SINBOUND

VII

I didn't get a blink of sleep last night.

It was 7am now and I was beyond tired. Ares was fast asleep next to me. He was having nightmares all night on and off so I stayed awake so I could keep waking him up when needed.

I guess Riccardo's annoying screeching brought back some not so good memories for him.

I sighed as I slowly got out of the bed, running a hand over my face. I glanced at the unpacked bags in the corner, that I would just take for me and Ares tomorrow when we left to go back to Russia for the funeral.

At least today wouldn't be all that bad, though. I'll get to see Pa, Jay, Noah, and hopefully Ma, too, tonight.

I did my hygiene and came out to Ares sitting up on the bed, rubbing his eyes. I smiled.

"What's crack-a-lackin, my dude?" I asked as I ruffled his hair playfully. He scowled and shoved my hand away.

"Sorry, Lilin." He groaned, feeling guilty about last night. 

"Don't apologize. You've done the same for me before," with that, I hugged him before gently shoving him off the bed into a pile of pillows on the floor. He laughed and went to do his own hygiene while I tidied up.

I quickly put on some sweatpants and a sweater and set out a similar outfit for Ares. I looked through our bags to make sure we were prepared tonight and by the time we were both ready the maid came knocking on the door.

I opened it and she smiled, informing us breakfast was ready and the 'family' was waiting.

I sighed and brought Ares down with me. We walked into a silent dining room and sat down, everybody staring. I took note that the father of the year wasn't here, but instead Armani was sitting in his seat at the end of the table.

Interesting.

"Goodmorning, Lilin. Ares. I hope you slept well," Armani said coolly. I nodded and tried to avoid Enzo's eyes that were staring intensely at me.  

We waited in silence for the food until Riccardo spoke up.

"You're not gonna ask where my Dad's at?" He asked us suspiciously.

"It's not my business." I said, muttering a thank you to the maids who just brought the food.

"Well, in case you were wondering, our dad," Carlo sent a pointed look to Riccardo, "is settling some things before the business meeting tonight. Which I'll say again, is one you're not allowed to be around for, but it's okay — you can always just grab a bunch of snacks and hide in your room."

"Great," I said dryly.

Armani cleared his throat. "I'd like to say that last night was...it wasn't okay, and it won't happen again. It was a heated moment and although I don't tolerate arguing, I'll let this pass for good cause."

Riccardo scoffed and Enzo elbowed him straight in the ribs, causing him to wheeze. "Jesus, fine — im sorry for causing so much trouble. Happy?" He yelped.

I just nodded. I looked over to see Ares just playing with his food, nervously glancing up at Riccardo every few seconds. Riccardo took notice and raised an eyebrow, making eye contact and Ares quickly looked away with a red face.

Great. Now he's scared of his half brother. Awesome.

I pushed Ares' plate closer to him and gave him a look, making him shovel food in his mouth. I finished my plate and got up, leaving the room with Ares hot on my trail without a word.

"God, dramatics and theatrics, im telling you," I heard Riccardo from the other room. Somebody scolded him and a few minutes later the front door could be heard slamming open and shut.

I snorted. Deserved.

Once we were settled back in my room I turned to Ares. "Remember strawberry, I'll always protect you. Yes?" I smiled and he returned it. "You don't need to be scared of anything. I'm here."

He but his lip and turned around. "I'm not scared."

I sighed. "Well, you don't need to be shy. Especially not around Riccardo. If he does anything, kick him in the balls and run, yes?"

Ares snorted and was about to respond when I heard an 'uhm...' come from the doorway. I whipped around to see Carlo standing there.

"You know he's not gonna try anything, right? He's just got a temper," Carlo chuckled nervously. I didn't even hear the door open.

"Yeah, whatever." I muttered. "Do you need something?"

Carlo scratched his head nervously and Elio came up behind him.

"Well, we were wondering if we could like.. you know, spend time with you guys. We wanted to give you a few days to settle in first but we're kind of impatient," Carlo said and his face burned red.

I thought for a moment and looked over to Ares, who just shrugged. He seemed to be comfortable enough around them, but was I?

"I don't think today's a good day," I muttered. They nodded and sadly and oh, SO dramatically turned away and for some reason, my heart sank. "Wait!" I yelled out and they halted in their steps, giving each other a high five before turning back.

"Yes?" Elio asked, batting his eyelashes rapidly.

"I guess we can like...watch a movie or something. Or, I can like...show you...like, around Russia tomorrow...if — if you guys are coming to the funeral." I gulped.

Carlo ran and hopped right into my bed, Enzo following quick behind. I smiled and grabbed the remote and switched on the television before plopping myself on the bed.

There was no room on the bed for Ares so I quickly tried to get up.

Key Word — Tried.

Elio was quick to practically body slam me back down on the bed and used his legs to chuck Carlo off the bed. He landed on the floor with a thud and Ares happily jumped in on his spot.

"You asshole!" Carlo groaned, rubbing his head.

"LANGUAGE! There are children here." Elio said, sticking his nose up in the air.

I let out a dramatic gasp. "You little shit, children?? ONE child."

He rolled his eyes. "I was actually talking about me and Ares but okay."

Carlo snorted and laid down on the foot of the bed as he switched through shows. "You're basically a grown a — euhh...man, shut the flipping flop up."

I raised an eyebrow. They're like 3 year olds stuck in grown men's bodies.

Ares let out a giggle and they looked at him with an adoring expression. Carlo finally put on a show and we all sank back into the bed, getting comfy. Ares eventually fell asleep into Elio's shoulder and Carlo's head was laying on my legs. I usually wouldn't let anybody do that, but right now...

I just felt safe.

I could get used to this.

Even though that should be a comforting thought, it scared me. More than it should've.

And with that terrifying vision in my head, I let myself slip into a deep sleep.
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WC: 1208
I fear I actually didn't reread this chapter at all so like spelling mistakes...avoid it