My Mafia King

13 | Bella

I rub my eyes with the back of my hands and I still see her there.

"You're supposed to be at home with your parents," I state.

She giggles, "I know! But I hid and they left without me."

"Why did you hide?"

"Because I wanted to stay," she frowns.

I sigh and pick her up. "I'm going to have to call your Dad," I say, going to my room.

She hugs me, shaking her head. "Please don't. I want to have a sleepover with you."

I go into my room and turn the lights on. I place her down on my bed.

She huffs and crosses her arms, "I don't want to go back."

I gran my phone and look for my uncle's contact. "And why's that?" I ask, not looking up from my phone.

"Because Mommy won't get me a puppy," she exclaims as if not getting a puppy is the end of the world.

I look at her and gasp, "She won't let you get a puppy?!"

She nods, "Mhm. She said that Daddy is allergic to dogs but I don't want a cat!"

I sit down beside her, "Okay well let me call your parents and tell them you are and you want to stay for the night, okay?"

She gives me a small nod, smiling.

I call her Dad and he answers it right away.

"Look, I had to leave Bella there. I just had to. We can't deal with her tantrums anymore. Please just let her stay the night," Uncle Dario begs.

I sigh, "It's fine. I was just going to tell you I found her and she's staying but why the hell won't you let her get a puppy?!"

Uncle Dario groans, "I'm fucking allergic to dogs."

"So?"

"You know what, Bella is staying with you for three days now. Good luck."

He hangs up and I turn to Bella who's watching me with hopeful eyes.

"Daddy said you can stay for three days."

She gasps. "Three days?!"

I nod.

She hugs me, "Thank you so much, Ares!"

I smile and hug her back. "You're welcome, now let's get ready for bed."

✮ ✮ ✮

"I mean I'm supposed to be happy but I don't feel it. I should be happy that she has escaped but she hasn't come back to us."

Bella sits on the other side of the bed, holding her teddy bear. She frowns, "Maybe she can't find her way back to you. Like Nemo in Finding Nemo!"

I nod, "Yeah. Maybe."

Am I really talking about my sister to my six-year-old cousin? Yeah. I am.

"What is Athena like?"

A small smile grows on my face as Athena fills my mind. "She is so kind but so shy. She likes playing Uno because she wins every time. When someone was rude to me she always defended me even though I'm older than her. You would definitely like her."

Bella grins, "Do you think she would like me?"

"She definitely will."

"I hope she comes back soon. I really want to meet her."

"I hope she comes back soon too."

"Can we play Uno?"

I nod and grab the box of Uno cards from my nightstand that I've been saving for me and Athena to play.