Never hurt Alessio's children.
Alessio seldom got any calls from school. Occasionally, he received invitations for the PTA meetings or notifications about events such as plays or festivals, but rarely—if ever—any calls directly concerning his children.
Until today.
He and Jawns were 'having a chat' with a poor bastard behind on payments to the Knolastname Family when he got a call from Pietro and Giulia's school. Alessio was barely able to keep his cool when he was informed the latter had been taken to the hospital. He told Jawns to take it from there and headed to his car.
Thankfully, this compound happened to be in the same area as the hospital, so he arrived promptly and instantly found his way to room 306 on the third floor, almost bringing down the door. His stomach sank when he saw his bambina atop the bed, right arm bandaged.
"Giulia!" Alessio ran to his sobbing daughter and began checking on her. "Grazie al diavolo, you're okay! What happened to you?" Giulia's response was throwing herself into his embrace with her good arm, prompting Alessio to stroke her hair. "It's okay, bambina. Daddy's here."
Miss Cheryl, one of the teachers at Giulia's school, approached.
"Mr. Carouso," she spoke up, tail twitching anxiously behind her. The Imp flinched when Alessio glanced sharply at her.
"Who was responsible for this?"
"Sir, it was an accident. You know children can get carried away–"
" .This?" Alessio repeated in a darker voice, making Miss Cheryl step back.
"It'd be best if we spoke of this privately, sir."
For once, Alessio agreed. He didn't want to leave Giulia alone, so he waited until Cecilia and GaGarret arrived to go have a word with Miss Cheryl in the hallway.
"I'm still waiting for an explanation," he growled.
Miss Cheryl took a deep breath. "There's a group of kids that is always picking on Giulia. We always keep an eye out for them, but there's lots of children, and we can't watch over all of them at the same time–"
"Don't give me excuses, Miss Cheryl." Alessio interrupted with a deep frown. "Why wasn't I informed of this?"
"With all due respect, Mr. Carouso, you needn't worry about a bunch of kids venting out on each other-"
"With all due respect, Miss, I must worry when my daughter gets hurt." was the dry retort. "Call Principal Skinner and give him a message. I want all the information he has on these kids and their parents. I don't give a shit about 'confidentiality'; I want everything." Alessio narrowed his eyes. "I don't need to explain what will happen if he tries refusing, do I?"
Miss Cheryl seemed to realize the true severity of the situation as he went back to his daughter's room to meet the doctor.
Thankfully, Giulia's arm wasn't broken; the elbow was just partially dislocated. After it was put back in place with some cautionary X-rays to ensure nothing else was broken, Giulia was discharged from the hospital—with instructions to rest her arm for three weeks.
Before going home, Alessio took his daughter for some ice cream to cheer her up while GaGarret went to pick Pietro up at school. After helping Giulia change into pajamas, Alessio tucked her into bed, accommodating her slung arm on top of a pillow.
"Comfy?" he asked. Giulia nodded. "You're a brave little girl, you know that? I've seen men five times your size cry over less."
He'd hoped that would cheer her up a bit, but Giulia didn't crack up the tiniest smile. She must still be shaken over what happened at school. Speaking of which, they had a pending conversation.
"Miss Cheryl told me about the group of kids that picks on you. Why didn't you tell me, Giulia?" his daughter looked down with a sniffle, prompting Alessio to place his hand on her cheek. "You shouldn't hide these things from me, bambina. I'm your father, so it's my duty to keep you safe. You must tell me when people hurt you, okay?"
"Giulia nodded again. Alessio smiled and kissed her head.
Pietro and GaGarret came into the nursery. "Giulia, are you alright?" the former asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, figlio. She just needs to rest her arm for a few weeks."
"Well, good thing we brought some treats!" GaGarret brought his hands from behind his back, revealing some cannoli and a chocolate smoothie, Giulia's favorite snacks.
While GaGarret kept her busy, Alessio took Pietro out of the nursery for a brief interrogation about the bullies and who had pushed Giulia down the stairs.
"They're two boys and a girl: Matt, Alex and Dinorah. They like picking on the lower grades, but they've been picking Giulia as a target more frequently."
"When did this start, Pietro?"
"Since the start of the school year, I think."
Alessio rubbed his temple. "What happened today?"
"Giulia and I were having lunch with Oliver when she went to the bathroom, but she was taking too long. When we went looking for her, Matt was tussling with her. Alex and Dinorah kept us from helping when we tried to stop him. I'm unsure if he meant to push her down the stairs. I think he didn't notice the stairs were right behind Giulia…"
"What did the teachers do about it?"
"Usually, Miss Cheryl or Mr. Soto is around to keep those three away from Giulia, but I think the teachers were having a meeting or something this time. Their parents came to pick the three up afterward. I think they got suspended for a week."
Alessio's blood began to boil. That's all? They pushed his daughter down a flight of stairs, and they only got suspended? Looks like he might be having a chat with Principal Skinner after all.
He knelt down and grabbed his son's shoulder. "Pietro, the next time, tell me when anyone picks on you or Giulia. I wouldn't like either of you to get seriously hurt, okay?"
"Yes, papa."
He got a call from Crimson at that moment. He sent Pietro back into the nursery before answering it.
"How's Giulia?"
"She's better now, sir. Thank you for asking."
"I got Jawns and the boys keeping an eye on those brats' homes. I figured I'd let you know before we make our move."
"Crim, just…" Alessio sighed. "Don't hurt those kids. It's okay if you give them a fright, but It's their fathers I want to have a 'chat' with."
"Are you, of all people, asking me that after what they did to your daughter? When did you become such a softy?"
"Trust me, I have no sympathy for those kids after what they did to Giulia, but..." Alessio sighed, eyes closed. "...They're still children, Crimson. If anything, they can still learn how to behave properly."
"Fine, killjoy. We'll only 'give them a fright'. Wanna join us?"
"Not this time, Crim. I still got a pending… chat with Principal Skinner."Alessio slipped his gun into its holster and put on his coat before leaving the house. It was going to be a very long chat, indeed.