Finding Her

C H A P T E R - T W E N T Y - T W O

Only the Best

V A L E R I U S '    P O V :

"Ellie! Your friends are here!" I call out to her and she whips her head around. She abandons Enzo which leaves him annoyed and runs for Summer at the front door.

Ellie runs at lightning speed, crashing into Summer with a hug. She shows her around her princess themed birthday party, throwing balloons everywhere as they walk.

Her friends were instructed to be here at five o'clock for food and whatever else Ellie wants to do. More kids should start coming soon. John's kids are already here. Ellie didn't know they'd be here till just two hours ago. She was very excited when I told her, thrilled even.

Serena, Summer's mom, walked away with a wave and I nod.

"Look at you, Val." I look over to Fabio. "Being a dad and shit." He pops another cookie in his mouth.

"Stop eating my daughter's cookies." I shut the lid to the container and he rolls his eyes letting out an annoyed whine.

Soon the twins show up. Two boys that sit at a table with Ellie and Summer at school. They dressed up for halloween together.

"Who the hell are those boys?" Enzo perks up.

I sit down next to Enzo and watch the kids greet each other, deciding to ignore my brother.

They start playing with a game Mar had bought for Ellie. They dance around on the mat but I noticed how Ellie keeps looking around. Her head is somewhere else.

She isn't looking for me, sadly. I know who she's looking for.

And just like I expected, a half hour later.. a half hour late. Angelo shows up with his son. Tommy is behind him dragging a bag bigger than him. Most likely his mother's doing.. because Angelo is a complete dick.

"Valerius!" Angelo cheers and forces me to hug him, he slaps my back.

"Angelo." I greet blankly. "Do you want to help your son?" My gaze follows behind him.

"Nah." He looks back and watches Tommy trip on his feet, the bag tips over. Tommy starts getting back up, collecting the tissue paper. "He's fine." He tells me as Tommy starts dragging the bag again. "His mother went overboard." Angelo shakes his head with a smile. "She's excited that he has a little crush." I ignore this to prevent myself from killing him and then brutality kicking his son.

Tommy climbs up into the room and flops the bag down. I don't think Ellie has noticed that he's here yet. I only invited the little shit to make my Ellie happy.. even if it makes me mad.

Angelo looks at Tommy but Tommy just blinks back at him.

"Go, kid!" Angelo waves his arms.

"Yes, sir!" Tommy nods, saluting and runs off.

"Little shit." Angelo mumbles and takes my seat.

I watch as Tommy runs quickly over to Ellie and she's quick to notice him. She jolts up with a smile, crashing into him with a hug. I scowl.