L I L Y
We all began to make our way towards the dinning room after Grey announced its time for dinner. We had spend the last forty five minutes in the living room chatting with one another and playing another game of twenty questions before Grey left to prepare the food. They asked me random questions- like what's my favourite animal, my favourite song and my favourite book, they never asked questions about my parents or my home life which I'm thankful for.
I feel like since I've got here all I've done is gape around in shock but I can't help it- that was my exact reaction as I enter the gorgeous dinning room, the large oak table that could seat fifteen people is in the centre of the room, the white walls are covered in beautiful art work and large crystal mirrors. They must really love flowers as the shelves on the main wall are filled with vases that contain beautiful white roses and pink lilies, the room is so elegant.
We all took our seats at the table apart from Zac, who went to the kitchen to help Grey bring in the food. I take a seat in between Leo and the twins, Ace, Alex, Carter and Callan are sitting across from us while there is a seat and the head of the table for Zac and a seat free next to Leo for Grey.
As the two eldest boys bring the trays of food and set it in the centre of the table before taking their seats- I can't stop my mouth from watering at the delicious aroma.
"I hope you like pasta piccolo"
I've never tried it but I'm sure I'll love it- not that I'd say that out loud, instead I give Grey a small smile and a nod.
"Thank you, It smells incredible"
"It's our grandmothers recipe, spaghetti carbonara and garlic focaccia. Help yourself amore"
Leo filled my plate and his own with what I can only describe as a mountain of pasta and a slice of the bread. I twirl the pasta around on my fork before popping it in my mouth- I almost let out a sigh at how amazing it tastes. The burst of flavours are unlike anything I've ever had before- not that I've tried much.
"Wow, your grandmother is a genius"
Zac turns to me a smile etched on his lips "Thank you bambina, you can tell her that yourself if you'd like? She usually flies over from Italy to visit us for the holidays. You're more than welcome to come over and try her cooking, trust me she'd love for you to be here" she would?
"Only if you're positive that she wouldn't mind?" all the boys nod in answer to my question "okay, I'll definetly be here- I can't wait to try you're grandmothers cooking, I've heard they made the best food" it's true- that is what I've heard, Emilio and Bella always go on about their grandmothers cooking and how Italian grannys make the most authentic dishes that fill you with so much warmth.
"Thats true, I've never had any food thats been as good as nonna's"
I turn to Leo and tilt my head to the side in a questioning manner- whilst placing my index finger on my chin "Is that Italian for granny?" he chuckles at my theatrics.
"Yeah Lil, our family is from Italy so we call our grandparents Nonna and Nonno"
"Thats so cool, so can you all speak Italian?"
"Si bambina, potresti anche tu"
I have no clue what Callan just said to me but it sounded so cool, I wish I could speak another language one day- I'd love to speak Italian, French or Spanish.
"Is that the only language you speak?"
"Nope, Carter and I can speak German, Alex, Ace and the twins can speak French, Zac and Grey speak both German and French- plus we all speak Spanish due to it being so similar to Italian. Leo knows many languages, I'm not even sure how many he knows"
"Wow, I can't speak any languages bar English" I feel so stupid, maybe if i'd gone to school at the proper age I could've learned a language or two by now. I taught myself Math, English and Science from books that Jack had gave to me but I never ventured much further than that.
"I can teach you some languages if you want? Other than art it's something I really enjoy"
"That would be amazing Leo, thank you" I give him a small side hug before taking another forkful of the delicious pasta, once I've swallowed it I turn back to Leo "So, how many languages do you speak?"
"Fluently six, I can speak fluent Italian, Spanish, German, French, Latin and Swahili. I know a few others such as Russian, Chinese and Dutch but I can't speak them fluently yet. Which languages do you want to learn Lil?"
"How long did it take you to learn them all? I'd like to learn Italian, French and Spanish"
"I've known Italian and Spanish since I was a baby, speaking them is just as easy as speaking English, as for the rest- I learned French and Latin at school and taught myself how to speak the others. It took me around two years from when I began learning the language to be able to speak it fluently. Pick which language you'd like to learn first and I'll teach you the basics later on tonight"
"Sounds good, thanks again Leo"
We all finish our food, I leave a fair amount on the plate due to the portion size and the fact I'm not used to eating so much in one day, lunch at schools is normally the only food I would consume in a 24 hour period- even less on the weekends. I help Grey clear the table before offering a hand in washing the dishes.
