Page 132 of The Devil's Thorn
She crouched down, grabbed my hands. “Listen to me, Isabella,” she said, her voice low but sharp like I’d never heard before. “You stay here. No matter what you hear, you don’t come out unless I come get you. Okay?”
I shook my head. “I’m scared?—”
“I know,” she breathed, kissing my forehead so fast it felt like a gust of wind. “But you’re strong. You are so strong, tesoro. Just like your father.”
Her eyes were shiny. She smiled again, but it didn’t reach her face.
“Mama, please—” I tried to grab her, but she pulled back.
“You are going to grow up,” she whispered. “You are going to live, and you are going to be whoever you want to be. But not now. Not tonight.”
She looked over her shoulder. A sound—like a creak. And then she slid the panel back into place. Darkness swallowed me.
I curled my knees to my chest, barely breathing. Seconds passed. Maybe minutes. And then— Voices. Deep, low, sharp. Speaking in a language I didn’t know. It wasn’t English. It wasn’t Italian either.
Footsteps. Several. Then— Bang.
My heart stopped.
Bang. Bang.
The house trembled with it. I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my hand over my mouth so I wouldn’t scream.
That was the moment everything changed, and Christmas never came.
The darkness became a second skin. The small space smelled like old wood and laundry detergent and something else now. Smoke. A little. And something sharp underneath it that made my stomach twist.
I stayed curled up,arms wrapped around my knees, pressing my back into the wall like maybe I could melt into it. Disappear completely.
The voices outside were muffled, but close. Footsteps. The sound of furniture being dragged. Glass breaking. Something heavy falling.
At one point, I heard someone laugh. And it was the worst sound of all. Like they were having fun.
I held my breath when it got loud. My chest hurt from holding it too long. I thought maybe I’d pass out. But I didn’t.
I just stayed there, eyes wide open in the dark, counting the seconds between the bangs.
One.
Two.
Three.
Bang.
Bang.
Then nothing.
No voices. No footsteps. No sound at all.
I don’t know how long I stayed like that. It felt like hours. My legs ached. My throat was dry. The cold from the floor soaked through my nightgown until I couldn’t stop shivering. But I didn’t move.
I kept waiting for Mama to come back. I kept hearing her voice.
You’re strong, tesoro. Just like your father.
At some point, I stopped counting. At some point, I started crying.
