Found and Forgotten

Chapter 38

Zeta POV

It's been 3 days since the party and only Enzo has heard me speak. It's killing the boys. Well at least the younger ones. Massimo is holed up in his office most of the time. Although, I can tell he is irritated when I ignore him at dinner.

They have been trying everything to get me to forgive them. My favorite foods for every meal. Gifts of all sorts show up at my door. And even heartfelt apologies from everyone but Massimo. To be honest, I've forgiven them days ago, soon after the party. But they didn't need to know that. I wanted to make them suffer a bit first. And, if I'm being honest, having people dote on me for once is really nice. I appreciate all the effort they're putting in.

I made my way to the gym for my morning workout with Enzo. To my surprise, Xander also happens to be there. I ignored him and said hi to Enzo before starting to warm up. As I got my gear on, I looked up to see Xander also putting on gear instead of Enzo. I looked at Enzo questioningly.

"Xander would like to spar with you today"  he explains.

"Why?" I ask.

"He says you deserve to beat him up. I also think he hopes letting you hit him will get you talking again" he shrugs.

Hmmm. Sparring with someone different could be fun. And I'm getting tired of all the silence myself, so I nod.

We spar and I win. I'm sure he wasnt trying his hardest though. As we are cleaning up, Xander says, "I really am sorry. I promise to be a better brother."

I don't respond at first, but as he defeatedly gets up and starts to walk away, I say "I forgive you."

"What?" He responds in shock.

"I said I forgive you."

Not a moment later, I am being lifted up into the air and spun around in a giant bear hug.

"Thank you, Z! I promise not to let you down!" He yells and I laugh.

Well one more down, now to forgive the rest. I shower and leave my room for breakfast. I didn't get very far. Gianni is pacing in front of his room. He stops when he sees me, clearly very nervous.

"H-hey, Z" he starts and I nod. I see his face light up. A nod is more than ige given in days.

"I was wondering if maybe you'd wanna watch the game together tonight? I know it's only preseason, but it could be fun I think. We could order in take out and have a table of appetizers and snacks. I know you're still mad which you deserve to be so I understand if you don't want to..." He continues rambling.

I can't help but smile and laugh a little at his nervousness. "Sure, sounds like fun." I say.

"Yeah I knew you wouldn't want to -- wait what???" He replied.

"I said it sounds like fun" I repeated.

"Cool. Thanks, Z. Can't wait" he replied and we made our way down to breakfast.

When I got to the kitchen, everyone was there. They seemed surprised that I was walking in with Gianni. I hugged Xander and Enzo. The twins and Massimo look jealous. But the twins jealousy didn't last long as Dante presented me with my favorite drink from Starbucks.

"Thanks, Dante!" I said with a hug. He seemed overjoyed at this. I did the same to Matteo when he Handed me an almond croissant to enjoy.

I had officially forgiven everyone but Massimo. I'm still awfully mad at him.

Gianni told everyone of our plans tonight so that they wouldn't expect us for dinner. Everyone wanted to join and have a family day. Gianni and I agreed only if they each bought a different game day snack. Massimo informed that he and Enzo had to work though. I'm sad Enzo can't join, but relieved not to be by Massimo more than I have to be for meals.

The rest of the day was uneventful. When it was closer to night, I headed towards the cinema room. All the boys were already there with enough food for 500 people. It was the start of one of the best nights I've had here. After the game, we all passed out on the couch, and, for the first time in weeks, I slept peacefully.

I even woke up late. Sad I missed my morning gym session with Enzo, but glad for the much needed sleep. I look around to see the rest of the boys still sleeping and all the food cleaned up, presumably by the maids.

With nothing better to do, I slowly get up and head to my room. But, when I pass Massimo's office, I hear, "Zeta, can you come here please?" Sigh. Here we go.

I walk into the office to see Massimo and Enzo. Enzo is working on his laptop, pretending to be oblivious to what is going on. I sat down in the chair with my arms crossed, glaring at Massimo.

"I would like to know why you are ignoring me still and not the rest of your brothers. You have forgiven everyone but me and Is like to know why. Is it because they brought you gifts?" At this, even Enzo snorts a little. "I didn't think you were vain like that." He continued.

"How dare you accuse me of that" I snap. "It's because of the effort they've put in. Every single one of them has given me a fully heart felt apology while you just hid in here. You need to apologize the most and you've apologized the least" I yell.

"Well I am sorry we missed your birthday. But we did throw a party to make up for it. You're 17, I didn't think it was that big of a deal." He said.

"You're unbelievable. It has everything to do with you forgetting me. I've been forgotten my whole life and you guys tricked me into thinking I'm someone worth caring about again just to take it away. Especially you. You're not just my brother. You're my guardian. You should be thinking about me the most. You signed every paper to adopt me back. You seen my birthday hundreds of times in the last few months. So yes, you have hurt me the most." I rant.

I see the guilt on his face. "Z, I am sorry for making you feel forgotten. I am so used to throwing myself into work and I know I messed up. I promise to try to change" he says.

I just nod, tired of this. "Can you forgive me?" He asks. "Maybe for the birthday thing. Though, if it happens again, I will be fully done acknowledging your role in my life. But you are far from forgiven for breaking your promise. I have lost all my trust in you" I declare.

"What promise?" He asked.

"Why did you go away again? Cause I remember a little deal we made. If it incolved me, I would be well informed. You know l, for mafia guys, you aren't too good at hiding things" I say.

As Im talking, I see the realization strike in his facial features. Now he knows he really messed up. I can see Enzo figuring everything out in his head too as he sends a look of disappointment to Massimo.

"I'm done with this. You can work to regain my trust or you can sign my guardianship over to Enzo. But I'm not going to sit here and coddle you about a mistake you made" I say and begin to walk out.

"Zeta. I know I messed up, but please forgive me. I was just trying to protect you" he says.

"You can protect me and keep your promises. I'm not the same little girl that you abandoned." I leave no room for reply as I walk out of the office with my head held high, happy to finally put him in his place.