"I appreciate the offer tesoro, the boys could use some of your manners but I've got this. Go to the livingroom with Leo, Zac will be in shortly he's really happy that you want to hear him play" He is?
I give Grey a small smile before leaving the kitchen with Leo, we head through to the livingroom and take a seat on the couch. Leo turns on the TV before going to Netflix and playing an episode of the vampire diaries.
"How did you know I like this show?" Wow that rhyms
"Are you kidding, its all Maya goes on about- I heard you tell her that you watched the first three episodes and understood why she was obsessed, so I'm assuming your on episode four?"
I nod at Leo, excitment filling my pale blue eyes- I never thought I'd get the chance to see anymore of the show.
We get half way through episode five before Zac comes into the room "You ready to watch the piano master Lily?" I giggle at Zac whilst nodding enthusiastically "follow me principessa"
Leo and I follow Zac as he makes his way toward the spiral staircase, we get to the third floor as he leads us to a room which the boys failed to show me on the tour, Zac opens the door and I'm in awe "Welcome to our music room"
"Wow" I'm speechless
The room is filled with all different instruments; Guitars, Drum sets, Cello, Saxaphone- many others that I don't even know the name of, it even has a recording studio. The one thing that stands out to me the most though is the beautiful black grand piano in the centre of the large music room. Zac takes a seat at the piano before pointing to the long couch in the corner, Leo and I take a seat on said couch as Zac begins to speak "This was our mothers favourite composition" and then he plays.
The composition is beautiful, I can feel the darkness at the beginning before the melody hits as Zac presses the keys so softly that's where the light comes in, giving the song a happier tone that just keeps lifting, the darkness in the begining is more or less forgotten the longer the song goes on. The piece of music is telling a story, a beautiful story first filled with sorrow that ends in what I can only imagine, love. The story is so powerful that my eyes well up with tears, how can someone be so talented as to compose this? And Zac? Even though Zac didn't compose the song himself you can see in the way he plays just how much this means to him, the passion that comes from him in waves, the emotion he pours into it is beathtaking.
As the song comes to an end, I get off my seat and walk towards Zac before pulling him into hug, when did I get so bold. Zac looked shocked for a second before instantly hugging me back. I'm still not used to so much affection from others- wither it be myself or them initiating it but for some reason around Leo and his brothers I can't help but feel safe, which is something I've longed to feel.
"That was beautiful Zac, thank you so much for playing your mothers music for me."
"My pleasure bambina, I wish our mother was here to play it for you herself"
"I wish that too" I truly do, their mom sounded like an incredible woman.
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Leo and I are now in his bedroom, Zac played a few of his own songs for us until he got interrupted by his work phone, before leaving the room to head to his home office- he promised me that he himself would give me piano lessons, I'm so grateful.
"Lil, you can shower in my bathroom and I'll use the one in the guest room" Leo states as he hands me a change of clothes "These are my clothes from a couple of years ago, they might still be to big for you though"
"Thank you Leo, I'm sure they'll be fine"
"No problem, pop your clothes outside the bathroom door and I'll put them in the wash with mine so they're clean for school tomorrow. Oh and there's a spare toothbrush on the counter and a clean towel on the radiator for you, feel free to use any of my products"
I thank Leo once more before heading into the large bathroom, just like his bedroom the full bathroom is black minus the toilet and sink which are white. I turn on the large walk in shower, the steam already begining to fill up the spacious bathroom. I quickly strip out of my dirty clothes and place them outside the bathroom door. I step into the steam filled shower and let out a sigh at how good it feels, the hot water hitting my still healing back almost soothingly rather than the freezing cold baths I'm so used to. I grab the bottle of Leo's shampoo from the rack before lathering my wet brunette curls in it then I begin massaging it deep into my scalp- this feels like heaven, what I would give to be able to take these kinds of showers everyday. I rince the shampoo from my hair before picking up the conditoner lathering that on the same way I had just done with the shampoo, after rinsing my hair for the second time I then wash my body with the lavender scented soap, so this is why Leo always smells so good?
Once I'm fully clean and rinsed I turn the shower off before sqeezing the excess water from my hair, I step out of the shower cubicle and grab the large white fluffy towel from the radiator wrapping it around my small body, it's so soft. I dry myself with the towel that's soft enough to be a blanket and change into the clothes Leo gave me, which consisted of small boxer shorts, black thin sweatpants and a red sweatshirt. Even though Leo said the clothes were from a few years ago, he was right they are still way to big- I had to turn the waist band of the boxers up a few times and tie the side of the sweatpants with my hair tie, the red sweatshirt thankfully wasn't to bad the hem came down to the top of my thighs unlike Atlas's that reached my knees. After drying my hair as best as I could, I placed the now wet towel in the washing hamper before exiting the bathroom.
