Our parents. Still felt odd to say.
A few weeks after the incident, I asked Theo where our parents were. I've been wondering since the day they took me in but only now did I have the courage to ask.
They were alive.
Two years ago, they moved to Italy by themselves. Theo didn't want to specify why but he said it was necessary for the family. I didn't understand but he told me that our parents would tell me themselves.
I was meeting them for Thanksgiving.
Today.
Apparently, we had a mansion in Long Island. We would spend Thanksgiving there. It wasn't a long drive but the traffic was absolutely horrible which made Silas curse his mouth out.
To my luck.
That was sarcasm.
I was stuck in a car with Amelia, the twins, and Silas. Hector, Theo, and Victor would come a bit later because Victor had an appointment with his therapist.
"You curse a lot for someone that doesn't let me curse." I snapped at Silas.
"Little girls are not allowed to curse."
"I'm not a little girl!"
He grinned at me from the driver's seat. I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest. Nicolas sat next to me and he was eating all the snacks like usual. He had stolen my cake pops, so I punched him.
The bitch should know better than to steal my food.
"Papa is going to baby the shit out of you. So you better get used to the baby comments." He told me with a chuckle.
Papa.
Our father.
Fuck, I'm not ready for this.
"What do you mean?" I asked a bit curious.
"Papa has a tendency to baby us, even Hector," Nicolas explained.
"Not me," Silas grumbled.
That made the twins and Amelia burst out in laughter.
"You're his little monkey." Amelia giggled.
Silas grunted but I burst out in laughter. Little monkey, I was going to bully him for the rest of his life!
"Come on, little monkey, I think it's cute," I commented.
"Shut it, brat." He snapped.
"Oh, mama is going to beat your ass for calling her brat." Leonardo grinned.
That made me more excited to meet my parents. They had cosy nicknames for everyone and could make Silas back off. That sounded like heaven to me.
"What about you guys? What does he call you?" I asked the others.
"Amelia is his little princess."
Not surprising.
"Leo is his little lion." Silas laughed.
Leonardo muttered something under his breath but I saw the blush on his cheeks.
"Nico is his little piglet."
Nicolas truly didn't seem to mind the nickname.
"Vic is his baby."
Victor truly is the baby of this family.
"Theo is his little bear."
Theodore loved snuggling so I get the bear reference.
"What about Hector?" I giggled.
"His topolino." They all spoke in sync.
They were Italian so I guessed it was something in Italian.
"It means little mouse." Nicolas translated for me.
Hector definitely wasn't a mouse but maybe when he was younger.
"What will he call me?" I wondered out loud.
"You'll find out now because we have arrived," Silas announced.
My heart dropped. Now was the time. I was going to meet my parents.
Holy shit.
I'm going to poop my pants.
Amelia jumped out of the car followed by the excited twins.
"Papa!" She squealed.
Fuck, what am I even going to call them?
I was freaking out. Silas opened my door and pulled me out. He noticed my state and just rolled his eyes.
"They already love you. Stop worrying."
They love me. They don't even know me. Was it so easy for parents to love their children?
Silas pulled me along to the stairs that led up to the entrance of a ginormous mansion. It was absolutely stunning and impressive. Their money truly had no limits.
My eyes fell on a large man. He was as tall as Silas and still looked very fit. He had dark hair and eyes, I immediately noticed how much Silas looked like him. This man looked incredible for his age.
Amelia was dangling in his arms as he pressed kisses on the crown of her head. I've never heard her this happy. She was giggling her heart out.
The twins were getting attacked with kisses by a stunning blond woman. I recognised her immediately. Amanda Cassano was a fucking legend and now my mom. It was still so hard to grasp.
"My babies are getting so handsome." She cupped both their faces with that proud mom smile.
Her eyes finally fell on me. I watched how tears filled her gorgeous blue eyes, ones we shared in common. I suddenly felt very emotional. She stormed towards me and pulled me into the tightest embrace ever.
But it felt incredibly nice.
She was sobbing on my shoulder as I tried to find the courage to hug her back. Leonardo caught my eyes and gave me an encouraging nod. I melted into her embrace and hugged her back. Tears filled my eyes but I bit them back.
"Oh, my baby." She cried.
They fell anyways. In this one hug, she's shown me more love than Diana had ever shown me. That alone made me feel fucking shitty. I could've lived a life with them but that was taken away from both of us.
"You are so gorgeous. You are perfect." She cupped my face.
I now noticed that we looked alike. I had her eyes but also other features such as her small nose and high cheekbones. Now that I stood in front of her, it was very obvious that I was hers.
I was her daughter.
"Oh, you look so much like Hector. My pretty baby."
