Ghost
POV: Elena
"Silas," I say softly in shock and he looks at me with a cold gaze.
My hands shake and I feel my legs weaken.
I see a look I've never seen before on his face, his expression is cold and dark, I can see hatred and hurt in his eyes.
"You're mistaking me for someone else," his voice is cold and harsh.
I look at him in confusion, although something inside me burns with joy that he's alive.
"It's me, Silas, Elena," I say calmly, but he walks away.
"Like I said, you're confusing me," Silas says and leaves the food court.
I follow him with my eyes and I'm sure he gives me a mischievous smile before disappearing.
I stand there trying to understand what happened.
My heart jumps with joy and sadness. He's alive, but he doesn't remember me.
"Elena, is everything okay?" my aunt Isadora catches up with me.
"He's alive," is all I can tell her.
My aunt stands in front of me and holds my hands that are still shaking.
"You're freezing," she says and pulls me to a nearby chair.
I disconnect from reality, replaying in my mind the day I saw him die.
I remember every detail, I can clearly see everything that happened that day. His heart stopped and I will never forget it.
I repeat this over and over, disconnecting from the world around me.
"Elena," a male voice calls me back to reality.
I look up and see Matteo kneeling at my eye level.
He looks at me with concern and I'm confused. I think I'm in shock from what just happened.
"Matteo, what are you doing here?" I ask, lost, and look around.
I can see Giorgio, Antoni and Nicco near the aunts and grandmother.
"Aunt Isadora called worried, she said you were going to find them when you bumped into someone," Matteo says worriedly.
"And then you hung up, it was like you weren't here," Aunt Isadora says and I look at her with a guilty look.
"Sorry for worrying you," I say quietly. "I just don't understand."
Giorgio looks at me carefully and then sighs.
"Let's talk at home," he says and everyone nods.
I walk beside them towards the car, looking carefully everywhere, trying to find Silas again.
"Bambina, what are you looking for?" Antoni asks when he sees me looking everywhere.
"Would you believe me if I said I was looking for a ghost?" I ask looking seriously at him.
"Yes, and I can tell you from personal experience that ghosts are always the worst thing ever," he says and I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I stay quiet after that until I get home.
Matteo, who is sitting next to me, holds my hands that are shaking slightly and I rest my head on his shoulder.
Am I crazy? It can't be Silas, he's dead, I saw him die.
I keep repeating this in my racing mind.
"Elena, we're here," Nicco says and opens the car door for me.
I enter the house ready to go to my room, I need to do something to calm my mind and be able to think clearly.
I'm on my way when I see Lorenzo with his arms crossed at the bottom of the stairs staring at me.
I look at him and see that he's not going to let me pass, I turn to use the service stairs and see my other brothers standing at the entrance to the living room and service area.
The only free door is the exit.
"I need five minutes, that's all, and then we'll talk," I say calmly, trying in vain to control the tremors in my hands.
No one stops me as I open the door and leave the house.
I walk to the shooting range and decide that this will be enough to calm me down.
I enter a booth and pick up the same pistol I used last time. My hands tremble on the gun and I take a deep breath before aiming at the target.
The first shot goes wide of the target because of my tremors, the others are sloppy and unsure.
Little by little, the sound of the gunshots replaces the voices and thoughts in my head, until it is just me and the target.
My last shot is perfect, my hands are steady and my mind is clear.
When I am finished, I rest the pistol on the table in front of me and take a deep breath.
From a distance, I can see Matteo, Dante, Nicco and Lorenzo watching me.
They are talking seriously to each other. I don't like it.
I put away everything I used and leave the field, I walk towards them and they look at me with a cold and assessing look.
"Now I'm ready to talk" I say with cold calm.
I walk to the house and the boys follow me. Everyone else is waiting in the living room, the conversation dies as soon as we enter.
I sit on the couch next to Giorgio and rest my head on his shoulder. I feel exhausted.
"Elena, can you explain to us what happened to you at the mall?" Lorenzo's tone is serious. It's not a request, but an order.
"The boy I bumped into at the food court" I say remembering the scene "It was Silas"
Lorenzo looks at me with surprise in his eyes along with Vicente.
"But you said he had died" Vicente comments and I can see confusion in the others' eyes.
I sigh and decide to tell them what happened.
"Silas was my best friend at school" I'll start from the beginning because there are parts my brothers don't know "He was always good to me and one day I told him what was happening in the house where I lived with my parents"
I look at my hands and Giorgio intertwines his fingers with mine to show that he's by my side.
"One night I got beaten up, Silas showed up to save me" I smile sadly at the memory "Henk, however, saw him and the two fought, until one of them pulled out a gun and during the fight Silas was shot in the stomach"
I look at them who stare at me intently and without judgment.
"My stepfather left Silas lying on the floor and left as if nothing had happened" anger burns inside me because of this "I tried to save Silas, but without a hospital there was nothing I could do for him, so his heart stopped"
Giorgio squeezes my hand in comfort and I turn to him who looks thoughtful.
"The nightmare that night, that was it, wasn't it?" he asks me softly.
"Yes," I admit to him.
"Bambina, what happened after Silas died?" Vicente asks and I can see his mind working behind his eyes.
"Henk dragged his body out of the basement and left me to spend the night lying there covered in blood," I say, and then I realize I'm missing something in the story.
"Did you never see the body being buried? Or any news about the disappearance?" Bruno asks.
They noticed something I haven't yet.
"No, what are you thinking?" I ask, confused.
"Elena, what if he was saved when he got out of the basement? If you saw him today, it looks like his death was staged," Lorenzo says calmly.
I shake my head. Silas wasn't that kind of person.
"No, Silas was the kindest person I've ever met, he wouldn't be capable of doing that to me," I say with obvious denial.
"Sorella, have you ever wondered how he got into the house that day? Why didn't you ever hear anything about him disappearing? Didn't you see his body after his heart stopped?" Dante says and my mind starts to wonder.
I remember the scene at the mall, he didn't seem like the same Silas from before, his gaze was cold and he smiled evilly at me before leaving.
"I-I didn't," I start to say.
But what can I say? Silas could have deceived me like so many other people. I could have been just a fun game for him. A girl he decided to break.
So all the things and moments we lived together were nothing?
My heart aches thinking about the supposed betrayal.
"Honey, we can find out what happened if you want," Aunt Andreia says lovingly.
"No," I say resolutely, "Even if Silas faked his death or something, he decided to move on with his own life and I don't want to get involved in that."
"If that's your decision, we'll respect it," Grandpa says, and I give him a grateful look.
No matter how much I decide to do this, my mind screams at me that it can't be real, that Silas would never hurt me.
Or would he?