THEA

Chapter Thirty

The bed beneath me bounces, my body flying upwards. I jump up, ready to attack on who just disturbed my sleep. A cheeky-looking Lucca is laying on the bed in his snow clothes and I pounce on him, punching his arm. He winces at my punch and I feel bad for punching him as hard as I did. I frown as he rubs his arm, and I slowly slide off the bed to get my clothes for the day. Lucca's large hand grabs my wrist, pulling me to him. I spin on my heel, making contact with his muscular chest. Wrapping my arms around his wide torso, I interlace my fingers and hold him tightly, resting my head where his heart is. The steady sound of his heart and the sparks from his touch calms me, and I feel at home in his arms. We pull away, but his large hands hook on my shoulders and keep me at arms length.

"We are visiting a family friend and go snowboarding and snowmobiling. Dress warm, and bring an extra set of clothes for dinner." I nod as I trudge over to my closet.

Grabbing under armour fleece leggings, a thermal long sleeve, and a pair of leggings and a long sleeve, I put them over top of the thermal wear. I grab a pair of nice jeans, a light grey thick sweater, and a pair of nice black ankle boots I stole from Bri for the trip, and set them on the bed before brushing my teeth. I press the toothbrush down on my teeth harder than normal, hoping they would be extra white when I meet another, most likely wealthy, family.

I leave my hair natural, so I don't even bother touching it with a brush, because I don't want to look like a lion. Grabbing a small bag, I put my extra clothes in it, along with gloves and a hat for snowboarding. My snow pants and jacket were hanging up, so I pull them off, and slide the pants on quickly. A knock on the door disrupts my quiet room, but I mumble a 'come in' while I adjust the belt I put on my snow pants so they don't fall. Thinking it's Lucca I just start talking.

"Hey what for lunch Lucca, I'm dying of starvation, and I don't want to shove my face full off food in front of everyone. They already dislike me so I want to show them the real me. Also, do you have somewhere I can train? I haven't worked out in a couple days and I'm dyin-" I turn to see why Lucca hasn't responded, but my words fall short on my lips. Rachel is standing there with a small smile on her face which nerves me that she doesn't have a glare on her face.

"Thea, I just want to apologize. My behavior has been more than unacceptable. I didn't give you a chance at all, and I misjudged you. And yes, lunch is ready and in our basement we have a workout room, which you can use as much as you please." Stunned and at a loss for words doesn't even begin to explain my silence.

"Well, thank you, Mrs. Maxwell." She nods waves her hands in a 'no'.

"Call me Rachel sweetie, and I can't apologize enough for my behavior. I can see it now how you and Lucca fit perfectly. Isabella is too uptight and boring for him, but you will keep that idiot on his toes." I let out a laugh, and set a hand to my chest to try to control it.

"Thank you, and I have a feeling we will get along well Rachel." She smiles evilly and rubs her hands together as if she's planning something evil.

"Oh yes, I now have a partner in crime to torment my husband and son." I shake my head at her antics, Lucca was right, she just needs time warming up to people.

——

The snowy mountain was empty, except Lucca, Rachel, Joesph, myself, and the other family that came along with us, which just happens to be Isabella's family. They seem very nice, but I can tell Isabella's mother is upset that her daughter and Lucca didn't hit it off. We head to the lift, which holds us all. Everyone is skiing except me, and I'm snowboarding with a beautiful board. They rented the most expensive one available, which is an extremely nice one to say the least.

We are all shoving into the lift, and we finally get situated, and the lift starts moving up. Excitement flows through my veins and I can't wait to be flying down the slopes like I was. I haven't been in a long time, but it's like riding a bike, right? The atmosphere is quiet in the lift, only soft whispers between each other. I give Lucca a look of humor because I know the silence is because of me. He lets out a deep laugh and a shiver runs down my spine at the noise. His laughter is like music to my ears, and I can't help but smile at him. I look at him through my goggles and I can't help but realize how much I love him.

"Awe," Rachel whispers in my ear and a bright blush covers my neck and cheeks. Thank the Lord I'm wearing a ski mask that covers my cheeks. The lift halts to a stop and we all flood out of the doors as if a free buffet is on the other side waiting for us.

We all scoot out, and as soon as we hit the snow, everyone is flying down. Great, I'll be alone. I put my boot in the bindings and tighten it before jumping to my feet and sliding down the mountain to catch up to them. I center my weight, and lower my body so I pick up more speed. I meet them quickly, my board sliding on the snow smoothly, making me go fast. They must have just waxed the board. I scoot in between Isabella's parents, their faces full of shock as I whiz past them. I see Lucca upfront with his mother, while Joseph and Isabella are right on their tracks. I go outside of everyone, and get low to pick up more speed.

Nobody sees me as I cut them all off, making myself in the lead. I hear a deep chuckle and I know is came from Lucca. I smile, and start speeding down the mountain. We're almost to the bottom, and I see little hills on the side that can be used for tricks. I move towards them, and I hear Lucca yelling my name in worry. Yee of little faith. I near the little hill and excitement blooms in my chest, oh how I've missed snow. I start going up the jump and I hear Lucca's screams getting louder. As I hit the peak of the hill, I grab my board, and do a forward flip, before I land back on the snow. My knees bend as I hit, to soften the blow, and I soon stand back up and swiftly reach the bottom of the hill. I'm met by a large hard chest as I'm being pulled into a warm hug. A stern looking Lucca is glaring down at me.

"Are you kidding me, mon chéri? I almost had a heart attack."

"Well, Mr. Yee of little faith, I used to snowboard, and I was good. I entered in competitions and actually won."

"Still! You haven't been in a long time!" I roll my eyes, and move away from him.

"Vorresti solo fidarti di me?" I snap in Italian, making his eyes widen. I don't know, or care, if he can speak Italian, it just irks me he couldn't trust me. I wouldn't have done it if I knew I couldn't.

——

I don't know any Italian, but I thought it would deepen the character of Thea, so I used google translate (which my French teacher says is not a good source), so if there are any mistakes I'm sorry. The translation I wanted is below!

"Vorresti solo fidarti di me?" means 'would you just trust me'