ARELLA (A Mafia Story)

Nine

Freya

A soft tinkling laugh is what wakes me from my dreamless sleep. Slowly cracking open my eyes, I see Arella poking Damon's nose. I can tell he's awake, but he's faking for her sake.

Biting my lip to keep from laughing, I slowly lay my head back down so Arella doesn't notice I'm awake. She continues to play with Damon's nose until he moves quickly, playfully biting down on her tiny finger.

The sudden motion startles her, causing her to scramble back. Her small body falls back onto mine, her eyes wide. Damon looks like he's a second away from apologizing.

That is until Arella bursts out laughing. She's laughing so hard that she falls back onto me, gasping until her cheeks are red.

"Did Damon make you laugh?" I question with laughter of my own.

My husband gently grabs our baby under her arms, pulling her onto his chest, then proceeds to tickle her nub. She shrieks louder, wiggling to try and get away.

"I got the nubby! I got your nub!" He teases.

Arella starts gasping harder, trying to breathe through her belly laughs. That's when I know it's time to put this to a stop. As much as I love seeing them play like this, I need her to actually take a proper breath.

"Damon?" Reaching over, I nudge his shoulder.

He looks towards me with those deep brown eyes that I love so much. "Hmm?"

"Stop tickling her before she passes out."

Grumbling at my request, he stops and places her in the center of our bed. Arella pouts for a second, then crawls her way onto my lap. I wrap my arms around her for a cuddle. There's nothing better than holding my children in my lap.

The last of my boys is sixteen. It's been a while since any of them wanted me to hold them like this. Arella melts into my body like she's been doing it for years.

Sighing contently, I run my fingers through her hair. Her small pointy pigtails must've fallen out during her nap.

"You are just the cutest little thing ever." I coo, bending down to place a kiss on her cheek.

Damon, not wanting to be left out, wiggles his way to my side of the bed and wraps his arm around my shoulder. He pulls me into his side, using his pointer finger to draw my chin close to his face.

Ever so gently, he presses his lips down to mine in a gentle kiss. When I pull back, Arella is looking between the two of us with a small frown. She grunts, her fists opening and closing with frustration.

The action makes my curiosity peak. Alessandro does the same thing when he's frustrated. I've noticed some similar traits between the two of them.

When Alessandro was little, we noticed he had some atypical traits. He didn't speak until he was almost eight, liked routines and very specific things, and never seemed to be able to make friends. Not to mention he's incredibly smart.

We took him to several specialists and they all came to the same conclusion. Alessandro has autism. It's not something many people know. We didn't want anybody to see him as weak, because he's not.