This is my first, my one, my only fanfic. I hope you enjoy it!

Feel free to leave comments. I like criticism; it makes me a better writer.

The song "Mad World" by Michael Andrews inspired this chapter.

This also goes out to anybody who has ever been trapped inside of a world you couldn't escape, to those who have been put down your whole life struggling just to keep sane. You truly don't know how strong and magnificent you are. I know this, because I've been through the same thing. Stay strong.

xx

"Luca!" My father yelled. I snapped up quickly and nearly ran into the living room. I've learned from experience not to keep Father waiting.

"Yes sir?" I said while looking down at my feet.

"Pack your shit," he said while sipping on a beer. "We're moving."

That caught my attention. I looked at him with wide eyes. Moving? Where would we be moving to? I stared at my father waiting for him to crack open his sinister smile and tell me to stop worrying we weren't going anywhere, but it never came.

"Where are we going?" I asked quietly.

"I don't see why you'd care," he chuckled cruelly. "It's not like you have any friends."

I continued to look at the floor knowing his words were true. However, I wasn't some loser that no one wanted to hang out with. I'd consciously made the decision not to make friends. If I were to have them, they would want to come to my house and that is my worst nightmare.

"I'll go pack," I whispered turning to go upstairs to my room.

"You better," he huffed after me. "And hurry up, our plane to England leaves in the morning."

England.

I was moving to England.

As I climbed the stairs to my room, I looked at the walls. They were void of any personality, the beige color crisp and clean. The banister was freshly polished and gleaming under the chandelier's crystal light. To most, this house would be a castle; to me, it was a prison. I have never considered this place a home. It was a dungeon that I was shackled in.

Once I'd shuffled into my room, Maria was waiting in there for me. Boxes were all around her feet, and tears were drowning in her eyes. Maria was our housekeeper. When I was younger she was my nanny, but as I aged, she'd been handed the responsibilities of the house. Maria was more of a mother to me than my own. Her brown eyes had always been my rock and her arms my safe haven. Looking at her crying now was killing me.

"Mia bella," she choked out reaching towards me.

Maria was from Italy, but she'd moved here to New York for a better life. Her family in Italy was very poor, but Maria had worked her entire life hoping to move to America to find work. Instead of work, she found my family and had been taking care of me since I was born.

"Maria," I croaked into her shirt. "Please tell me you're coming!"

"No, my Luca," she said cradling my face while looking up at me. "I'm staying here."

"No!" I said clutching onto her small body. "Maria, please, you can't let them take me," I sobbed.

I cried the hardest I've ever cried. The sobs shook my body making my muscles ache, but I couldn't stop. I hated my parents and everything they'd done to me. They have ruined my entire life, and now they were taking away the one thing I cared about, my Maria.

"I have no choice," she said smoothing down my hair. "They fire me."

"No," I said yanking my face from her shoulder. "No! They cannot do this to me!"

"Luca, my baby," she said reaching for me again.

I brushed her off heading towards my door. There was no way I was leaving this country without Maria; if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be alive. She was my everything.

"Luca," she shrieked grasping my wrist. "Luca, you don't talk to your father about this or your mother. They no change their minds. You will leave me here."

"Maria," I said tearing up again. I slid down my door clutching my legs close to my body. "What am I going to do without you?"

"You live, my Luca," she said as she sat down beside me. Her small, warm arms wrapped around me. "You are so strong, so brave."

"No, I'm not," I sobbed once more. "I need you."

"You need no one, my Luca," she said fiercely clutching onto me. "You need no one."

"I have no one, Maria," I said choking on my tears. "You're everything to me."

"You're the baby I never had, Luca," she said reaching over and kissing my temple much like she'd done my entire life.

I heard my mother enter the house, slamming the door behind her. I flinched in Maria's arms as she whispered softly in my ear while combing through my hair. After a while, Maria release me making a whimper escape from my lips.

"I need to make dinner now," she told me with sad eyes. "I will make your favorite."

With those words, she left leaving me to pack my belongings. I wiped my face dry and pulled my hair back into a messy knot on top of my head. I headed towards my closet throwing my clothing haphazardly into the boxes. Just as I was nearly done, a knock pounded on my door.

"Come in," I said quietly.

"What are you doing?" my mother said as she crossed her arms over her tight business suit.

"I'm packing," I replied not looking her in the eye.

"Didn't Maria tell you?" she said sighing annoyed. "You're just going to pack what you want, the rest is going to be thrown away."

"Oh right," I nodded. I didn't care about these clothes; they meant nothing to me.

"Get your stuff together, Luca," Mother glared at me. "I'll just fork out more cash for you to spend on hideous clothes when we get to London."

"Yes ma'am," I nodded as I pushed a box to the side.

"Here," she said throwing a small duffel bag at me. "Bring what you must keep in there; we'll buy whatever else you need."

With that, my mother left leaving me alone in my huge room. Now I had to pick what I had to keep, the things that meant the most to me. I quickly grabbed the photo-book Maria made me and stuffed it into the small carryon bag. Next I put my favorite books and a few CDs. I packed in a few shirts along with my laptop. Then I was done. My entire life was inside of this tiny bag. It was really pathetic.

I looked at the clock to see it was nearly past nine. Dinner should have been done a few hours ago. I hopped up from my bed and went down stairs. The kitchen was empty along with the rest of the house.

I panicked.

Maria had left me without saying goodbye.

Just as I was about to curl into a ball, the side door opened revealing a tiny Maria weighed down in a dark coat. She saw my face and came running towards me as she hushed my cries.

"Shh," she said as she rocked me side to side awkwardly due to our extreme height differences; I stood nearly a foot taller than her five foot frame.

"I thought you left," I said shakily.

"No, my Luca," she whispered to me. "Your parents told me to, but I had to come back to see my baby," she said backing away from me. She reached back towards the kitchen island where she'd placed a white box.

"I got you something," she said with a small smile. "It's early, but I thought you needed it now."

She opened up the small box revealing a small cupcake with a candle sticking out of its white, fluffy icing. It was from the bakery down the street, my favorite bakery of all. She sat it down back on the counter and grabbed my hand. She clasped a bronze bracelet around my small wrist. I looked at her in shock. Maria had worn this bracelet ever since I could remember.

"To remember that I will always love you, my Luca," she said giving my hand a squeeze.

She reached behind her and lit my cupcake's candle. The flame lighting up the large kitchen in a soft glow. She looked at me expectantly before nodding at the candle. I blew it out and smiled sadly at Maria.

"Happy Birthday, my baby," she said enveloping me into the last hug I'd ever receive from my Maria.