Chapter 105

Luca’s POV

Marabella and I chit-chatted as we ate our lunch. “How is your school work going, bambina?”, I asked, before taking a bite of my food. She nodded, swallowing her bite. “Good”, she answered. “Are you finishing up all of your assignments on time?”, I questioned her, tilting my head to the side. “Yes daddy”, she snipped, shooting me a look.

“Watch your little attitude, piccola”, I said sternly, peering over at her. What’s with her? “Tell me what’s really wrong, little one?”, I uttered gently, reaching out and taking her hand in mine. Mara sighed heavily. She lifted her free hand and ran it through her hair. I watched her irises as she scanned her mind for the right words. “I’m anxious about seeing my mother. I apologize for snapping at you”, she whispered.

I pulled her hand, making her leave her seat and come towards me. I sat her on my lap, and held her close to my chest. “It’s okay, baby girl. I am not mad at you”, I assured her. Marabella wrapped her arms around my neck and held me tightly. “What if she is like she was before?”, she whispered. “Then we will leave”, I uttered. “But, what if I don’t get the information I need out of her?”, she asked softly, her voice shaking.

“Then we will find another way, piccola”, I told her, stroking her back. Mara nodded against my neck, taking a few deep breaths. I let her gain her bearings before I ushered her back to her seat to finish eating. “Finish up love, and we will get a start on this”, I instructed, finishing up my food.

Silence surrounded us in the vehicle as we headed towards the rehab center. I could tell Marabella’s anxiety was winning, even though she fought resiliently. I placed my hand on her leg and stroked my thumb in small circles. Mara sighed deeply, as she relaxed under my touch. “It’s going to be okay, Marabella”, I uttered, glancing over at her.

Mara nodded slightly, seemingly unconvinced. “I’m going to be with you the entire time”, I said, squeezing her leg. Marabella nodded more freely, monitoring her own breathing. The center came into sight over the hill and the tension in Marabella returned tenfold.

She watched almost with horror as the building got closer and closer to us. “I love you”, she whispered, swallowing hard. “I love you too, baby girl”, I muttered, continuing to stroke her leg. I pulled into the parking lot and found a spot close to the door. I felt Mara begin to shake as I put the car in park. “Hey, hey. I am right here, baby. It’s going to be okay”, I said, grabbing her face with both hands.

Mara’s eyes began to tear up, I shook my head slightly as I closed my lips over hers. She needs all the strength I can provide her with right now. I radiated strength, passing it over to her. I rested my forehead against hers, and stroked her cheek as she took breaths to calm herself.

“Okay. I’m ready”, she nodded, unbuckling her seat belt. I grinned as I jumped out of the vehicle and ran around to her side to open her door. Mara held her head high as we walked through the facility doors. “Can I help you?”, the receptionist asked. “Yes, we are here to see Sherry Marcio. We are both on her visitor lists”, I said, handing her my I.D. I looked over at Marabella and nodded at her. Marabella pulled her I.D. from her purse and also handed it over to the lady at the desk.

The woman typed a few things on the computer before handing our I.D.’s back to us. “If you wait one second, someone will be up here to bring you back to see her”, the lady relayed to us. “Can we also talk to her direct doctor while we are here? I am her daughter, and would like to know her progress from the doctor’s point of view”, Marabella said with such elegance that I instantly got hard. “Yes ma’am, that can be arranged. I will let the doctor know”, the woman nodded, before she started typing on her computer again.

Marabella turned and began to pace the lobby. I walked up to her and wrapped my arms around her, stopping her in her tracks. “Breathe, baby girl. It’s going to be okay. We are going to talk to your mom and the doctor. That will give us a better idea of how your mom is doing”, I said softly, stroking her head to comfort her. She wrapped her arms around my waist tightly. “I love you”, she whispered. “I love you, principessa”, I uttered, rubbing my cheek against her head.

“Mr. and Mrs. Barello, you can follow me”, an older lady said, leading us through the double doors towards the back. Marabella had a death grip on my hand as we followed the lady. “How are you two lovelies doing today?”, the lady said cheerfully. “Perfect”, Mara said flatly. “Goodness, why are we so sour today?”, the woman asked. I heard Mara growl under her breath. I knew my baby girl was ready to snap.

Her anxiety is high-strung right now, and this lady doesn’t seem to be helping. “No more questions”, I said with a deep tone. The lady shot a look back at me and nodded, fully understanding that this must be too stressful of a situation to have small talk. “Well, here we are. Ms. Marcio is sitting over there”, the woman said, pointing at a table with two people sitting at it. Sherry and another woman.

Mara paused as she stared at her mother. “Baby girl”, I whispered, watching her facial expressions closely. Mara slowly turned her head and looked at me. All I could see was a scared little girl who needed protection. “Together”, I uttered, bringing the back of her hand to my lips to place a gentle kiss onto her skin. Mara nodded, “Together”, she whispered.

Sherry looked up at us as we approached. I swear she looked like a completely different person. Her cheeks were filling out and full of color. Her hair looked healthy and taken care of, and she looked happy. Her brilliant smile did not falter when her eyes landed on Marabella, either. In fact, it brightened even more and Sherry shot up from her seat.

Her feet moved quickly across the floor to close the distance between us. She threw her arms around Mara and held her close. “Oh my goodness, baby. You came to see me. I’m so happy to see you. I’m so sorry for everything”, Sherry raddled off. Mara looked extremely uncomfortable as she tried to pull out of her mother’s hold. “Mom”, Mara snapped coolly. Sherry backed off slightly. “I promise Mara. I am much better now. I feel better, I am eating better, and I am closer to God now as well”, Sherry stated on behalf of herself.

Mara didn’t seem to be too convinced, she was skeptical about her mother for sure. Most likely because she had seen her mother in many different situations. “If that is true, you will help me”, Mara’s tone was cold and calculated. “Of course, baby. Anything”, Sherry responded willingly. “Who is my real father?”, Mara asked flatly.

Sherry’s face became serious, but she didn’t put a wall up, she looked willing to talk. “You might want to sit down, love”, she murmured, gesturing us over to a sofa. I placed my hand on Mara’s lower back, slipping my hand under her shirt so that I could get skin contact. I led Mara to the couch and sat down with her.

Sherry sat down on a chair across from us. Her eyes held remorse and sorrow as she looked at Marabella. “His name is Franky Vaughn. We met when I was twenty. I was an escort”, Sherry began.