Family Means Everything (Book 3)

Chapter 1

Bella's POV

This past year has gone by fast. School's over at last and it's now the end of June.

Today is the official first day of summer and our family is having a big barbecue. Dad and the boys are gonna cook the meat while us girls prepare the rest.

Lauren and I toss a salad and place it out back on a table. The others do the same with their food. The smoke wafts through the air and makes me smile.

"WAIT," Dani screams and we all quickly turn to look at her.

"What??" Amy asks.

"We need music!" she yells and runs inside to go get her iPod. We all laugh at her enthusiasm but I definitely agree with her. Music makes everything better.

Dani puts her iPod on shuffle and we all sing and dance around the backyard. Katherine starts doing this really crazy dance and Lisa's facial expressions are too much for me.

I fall to the grass laughing. That gets my sisters laughing and they jump on top of me.

"Owwww!" I screech as a mountain forms on top of me. They get off slowly and I rub my stomach.

"Are you guys trying to kill me?" I ask in an accusing voice.

"Uhhh nope," Laur says laughing.

"We just wanted to show our love by piling on top of you," Christina smirks. I playfully slap her.

Alex serves up the hamburgers as I pile food on my plate. I sit between Lisa and Kath as I shovel my dinner into my mouth. The hamburger is soooo good!

"I have an announcement," Mom stands up and smiles a little. We all turn our heads and look at her.

"What is it?" Mike asks.

"Your dad and I are going to be flying to Seattle tomorrow but will only be staying there the night and flying home the next day. Mike and Christina will be in charge."

WHAT?! They're going to Seattle, my home town, without me?? Wow okay, how nice of them. As I hear a chorus of "okay" and "have fun" I put on a fake smile and do the same.

After dinner I go to my room and lay on my bed. I wonder if they even realize what Seattle means to me. They don't seem to.

All my sisters and brothers are hanging downstairs with Mom and Dad but I'm not in the mood.

Soon enough I get bored though and I decide to go down but to stick to my siblings. I see a small bit of room left on the couch so I plunk there, laying my head on Christina's shoulder as she is sitting next to me.

"Where were you?" she whispers in my ear.

"My bed," I whisper back and she nods but gives me a glance that looks like "we'll talk about this later." I sigh and watch the movie.

Divergent is playing and Dani, Lauren, Lisa, and Amy are really excited. Gosh, they love this movie.

I half watch and half think. It ends and we all head upstairs, Mom and Dad hug and kiss us because they're leaving at 4 am tomorrow morning and know none of us will be up. I hug them back, telling myself they realize and are sorry I can't come with.

I take a shower and put on my soft pajamas. I crawl into bed and Christina, Katherine, Amy and I exchange goodnights. Then I fall into the warm and peaceful darkness.

My eyes shoot open as I hear the soft ring of a phone. I realize it's the house one in Mom and Dad's room. I jump off my top bunk quietly and run to it.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hello is this the Cimorelli house?" a male voice asks.

"Yes... may I ask who's calling?" I say.

"My name is Dave Gale and I'm a police officer. I'd like to speak to whoever is in charge."

"Um all my sisters and brothers are sleeping but my name is Bella. You can talk to me," I say.

"Are you sure Bella? I have some bad news..." He sounds hesitant and also sad. My heart starts to race. Police officer... bad news... what happened?!

"Yeah please tell me," I say but unsure of if I want to hear it. Maybe I should've woken up Christina or Mike. I notice the time is 4:40 am.

"Your parents were in a car crash."

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Hi everyone!

This is the third book in my series so if you haven't yet read Cimorelli Saved Me and Love, Fun, and Disasters, you should read them first to make more sense of this story.

If you have already read those then first off THANK YOU! :) It means a lot to have readers and means even more that you vote and comment as well.

I love you all and hope you enjoy this story!

~Courtney