The Collins Curse | ✓

17.2 | "answer it before it stops ringing"

Miles was for sure he was starting to see things.

He was also for sure he was going crazy now.

It was getting ridiculous.

It wasn't Kenzie who called, nope, it was his cousin Kamalia who called asking about the Thanksgiving dinner they were having at their Nonna's house. How he got Kenzie from Kamalia he had no idea, but his heart further ached for the girl he hadn't talked to. He absolutely missed hearing her sweet angelic voices.

It had been five days since he last spoke to Lainey, their conversation had left him uneasy. Miles didn't know a thing about Kenzie's life besides the little details she mentioned before. He didn't know exactly what Kenzie was going through or how horrid it must be to the point Lainey had to assure him that Kenzie would tell him everything when the time came. Just hearing those words made him feel ill and the most unimaginable circumstances were dancing around in his head. The thoughts were becoming overwhelming. Miles had honestly hoped and prayed ever since Kenzie's little disappearing act that she was better than all right and whatever she was going through would soon be easier to overcome as the days went by.

"Hey Emilio, Nonna told me to give you this! It's a from a fresh batch she made earlier."

It wasn't his sister, Isabella's voice that disrupted his thoughts but the smell of the sweet decadent coffee and bitter cocoa that invaded his nostrils and made his stomach grumble in excitement. His sister Isabella laughed at how one slice of their grandmother's tiramisu cake could make Miles forget the thoughts invading his mind. He looked up at his sister who was still giggling as she handed him the slice of heaven he was about to devour.

"Bella this is huge!"

"When have you ever complained about your desserts being huge Emilio?"

Emilio. It was his Italian name that he was given by his parents when he was adopted. He was named after his great-grandfather on his mother's side who passed away fighting during World War II. Great Nonno Emilio was considered to be the backbone of the Italian army that unfortunately passed away fighting for what he believed in. That's why Miles excepted the name gracefully when his parents told him his family history, he wanted to change his name into something meaningful. Though he loved that his name was filled with history that he took pride in, sometimes he simply wished to be Miles, and with Kenzie, he felt that. He wasn't always fond of his name. It held too many bad memories that he didn't like to remember, but when Kenzie said his name for the very first he loved it, absolutely loved the way the name fell from her lips, and he didn't want to hide from his past anymore. Miles wanted to accept his past with open arms because without it he wouldn't be where he was today.

"Yeah, but this is bigger than your head, huge." Miles exclaimed despite how happy he was at the sight of the ginormous cake.

"Haha! Nonna said you have become too skinny for her liking, and you need to put meat your bones."

Miles quirked his eyebrows and stared at Isabella in annoyance.

"Nonna's words NOT mine." Isabella giggled as she held up her hands in surrender sliding in the booth across from him.

Leave it to his grandmother to fatten up the strongest, healthiest, and the most muscular man with the amount of food that she would serve to them, leaving them in a food coma for days. Miles was nowhere near boney like his grandmother claimed. He was toned and muscular in all the right places, and he had football to thank that for.

Regardless of his grandmother's intentions, he would never in a million years give up a chance to indulge in her mouthwatering desserts, no matter how big or how small. He simply loved them just as much as he loved is Nonna.