I woke with a start. My heart beating erratically, sweat pouring from my face, breath coming in pants. " Fiamma what's wrong?" the soft voice inquired. I whipped my head around so fast that I got whiplash. I relaxed as saw my boyfriend, Nico looking up at me with a worried expression. " Nothing, baby. Go back to sleep." I was still trying to calm me nerves as the images of my tormenting dreams relayed themselves every time I close my eyes. I was holding back tears. I suddenly felt pressure on my shoulder. I flinched. " Your obviously not okay if your flinching away from me Leo. Tell me what's wrong. What was your nightmare about?" he pleaded. I knew by the look in his eyes that there was no way I was getting out of this. " It was a long time ago," The memories came rushing back to me like a tidal wave.

~Flashback~

I was sitting in the office for maybe the twelfth time in the last six months. I waiting for my new foster parent to arrive and whisk me away to my new hell. I couldn't stand sitting this still. My hands fiddled with the little scraps of metal that where in my pockets. I watched as the raindrops littered the window sill. That's when she walked in. She had soft, waist length, strawberry blonde hair that had streaks of grey in certain areas. She had caramel eyes and a billion watt smile. Her face was aged, but yet timeless. She was thin, but not bony and was medium height. She had tanned skin that was slightly wrinkled. All in all, she was beautiful. She had worn a light green sundress even though the weather didn't seem to agree with her decision. She walked over to me. " You must be Leo." she asked me. I nodded, unable to form a coherent sentence. " I'm Teresa. I'm going to be your new foster mom. She stuck her hand out to in my direction, wanting me to shake it. I complied.

After all the paper work was sorted out we headed towards her house. The outside was just as beautiful as her. The house it self was a pale yellow and it even seemed to match well with the gloominess of the weather. The garden was kept and the front yard was protected by a white picket fence. The inside, however, wasn't so beautiful. The house was littered with beer cans and junk food containers. The furniture was old looking and the house was very dimly lit. The shadows in the room seemed to morph from one scary looking creature to another, all portraying pure anguish. To say the least, I was terrified.

That's when the first blow came. " Time to put you to work, diablo." Teresa said in a calm, steely voice. Now I petrified. I heard that tone voice before and I knew it meant trouble. Before I knew what was happening, my body was pressed to the cold hardwood floor and an insane amount of pressure was being applied to my mid-section. " Rule number one," she leaned in towards my ear, pressing her lips to as she whispered, the hot air of her breath making me squirm under the pressure of her body," You always answer ' Yes Ma'am' or ' Yes mother Teresa' when I address you, is that clear?" She asked, her hot breath still assaulting my sensitive skin. " Yes Ma'am or Mother Teresa." Using humor to get out of this situation did not sit well this woman. She yanked my upper body off of the floor, her hand making contact with my cheeks. I hissed in pain, as the cold flooring had already left a burning sensation on my skin. " Don't try to be smart with me boy!" she snarled at me, hitting me across the other cheek. " For your impudence, you must be punished." I was suddenly hauled off of the cold floor and tossed onto a carpeted one. I saw here grab a hockey stick. She lunged towards me. I heard the CRACK! as the stick impacted my body. I felt hit after, hit, after hit. Tears rained on my face, black spots dancing across my vision. I screamed until my voice went hoarse, each one more blood-curling than the others as the blows became more and more forceful. I heard one more deafening CRACK. I felt the worse pain imaginable in my rib cage and let a guttural scream. I crumpled to myfeet I saw the witches sly grin plastered on her face. I blacked out

~End Flashback~

By this time I was a blubbering mess. I was trembling in Nico's warm embrace. I don't know at which point in my tale I had ended um in my boyfriend's arms but I was glad I did. His hands were making comforting circles in my back and combing through my hair. "You're okay Leo, your with me. She can't hurt you anymore." He kept whispering comforting words into my ear an cradled me until I stopped crying. " She continued for months until I finally broke and ran away. I can still remember all the times she beat me and all the scars it left." I snuggled into to Nico more.

" Can you just lay with me until I fall back asleep?" I whispered, showing all my vulnerability

" Of course I will Fiamma. I will always stay with you." He responded.

I moved so that may back was pressed against his torso and he wrapped his arms around me. He kissed my curls.

" Ti amo mia fiamma." He spoke in Italian

" Ti am anch'io" I responded. I snuggled into the warmth of his embrace and slowly drifted off into a dreamless sleep.