A/N: There are multiple pictures in this chapter. It can be read without them, but they add more detail to the story.

Keeley's POV

"How are you feeling, Kitten?" I opened my eyes to be met with his dark, sinister ones.

I sat up painfully from the bed I had been laying in for the past week where he had been nursing me back to somewhat health. I had been able to bathe and eat something every day, although I could barely hold anything down. The cuts on my body had scabbed over and the bruises had actually begun to heal. I was by no means okay, but I was better.

"Better," I mumble to him. His rough hand reached up slowly and brushed my tangled hair out of my face. I watched him intensely as his eyes moved lazily over my face and down my body, where I was only dressed in a t-shirt and underwear. I wasn't allowed to wear anything else.

"Keeley, I hate seeing you like this: in pain, suffering, tired. I hate it. But you know, it can go away."

I felt my body tense from the words he had spoken, automatically knowing what he wanted from me. 

"You know what I want, Keeley. I need to know who you are working for and why you invaded my home. Answer those two simple questions, and I can promise you a life of happiness. If you refuse, I'll have no choice but to put you back in that basement and get it out of you some other way."

I swallowed hard. I want nothing more than to be free of that darkened basement. No more pain, no more tears, no more torture. It would be easy: tell him and although I'd be a prisoner to him, he'd never treated me bad before any of this happened. He was good to me. I could learn to be happy again, and that didn't sound too bad.

I looked back into his eyes and how the warm sun made them seem not so scary. His chocolatey brown hair was tousled how I had loved not so long ago, and the small scar across his eyebrow that I had given to him on our first anniversary was tugging at my heart, begging me to speak the words he so badly wanted me to say.

I was tempted. I was terrified.

"I can't- I can't tell you,"  I choke out. The words tasted terrible on my tongue, but the safety of my family and all of those that I worked with would be compromised if I told. My life in exchange for many.

An undeniably irritated laugh rumbled from his chest as he stood up to his full height in front of me. He looked out the window before turning to me. I didn't even register the hand that reached out and smacked me across the cheek. My head snapped to the side and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

"Kitten," he chuckled. "I am not a patient man, but for some unknown reason, I always find myself giving you a second chance. So here's yours. And you know what, I'll add this on: if you don't tell me, I kill your friends. What are their names? Lexi...Alice...Dylan, and- who's the last one? Brady?"

I searched his eyes, looking for any hint of a lie in them. He's many things, but a liar isn't one of them. Was it worth it? Risking the lives of the only people I could ever call family? If I told him, they'd be in trouble. If I said nothing, they'd still be at risk. There was no way out.

"Answer me, Keeley," he growled. His hand gripped my jaw in a tight hold, making me look into those deep brown eyes.

"I-," I stumbled over my words, knowing that these words I said next I would never forgive myself for. "I won't tell you."

I squeezed my eyes shut as tears threatened to spill. He wasn't speaking and I couldn't hear him make a sound, but I knew he was angry. I could feel it rolling off of him in waves that I knew I would eventually drown in.

I dared opening my eyes and as soon as I opened them, the devil himself was staring right through me. Gone was the boy I once knew, and in his place? A stranger with the devil dancing within him.

"Their blood is on your hands, Kitten." 

That's the last thing I remember before he's dragging me down to the basement by my hair. He didn't let up once I was thrown back into the blood-stained, cement cell. He beat me for hours with whatever he pleased, ignoring my pleas and pain-filled screams. It got to the point where my body couldn't handle it anymore and darkness consumed me.

But the next time I woke up, I woke up to Lexi and Alice laying on the cold and hard ground in front of me: their heads severed and bodies cold.

I opened my eyes, a scream escaping my body. Broken sobs filled the room as I stumbled out of my bed and collapsed to the hardwood floor.

"Keeley!"

Luca. I felt him shouting something to me as I lay on the floor, but I couldn't hear anything as my vision started to fade.

I was suddenly being picked up and carried somewhere, cold water immediately hitting my skin.

The shower.

I was in the shower. I'm not sure how long it took for me to stop my cries and catch my breath, but when I did, I could finally take in my surroundings.

Luca was holding me tightly to his bare chest as the freezing water pelted my skin. The rest of our families were cramped together in the bathroom, their eyes focused on me and filled with worry.

When it felt like my mind had finally cleared, my dream came back full force. I wiggled out of Luca's warm hold just in time and emptied my stomach onto the shower floor. I felt someone's hand pull my hair away from my face and rub my back in slow circles as everything continued to spill out of me. The person didn't stop till the dry-heaves faded and I collapsed into the ground. The shower was still running, but at some point, somebody had turned on the warm water.

I sat up slowly and noticed that it was both Luca and Nick holding onto me.

"Are you- Keeley what happened?" Nick whispered to me. I slowly raised my head up to meet his face.

