Lost in Shadows, Found in Family (A Mafia Reunion Story)

The Nerves

Tamsyn's POV

I was sitting with Ashton and Aspen, impatiently waiting for our father to arrive. The nerves were unmatched. I always had a feeling that they were alive and that mom was hiding something from us, but I never tried to pry because I knew she was already going through a lot. Now, I wish I did. If he didn't know that the twins existed, it means mom left right before they were born. Ashton's hand squeezed mine, and I could feel his fingers shaking. We were scared. We were never wanted. We were never loved. The only person who tried to protect us was our mom, but even she couldn't do much. 'You three are good for nothings! You think anyone will want you now that you have so much blood on your hands?' As if reading my mind, Aspen spoke up.

"He won't even want us after he figures out what we have done," Aspen said, looking down.

"Yea, maybe we should just run away or something? Who knows, maybe he'll even send us back to...B-blake," Ashton whispered. Before I could respond to him, the door was tugged open, and two tall men walked in behind Ms. McMiller. Instinctively, all three of us stood up immediately, but I felt Aspen flinch a little when she moved so fast. That gash was bad.

"Tamsyn, Ashton, and Aspen. This is your father...and your older brother," Ms.McMiller said with a smile. Ashton and Aspen looked at each other in shock, probably upon hearing the words 'older brother' but for some reason, I wasn't overly surprised about that fact. Both the men were looking at us coldly and their auras were definitely more intimidating than Blake's. Then, the older-looking man stepped forward and introduced himself.

"Hello children, I'm Francesco Fontana, your father," he said, surprisingly softly. I was about to introduce myself but then he took his hand and lightly brushed my cheek. I flinched from the sudden contact but didn't stop him. "You must be Tamsyn...my Tammie," he said with a voice mixed with relief and sadness. He took a deep breath and looked behind me to the twins. Something in his gaze changed. It felt less warm and suddenly I was scared he wasn't going to accept them. I stepped back, trying to cover the twins from him. After he realized what I was doing, he immediately dropped his cold gaze and looked at them with hurt in his eyes.

"Ashton and Aspen...you have beautiful names," he said softly with a small smile as if to reassure them. They slowly stepped forward and responded with "Thank You" at the same time. I could tell Francesco was having a hard time figuring out what to say and that's when the other man spoke up.

"Hey. I'm Theodore, your oldest brother," he said blankly.

"Oldest brother?!" Aspen blurted out, with wide eyes. Theodore nodded.

"Yes. You have four more," he responded. Aspen looked like she was about to pass out, and Ashton stepped closer to her just in case she actually gave out. She never dealt well when it came to interacting with males, especially after what Blake would do.

Theodore's POV

Tamsyn was all grown un now. She had long curly-wavy hair and grew up to be beautiful...like mom. At first, all of my attention was on her. Analyzing her features, mannerisms, and everything about her. My father's voice brought me out of my thoughts.

"Ashton and Aspen...you have beautiful names," I heard him say, as I finally let my eyes wander to the two other figures standing slightly behind Tamsyn. The moment I laid my eyes on them, I felt the same tug at my heart that I felt for Tamsyn. My youngest siblings. Ashton looked so much like how Kyler looked when he was young and Aspen was like his female version.

When I said I was their oldest brother, Aspen's outburst surprised me. It didn't sound just shocked, but almost scared as well. I noticed how Ashton scooched closer to her and I inwardly smiled, acknowledging the act of protectiveness towards his sister.

"Let's go," I said as I walked to the door.

Third POV

Tamsyn felt an unknown sense of relief when they got on the jet. It was something about knowing she was getting further away from Blake and The Guild. Once they were strapped into their seats, Francesco started speaking again.

"So kids, since I came here on such short notice, I wasn't able to look into anything about you," he started. All three of the kids suddenly got tense as they waited for him to continue. "So what do you like, what are your hobbies?" he asked. The twins looked at Tamsyn, silently urging her to answer first.

"Um, well, I like reading and I often daydream a lot," Tamsyn said shrugging. She didn't really know what to say since they weren't allowed to have hobbies. Sometimes, their mom would sneak in a couple of books for them to read, usually educational. Since they weren't allowed to go to school, all of their education came from the books they read.

"I like playing games like charade and mafia!" Aspen said enthusiastically. Francesco and Theodore inwardly flinched at the second game but easily hid it. They were happy Aspen had finally spoken up.

"I...like drawing," Ashton said, as his eyes found the ground very interesting. He was embarrassed that it was the only thing he had done that he found fun and most people consider it a feminine hobby.

"That's great," Francesco said with a faint smile. "Why don't you three get some sleep, it's going to be a long while before we arrive," he said, "The room is to your left."

The kids looked to their left curiously, intrigued that there were beds on the jet. Ultimately though, all three of them have always had a hard time sleeping in the presence of people for the fear of waking up without each other. They were about to shake their heads no when Theodore said, "You can all go together." They looked at each other again hesitantly. It had been more than twenty-four hours since they had actually slept and it was definitely starting to get hard to keep their eyes open.

"Ok," Tamsyn said, getting up and leading her siblings to the room.

Aspen's POV

I couldn't. I couldn't do it. I could never sleep knowing those two scary-looking men were right there. I wanted to cry.

"I can't. I'll just stay up," I said weakly to my siblings. Ashton shook his head.

"No way. It's been too long since you've slept," Ashton said firmly. After he saw my defiant face he said, "Fine, I'll stay awake and watch while you sleep," he said. As good as it sounded, I knew he was sleep-deprived too and I couldn't possibly let him suffer while I got to rest peacefully.

"I'll stay awake. Both of you sleep. No questions," Tamsyn said in a firm tone. I knew better than to argue. I could tell Ashton was biting his tongue not to say anything. He hated it when Tammie protected and sacrificed her own well-being for us. But he also knew that there was no use trying to argue.

As soon as our heads hit the pillows, we were whisked away to dreamland. 

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Love,

Day Lilac ♡