I felt his hands all over me. I was back on that table but this time, I couldn't fight him off. He took me in the most horrifying way and I could feel him all over me. It was the most terrifying feeling. Being stuck in that situation in a nightmare was the worst.

I knew that it wasn't real, but it felt so real and I couldn't escape it. All I had to do was open my eyes.

Why couldn't I open my eyes?

"Little one."

Someone was shaking me. I jumped up gasping for air. A strong body caught mine and my face fell against a naked chest.

"Shush, it's alright, it was just a nightmare. You're safe."

Hector.

I looked up at him. His hair was messy and he looked half asleep but he was here to comfort me. He's been here to comfort me ever since I came home from the hospital.

I tightened my arms around his torso.

"Why won't it get better?"

I've started therapy last week because I was fully healed then. I could walk again without pain. I was so excited to be able to go to school again and move around freely. But no matter how happy and hopeful I felt, terrors still came to me at night.

"You've only had a few sessions, little one. It takes time." Hector told me softly.

He was right. My therapist was very nice and sweet. I felt comfortable with her. She never pushed me and was understanding.

"Don't leave me." I whispered.

I was too scared to go to sleep. Hector always came to check up on me when he heard me scream. His room was right next to mine. Sometimes, Amelia came because her room was on the other side of my room.

He's always here to comfort me but I never dared to ask him if he could stay with me. I still felt like he would say no.

"Okay. I won't leave."

He pulled back my covers and slipped underneath. Then he snuggled me close to my chest. He put the covers back over us and caressed my hair.

"Mama told me you get sleepy when she plays with your hair."

I did. My eyelids were already getting heavier and I felt tingles all over my spine. I really like it when someone plays with my hair.

"Sleep softly, little one." He whispered in my ear.

That was all it took for me to sleep in a nightmare less dream.

///////////////////

Summer break.

My two favourite words.

This vacation was going to be epic. We would go for one whole month to visit our family in Italy. I've never been so I was more than excited.

Especially when I saw the private plane.

We were going to fly in style.

Giggles.

"Dad and zio Alessandro will pick you up at the airport." Theo informed us.

(Uncle.)

Only the twins, Victor, Amelia, and I were going. The older ones couldn't go on such a long vacation. They would visit a week to celebrate Amelia's birthday but that was the biggest break they could take.

"We'll be fine!" Nicolas waved it off.

"Don't even think about causing any trouble on the plane." Silas warned the twins.

"Paul and Rick are in charge." Hector pointed at our two bodyguards.

Every time I looked at them, I felt sick to my stomach. Here was another pair of people to put their life on the line for us. I don't know what'll happen if the same thing that happened to Ian, happens to them.

My therapist had told me that it was not my fault. Ian understood the dangers of this job before accepting it. But I still felt so much guilt.

"Don't let this one get too close with Gia." Silas ruffled my hair.

"Noted." Leonardo nodded.

Giana was one of my cousins from my dad's side. I've never met her before but I didn't know if I should take Silas' words seriously.

"She's so much fun!" Amelia protested.

Okay, the guys were being dumb again.

"She got you drunk last year." Theo reminded her.

Amelia blushed and I bit down on my lower lip to stop myself from laughing. I think Giana will be a very interesting character.

"Behave all of you." Hector told us.

Then his eyes settled on me.

"Especially you."

I scoffed but he was dead serious.

We'd gotten closer over the past months. In the very beginning, I kept sleeping next to him but after a while, the nightmares got better.

"And you better tell nonno to fire Giovanni." He told Leonardo who firmly nodded.

(Grandpa.)

"Who's Giovanni?"

He was not a cousin of ours.

"No one." All my brothers snapped at once.

So I turned to Amelia.

"He works at nonno's vineyard and has the most amazing body ever." She grinned.

"Amelia!" Silas scolded her.

She simply shrugged and sent me a wink. Handsome Italian boys?

Italy, here I come!

//////////////////

Dad looked very cool with his sunglasses. His dark hair was combed backwards and he wore some shorts and a nice shirt. He immediately caught Amelia and me when we ran in his arms. He lifted us both up at the same time making us squeal in excitement.