Hector. Ugh, how many times are people going to say that we look alike? I couldn't help but scrunch my nose.
"Oh, you are so adorable!" She kissed my cheek.
Only she could call me cute. I didn't have the heart to protest. Especially since I still had to greet my father. He'd walked over when my mom was hugging me. I had to look up because he was so tall.
I almost squealed when he lifted me in his arms. I felt my feet hanging above the ground as he nearly crushed me in a tight embrace. He smelled really nice and felt warm. I didn't need encouragement from Leonardo to hug back. I laid my arms around his huge shoulders and hugged him back.
"Oh, my little baby. You're more perfect than I could ever imagine." He whispered in my ear.
Fuck.
They keep making me cry. They called me perfect and that just felt like a lot. I hope that I don't disappoint.
"Mia Cara, you are right. She looks so much like Hector." He told his wife when he put me back down.
"I don't." I pouted.
He smiled so widely that it made my pout melt away. He cupped my face and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"You truly are the most adorable baby I've ever seen." He commented.
They weren't joking about the baby part.
"We're still standing here." Nicolas reminded him.
"Don't think that I haven't heard about what you've been up to, little piglet." He scolded him.
Nicolas turned red.
"Let's go inside! I'm sure that you're all hungry" mom clapped her hands.
Everybody moved inside. Dad hadn't let go of me. I was tucked under his arm and pressed firmly against his side. The place was gigantic and I would get lost. We took off our coats and walked to a large living room. Our family was big, so we really needed the space. It was still too little when you took into consideration that Nicolas' feet stank.
One time we were watching television and this bitch put his feet on my lap. I nearly passed out from that horrid scent.
"I made these all." mom pointed at the snacks that were laid out on the two coffee tables.
Nicolas immediately started to stuff his face which earned him a scowl from our parents. Dad sat me down next to him on the couch and mom came to sit on my other side and handed me a full plate.
"You aren't allergic to anything, right?" she asked concerned.
She looked upset by the fact that she didn't know. I didn't like to see her upset, so I tried to cheer her up.
"Only to Silas."
Silas was picking out snacks but his dark eyes found mine when I said that. Our parents laughed heartily but he was glaring at me.
"You little shit."
"What did you call my daughter?" Dad warned him with a voice that resembled Hector's.
Silas muttered an apology while I grinned. This was fun!
Mom was really a warm person. She was also very motherly. She fed me cookies while caressing my hair and occasionally brushing the crumbs away from my lips. She was curious about my life and asked a lot of questions. I felt slightly overwhelmed but I answered each question the best I could.
She didn't talk about Diana, I'm glad she didn't.
After a while, the others arrived. Dad got up to greet them and I watched with curious eyes. He first pulled Victor in for a warm hug and kissed his cheek. Victor smiled slightly and then moved to Mom who sat next to me. She squealed and pressed kisses all over his cheeks. It was cute to see how she ruffled his curls and complimented him.
Theo gave his dad a side hug since he was carrying a large box filled with more food for later. I was going to food heaven tonight. It was interesting to see how he greeted Hector. They were the same height with the same posture. Dad kissed his cheeks and patted his back with a smile. Hector still had his cold expression on but he smiled slightly.
Everything was going great until Silas opened his stupid mouth.
"Baseball time!"
Well, fuck me.
//////////////////////
It was the second time that I had missed. Leonardo was laughing at me while I was growing more and more annoyed.
"You're supposed to hit the ball!" Amelia laughed at me.
"Yeah, no shit."
"Language." Hector scolded me.
He stood behind me because he was the next one to swing. I turned to glare at him. This is my first time to see him without a suit on. It was odd. He wore dark jeans and a navy blue sweater. His hair was tousled from running and his cheeks had turned red as well. It made him look so much younger and less constipated.
"I didn't even want to play!" I groaned annoyed.
"Come on, baby! You can do it." Mom encouraged me.
My entire family was athletic. It wasn't passed down to me because I had no clue of coordination. I nearly stumbled over my own feet the first time that I swung the bat.
"Hold it like this. Like you would hold a hammer." Hector instructed me.
He replaced my hands on the bat and then showed me how to swing it. I tried to follow him but I nearly fell once again. I was so close to cursing when he suddenly stood behind me.
"Throw." He instructed Theo.
Theo threw the ball and Hector worked me through the swing. I tensed as the ball came towards us. Why do people play sports? It's scaring the shit out of me.
We hit the ball and I watched it fly up high. It went far and I saw the twins staring to sprint towards it.
"Run, tesoro, run!" Theo yelled.
Oh, yeah. I had to run.
Fuck, I still hate running.
