Queen of the Underworld

57

A soft tap on my door woke me up from my nap. "Anastasia?" Kiara's voice came from the other side, cheerful as ever.

"Hm?" I grumbled, too tired to use my words.

"Dinner is ready." I heard the click of my doorknob and lifted my head, looking back at the door. "Your dad said to come down. And that he won't accept you saying you're not hungry."

I smiled, he knew me all too well. "I'll be down in a second."

She seemed uncomfortable, "he also said to not leave without you because you'd just fall back asleep. Sorry."

I laughed, "he's being more fatherly every day! What did Aurora say?"

Now she smiled, "she said you had stuffed your mouth with ice cream and asked for us to not serve much on your plate. Then she told Don Lorenzo to shut his 'cake hole'."

"Aren't my parents just so great?" I asked Kiara, while I ties my hair into a bun.

She nodded.

Dinner was great. It was this delicious Italian meal that had chicken and pasta and tomato sauce. I asked for seconds and everyone laughed; I didn't know what was funny.

When we finished, Matt, Gabe, Vee, Ash, Nicolas and everyone else decided to hang out at the living room. I started getting used to the lingering presence of the guards that stood by the door. They were like ninjas, you wouldn't know they were there unless you looked for them, even though they were literally right there.

There were two couches opposite of each other, one sofa chair adjacent to each couch and opposite of love seat. It made a square with a coffee table holding all our phones in the middle.

Lana, Jack, Brandon and Briana were on the couch in front of me. They've gotten considerably comfortable with this house and the situation. They're still a little jumpy and scared, but doing much better.

Matt was on the sofa chair to my left and Gabe was sitting on the floor by his feet.

I was sitting on the other couch with Vee to my left and Ash to her left. Those two have gotten more along and joke around a lot. Nicolas hates it, he doesn't trust Ash, but Vee has showed him countless times that she doesn't give a crap.

On the love seat to my right—very fitting, by the way—were the two love birds. Nicolas was sitting on the couch and Grace leaning on the armrest with her legs on top of his, her arm draped over his neck and her hand running through his hair.

I was honestly trying my best not to leave.

"Well, I admit I grew up a spoiled brat, so I would have to live in like a big house with a pool and all that crap." We were talking about the family life and that was our dear Veronica's input.

"No kids?" Lana asked, amusement in her face.

Matt scoffed, "kids? That ticking time bomb with kids? She can barely make a lemonade. Kids are a safety hazard for her."

Veronica took her cushion and threw it at his face. He laughed, catching it easily. "What about you, Princess? What's your dream life?"

I laughed nervously. I didn't care for one anymore. "Aren't I living it?"

He rolled his eyes, "this isn't anybody's dream life. Come on, share with the class."

I thought about it, but couldn't really come up with anything. It wouldn't happen either way. Dreaming was a waste of time.

When I took too long to answer, Ash helped out. "Remember you told me you wanted to have two kids. They'd be a year apart so they could play together as they grew up. You said you'd live in a house near San Francisco and take them Disneyland every year."