Who said that the flight would be better if Isabella were to sleep?
Anthony takes his words back. The flight was hell.
Thirty minutes of flying into the sky was calm, peaceful even. Isabella had a crib in the plane so that she could be as comfy as she could possibly be. She was supposed to sleep all throughout the flight and they were supposed to do whatever the hell they want. Rafael was supposed to be intimidated by them all throughout the ride. That was the plan.
Unfortunately, that plan suck. Whoever thought that it would be a peaceful flight was a crappy person who doesn't have any idea of how bad it was to get stuck with a baby on a plane.
Unfortunately, Isabella woke up abruptly after the first thirty minutes, probably because her ears had popped, and she was not happy about it.
Rafael unbuckled himself from the plane seat and started walking up to Isabella's crib. Gently, he lifted her up and went to the cabin with the little girl, trying to soothe her poor wailings.
Rafael grimaced as he bounced Isabella in his arms. She was crying nonstop and he offered her countless of things. He offered her a bottle of milk, tried to rock her to sleep, gave her bunch of her toys, he even checked her diaper but it was to no avail. The man glanced around the cabin. The only people in there was now the Torres, although, Lucius looked like he was about to jump out of the plane if Isabella were to continue to wail.
The stewardesses and few other staff members had been scared off by the noise Isabella was making. Rafael couldn't really blame the poor people because the cries of an infant really sounds like the loudest thing sometimes.
"I thought that this would be a peaceful flight, Tony?" Elois hissed at his eldest brother, glancing worriedly at the little girl. He wanted to help but he thinks that he wouldn't be much help when he wasn't that skilled with taking care of a baby.
Elois was, after all, the youngest before and he was so used of his family taking care of him.
Well, that's not the only reason.
Tony sighed, looking at Rafael. "Would you like to switch? I think I can calm her dow—"
"No, thank you." Rafael tightly held the crying baby in his arms, looking like he was going to rip Anthony's head off if he were to touch a single strand of hair from Isabella. "I can take care of her just fine."
Anthony raised a brow. The eldest was sure that he can take care of his sister alone just fine. After all, he was the eldest and he had been taking care of his brothers ever since they were young. But, even before Anthony had stood up, Rafael was already racing towards Isabella's crib, and he hasn't let go of the baby ever since.
Before the man could open his mouth, Lucius laughed in this wrathful manner while he glared menacingly at Rafael. "Wow, stop trying to prove something here and give Bella to Tony!"
"Yes, please?" Elois pleaded, sounding so kind and tired. It was as if Isabella's cries were draining his strength and life force and all he could do was plead for her sad wails to stop. "Tony can do just fine with—"
"But I can do better." Rafael said, cutting of Elois, which surprised him because no one, other than his family, has ever cut in on what he was about to say. Something inside Elois rumbled in annoyance for Rafael. He didn't like the disrespect. He didn't enjoy the tone and the attitude. He didn't like what the man said.
Elois glared at the Rafael.
"I can do better." Rafael repeated, bouncing Isabella in his arms, hoping for her to calm down. He didn't want her to tire herself out. She needs her nap. She already looked tired but she just couldn't stop. He rubbed her back, trying to soothe the crying baby, but he was obviously failing.
Anthony looked like he wanted to snatch the poor baby in the man's arms. Isabella shouldn't even be suffering like she was right now. Obviously, Rafael was rattled by his words.
But why would he be? If it's not true, it shouldn't have affected him.
Elois looked like he was about to combust. The young man obviously wanted to help too but was holding himself together.
Lucius looked like he was actually considering murdering Rafael by how petty he was acting. Maybe Elois could even help if Rafael's actions continued.
Dante stood up suddenly, causing everybody to jump at the sudden action. The Torres brothers gazed at their father with scrutiny. Rafael was bothered by the older man's actions and had a look fear again.
He was obviously regretting his distasteful actions of pettiness.
The man treaded towards Rafael with a blank look plastered on his face. The guard backed off in instinct.
Though, before he could speak up and apologize for his distasteful actions, Dante already took the baby from him.
