Stolen Dreams

***Milena***

My feet pounded a relentless rhythm against the concrete as I burst through the heavy sliding doors of the airport terminal. I grabbed the canvas straps of my luggage and broke into a dead sprint. Outrage burned like battery acid in the back of my throat. I ignored the plump woman yelling colorful Italian curses after our shoulders collided. I just kept running. A raw, blinding fury propelled me toward the line of waiting yellow cabs.

I threw myself into the back seat of the first taxi in the queue. I barked my home address at the middle-aged driver. He put the car in gear and merged into the heavy city traffic.

The twenty-minute ride dragged on like a slow, agonizing execution. My fingernails dug deep, painful crescents into my palms. My mind raced in endless circles, snagging over and over on the same horrifying reality. Fifty thousand euros. My bank balance read absolute zero. Escaping my wretched reality was impossible now. The walls of my suffocating life closed in on me.

The taxi tires screeched against the curb outside my decaying apartment building. I shoved a crumpled bill through the partition and pushed the car door open. I sprinted up the cracked concrete steps of my building.

I slammed the front door open. The rusted hinges rattled, raining a fine dust of crumbling plaster onto the worn floorboards of the entryway.

My older brother, Silvano, stood in the center of the cramped kitchen. He flinched at the explosive noise. He lowered a half-empty bottle of cheap beer from his lips. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, narrowing his eyes at me.

"What the hell, Milena? I almost choked on my drink."

A roaring tide of adrenaline flooded my veins. I dropped my duffel bag on the floorboard and lunged across the peeling linoleum. I grabbed the worn collar of his faded t-shirt. I used my forward momentum to drive him hard against the chipped laminate counter.

The glass bottle slipped from his fingers. It hit the floor with a deafening crash, scattering sharp amber shards and foaming liquid across the dirty square tiles.

"Where is it?" I demanded, keeping my iron grip on his shirt.

Silvano snorted. His muscles flexed underneath his tattooed skin as he shoved my hands off his chest. He squared his broad shoulders. "Are you insane? What sort of madness is this?"

"Where have you hidden my money, Silvano?" I yelled, refusing to back down as my chest heaved with ragged breaths.

He crossed his arms over his chest, feigning perfect ignorance. "What money are you yapping about now?"

I reached into my pocket, pulled out my smartphone, and shoved the glowing screen inches from his nose. "Do not play dumb with me! Why is there a transfer of fifty thousand euros out of my bank account? A transfer I did not initiate! How on earth did you get my PIN?"

He batted my hand away with a dismissive swipe, letting a cruel, unapologetic sneer stretch across his mouth. "Fine. I took it. Did you think all your little secrets would go unnoticed forever? I followed you to the local bank last week. I watched you deposit a thick envelope of cash. I kept a close eye on you after that. Turns out memorizing your passcodes and nabbing your phone while you slept was a walk in the park."

"Silvano." The name slipped from my lips in a breathless whisper. The sheer magnitude of his betrayal hit me like a physical blow, temporarily numbing my burning rage.

He stepped into my personal space, pointing a stiff finger at my chest. "You had that much cash just lying around in your account and you hid it from me? Do you understand the heat I have been under? Those loan sharks have been breathing down my neck. They threatened to break my legs. You sat back and watched me suffer while you hoarded a fortune. You selfish, greedy bitch."

I stared into his dark, unsympathetic eyes. "Please tell me you did not spend all of it."

He grabbed my wrist, prying my fingers open with rough, callous force. He slapped a single crumpled green banknote into my trembling palm. "I had to clear my betting debts. I brought back some change."

A strained gasp tore through my throat. I stared down at the crisp twenty-euro note sitting in my hand. My knees turned to water. I swayed on my feet, lunging forward to grab the edge of the kitchen counter to keep myself from collapsing onto the glass-covered floor.

He used my money to pay off his filthy vices. Every single precaution I took to hide my savings from him had failed. I remembered the endless frugal choices. The skipped meals. The threadbare winter coats. Six grueling years of my blood, sweat, and tears erased for a few nights of drinking and card games. I washed greasy dishes until my skin cracked. I smiled at rude cafe patrons until my face ached. I worked double shifts until my feet swelled. He never worked a hard day in his miserable life, yet he felt entitled to mine.

Silvano rolled his eyes, devoid of all remorse. "Are you done being so dramatic over a few notes?"

I pushed myself off the counter, letting the hot tears spill over my eyelashes and carve tracks down my cheeks. "A few notes? A few notes you never had the guts to earn yourself. I can't believe I put up with your reckless behavior for this long. Do you even realize what you just did? You destroyed six years of my life! Six brutal years trying to save up enough to attend a medical college in the States, and you just blew it in one night!"