"Nick, I don't want to talk about it," I choked out. My throat burned from the bile and from crying.

Nick went to say something, but he was immediately cut off by the shouts of our father.

"No, Keeley! This has been happening too much lately and it's time for you to explain. Whatever it is that is bugging you is obviously hurting you. I'm tired of this happening and it's time you give us all some explanation." 

I was terrified. My father's shouts did nothing to help the fear that was already plaguing me. I stumbled over my words. I mean, he's not wrong. The dreams have been frequent lately, and it more often than not causes all of them to burst in, worried that I'm being harmed. The only thing, they can't save me from the harm my own mind puts me through.

"Well?" he pushes, wanting me to tell him so badly. But I had a feeling if I did tell him, he wouldn't want to know after all.

"She's in no mood to talk right now and you should respect that," Nick spoke up for me. I thanked him over and over in my mind and looked at my brother like he was my actual savior. "Keeley will tell us when she is ready."

My father looked at me and I could see the irritation in his eyes, obviously angry I refuse to tell anybody about my dreams. His eyes went between me and Nick, and eventually, his shoulders released the smallest amount of tension and a quiet sigh escaped him.

"Fine, but clean up because today is Thanksgiving and we're having people over at noon," he mumbles while rubbing his temples.

I feel my eyes widen at his words. 

"But, but we've never celebrated holidays," Sam says. His confusion is just as evident as it is in the rest of us.

"I know," he groaned, and now that I'm paying attention, it's hard to miss the pissed-off expression on his face. "My so generous mother decided that she wanted to celebrate them this year, and because I have the biggest house, I have to host."

I stood up from the shower floor, eager to hear what was going to happen, but slipped on the tile. Luca's arms shot out and caught me just before I hit my face. He helped me out of the shower and didn't hesitate to wrap a towel around my shoulders.

"Wait- so Grandma Leta and your brothers are coming over?" Finn asked in surprise. 

I loved Grandma Leta. She was the only one who had ever shown some type of compassion to me growing up and made the best chocolate pie. My uncles, well, they're a different case. They saw me like my father used to: immature, needy, and really just a hassle. I'd never gotten along with them, but their wives were nice enough.

"Yeah, along with Jenna and Cammie and their kids." 

I looked around to see all of my brothers wide-eyed as well, even Cal. My father thought Jenna and Cammie were "too much" with their happy attitudes and positive outlooks. And my cousins, well they treated me like shit and would most of the time throw me around.

"So what you're saying," Sam spoke while standing up from where he was sitting on the bathroom counter, "is that the first Thanksgiving any of us has ever celebrated, will be spent with our over-enthusiastic grandma, two uncles who you barely get along with, two aunts that constantly squish our faces, four cousins who cause more problems than an angry Keeley, and four Italians who don't celebrate the American holiday?"

"You forgot the partridge in a pear tree." Everybody's eyes snapped to Callan in surprise at his joke. He awkwardly cleared his throat and shifted in his spot. I don't think I'd ever heard Callan joke before, much less it actually be funny.

"Uh- yeah," my father spoke still giving Callan a weird look.

"Well this should be a shit show," Stefano laughed while walking out the door. Everyone fell into conversation as they left, leaving just me and Luca standing alone, both of us sopping wet from the shower.

"Tesoro, baby," Luca spoke quietly after a moment while moving the wet hair off of my forehead. "What happened?" 

My eyes moved to his dark ocean blues. They were swirling with concern and worry for me. I hated seeing him that way.

"It-" I thought about telling him it was just a dream, I did, but at some point, I have to tell him something or he'll just give up on me. I can't afford to lose him.

"When I was gone," I started, struggling to find the right words. His eyes widened in shock, probably because he didn't expect an answer. But nonetheless, he stayed quiet and listened. "When I was gone, I was hurt really bad. In my dream, it just- I was there again."

He pulled me tightly into his bare chest without warning. I crashed into him and immediately felt warmth spread throughout my body from the mere fact that I was in his arms. He bent down and placed a sweet kiss on the top of my head.

I pulled back slowly and stared at the man who I had fallen head-over-heels for these past couple of weeks. His hair was sticking to his forehead from the shower and the yellow sun made his tan skin look golden. He hadn't shaved this morning so dark stubble still covered his jaw. Small water droplets rolled down his chest and over his stomach, and I could see every outline of every muscle and scar on his skin. I honestly don't know how I was able to snag him.

"See something you like?" His eyebrows raised and the one corner of his mouth quirked up as he called out my obvious stares.

There are two ways I could go with this: deny it and push him out of the bathroom so I could get ready. Or- I could play the game, and oh how I loved to play the game.

"I do," I spoke in my most seductive voice, the both of us pushing away this morning's events and returning to our normal dynamic. 

