The Ones Who Saved Us

Chapter 24

Avalee's POV

I never went back to sleep after that phone call. I pretended to do so in order to ease Arya's worries, but not knowing how Papa and my brothers were doing caused fear to churn in my stomach, preventing my eyes from closing without false images of my family's dead bodies plaguing my vision.

Arya easily fell asleep, her arm loosely wrapped around my waist, while I tried to turn my mind off, but no matter what, I couldn't stop the invasive thoughts telling me that something went wrong on their trip to find Cameron. Until Papa and my brothers were safe at home, I wouldn't be able to relax.

When Arya's alarm went off, she got ready for her dance class, but one look at me made her want to cancel. She had offered to take me with her, saying that the five fours of her dance practice would provide a much needed distraction, but I couldn't accept the offer. I needed to be home when my family returned.

Arya soon left with a few guards following her close behind to protect her in case Cameron tried something. For the next thirty minutes, I kept my eyes glued on the window overlooking the driveway, earning looks of concern from both Teddy and Amelia. But they didn't understand how scared I was. How I had called every single one of them after my nightmare and none of them answered, not until Papa called back an hour later.

After what felt like an eternity of staring at the empty driveway, a black SUV pulled up, Papa stepping out from the driver's side a moment later. At that second, I bolted out of the house in nothing but a t-shirt and sweatpants, my bare feet slapping against the pavement as I neared Papa and crushed him in a hug.

"Good to see you too, tesoro," he chuckled.

"Where's my hug?"

I looked behind me where I saw Elijah smiling at me with Leo beside him. A smug grin pulled on my lips as I tightened my hold on Papa. "You don't get one. Hugs are only reserved for my favorite people, and you're not included in that list."

"Whatever you say, amore," Elijah said, his smile never dropping.

Just then, Alessandro exited the car from the passenger's seat, causing my eyes to widen. The first few buttons on my brother's button-down shirt were undone. A blazer hung loosely over his shoulders, but his arms didn't go through it due to the sling that Alessandro's left arm was resting in.

I carefully walked over to him, my arms instinctively going for a hug but pulling back in fear of hurting him. Alessandro sighed, using his uninjured arm to pull me into his chest and kiss the top of my head. "Tesoro, I swear I'm fine. I got a little hurt, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"What happened?"

Alessandro pulled away and placed his hand on my back. "Let's talk inside. I promise I'll tell you everything."

When we walked inside, Alessandro, Papa, and Amelia went to the living room to talk while the rest of us went to the dining room. Elijah came back with a few boxes of cereal and a milk jug, saying, "I'm too tired to cook. We're having cereal for breakfast."

As Elijah handed out bowls and spoons, we started serving ourselves, Teddy making sure to annoy the twins by finishing the Rice Krispies—a cereal that Teddy doesn't even like. I'm honestly surprised Emilio and Matteo haven't murdered him by now with how much Teddy has been pushing their buttons recently.

Papa and Alessandro soon joined us at the dining table, and I handed them the bowls that I had filled with each of their favorite cereal. Cinnamon Toast Crunch for Papa and Honey Bunches of Oats for Alessandro.

"Thanks, Aves," Alessandro said. His smile soon turned into a frown when he saw my bowl of Lucky Charms. "Did we run out of Honey Bunches of Oats?"