"My beautiful girls." He pressed a kiss on our cheeks.

I rested my head on his broad shoulder and hugged him tightly. I missed my parents a lot. Now I'd get to spend a month with them.

"Ciao, bambina!" Another man pulled Amelia in for a hug.

I looked at him. He had the same dark hair as my dad but instead of dark eyes had light grey eyes. He had nice tanned skin and was a bit smaller than my dad. He wore shorts and a t-shirt.

"This is your zio Alessandro." My dad introduced me to his brother.

My uncle smiled warmly at me before pulling me in for a hug.

"A little Hector, hm?" He said.

I just nodded. I've accepted it. Everybody will always call me a little Hector.

"You have to look out for this one, Luca! I can only imagine how many boys will be interested in this little beauty." He squeezed my cheeks.

I blushed at his words while dad muttered something under his breath. Just like my brothers, he hated the idea of me dating.

Ever.

I grinned up at him and a smile grew on his lips.

"Let's go meet the famiglia." He smiled.

Famiglia means family in Italian. I picked the language up because my siblings insisted that I learned.

I was quite good at it. If I do say so myself.

"Andiamo, papà!" I winked at him.

(Let's go)

"Buon lavoro, bambina." He complimented me.

(Good job, baby girl)

We walked to a big black jeep and got inside. It was so hot that I was glad to wear a dress. Zio Alessandro turned on the AC as he settled behind the wheel.

"Benvenuto a casa!"

Welcome home.

///////////////////

The vineyard was ginormous and absolutely stunning. We drove past it as my dad explained how it worked. They harvest grapes and make their wine to sell it all over the country. Apparently, it was a hobby of nonno that got a bit out of hand.

His wine was one of the best sellers.

When we finally passed the vineyard, we drove down a long driveway that ended in a roundabout. In the middle of the roundabout was a stunning fountain with a statue. The marble shone brightly in the midday sun and my eyes slowly travelled to the villa.

Villa di Cassano.

The walls had that nice brown tint to them and despite its grand size, the villa gave off a homely and warm vibe. I got out of the jeep and noticed that the front door was open. People ran outside to come to welcome us home.

There were so many but they were all family.

An old man was at the forefront. He had a wooden walking stick to support himself. He wore a white dress shirt and brown slacks. His glasses were almost hiding in his unruly grey hair. He had a stern expression on his wrinkled face. An expression that reminded me too much of Silas when he got angry.

"Siete in ritardo!" He scowled.

We were late. Perhaps a few minutes but not too much. His dark eyes glared at us and I felt a bit scared.

Nonno was crazy, my siblings warned me, but I didn't think that he'd be scary. I tensed when his eyes fell on me and he pointed his walking stick at me.

"Vieni qui, ragazzina!" He ordered me.

(Come here, little girl!)

Shit, he could be nicer about it.

Apparently, he really lacked patience. I was reacting too slow for him. He sighed and turned to my dad.

"Non mi capisce?" He was mocking me.

(Does she not understand me?)

I swear this old man was going to regret trying to humiliate me. Grandpa or not, I was not about to let some old man walk all over me.

"Ti ho capito." I replied with a matching glare to his.

(I understood you)

He narrowed his eyes at me. I walked over to him and halted in front of him with my arms crossed over my chest.

"I'll excuse your disrespect because of your upbringing. But I won't tolerate it the next time." He had a British accent.

I had an accent from London but he seemed to come from Oxford. It sounded very posh and elite.

"Watch it, old man." I warned him.

What is it with old people and their demand for respect? He's been rude to me since the very moment he saw me. How does he expect me to obediently agree with him and give him respect?

Respect goes both ways.

"Marmocchia."

Okay, he just called me a brat.

While learning Italian, my siblings would help by engaging in conversations with me. Silas would always address me by 'marmocchia'. I soon learned that it meant brat.

"Vecchia capra."

I called him an old goat. His face turned red while I grinned with satisfaction. After bickering and fighting with Silas for months, I was used to throwing around insults. Even against my grandfather.

He was mean to me first.

