Sofia
When I entered the front door, I sensed something different about the house.
It was way too clean and way too quiet.
I cautiously ambled to the kitchen; you could never be too careful.
As soon as I walked through the door, I felt a hand slap my cheek as my head was turned to the other direction. I quickly raised my hand to cup my now stinging cheek. I looked up to see Dante staring at me with a clenched jaw and anger evidently showing through his body language.
"D-Dante? What's wrong? What did I d-"
"You never mentioned having an older brother." He hissed.
B-brother? How did he know already? Had they called him too?
"I'm sorry Dante. I swear I didn't know about them until today"
"LIAR!"
"I'm not lying Dante. Please believe me" I pleaded
"Don't talk back to me you brat"
"Dante please. I swear I didn't know until today"
"Whatever. Even if he does take you back, we all know he will send you straight to the system"
Would he really? My own brother...
***
The next day I woke up early and headed to the bathroom. There was a red mark on my face from yesterday, but it wasn't too severe. Dante never usually slaps me, but I do understand that sometimes I can be very annoying. I always try to stay clear of him when he is drunk or angry, but I guess this time I was unlucky. I was really confused at why he was so mad it wasn't like my brother were going to be taking me away. I doubt he even really wants me. I quickly covered up the mark and headed downstairs.
I slowly made my way down the steps to see Dante getting ready in the hallway. He was never usually awake at this time.
"Uhm where are you going Dante?"
"Did you forget already? We have to meet this stupid brother of yours"
"Oh yeah, sorry"
How could I have forgotten? I must have short-term memory or something.
***
We sat in the waiting room while Dante filled out some forms. I couldn't believe this was truly happening. How would my brother look? Would he have the same green eyes I have? Will he be as cruel as Dante? How old is he?
I was pulled out of my trance when the door creaked, and a short smiling lady came through and looked directly at me.
"You must be Sofia?"
"Y-Yes, miss." I could already feel my nerves crawling all around my body.
The woman walked over to me and shook my hand.
"I'm Maya, your social worker. I'll be the person administering everything that will happen between you, your guardian and brother."
I slowly nodded to show that I understood and was listening.
"If at any moment you feel overwhelmed or stressed just tell me and we can step out of the room for a while. Okay honey?"
I just continued to nod because I felt that if I tried to speak nothing would come up.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked again sensing my nervousness. I opened my mouth to reply but was interrupted by an impatient Dante.
"She's fine. Just a little shy. Will we be meeting her brother now or what?"
Wow he was definitely not in a good mood.
"Actually sir, Mr. Marchetti has requested a few minutes with Sofia in private. So, you will have to sit out here for a little longer until we will officially begin our discussion. Sorry for any inconvenience."
Dante aggressively sighed before slouching back into his seat. I didn't miss the extra hateful glare he sent my way.
Maya guided me to her office and offered me some encouraging advice before I entered the room. It was now or never, I couldn't mess this up.
The first thing I noticed was that her office was a lot brighter than the waiting room. My eyes had to adjust to the brightness.
When my eyes fully focused, I noticed a tall man staring at me with his eyes full of tears. It was like he stuck in a state of shock. His hair was a shade of dirty blonde and his eyes were hazel brown. He was at least six foot something as he was definitely taller than me.
"S-Sofia?" he choked out.
Before I could even respond I felt him swoop down and engulf me in his two arms. His hug was warm and caring. It startled me as this was the first time I had been hugged in years. He kissed the top of my head and squeezed me even tighter before finally letting go. It was like his hug suddenly cured my nerves. For some reason I felt safe in his arms. After a few seconds he abruptly let go.
"I'm sorry if I frightened you but I have been waiting for years to finally hold my sorellina in my arms again." He smiled at me sheepishly.
"Oh uhm it's f-fine." I mumbled.
"You look so much like Nazaire. He won't believe it when he meets you. I would've brought the others with me, but they said only one person was allowed to come."
"T-the others? How many of you are there?" I finally had the confidence to speak.
He chuckled sheepishly before replying.
"There are 8 of us. Lorenzo, Emiliano, Matteo, Alessandro, Xander, Phoenix, Nazaire and lastly me. I know it must be a lot to take in."
ARE YOU SERIOUS!! 8 BROTHERS. IF DANTE WAS MAD THAT THERE AS A FEW, HOW WOULD HE REACT TO 8!?
He recited all of their names like it was a poem. How would I remember all their names? This suddenly made me realize I did not know the name of my brother right in front of me.
"Umm I'm sorry for asking, but uhm what is your name?"
"Oh, right sorry I almost forgot. I'm Elijah, your second oldest brother." He smiled while introducing himself.
"Will I be meeting all of you?"
"Yes of course you will. The others are all so eager to meet you. Once we sort out all the legal stuff you can come and live with us"
Wait what? Live with them. Do they not know how much of a burden I am? Why would they want me around? Maybe I should politely decline and save them all the troubles.
"Do I um ..... have to?"
As soon as I said that his smile dropped. A frown covered his once cheery face, and he went into deep thought.
"You don't want to live with us?"
"No no. I'm sorry, that was incredibly rude of me. Please forgive me. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I wouldn't want to burden you guys or-"
His face turned serious before he grabbed my two shoulders and started looking straight at me.
"Sofia. Listen to me. We have been looking for you for over 10 years. You could never be a burden to us. We want you back home with us. We want to be a complete happy family. Please tell me that you would at least consider living with us?"
They wanted me to live with them. Was I hearing things right?
"I would like to I guess..."
As soon as I said that he started smiling again and pulled me into another hug.
"You don't know how relieved I am to hear that. Now all the boring stuff starts Lorenzo told me it was best that I give you my number and our address."
He handed me the paper and asked for a quick photo with me before giving me a super long hug and bidding me goodbye.
It finally really seemed to sink in.
I have eight brothers.
YOU ARE READING
Their Little Saviour
Teen FictionBeing given away as a child had some major effects on Sofia's life. She could never really understand why her parents didn't want her. But what happens when she finds out she has not one but eight brothers who have been looking for her? Will she fol...
