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

The Mall

~At the mall~

Tamsyn POV

I've been to the mall once because of a kill mission on someone acting as a Starbucks barista. To say the least, these types of places have always overwhelmed me. The twins, on the other hand, were fascinated. Kyler noticed their awed expressions and chuckled.

"Y'all are acting like this is your first time in a mall," he said. Ashton and Aspen quickly looked away while trying to hide their faces. Kyler's eyes widened as he quickly looked at me to confirm his suspicions.

"Wait...have you guys actually never been to a mall before?" Everett asks slowly after seeing our reactions. I grimace as I realize I can't lie about this.

"Uuuh...our mom wasn't a fan," I said, trying to shrug it off. At this, even Ezekiel furrowed his eyebrows and shared a knowing glance at Kyler. I didn't know what it meant, but hopefully, it wasn't a big deal.

We went to a bunch of stores, and despite our constant refusal, they kept putting more stuff in the cart for each of us. After a couple of hours, the boys seemed hungry, so we went to the food court. We ordered Taco Bell, and honestly, I quite enjoyed it.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around to see Aspen.

"I need to use the restroom," she said quietly. I looked around and saw the restroom signs a little farther away from where we were.

"Ok, I'll come with you," I said as I got up to walk with her. I could tell Ashton was torn about whether to come with us or not. Out of habit, he would have come with us and waited outside, but the other brothers would have sensed something weird about that. I gave him a look to tell him to just stay while we went. He nodded and continued eating.

Ashton POV

Once my sisters left, I suddenly felt vulnerable to all the other men on the table. It was the first time I was alone with the other boys, and I already didn't like it. I tried to consume the taco I was eating as if it were the most interesting thing I had ever seen in my life. Much to the contrary of what I wanted, Kyler cleared his throat and started talking.

"So Ashton. You aren't much of a talker, are you?" he asked, breaking the silence. I just nodded and hummed a yes.

"C'mon kid, don't think you're too good to respond to him verbally," Ezekiel scoffed. I tensed my shoulders and looked down.

"Oh my god bro, cut it out," Everett scolded his twin.

"Yea, he's probably too sensitive to deal with us since he's just grown up around sisters his entire life," Ezekiel argued back. I hated the way he said sisters, as if the word held poison in it. I looked up and glared at him, my eyes finally registering the cold look in his.

"Oh, look at that, the little chick is angry," he said amusingly. I knew better than to let it get to me, but I was suddenly brought back to when Blake would play manipulation games with me to get me to torture his prisoners by telling me that I was weak and useless. Before I knew it, I was shaking, and I felt heat rising in my chest. No! I can't have a panic attack right now. I can't!

I felt a warm hand take mine, and my eyes fell on Everett's soft eyes.

"Hey, you ok lil bro?" I stared at him for a couple of seconds before feeling the heat subside, and my body felt stable again.

"Y-yea sorry, I think I had a brain freeze," I said, cringing at my own excuse as I eyed the baja blast that I barely even touched. He raised his eyebrow but didn't argue. I looked up to see Kyler looking as if he was in deep thought. I tried my best to ignore them and mentally willed my sisters to hurry up.

As if my twin telepathy worked, I see Aspen walking towards us with Tamsyn trailing behind her. I instantly perked up and shot them a quick smile. Aspen smiled back and ruffled my hair before sitting down.

"Hey! My hair was actually looking good today!" Aspen just smirked and rolled her eyes.

~Timeskip~ ~Back at the house~

Kyler POV

After the kids got their things sanctioned and in their rooms, I went to Theo's office, where I saw him and dad conversing about a recent shipment. They looked at me when I entered and immediately hardened their faces when they saw that I looked serious. I closed the door behind me and ran my hands through my hair before taking a seat on one of the chairs.

"Did something happen?" dad asked me curiously. Theo took a seat closer to me, and dad leaned against the desk.

"It's about the kids," I sighed. Both of them immediately looked concerned.

"Which ones? Everyone in this house except us are kids," dad asked with a 'duh' attitude in his voice.

"Tamsyn, Ashton, and Aspen." they were silent, waiting for me to continue. "Don't you guys feel like something is off?" I asked.

"I think it's just because of the sudden change...and they did just lose their mother. Maybe we're being too insensitive to that fact," dad said.

"But don't think it's weird that they were homeschooled, never ate McDonald's before, and even never went to a mall before?" I asked again. They looked surprised at the last revelation because we all knew how much our mom loved malls.

"She probably just changed," Theodore said harshly before turning around to look out the window. Dad seemed to agree, so I decided to leave it be. 

Thank you guys for reading this chapter! Please let me know what y'all think. Please vote and follow!

Love,

Day Lilac ♡