Page 28 of Enzo

The familiar face lay propped against the porcelain tub, the water filling it stained red. Her eyes were closed, a dreamlike smile on her face, and her hair floating on the surface of the water. She looked like my friends’ mothers.

Normal. Happy. Sane.

“Is that… Mother?” Amadeo whispered, disbelief coating his tone. For the first time in our lives, she appeared normal. Kind, even. But there was still the question of what she was doing here and why the water was that deep red color…

I pushed him behind me.

He was too innocent to see her this way. She would understand that, if she’d ever bothered to love us. All our encounters so far had been terrifying.

“Go get one of the guards,” I whispered, shifting the bag on my shoulder.

Suddenly, a wave stirred the peaceful water, splashing all over the marble tile. “Boo!”

Amadeo screamed. I screamed.

My bag fell onto the floor with a thud and water splashed all over my legs. I scrambled around, ready to push my brother out of the bathroom, when I collided with the door.

It slammed shut, closing us in with her.

“Enzo!” My brother was terrified, gripping my shirt and shaking. “Is she a ghost?”

Mother threw her head back and laughed maniacally, the side of her I knew well more terrorizing than ever.

She reached for him, but I shoved him out of the way and blocked her path.

“Run, Amadeo,” I yelled, shielding him with my own body when something collided with my face. I looked up, noting it was a belt.

She’d wrapped a towel around herself and had begun to wail on me with her wet belt, sometimes hitting my face, sometimes my back, and sometimes my legs.

My brother screamed, a panicked expression on his face as he tried to yank the door open, but my backpack was in the way and his terror made him clumsy.

“Run,” I croaked, blood coating my vision.

“You leave this room, Amadeo, and your brother dies,” she snarled, her expression twisted. “You two are just like him.”

I fought against her, but she was too strong. I rammed my shoulder into her, making her stumble, but when I turned around, something hit my head, and my knees hit the cold marble.

The belt wrapped around my throat, crushing my windpipe.

“Have to finish you. Monster.” Her voice was a hiss against my ear, twisting with rage and madness. “Can’t have any more evil Marchetti spawns running around.”

I hated this woman. She was supposed to protect us, love us. I even hated Father at this moment for allowing someone like her to give us life.

Why couldn’t we have a normal mom like the other kids?

Dots swam in my vision as I gasped for oxygen, as banging and chiming sounds rang in a symphony I couldn’t comprehend.

I was yanked out of my sleep, that constant chime still present. It was my phone buzzing with the ringtone that only my brother, Father, and I used.

There was a single message.

Amadeo: Guesthouse. ASAP.

Fuck!

I rolled over and groaned inwardly, knowing I couldn’t ignore it. Although I was really tempted to, especially because you never knew with Amadeo. The emergency could involve a resupply of his favorite brand of condoms, or there could be a hurricane.

I stared at the ceiling of my home in Rome, the dream playing on repeat. I knew how it ended, always the same way. Like the reality.