24

##farewell

Emily

"And then? Are you going to stay with me?" Joe's voice brings me back from my universe of pleasure.

"Yes." I give the only answer I could.

He said I don't owe him anything anymore, that means he knows what he did to me, that I was only with him because of the deal, he knows it was something very dirty and immoral. He apologized? No, he has not apologized and never will, for him there is no reason to. But I still want him, Joe wants me and he won't let me, and I don't want him to leave me.

Nothing else matters now.

"I need to go see my brothers." I speak remembering them and feeling a sudden rush of worry.

"I'll go with you." He says getting up.

"No. Stay here, you're still not a hundred percent, even more so after the effort you've put in." I smile.

"I'll send someone with you then. I don't want you out there alone."

"Joe, it's okay. The danger is over, that man and all the others are dead, you took care of that. You always take care of everything."

"Someone will go with you. No more talking." It says authoritative.

"All good." I surrender.

An hour later, I'm at my house ready to open the door, when I hear Crowley's frantic barking, I haven't seen him in so long, I hope the boys took good care of him. I go around the house and see him on his leash, he's nice and well taken care of, thank goodness. I find the bag of feed and pour some into the bowl.

"Where are the people, Crowley?" I play with him. I stay a few minutes keeping him company and then I go into the house.

I wash my hands and start looking for someone. I head towards the office and the last memories are not good for me, everything seems to be as before. I go upstairs and find no one, the beds are made and nothing, absolutely nothing is out of place.

I start to get worried and scared, where are my brothers? Finally, I pass the last room, Sophie's, the two-year-old baby who looks like a little angel, nothing they tell me will change how I feel about them, we are all brothers and the love we feel is greater than any other. blood tie. She's sleeping, I stroke her hair and see a note next to her crib. I pick it up and read it.

"Mili, mom and dad disappeared, since yesterday when you left they don't show up anymore, I can't miss school and I didn't let the boys miss either, your cell phone is giving voicemail so the note, leave the baby sleeping , I knew you wouldn't be gone long, or at least that's what I hope. Kisses, Melinda." I sigh in relief as I read it.

They are fine, thank God. Luckily the baby was still sleeping. I pick up my watch and, it's exactly eleven in the morning, yesterday when I went out it was almost dark, everything that happened lasted hours, and now here I am, back at my house, where I lived happy moments, like it or not, Fiorella and Emílio were good parents, apart from the lie they could be the perfect parents. But it was also the place where I lived the worst moment of my life, the truth that broke my heart.

I still don't know what to do, if I'm going to tell them the truth... I don't think so. They don't deserve to suffer, they're still not prepared, neither was I, but it was one thing after another that I ended up adapting to the pain quickly.

I hear a party downstairs, loud laughter and running footsteps, I walk quickly to see who it is. When I go down I find my brothers in school uniform and our grandparents holding the twins' hand, I open a huge smile and happy to see them.

"Oh my God! I can't believe it!" I exclaim with my eyes full of tears.

"Princess!" Grandpa John exclaims and opens his arms for me.

"Are you really here?" I ask with a desire to cry.

"We are, my Strawberry Shortcake." Grandma Rose says affectionately and hugs me too.

"But... Did something happen? You only come at Christmas." I ask.

"Yes. Unfortunately, we need talk a lot." My grandmother says seriously and I already shudder inside.

"All good." I swallow hard.

"But not before grandpa makes that pasta!" Your John says cheering up the children.

After an hour, Sophie was already awake, my grandmother was taking care of her while I helped Melinda with her homework. Thomas asked me for help formatting his notebook, I helped him, I also made a little cardboard house for the twins to play in the backyard, then I looked up hairstyles on the internet to do the baby's hair, if it weren't for our parents, this would be an ordinary day in our lives, but I feel that after today everything will change.

Grandpa called us to eat, while we were eating they told us new stories and also asked about us, my heart is so happy to have them here, if I could they would stay forever.

After lunch we all played a game of cleaning the kitchen, each one had a task, in the end we all finished. Melinda went back into the room, Thomas too, Sophie was on Grandpa's lap and the boys were playing outside with Crowley.

"Let's talk now?" I ask nervous and anxious to know what will come.

"Let's go up to your room." Grandma says and I direct them.

