Family First | *Rewrites in Progress*

A Year Gone By

Quinn's POV

One year.

Oh how much life could change in one year.

I clutched Aurora's hand as we stood at the memorial, finally able to remember our mother's life. My father stood behind us, his arms around our shoulders as Anastasia lay a single white rose on top of the grave, silently muttering a prayer in Italian.

Aurora sniffled away a tear and my father pulled her into his chest, holding her as if it were the last time. Most of us lived our lives now like it were our last. So much had been lost at that ball last year that it was stupid not too. 

Anastasia stood back up and took my other hand, taking one last look at my mother's grave. "She would be so proud of you, my love," she whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. The crowd around us had already dispersed, as well as the clouds that had threatened to spoil the day.

I wrapped my arm around Anastasia's waist and led her down to the car, leaving my father and sister to mourn in peace. After months of searching through the grounds Vince had stolen from him, Florent found a secret garden, where a grave for my mother had been set up.

Instead of moving it, he had invited us to use it whenever we wanted, promising to always keep the gate unlocked for my family. He hadn't attended the service, as Colette and Lunette had needed him, but he had already lain a rose on the grave, paying his respects at dawn.

Rod was waiting for us in the car, alongside Gabby, who had grown a lot, now a moody and ever so wonderful fifteen year old. "The plane will leave in half an hour, Quinn, though I must tell you both, her condition hasn't changed," he warned, and Anastasia nodded, having already expected so.

She was wearing a simple black dress, with lacy arms that flowed out to her elbow. She had grown her hair out so that it's curls now reached her lower back, and she finished it off with a black headband, borrowing it from Hazel.

Our relationship had been going strong, hitting it's one year mark a few months ago, to which Jacob and Grayson had grumbled and smacked their credit cards into the hands of Charlie and Nathan. Anastasia was now 18, and my 19th birthday had just gone past, though I still felt like the 17-year-old who had managed to pick a fight with Jacob Heart just a year before.

Life had settled down, with Charlie taking over both the Italian and English mafias, running them just as smoothly as Thomas and my father had, if not, even smoother. I had officially moved down to Australia, though the flat I had bought had been sold off as I bought a new home right on the coast. 

Anastasia had moved in when I bought it, helping design the whole space from the bathrooms right out to the trees in the yard. Our bedroom faced the sea, bringing the smell of sea salt straight into our room each morning.

Charlie had introduced us to a girl called Maggie, who had attended the ball last year. They had gone to school together, and a relationship had blossomed, making Tina jump for joy.