Lost And Found

Chapter 7

It was silent for a long while, each of them lost in their own thoughts, but the next thing she knew, they were pulling into a long, winding driveway, flanked by tall wrought-iron gates with a surprising amount of guards surrounding the place. Beyond the gates, a sprawling estate came into view, and Angela felt her breath catch in her throat.

The manor before her was like something out of a movie. The large marble structure was massive and the entrance was beautiful. The perfectly manicured garden stretched out in every direction, filled with perfectly trimmed hedges, and a fountain in the center of the circular driveway.

"Holy..." Angela whispered, unable to finish her sentence as her eyes drank in the sight. She had known they were well-off, but this...this was something else entirely.

Lorenzo chuckled at her reaction. "Yeah, it's a bit much, huh?"

"A bit?" Angela said, still wide-eyed as the car rolled to a stop in front of the grand entrance. "This place is...it's like a bloody palace."

Matteo smiled at her. "We've lived here our whole lives, so we're kind of used to it. But yeah, it can be a little overwhelming at first."

"A little overwhelming?" Angela repeated, still in disbelief. "I can't believe you guys live here."

"Pretty cool, right?" Nico said with a grin.

Angela nodded slowly, still taking it all in. She had never even imagined living in a place like this. Her entire apartment could probably fit in just one of the rooms here. When they finally parked and got out the car, she couldn't but pause looking up in awe

Angela couldn't help but look up in awe when they finally got out of the car. The place looked way bigger now that she was standing right in front of it. Living in a city, she'd seen impressive buildings before, but nothing like this. She felt like she was in a dream, and any moment she would wake up in her tiny apartment, with its creaky floors, peeling paint, and the same relentless fear that haunted her every moment.

"Come on sweetheart," Her dad said to her softly, snapping her out of her wonder, and she looked to see them all staring at her with soft smiles on their faces and her face reddened slightly as she realized she'd clearly been staring at the house (if you could even call it that) for quite a bit.

"Aww. Look at you blushing. You're adorable," Matteo said, reaching up to squeeze her cheeks but her mind clearly expected something else and she instinctively flinched away from him. His smile dropped immediately, his eyes shining with hurt and concern as he slowly dropped his hands.

She winced internally as they all looked at her with the same look on their face. She quickly tried to come up with a believable lie. "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to...I was just surprised is all. James wasn't into physical affection. I'm not used to it." Their faces showed sadness on her behalf but atleast they wouldn't come to any other conclusion. She didn't know why she was so adamant about them not knowing, he wasn't alive anymore to threaten her after all, but she supposed it was so ingrained to keep quiet that she'd probably never feel comfortable speaking about it with anyone.

"Well now I'm going to make it my personal mission to help you get used to it. We're not overly affectionate ourselves Angel, but with you, it's impossible not to be. You just look so huggable," Matteo said to her with a grin.

"Angel?" She asked with a smile on her face. She couldn't help it, he was really sweet.

"Yes. It fits, and it's gonna stick," Matteo said, nodding his head.

Her smile widened and suddenly she had this weird urge to hug him, so after a moment's hesitation she went with it. Stepping forwards she wrapped her arms around his shoulders really hoping he wouldn't squeeze. Her ribs were still killing her after all, but it had become a bit more bearable than before. He froze for a second at her action before he gently, much to her relief, wrapped both his arms around her, and even though they weren't that far apart in age, her height made it so she was practically swallowed in his arms.