He scoffed, his dark eyes evaluating me with raw disgust. "You want to study medicine? In the States? Wake up, Milena. We do not get happy endings. We do not get fancy degrees or shiny mansions. You will never escape the wretchedness you were born into, no matter how hard you scrape and save. You belong right here in the gutter with me. When you are done sulking, go fix me something to eat."

I shook my head in pure disbelief, staring at the monster wearing my brother's face. "You are a sick piece of shit. All you do is take and take. What have you ever done for me besides drain my earnings on drugs and gambling? I even put you on a monthly allowance to stop you from stealing from my purse! I want you out of my life."

I pointed a shaking finger toward the open entryway. "Get the fuck out of my house."

Silvano threw his head back and let out a booming laugh. "You call this rat hole a house?"

"At least I pay the rent! I buy the groceries! I clean up your messes! If you had a shred of shame left in your body, you would stop leeching off your little sister. I am done picking up after a thirty-six year old man!" I screamed the words, my chest heaving as I tried to drown out his mocking laughter.

His laughter died instantly. A dark, dangerous shadow crossed his face. He bared his teeth. "Watch your mouth, Milena."

I balled my hands into tight fists and lunged at his solid chest, striking his collarbone with every ounce of desperate strength I possessed. "I never want to see your thieving face again! Vattene! Get out! Get the fuck out, Silvano!"

Silvano let out a feral roar. He wrapped his large hands around my upper arms, digging his thumbs deep into my flesh. "Enough!"

He shoved me backward with terrifying force.

My spine collided with the thick plaster wall. The impact knocked the wind straight out of my lungs. My skull bounced off the drywall with a muffled thud. I gasped for air, clutching my burning chest. Black spots danced on the edges of my vision.

He pointed a thick finger an inch from my nose. "You think you can just toss me out like trash? This is not over, Milena. I will be back."

He spun on his heel, marched out the front door, and slammed it shut. The force of the strike rattled the window panes and sent a shower of dust raining down onto the floorboards.

The silence left behind in the apartment felt heavy and suffocating. The adrenaline left my system in a rapid rush, leaving nothing but cold emptiness in its wake. I slid down the rough plaster wall. My legs refused to support my weight any longer. I crashed onto the cold linoleum floor. I pulled my knees tight against my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs, burying my wet face in the dark denim.

Why do we never get to pick our blood? Was this supposed to be family?

Sobs racked my body in heavy waves. I cried until my throat turned raw. I sat in that exact spot on the kitchen floor for hours. The deep shadows of night bled into the pale, creeping light of morning. I watched my beautiful, desperate dreams turn to ash and scatter like dust in the cold wind.

**********

A quiet, miserable week passed. The small apartment felt like a tomb. I went through the endless days in a hollow daze. I did not see or hear a single word from Silvano. Usually, after our explosive fights, he would storm out and return a day or two later, acting as if nothing happened. He was a dark shadow I could never shake loose. This time, the silence stretched on, heavy and final. I believed my parasite was gone for good.

I settled onto the faded fabric of the living room sofa on Friday evening. The only source of light came from the dim streetlamp outside the window. I peeled the plastic film off a ready-to-eat pasta cup. I picked up my plastic fork, prepared to eat my pathetic dinner in silence and go straight to sleep.

My phone lit up on the coffee table. The shrill ringtone shattered the quiet air.

I reached out, my fingers brushing the screen, but I froze. The caller ID flashed brightly in the dark room. Silvano.

My stomach turned to ice. A heavy knot of dread formed in my chest.

I pulled my hand back and watched the screen vibrate against the wood. My facial muscles tightened into a hard, cold mask. I had zero intention of answering him. Whatever apologies or excuses he cooked up were worthless to me now.

I flipped the phone upside down to muffle the sound. I pushed myself off the sofa, marched into the cramped kitchen, and hurled the uneaten pasta cup straight into the metal sink. My small appetite vanished.

The ringing cut out. A second of blessed silence followed. Then, the phone vibrated to life again. The digital chime echoed off the bare walls. I waited. It stopped. It started right back up.

It was relentless. He was not going to give up. The incessant noise scraped against my raw nerves until I could not take another second of it.

I stalked back into the living room. I snatched the phone off the table with a tight, white-knuckled grip. I swiped the green icon across the glass, ready to unleash hell on the man who ruined my life.

"I swear to God, I am going to block you if you keep up this harassment!" I hissed into the receiver.

"Please... help me, Milena."

The words were a wet, ragged whisper. The sound was a heart-wrenching whimper that cut through my righteous fury like a jagged blade.

My burning anger evaporated. I gripped the phone tighter, pressing the speaker hard against my ear. In my entire turbulent life, I had never heard my brother sound so broken and vulnerable.