So I started to run but I went in the wrong direction. Victor was running towards me and yelled at me to go back.
"You're running the wrong way!"
Well, shit.
I turned around, only to slip and land on my tailbone.
I saw my life pass right in front of my eyes.
Fucking hell!
Why was the grass so hard? I thought it would be softer.
"El, are you alright?" Victor asked while crouching down next to me.
"I hate baseball." I grunted as I let him lift me up.
He chuckled and helped me to the side where my parents were sitting. Mom gave me a concerned look and laid a warm blanket around me.
"Continue the game." Dad told Victor.
He ran off as I rubbed my backside. I'd rather have food than this stupid game.
"Let's get you changed in some new clothes, hm?" Mom suggested.
My pants felt wet. I nodded and we walked inside to my bedroom. It was gigantic and I'd just placed my bags there since I'd rather eat that check my room out.
I picked out the outfit that I would wear for tonight. It was a nice dress that Theo had gifted me a week ago. He told me that on Thanksgiving, they dress in their best clothes. I liked the dress a lot.
"Let me brush your hair." Mom sat me down in front of the vanity desk.
When someone brushes your hair, it puts me in the best mood. She ran her fingers through my hair first and then softly combed through it. My eyelids were getting heavier but I didn't want to fall asleep.
I wanted be awake to take in this moment.
"Your papa and I live in Italy." She started.
I looked at her through the mirror. She had a wistful look in her eyes, so I remained silent.
"I think you would like it. We have a big wine yard and a personal winery. The house has been passed down multiple generations. We live their with your grandparents, papa's parents." She explained.
I have grandparents.
Wow.
"Why don't you live here?" I asked carefully.
Theo had told me that they left for personal reasons and they would tell me that themselves. I didn't want to push her but I was curious.
She picked up my hair and brushed her fingers against my neck. I got tingles.
"When I gave birth to you, I was euphoric. I'd been praying and hoping for a little baby girl for so long. And then you came to us, our sweet baby girl."
The pain in her voice was undeniable but she looked so happy to describe my birth.
"You were so tiny and beautiful. When I held you, I felt like nothing could ever bring me down. At the time, I was anxious. I was at the peak of my career but it was draining. Going into the studio, release an album, go on tour and then start all over again. That all while raising six little boys. I felt like I was drowning and then you came."
She placed her hands on my shoulders and pressed a kiss on the crown of my head.
"I'd announced my hiatus while carrying you. I wanted to stay at home and care for my babies. I'd not only have one new born but two, because we agreed to raise Amelia."
It was still so odd to think that Amelia was actually Diana's daughter. No one had told her that. She knew that she was our cousin, but no one told her that her birth mother raised me.
"So holding you, I felt set for the future. All I felt was happiness, until they took you away. At first, I just thought that they were doing the regular check ups, but then it kept lasting. Minutes turned into hours and I was going crazy. Why won't they give me my baby?"
Tears filled her eyes and I bit my lip.
"They told me that sudden complications arose and that you had passed away. It was like a slap to the face. I'd held you hours ago and you were fine. You were tiny, but you were fine."
They thought all this time that I had passed away. I felt so sad for them.
"I didn't really get the time to grief. Amelia needed care, so did Victor and the twins. I threw myself completely on being a mom while suppressing all that sadness. I never visited the grave."
I have a grave? Shit.
"Two years ago, I went to visit and I broke down. I didn't come out of my room and couldn't get out of bed. Everything hurt and I was slowly dying."
I turned around and laid my arms around her waist. Now I couldn't stop the tears.
"Your papa tried to help me but I wasn't even myself. So Hector and he urged me to go to therapy. It helped but I needed a breather, so we moved to Italy. I was sad to be so far away from my babies, but it was nice to finally be alone without any responsibilities."
She cupped my face and wiped my tears away.
"What will my therapist say now that my baby is back?" She chuckled.
I buried my head against her stomach and held her tightly. She ran her fingers through my hair and tried to comfort me but I just felt so sad. This was so unfair.
"I won't ask you about her but I want to know one thing. Did you have a happy childhood? Did she take care of you?"
I didn't reply for a long time. How was I supposed to answer that when I didn't know the answer? I did love Diana like a mother. She could be loving but now that I knew her real intentions, things changed. I picked up on a lot of shit.
"Now that I know what her intentions were, I don't know. She wasn't abusive or anything but she wasn't good either. She was strict about the things I ate and my appearance. We would take pictures on my birthday every year to send to my supposed father. She didn't care about my school results and didn't allow me to play more than one instrument. But I still loved her and I think she loved me as well."
I looked up at her, our eyes met. There was an obvious connection.
"But I would've rather be raised by you."
That was the whole truth.