Dante gazed down at Isabella's face. The little girl's cheeks were damp with fresh and old tears, and she was gumming sadly on Dante's shirt in between high-pitched whines. A sharp pang went through the man's chest at the sight, and he turned his head to kiss his little baby's scrunched-up face briefly
"I know, sweetheart. I know." He murmured, gently caressing her damp cheeks. He walked over to his seat, avoiding the gazes of the people around him.
He couldn't take the silent bickering around him. All he could hear was Isabella's painful wails and he couldn't take it anymore. Isabella doesn't deserve to be pulled in a fight that she didn't have any part in.
He tried to think of a song he could sing. He heard that singing helps. It can help, right? It soothes a baby, they said. Dante rarely got any lullabies growing up since his parents were always busy. But they weren't bad parents, they were just rarely home.
He remembered his nannies. Dante shuddered at the thought. They were not all that kind. They complained all the time and had told Dante that if he were to tattle on his parents, they would hurt him. He didn't much enjoy those days.
Feeling helpless, he tried to think again for something that could help his little darling in his arms.
Dante internally shake his head in dismissal. If singing could help then he would do it. And if it doesn't then he will find whatever it is to stop Isabella from crying because he can't see his baby like this.
A sudden thought entered his head. Dante remembered a day, when he was just a little boy, where his mother was singing a song to him while she was tucking him in for bed. Both his parents were home for once and all was good, Dante thought before when he was little.
Isabella's grandmother.
Dante smiled at the memory. He shifted in the plane seat until his back was against the wall and his legs were propped up on the seat next to him. He shuffled Isabella down to rest against his chest.
Isabella whimpered sadly, clutching onto her father in a sad embrace.
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me.
By the time Dante had gotten to the last verse he could fully remember, Isabella's poor whimpers and sniffles were turning faint and her teary eyes had slid closed.
Dante smiled softly and gently kissed his daughter's forehead. "May you have the sweetest dream, my little Bella."
***
Everyone was careful not to say anything, but their smiles, like Grinch-like smiles, were there on their faces.
Well, the brothers had known that Dante was a huge softie hiding behind the I'm-The-alpha-boss-man facade but they didn't know that he could get any softer than he had did a while earlier.
Rafael was nervous. He didn't know what came over him. He was supposed to avoid getting in trouble, instead, he's inviting trouble. The man shakes his head in disappointment at his his own childish exploit.
After Dante put Isabella to sleep (his voice was wonderful, to be honest, it sounded so soothing that every staff had probably fallen in love with him), and had placed the young girl back in her crib again, the man looks at Rafael with the same blank look he had given him earlier.
Rafael was awaiting punishment but instead, Dante placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Do you know what bienvenido a la familia means?"
Rafael remembered Dante saying that to them—to him. He had wanted to ask but was too afraid to do so.
He thinks of his options and decided that the safest option was to shake his head and answer.
"No, sir." He said meekly, looking down on the ground in submission.
Dante hummed, his gaze burning holes onto his skin, causing him to sweat buckets nervously.
"It means 'welcome to the family.'" Dante explained, sighing. "Whatever my sons had said to you, you shouldn't be affected if it's not true. They just don't trust you yet and they're just testing you. Isabella is very important to them, to all of us and my sons were just being asses. However, for me, you've helped my Isabella so much and that makes you family in a way, you also didn't run away from the burden that my former wife had given you, you had taken care of my daughter when Tatiana couldn't. When we couldn't. Everyone knows that the woman can only take care of herself, so don't take everything to heart or else the life you'll tread with us would be deadly and you'd have to forcefully say goodbye to my daughter."
What if Anthony's words were true?
Dante moved away and sat in his seat, making himself comfortable while he wore a look of indifference.
Rafael looks at Dante in horror. "If my path is a deadly one, what path does Isabella's have then?"
Everyone gave him knowing looks that made his breath hitch.
