Honoured with love

Sixteen years of age...

Seven months pregnant + 3 weeks + six days...

I decided to take Luca out for the day. The need to get out of the house was smothering, I was going insane and desperately needed to focus on something else. I took him out to the space parlour in town, surrounding ourselves with people our age. I thought it was a good idea at the time, little did I know. The boys from the rugby team at school were here also. I'm standing next to Luca watching him takedown a whole bunch of zombies in a mansion. It's four dollars a game, the graphics are crap and the sounds even worse. He's loving it, yelling and ducking like they're gonna jump out of the plasma screen and eat him.

He's having a blast and that's all that matters.

"Gio, Gio... Did you see that?" He yells, waving his gun around, reloading it.

"Si," I laugh. "Those zombies don't stand a chance." I rub his head, messing up his hair.

"Hey......" He shuffles to the side. "You're gonna make me lose." The sheer determination I witness in his eyes was staggering.

I wish he'd put that much effort into helping me out with chores around the house.

I unclip his gaming card from around his neck. "I'm gonna go load some more money on it," I told him when he looked up at me with worried eyes.

I think he thought it was time to leave.

"Stay here until I return," I tell him, I wait for him to nod yes before I walk away.

I walk up to the counter and wait in line.

"Oh crap!" I hear a familiar voice say as he chuckles.

"Is that Papa Bear Giovanni?" His voice raises purposefully.

I roll my eyes, taking in a deep breath, exhaling slowly as I try to remain calm.

"Yeah, yeah... That's him alright." Another familiar voice laughs out loud.

"Oh damn... Wonder where Mama Bear is." A third familiar voice yells out. "Wonder what her honey pot tastes like." He finishes.

They all laugh in unison like it was the funniest thing ever. They obviously haven't looked in the mirror lately.

I straighten my back getting to my full height, rolling my shoulders back and loosening my neck muscles. Preparing to give at least two of them a beating.

"Nah, Nah bro... I heard after they give birth their...."

-Silence... followed by a lot of gasps-

The unfortunate prick didn't get the opportunity to finish his sentence before I viciously connected my fist with his ugly face.

"You're DEAD Venturi!" His teammate bellowed out as he charged towards me in a tackle execution.

I sidestep him, clasping my hands together and bring them down hard upon his back. The force of my mighty punch sent him plunging to the ground with a loud thud.

"You'll have to do better than that Dantey," I said laughing at him.

Unexpectedly I found myself being tackled to the ground, landing on my back.

New Zealand and their damn rugby moves. I groaned on the inside.

I looked up just in time to see Leos' fist flying through the air, heading straight towards my nose. I twist to the side, then the other side, bringing my torso up to create space between our bodies. I raise my legs high, wrapping them around Leo's neck, cutting off his air supply. His face starts to turn purple quickly as he panics and desperately tries to break free.

"Tap out!" I say through gritted teeth.

His body slowly starts to go limp.

"Merda! Tap out!" I howl.

He finally taps out, hitting my arm. Instantly I release him and get to my feet waiting for the next contender. James and Finn look at each other then back at me. They shake their heads and raise their hands surrendering.

"You're all good bro, we were just having a laugh," Finn mumbles.

"At whose expense?" I growl taking a step towards them. "Is it funny still?" I feel the rage still burning inside me.

"Nah Nah... Bro, we'll grab the boys and leave." James says as he slowly approaches his cousin Dantey.

My eyes never leave his until I'm satisfied he won't try anything.

"You gotta go, man.." The cashier says when I finally reach him.

"What? Did you not witness what just happened?" I ask astounded.

"Yeah bro, But you threw the first punch so you gotta go." He points towards the exit.

"Merda!" I curse, sighing.

"But let me tell you this bro." He motions for me to lean over the counter closer towards him. "You sassed those guys like a pro. If it was up to me, I'd top your card up for free. Those guys are a pain in the butt." He quietly says.

"Thanks, bro." I look over my shoulder towards Luca. "Can I at least stay till my brother finishes his game?"

He looks over at Luca then back at me.

"Yeah alright," He opens a draw beside him and pulls something out." Take this." He hands a piece of paper to me.

I look at the paper and it's a fifty per cent off gaming voucher.

"It's only valid for three days." I scoff at him.

"Then you better make sure you come back in three days." He smirks.

"It's Sunday!" I shake my head. "You close at five in the evening on weekdays." I feel the sudden urge to facepalm myself.

"And?" He says.

"I have school." I roll my eyes heavenward.

"That's your problem bro." He dismisses me and motions for the next person to come forward.

I screw the piece of paper up and shove it into my pocket. It's junk and belongs in the trash. I walk over to Luca who's still standing where I left him.

"Come on." I throw my arm around his shoulders and lead him out of the parlour.

"Gio..." His voice drops.

"Si." I look at him.

He raises his hand and points

across the courtyard. I look up to see the boys I just gave an ass whooping to are waiting for me.

They all stand at once anch

us. I move in front of Luca, using my body to shield him. My eyes turn dark and the rage slowly starts to resurface.

"Chill bro," Leo says.

I snarl, getting ready to fit again.

They stop a few feet in front of. Dantys' twisting his back side to side, Leos' rubbing the back of his neck and Tobys' standing there glaring at me.

Not much of a winger. I laugh to myself. It's a wonder why Tobys' still on the team if that's the best he's got.

"We come in peace," Finn speaks up.

I arch a brow, looking at them individually in the eye. Wondering what in God's word they want with me.

"We're sorry," Toby finally says with venom coating his words.

"We didn't know you had it on you man," James says chuckling.

"What do you want?" I say with a heavy accent.

I cannot control the depth of my accent when get mad. Sometimes people misunderstand me, and it annoys the crap out of me if I have to repeat myself. I feel Luca tug on my top and I look back at him. He looks up with worried eyes and instantly I implore my body to relax. I smile at him, letting him know

everything will be okay. Content

"We wanted to ask if you'd like to join the first XV team?" James announces.

"And why would I wanna do that?" I scoff at them.

"Because you're fast and you'd be a real asset to the team," Toby speaks up, sighing.

I look back at Luca and raise my brows. His head bobs up and down with excitement.

"When and where?" I ask them.

"Tomorrow, after school third field." Finn smiles.

"If I'm there, I'm there." I look at them for a second before I take Luca by the hand and walk away.

I was planning on taking him to get

an Ice-cream. But now that's void

since I need to go home and do some research on how to play rugby. Papa's gonna lose his marbles, he's been trying to getme

to play some kind of sport since we arrived in the country. I always told him no, I wasn't interested. Yet, here I am rushing home to prepare myself.