"I'm nervous, please say it soon." I rush them.

"Do you want to beat around the bush or not?" Grandpa plays.

"No, please." I answer and smile.

"Fiorella and Emílio went to look for us in Canada, there they told us the barbarity they had done to you." I can't hold back the tears remembering it all.

"Don't cry dear." They hug me.

"It was the worst news I've ever received in my life, I don't think it will ever pass..." I murmur.

"I know... That's good, because it shows that you have feelings, that your heart is good." Grandma Rose says.

"And they asked us for something." she adds.

"What did you order?" I inquire.

"That we stay with the children, to finish raising them in our house, invent something for them and take care of them."

"What?! No need grandma, I'll take care of them." I talk.

"You need some time for yourself , date, go out with your friends, travel the world, go to college, you are not obliged to take care of five children and waste your youth. Rose and I were very alone in that huge house, we have a room for each, it will be the best thing in the world for us to take care of them." My grandfather argues and I know that deep down they are right.

"I don't know if I'll be able to stay away from them..." I muttered crying.

"We'll come visit you, you can come visit us, we'll always keep in touch, but you can't be responsible for them now, you need to live my love."

"So, I don't know... I'm confused." I exclaim. "And where are they? Emilio and Fiorella?" I ask.

"In jail, why. After taking a beating from me and your grandmother, we called the police. They must be being transferred here by now." Your John answers and I try to hold back a laugh.

"Great, I'm relieved to hear they're locked up and will be for a long time." I speak with a heaviness rising from my heart.

"Imagine how they will suffer here in this house, with no family around, you won't have much time for them, you will have to graduate, leave, be young. Please daughter, understand us, we want the children, we will love them like our children, nothing will change, for us you will always be our grandchildren, Emílio let us down, we never thought that our son would have the courage to do something like that, I even wondered why Fiorella never had pregnant photos. Anyway, they care about you asked us to care and we want to... accept that." My grandmother's soft voice makes my mind think better.

Luckily my brothers are not so attached to our parents, they got used to the absence in the last month, Melinda is almost a teenager, she is already fifteen, Thomas is sixteen, addicted to games he says he dreams of being a great game designer. The twins are very electric and adapt quickly, and what's more, they are passionate about our grandparents and their made-up stories. Sophie is just a baby, to me she will always be the sweetest little girl the world has ever seen, it won't be difficult for my grandparents to take care of them.

Tears well up in my eyes, it will be so hard for me to be away from them, but if all I've done is for them, this has to be too, I know it's for the best, growing up without parental love must be so bad, I don't want that to happen. them, I'm absolutely sure Rosemary and John will do a great job, plus I'll visit them every year end and other dates when I'm available.

"Okay, you 're right. Now we need to tell them. What are we going to talk about?" I inquire.

"We've already taken care of that, your parents have gone on a very long trip for work, maybe it will last for years, but they will always be sending them letters, we are very good at distracting them so that they don't miss them so much, it will be a matter of days before get used to it. They didn't show as much surprise and were super excited about living with us." I smile at the idea.

"I love you." I speak and hug them. I pick Sophie up in my arms and shower her with kisses.

"We also love you very much and that's why I insist on taking care of my grandchildren." Grandpa answers.

"And when are you going?" Question.

"Tomorrow." They answer and I take a deep breath.

"I know you will, but promise me one more time, will they be one hundred percent safe there?"

"We promise, and if you want you can come with us, there's room for you too." It says.

"I can't." I respond by remembering Joe.

"Boyfriend?" Grandma asks.

"More or less..." I answer shyly.

"That's right!" she says softly.

"What are you two whispering about?" My grandfather asks.

"That we need to do the farewell night." Earring.

"Would be wonderful." Grandma agrees.

And isn't it true that my brothers accepted with great pleasure the idea of going to live in Canada with our grandparents? Even Thomas, but on the condition that he brings his video games and his computer.

Our farewell night was incredible, we watched three comedy movies and ate a lot of junk food, we went to sleep with our stomachs hurting from laughing so much, we also played mime and blind snake. Amidst the laughter, I just wanted to cry, sometimes with joy and other times with sadness, but my sensible mind told me that it was the best and for my brothers I am capable of anything, as long as it is for their good.