to talk about," he declared, standing stiffly with his arms crossed over his chest at the edge of the paved patio, staring into the garden. "Fine, I'll talk and you'll listen," I didn't give up. "I don't like the way you act. I don't like what you said to dad because we all know he deserves to be happy and you're ruining it for him. I don't like how you came out on Charles, even though he made Elio have a great afternoon and maybe find something to be good at. And I don't like that you don't tell me about your problems, because as far as I know, we always tell each other everything."

"Are you done?"

"No. You're my brother, cazzo. I don't want you to hurt Alessandra and I don't want you to hurt yourself. Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"I can handle it."

"Obviously," I grumbled and walked over to him. I knew he wasn't in the mood for me, but I know Luca. He is one of the kindest and least selfish people. As long as everything goes his way, he won't even raise his voice. But he has problems accepting when someone wants to help him. He is stubborn. The most distinctive character trait he inherited from our mother. I didn't say anything else, I just patted him on the shoulder to turn around and then hugged him with all my might. "It sucks, Adri. It totally sucks," he whispered and hugged me too. "I know. But it will be fine again. We've been through worse."

Dad, Alessandra and Charles watched us curiously as we sat down to eat dinner at the table. "I want to apologize to all of you," Luca began and I looked at him encouragingly like a proper younger sister. "I'm sorry for being upset and unpleasant..." He explained to both Dad and Charlie what had happened and why he was so irritated. He apologized to Alessandra for the way he'd been acting the past few weeks, apologized to dad, and wished him and Paola the best of luck. "And I'm sorry to you two too. But even if Elio were to be the new Ayrton Senna, I don't want him racing professionally. It is dangerous and time and money consuming. We can't afford that right now," he said to Charlie and me. We both nodded in sync, although Charles had a slight look of disappointment in his eyes.

The family actually went to Rome at the end of the week. We enjoyed the remaining few days to the fullest and made the most of being together again. Then it was time to return to reality and start the second half of the season.