I trailed my hands painfully slow up his abdomen and over his chest. I dragged my nails up to his shoulders and slowly back down his chest. When I looked back up, his ears were pink, but his eyes had considerably darkened. I dared to step closer, and when I did, I could feel I had the same effect on him that he did on me.

"Do you?" I asked in a quiet breath. I waited for an answer. His hands gripped my hips tighter and when his lips were almost to my own, I pushed my finger against his lips.

"Ah- I don't think so," I whispered. His face held no amusement as my own smile danced across my face. "I just puked all over the floor and I haven't brushed my teeth yet. So you'll have to wait."

I winked at him and happily skipped to the bathroom door, holding it wide open and motioning him out.

I stared at him with my brightest smile as he let out a low growl and moved towards me. He reached out and held my jaw with one of his calloused hands, and I swear if I wasn't determined on winning at this moment, I would have crumbled on the spot.

"You'll pay for that, Keeley. Just you wait."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Luca lets go of me and walks out of the room, not looking back, but that is fine by me because as much as I hate to say goodbye, I love to watch him go.

A smile doesn't leave my face the whole time I wash, scrub, and shave my body, feeling much better than when I woke up. I turn off the water and wrap myself in a fluffy, white towel. I walk across the tiled floor to my closet, where I slip on my favorite robe. I walk back into my bathroom and proceed to dry and curl my hair. I pinned part of it back out of my face before walking to the door where I had hung up the dress I was going to wear.

I slipped on the creamy, long-sleeved, short sweater dress over my lacy bralette and matching underwear. I paired it with the matching knee-high, tan boots, and sweater-like socks. Brady's coin necklace sat gently on my neck as Luca's bracelet hung delicately on my wrist.

I brushed my teeth for a solid five minutes, considering I had puked everything out of my system this morning, and followed it by doing my makeup in what I hope was "elegant gold tones." I made sure to cover up the last few, faded bruises on my neck that Tommy had given me weeks ago.

I looked good, not at all like I did this morning. I glanced down at my phone and saw that it was already 11:30. I really didn't think I had taken that long, but oh well.

I walked into my room and plopped down on my bed, dialing Brady's number. I promised him I would call on Thanksgiving, and I sure as hell wasn't going to break that promise. I waited as the phone rang once, twice, three times before it went to voicemail. I tried a couple more times before deciding to leave him a message. I just hope he would call me back.

Knock knock knock

"Come in!" I shout from my spot on the bed with Gus. 

"Fanculo, bambina," Luca mumbles while closing the door behind him. I look up and I swear my heart stopped.
(Fuck, baby)

Luca's dressed in dark jeans that looked like they had been designed to fit him personally. A dark green flannel runs down the length of his arms and torso over a long-sleeved white shirt. Worn brown boots sit on his feet, and that thin silver chain I love so much shines on his tan skin.

He clears his throat and my eyes snap away from him and to the floor.

"You uh- you look really... nice." I internally cringe at the sound of my voice and how it allows Luca to know exactly how I'm feeling.

I hear his footsteps walk closer to me, and when he's close enough, he takes my hand and tugs me off of the bed.

I look up to him and find he's already staring at me. His eyes travel down to my chest and to my legs, his eyes lingering a bit longer there.

"You know, we could always skip Thanksgiving and just hang out here," he whispered, his voice suddenly sounding thick as his Italian accent peeked through.

"We could, but I don't think we would get away with it." 

A broad smile crosses his face as he leans down and kisses me. His hands dig deeper into my hips and pull me closer while my hands snake their way up and around his neck. 

Luca's mouth presses harshly against my own as he deepened the kiss. I feel him lick the seam of my lips, and I open my mouth to give him access. Our tongues swirled together fighting for control over the other, and I eventually give in to him. If it's one thing I've learned over the past few weeks we've been together, it's that when it comes to me, Luca is a possessive man. Not overbearing, but if we're out and some guy looks at me even a second too long, Luca is either threatening their life or kissing me as no one should in public to make his claim. I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything.

He slowly pulls away and all I could hear was the sound of our heavy breaths and beating hearts.

"Sei così sorprendente, Tesoro," he whispers into my ear. A chill runs up my spine and I can't help but shiver as my eyes fluttered shut.
(You are so amazing, Tesoro.)

"E così sei tu, Gnocco."
(And so are you, Gnocco.)

I wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but the sound of the doorbell rang throughout the house, immediately followed by the shouts of my family.

Luca chuckled as I leaned my forehead against his chest. One of his hands rubbed my back as he placed a gentle kiss on top of my head.

"We should go down there, shouldn't we?" I mumble reluctantly.

"Yeah, we should. Come on, Tesoro." Luca held on tightly to my hand as we left my room and headed towards the staircase. The volume of the voices got louder as we went down, and when my feet hit the bottom stair, I could see my father's family gathered around, talking wildly.

Uncle Logan and Aunt Cammie were standing with my father and Stefano with their daughter, Liza. Uncle Seth