Page 110 of Matteo
“But he did.” Tears gathered in her eyes as I grabbed her hand. “Gianna and I lived through it all.”
“I heard Dad say they were human traffickers. They were going to—” She released a long sigh, cutting her words short. “And I walked her right into their lair.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks now, rendering Gianna and me speechless.
My twin was usually the strong one. The stubborn one. She never let anything or anyone get her down, plowing through every emotion and person who dared to bring her down.
I choked on my tears and pulled her to me, squeezing her tightly. “But they didn’t.”
“That’s right,” Gianna whispered, choking up too. “Aside from a few bruises, I escaped unharmed.”
“But—”
“No buts,” I stopped her. “We both fucked up.”
Gianna snickered. “The three of us did. Or did you forget how I threatened to snitch on you if you didn’t take me along?”
I had forgotten, honestly, and judging by the expression on Hannah’s face, so had she.
“Stop crying, Hannah,” I rasped softly. “Or Gianna and I will join in and then all hell will break loose.”
Dad always said when his daughters cried, weaker men better cower because he’d unleash hell.
“I love you both so much,” Gianna murmured. “I’m so lucky to have such loving—if slightly annoying and overbearing—sisters.”
That made Hannah cry even harder.
“Okay, okay. No more kind words or Hannah will be a puddle,” I half teased.
She let out a strangled laugh. “I’m such an ugly crier.”
Gianna scoffed.
“Show me a beautiful crier. No such thing.” She stepped forward and hugged both of us with such force we tumbled onto the ground of the empty dorm room.
“Ouch,” I grunted, rubbing my tailbone. “When did you become so strong, Gianna?”
Her back against the carpet, stuck in between us, Gianna turned her head my way and smiled. “I’ve been taking lessons with a… friend.”
“A friend?” I asked cautiously, the three of us still sprawled on the floor.
“Yes.”
“We should run a background check on him,” Hannah stated seriously, wiping her face.
A heartbeat passed, then another.
“Likely nothing would come up.”
My sister’s comment surprised me and I narrowed my eyes on her, studying her. “Are you… in love with this guy?”
She laughed. “God no.”
My twin and I each exhaled a relieved breath. “Thank fuck. You’re only nineteen. Love is… too complicated to worry about at that age.”
Despite my own somewhat tragic circumstance, I let out a strangled laugh. “Says the one who fell in love with a boy when we were toddlers.”
She grinned while I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. That smile right there was the reason I refused to entertain Matteo’s grand ideas of us. Hannah always acted tough, but deep down, she was breakable, just like the rest of us.
