Aria

Chapter 23

-Aria-

I twist and turn to get myself to fall asleep but I couldn't. After around 20 minutes I decide to get a book from the shelf to read. Although I'm almost finished with my previous book, a small read might be nice to refresh myself a bit. I peek my face out of the blanket and feel a cool breeze on my cheeks. Someone must have turned on the fan.

Zeno was still in his previous position watching the match.

Before I could fully sit up Zeno whips his head in my direction. Lifting his eyebrows, he questions, "What are you doing?"

I still and lean back into the couch, fisting the blanket in my hands. "I j-just wanted to get a book." I point to the shelf and turn my gaze back to his.

He leaps up from the couch and walks over. His eyes wandered to all the titles the shelf held, "Which one?"

Afraid to choose a book he might not like I reply, "I don't have a particular one in mind."

He smirks a bit before grabbing a couple of books and walking over. "Here, you might like these."

I reach out as he places them in my hands. "Thank you for getting these," I say before looking down to read the titles. A smile breaks out on my face and I let out a small laugh; The Cat in the Hat, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Green Eggs and Ham.

I place two of the books down and pick up, Green Eggs and Ham, to read. When I opened the book, I could tell it was read pretty often. The plain blank page held crayon scribbles all over it with several dates listed in it's corner.

"Those are a list of our birth dates, Nonna first bought the book when Alessandro was born and it's been 'passed down' ever since."

Zeno picks up the remote and sits on the couch beside me. He pulls the book out of my hands before I could look over the dates and flips to the next page. Pulling the blanket from the couch, he holds it open before laying it over me.

Expecting him to hand me back the book I bring my hand out of the blanket. To my surprise, he suddenly clears his throat and brings the book in front of me, "I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them Sam-I-am..." I watch in shock as he continues to read the book to me.

He flips to the third page before abruptly stopping after glancing my way, "What? It's not like no one's ever read to you before." I lower my eyes and pinch my finger to stop the sting I felt after hearing that.

No one ever has.

Zeno coughs and my attention is brought back to him, "I... I didn't mean it like that. When you were little I used to uh read this book to you." he scratches his neck before flipping back to the front page, he smirks before pointing to my birthdate, "I was fighting with Leo to write down your date, but Nonno snatched the book and wrote it instead." His fingers trace over the dates before speaking again, "It just reminded me of when you were a baby."

Although I couldn't remember, I could picture toddler aged Zeno and Leo, fighting to read the book aloud to the family. I smile at that thought and open the book back to the third page, urging him to continue. I close my eyes and feel myself beginning to relax as I hear Zeno's deep yet soothing voice. The thought of Zeno reading to me would have never crossed my mind but it is definitely a moment I will remember forever.