Amongst the Chaos

Baby Steps

"Hey, Teddy you hungry? We're just having some pasta" Luca smiled warmly at me, although I could see the relief flood his eyes just to see me. 

I nodded and quietly walked over to the table where I soon saw all my brothers staring at me, as well as my two cousins and Zach. I felt extremely exposed with everyone staring at me and I looked to Christian who must've got the message and turned back to Leo to continue their conversation. Soon enough all the boys continued back to their small talk amongst each other. 

I was too busy fiddling with the napkin on my lap to notice Luca had put my dinner in front of me. He placed his hand on my shoulder gently which brought me back to earth, looking up at my brother I gave him a small smile, which made him smile and he leaned down to kiss the top of my head. 

As I ate small bites of pasta, trying to get my appetite back I looked over at Raffa who turned his gaze to me. He winked at me which of course made me giggle seeing someone so serious being silly. It felt nice to just be in my family's company with no questions being asked, no pressure, just good company. I felt content to just keep my mind occupied on other things than my thoughts. 

I listened in quietly to the boys' conversations while eating my past. The twins and Zach had a football game coming up which they invited me to although I don't know if I'll go. Gabriel, Matteo, and Raffa were all talking about work, and Chris and Christian were talking about some new video game they wanted to try. 

It was only Luca and me who were quietly eating our dinner both enjoying listening to the others. 

Once everyone finished their dinner they all got up heading in the same direction, I turned to look confused wondering where they were all going not wanting to be left alone.

"Wait, where are you all going?" I asked with a small shake in my voice that I hoped they didn't hear. In my small panicked haze, I hadn't noticed that Luca was still seated at the table looking at me. 

"We were going to watch a movie, would you like to join?" He was hesitantly asking me anticipating my rejection, however, I kept thinking back to what Raffa said, and deep down I knew he was right. Locking myself away in my room won't solve anything and watching a movie doesn't sound scary at all. 

"Okay," I quietly agreed. Looking towards all the boys they each had the same big goofy grin. 

"What?" I don't know why they're all looking at me like that, it's quite creepy, I internally laughed at the thought. 

"Nothing Nothing" Zach of all people responded while pushing them all out of the dining room. 

"Come on Teddy let's go pick the best snacks and spot to sit" Luca extended his hand which I happily accepted. I missed Luca so much even though it's only been a few days I still missed his comfort. 

We went to the movie room, and the boys were already fighting over what to watch. Well, I say the boys, because Matteo, Gabe, and Raffa were sitting quietly sipping their drinks while the twins and Chris argued over what to watch, and Christian and Zach were attempting to stop the bickering. 

Once Luca and I sat down they all got the message and calmed down handing Luca the remote. 

The three old men were in the back seats sipping their whiskey, Chris, Leo, Dante, and Christian sat in the front row while Zach and Luca were on opposite sides of me. 

"What would you like to watch Teddy?" Luca turned to me and I immediately felt the nerves bubbling up. I didn't want to pick something silly or that no one would like. 

"I don't mind what we watch, whatever you guys want to watch" I replied in a hushed tone, slightly afraid of my own voice. I still don't feel fully like myself so I'm unsure of everything even what I say. 

"A horror movie!" Chris yelled out causing me to jump slightly,

"Chris inside voice" Raffa scolded him like a child and I turned back to look at him, he once again winked at me making me relax once again. 

"Age appropriate Chris" Gabriel chimed in. 

"How about Free Guy? It's a comedy" Leo suggested and Luca seemed to agree by clicking play on the movie. 

I got comfortable on the couch which was just like the ones they have in the movies. I felt a slight chill that caused me to shiver. 

"Are you cold Theo?" Zach whispered, I almost forgot he was here and if I wasn't so distracted by the growing cold I was feeling I probably would have jumped. 

He got up and went to the back of the room grabbing something. Seeing as he knows where everything is I began to think he must be a really good friend of the twins. 

Zach sat back down and passed me not one, or two, but three blankets. 

"Just in case" He smiled at me.  

"Thank you" I whispered back. Wrapping one blanket around me and laying one across my lap, leaving the spare blanket beside me just in case like Zach said. 

What I hadn't realized was Luca, my two older brothers, and my older cousin had all watched the interaction between me and Zach. Exchanging looks between the four of them. 

I was blissfully unaware of this as I snuggled into the cozy layers and allowed myself to focus only on the movie. 

The combination of the comfortable couch, blankets, and the movie playing was the perfect recipe for dozing off. My head lulled to the side as I rested against a shoulder allowing sleep to take over. 

I assumed it was Luca who I leaned into and fell asleep on, it was Zach and my brothers were not impressed by this. 

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A U T H O R ' S N O T E 

Hello my lovely readers, how are you all? 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I do want to just say a few things as I have been gone for some time. 

I hope that my story isn't too much of a slow burner, I'm just enjoying developing some of the characters and subplots so if it's dragging on please let me know and I shall work on that. 

I also would like to know if the chapter lengths are okay or if they're too long/short if they're too long I can split them into separate chapters or figure something else out. 

As always I appreciate any feedback and constructive criticism so don't hesitate to call me out on anything! If you have any ideas or suggestions feel free to share them <3

When reading through this book I was reading all of your comments and I love them! so please continue sharing your thoughts throughout the story it's such a highlight to see what you guys think and just read some of the funny things you share! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story it means a lot <3 

see you soon, 

A.O