"You two will get along very well." Zio Alessandro laughed.

I looked around me and saw that everybody was watching us in amusement. Nobody seemed to mind that I just called my grandfather an old goat.

"Don't mind him, Cara. He's always like this." An older woman smiled at me.

Her long salt and pepper coloured hair were up in a ponytail. She wore a silk green dress that made her grey eyes pop out. She had a few wrinkles on her face but I could tell that she spent her life happily. She had crowfeet next to her eyes which meant that she smiled a lot.

"You can call me nonna." She cupped my face.

The others went to greet each other as I pulled my grandma in for a hug. I leaned my head on her shoulder and glared at my grandfather who grunted.

"Sei così bella, Cara." She complimented me.

(You are so beautiful, dear)

"I'ho preso da te." I winked.

(I got that from you)

She laughed warmly while my nonno rolled his eyes at me.

"Definitely not from you." I muttered.

"No, definitely not from him." Nonna chuckled.

She had a thick Italian accent but she was very cute. I'd grown a lot over the past months, I was now 5'5 instead of 5'3. Nonna was about 5'1, the smallest one in the entire family. Nonno was about two heads taller than her.

The height difference, though.

"You've grown!" Mom kissed my cheeks.

I nearly jumped on her. I was so happy to see her again. My cheeks were nearly bursting from smiling so hard. We talk almost daily on the phone but it was something else to see her in real life.

"Angela, come look at my pretty girl!" Mom called a petite woman.

She had large brown curls and warm brown eyes. I recognised her from a picture Amelia had shown me. This was my aunt, Angela. She was married to zio Alessandro. She hurried over and watched me with curious eyes.

"It's very nice to finally meet you, Elena." She kissed my cheeks.

"It's nice to meet you to." I smiled at her.

"Hector and you look very much alike. I'd almost think you were twins if you didn't have a ten year age gap." She giggled.

"Yeah, kinda freaky." A boy commented stepping closer.

From his black hair and dark eyes with a permanent devilish grin on his face, I knew this was Matteo. He was Victor's age but that was the only thing they had in common. Nicolas told me that Matteo was slightly insane and that he'd be a pain in my ass.

"So what was it like being tortured by a psychotic Russian?" He forced his arm around my shoulder.

Therapy was really helpful but honestly, nothing can prepare you for triggers. You just had to go through them. I always tried to be prepared but that was just impossible.

I just didn't expect it to happen right now.

"You fucking idiot, why would you say that?"

That must be Giana. Her long dark curly hair was the first thing I saw when she punched her little brother in the stomach. Matteo bowed forward with a groan.

"He's literally an idiot. Papa dropped him a few times when he was a baby. And he just is a shitty person." She told me.

Her big brown eyes are filled with anger and it honestly helped me calm down. I didn't want to have a whole attack in front of my family.

That wasn't something I had in my own hands but I tried taking deep breaths.

"I only dropped him once." Zio Alessandro protested.

"Liar, you dropped him three times." Angela shook her head.

He came close to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

What is it with gigantic men in our family?

"Sorry, Amore." He apologised with a grin.

They started to do some lovey dove shit thingy and it nearly made me gag.

"Merda, you have to do that shit in front of me?" Giana scrunched her nose in disgust.

"You curse too much." Nonno muttered.

"Yeah, I got that from you." She told him.

An amused smile fell on his lips and then soon dropped. He shook his hand and took Nonna inside with him.

"Are you alright?" Mom asked me softly.

I nodded and forced a smile on my lips.

"Say that shit again and I'll beat your scrawny ass." Leonardo appeared behind me to threaten Matteo.

"It was just a joke." Matteo rolled his eyes.

"Jokes are supposed to be funny." Amelia pointed out.

My siblings had surrounded me almost like armour.

"You know what's funny? Me punching you in your dumb face." Nicolas grinned.

"Come at me then."

Matteo had a temper. Nicolas neared him but dad quickly stepped between them.

"Nonna will be very upset if you start fighting. Make Nonna upset and-" everybody cut him off in sync.

"And nonno will kill you."

It made me giggle.

"You boys take that to the cage." He added.

The cage?