He doesn't even want to imagine what path Isabella would be walking on as a Torres. He saw the ending of Ms. Tatiana Torres' path, heard a couple of solid informations here and there, and he didn't want Isabella walking down the path that her mother had walked upon.
"We'll cross the bridge when we get there." Lucius answered him instead. The bodyguard didn't know what that meant. He didn't want to decipher the meaning behind his words because fear already clutched his whole being.
It was too cruel. He wants Isabella free. He wants Isabella to stay safe and free. This family was just another chain for him and Isabella. Like, Miss Torres, they will just hurt them, more specially, they will just hurt Isabella.
What if the bridge was already crossed the moment Isabella had met them?
Rafael sat on his plane seat and looked out of the window with a thoughtful expression on his face.
He should have ran away with Isabella back when he had the chance.
**
When the plane had started to descend, It was obvious when Isabella's ears popped again, because she started crying after being quiet and content for the whole ride.
This time, it was Anthony that rushed towards Isabella's bassinet. There wasn't a lot Anthony could do though, singing, food and a good change of diaper didn't appeal Isabella. All he could do was was hold Isabella and tell her it was almost over.
"I know, mi cielito. Just ten more minutes, just a little bit longer." Anthony said, rubbing Isabella's back while leaning his head back against the plane seat. He then decided that her tears were soaking through his shirt and then added to his decision that he hates it. Not because it was uncomfortable but it was because it was a reminder of how it meant that he had tried everything he could but hadn't managed to make Isabella feel better.
The plane landed, rolling across the runway to a stop in it's usual spot in the private section of the tarmac.
Everyone sighed in relief and had begin to flood out of the plane in a hurry.
Isabella continued to squeal in fraustration as she started to thrash against Anthony's hold. However, the man was a pro and he handled it with grace.
Anthony was glad that there was already a car seat in the car. He loaded Isabella into her car seat despite her fraustrated squawks.
"I think I'm going to sleep for a few hundred years after we get back." Lucius said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He moaned painfully when Isabella gave a high pitched whine again.
Elois laughed listlessly, though, it sounded forced. "Same, dude."
The boy walked towards the other car with his father while Lucius, Anthony and Rafael boarded the same car with Isabella in it.
Everyone drove to their destination. Dante was glad that he told everyone that him and his sons were going to take a break from work.
Their workload was always heavy. Before, Dante decided that his sons needed to get used to the work of the whole Torres family if he wants his sons alive. After all, the work they handle isn't just work, it shows how you survive in a world filled with predators, it shows how to not get eaten alive by people who wants to consume you whole in one messy gulp.
People's eyes were always on him and his sons' actions after all.
Isabella decided that she was too impatient for her new home because as soon as they were at the gates of their mansion, the little baby fussed.
Lucius groaned, nursing his poor headache as he looks out his window, hoping that the scenery outside would drown out the loud noise.
Unfortunately, it didn't.
"I want to jump." Lucius mumbled to himself. He looks at Anthony with his eyes sparkling in hope. "Can I jump out of this car? I think I can live. I can definitely live because hearing her cries would be the death of me."
The driver looked like he agreed with Lucius.
"Nobody is jumping out of the car." Anthony chastised with a glare. He tries to calm Isabella down. He rubs her belly soothingly but she continued to cry, tormenting everyone in the car.
Rafael sighed and tried to give her the bottle of milk.
Surprisingly, she agreed with that and she sucked it greedily, whimpering every once in a while while tears dampened her rosy cheeks again.
When everyone was finally outside of their home, everyone had already looked like a zombie. They were limping and had looks on their faces they screams 'Im fucking tired.'
Isabella looked tired too despite being the reason why everyone was tired.
"Welcome home, Isabella." Rafael mumbled, looking at the exterior of the mansion in shock. It was actually three times bigger than Mrs. Torres' home.
Dante was putting out a few words for his men to follow while Anthony and his brothers led Rafael and Isabella inside.
When they were finally inside, that was when the Torres felt like home didn't feel so empty anymore.
I hope you guys enjoyed it!
I also hope that the chapter is fine!
What do you guy think?