AMORE

Phone calls

"Fuck" Lorenzo cursed as he heard the sound of raindrops slamming against the ground. The sound was distracting him from hearing Khalid who sighed loudly on the other side. Lorenzo felt frustration build up inside of him and he slammed the hood shut loudly. As a reflex, his eyes quickly diverted to the girl sleeping soundly in the passenger seat. It was after a long time that Bella had slept with the aura of the man, she loved, surrounding her. Her sleep held on to her tightly, making her unknown to Lorenzos realization of the car stopping up or him standing outside trying to fix the problem with Khalid on the phone.

"Moretti just hold on and I will be there soon" Khalids voice interrupted the emotions in Lorenzos head, snapping him out of the trace of looking at Bella.

"No, Khalid. It's too dark and the rain is pouring at this side of town. I am sure that the roads are blocked by now" Lorenzo spoke sensibly, hearing the brotherly tone in Khalids voice that blinded the facts to him.

"But my princess is really scared of the thunder, Moretti and I won't be able to sleep. Oh Allah, why the fuck is it raining-" Khalid cussed as he sat under the roof of his family house and looked outside the window. Nerves were getting to him and the revelation he was exposed to a few minutes ago was as clear as day. So clear that even Lorenzo could hear the stress in his voice.

"Khalid" Lorenzo interrupted the man who hummed in response. "Breath" he reminded the man whose voice was getting strained from the lack of oxygen. Khalid visibly relaxed and even if Lorenzo couldn't look at him, he heard the loud sigh that escaped his mouth.

"Moretti, fuck" Khalid whispered as he decided to walk towards his sisters empty room where no one could hear his conversation. The silence that followed that statement gave Lorenzo time to sit down in the car silently, without waking Bella up.  "What? Is the business okay? Is it something about Lee?" Lorenzo questioned when he didn't hear anything from Khalid.

"Well" Khalid spoke awkwardly and chuckled at the situation he was in. "Forget it Moretti, you won't understand" he said quickly, to escape the talk he was about to dive in.

"Fuck you, idiot. I am actually a great listener" Lorenzo joked and smiled as he heard Khalid laugh. Lorenzo took of his jacket and threw it in the backseat while hearing Khalids response; "I have a hard time believing that. Just take care of my princess"

Lorenzo shook his head and quickly stopped the serious talk that he knew Khalid was going to drown him in; "Princess who?" he joked, to which Khalid tried hard not to smirk to. He was happy that no one could see him in the room because he would forever hear about Adams jealous rant of how he actually liked the Italians.

"Your ass" Khalid joked back; hearing Lorenzo laugh at a level that wouldn't wake up his amore. "She is myprincess now buddy. Back off" Lorenzo remarked and quickly added a "You have Yasmine" to explain his point.

The statement was yet another start to a long moment of silence. Khalid scratched the back of his neck and hung his head low. "About that..." he trailed off to which Lorenzo furrowed his brows in confusion. "I can't believe that I am talking to you about this, but you are probably the only person that wont sugar coat shit" he continued, trying to express to himself and Lorenzo his reasons for telling this.

"Spill the beans" Lorenzos bored tone was evident as he waited for an answer.

"If I am the king, what is Yasmine then?" Khalid questioned Lorenzo who tried his best to not say a stupid joke. He also was beyond bored in the stranded area while Bella slept and decided to go on with whatever his amores brother was on about.

"A queen" Lorenzo answered, not understanding where this was going.

"Who is my princess then?" was the next question tossed from the nervous man, making Lorenzo even more confused.

"Not my amore, that's for sure" Lorenzo continued joking, but quickly realized that it wasn't the right setting.

"Are you serious? You really are stupid" Khalid snickered, hearing the other man defend himself quickly; "Fuck off, this is not a puzzle. I am giving you a moment to express your stupid feelings, not play puzzles with me"

"I have a tattoo of a tiara for Isabella. You asked why I didn't have one for Yasmine, right? What if I tell you that I will need two more?" Khalid phrased himself differently this time, his heart beating quickly.

Something clicked in Lorenzos brain and his eyes went wide immediately. "You dipshit have two women?!" his manly voice shrieked, making Bella stir in her sleep. Khalid facepalmed himself and shook his head in disappointment.

"Yasmine is fucking pregnant, dumbass. I am going to be a father, Moretti. A father" Khalids voice was distant, as if he was in his own thoughts. Which he partly was.

"Shit" Lorenzo cursed at the heavy news. His words completely betrayed him, and he started to question his abilities to deliver positive and sweet words to anyone other than Bella.

"I know, I know. Fuck, I don't even know what to say. I found the pregnancy test that she had hidden away from me in the drawer, so she doesn't know that I know. I have been working nonstop with the mafia shit, but I can't erase that from my mind. I am not qualified to be a father, Moretti. Look at me. Plus, my Isabella is there alone, and I can't even take care of her so-" Khalid took a long breath and continued "I don't know what to do. Yasmine is the best thing that ever happened to me. She has led me to all the good things in my life. Settling in Iran, finding Isabella, treating her and women in general better and everything. She is everything I want and need in life"

The words were straight from his heart and for a moment, he regretted being so raw in front of the man who he was supposed to hate. "What is the problem then?" came the question that was a harder topic to discuss. Both of the men sat on to different ends of town with a mobile to their ear. No one spoke for a while, but they both knew what the silence should have been filled in by. The Italian drug lord was the first one to speak up;

"I think I know what this is about. You don't want to become a father because you are scared for how the life of your child will be. You have seen your parents die in front of you and you don't want the same faith for your child. Isn't it ironic how this conversation is happening with the man who murdered your parents. It feels as if this whole trip to Iran is fucking counseling session for me where I try to make things better. First by gaining back Bellas love and then by apologizing to you for everything. You can have your moment of beating the shit out of me when I am there because I deserve that. Just don't base your and Yasmines life out of my mistakes because even I wouldn't do that"

The sincerity in Lorenzos words matched the one in Khalids. It was a turning point for both of the men who had resented each other for a long time. Lorenzo somehow felt as if his words weren't enough and decided to continue;

"You are a good man Khalid. Before even knowing about you, I admired you because of what Bella told me about you. I prayed to God for you to return because I wanted her to have you in her life. Seems as if only one of us had a place in her life back then and I gave you mine. I don't regret it one bit. No, I am lying. I have spent each night regretting my decision, but I knew it was for the better. You won't believe me, but I look up to you a lot. You decided to not hurt my brother even if you had the chance to because you saw your sister in him. Your excuse sucked fratello, you just couldn't hurt him because he reminded you of Bella. He fucking admires you too. If there is someone who is fitting to become a father, it is you" he finished and heard Khalid sniffle.

Khalid smiled through the wetness of the tears, feeling warmth being created in his chest. "Thanks brother. It means a lot to me. I am not going to say this again so brace yourself" he started off before snickering. "I am genuinely happy that you are in my sisters life. I wouldn't want to have it any other way. She loves you and I can see that in her eyes. I faintly remember telling her that I will love whoever she brings home so guess what dipshit? I fucking love you for loving my princess. Don't make any babies though, I will kill you" was one of the last things the boys talked about before they said their farewells.

However, Khalid demanded to hear Lorenzo utter that he loved Bella and without the two  knowing, Bella smiled as she heard escape the words leaving his mouth.