As I stepped back into the bedroom Leo was sitting on his bed texting on his phone as he leaned against the headboard- his brunette curls still slightly wet from his own shower, he looked up upon hearing my small steps, a smile giggle leaving his lips as he looked at me.
"I told you they'd be to big for you" he giggles again before continuing "Did you have a good shower? Our clothes are in the wash, Grey said he'll dry them for us when the cycle is finished"
"I did thank you" I walked over and sat on the bed next to Leo "I always wondered why you smelt of lavender"
"Do you sniff me Lily?" He says playfully
"Don't make me sound weird" I laugh "I don't 'sniff you' on purpose, whenever you give me a hug you the smell of lavender comforts me"
He nudges my shoulder playfully with his own "I'm glad you find my hugs comforting or my bodywash I'm not sure which"
"Both comfort me, you give good hugs- nowhere near as good as Milo though"
Leo puts a hand over his heart mockingly "You wound me Lily" we both begin to laugh at his theatrics "I understand Em does give good hugs but he's a hugger so technically you shouldn't compare my hugs to his"
I raise and eyebrow at Leo with a grin on my face "How'd you work that out?"
"Well" Leo begins as he interlinks his fingers together while crossing his legs "If you think about it, Emilio hugs everyone and I mean everyone, the boy can't go an hour without a hug, me on the other hand- I'm not very fond of hugging. My brothers, you, Em and maybe our friends are an exeption but anyone else no thanks. So therefor Emilio has more experience than me in hugs so I shouldn't be compared to his level"
I laugh as I look at Leo "That is such a lame excuse Leo"
"Hey, its not an excuse it's the truth"
"Mhmm whatever you say" I try to hide my grin but fail "you just can't accept the fact your hugs ain't a patch on Em's"
Leo stand up from the bed and stares at me whilst pointing his index finger in my direction "Take that back"
"Never"
"Ooooooh you asked for it Lil don't say I didn't warn you" Warn me? I'm not worried like I would be at home, as strange as it is, in the short amount of time I've known Leo, I trust him.
Leo approaches me slowly a large grin on his face as he begins to wiggle his ten fingers at me, what is he doing?
"Leo, what are you doing?"
"Say Leo gives the best hugs"
"Leo, I will not lie"
"Last chance Lil, say it"
"Nope"
Next thing I know Leo is right infront of me, he moves his wiggiling fingers towards my armpits- what the heck? I can't stop the squeal that leave my mouth as I begin laughing so hard that tears are streaming down my face.
"LEO S-STOP" I laugh uncontrollably as he continues his playful attack.
"No Lil, I warned you. You know what to say if you want me to stop"
"I W-WONT L-LIE" my laughs are so loud that suddenly Leo's room door bursts open as all of his eight brothers walk in.
"Are you guys okay we heard scream- never mind, Leo what did she do to get a visit from the tickle monster" tickle monster? is this a tickle?
Leo turns to Alex not once stopping his attack, my cheeks soaked with tears at this point as my laughs grow even louder than I thought possible.
"She said Emilio gives better hugs than me and she won't take it back" he turns back to me "Do you want me to stop Lil?" I nod my head whilst letting out a squeal as he pauses his attack to let me catch my breath "Then say it"
"LEO I TOLD YOU, AHHAH I-I WONT LIE"
"Then I won't stop tesoro"
Leo then continues his tickle attack as his brothers all stand watching us with large grins etched on their faces, I turn to them with my best puppy dog eyes as I utter my next words.
"GUYS H-HELP ME"
They all laugh, Callan approaches Leo from behind and begins to tickle him causing Leo to let out a loud shriek and drop his hands from my under arms, Ace then approaches the bed and effortlessly picks me up saving me from his younger brother who's now being attacked with tickles from both Callan and Carter. We all laugh as Leo begs the boys to stop.
"GUYS S-STOP AHHHA"
Callan and Carter finally stop their attack leaving Leo giggling on the floor while trying to catch his breath. He stands up and looks at the boys in disbelieve.
"You guys are traitors"
"Oh little brother, we couldn't say no to Lily, not with those puppy eyes"
I thank Ace before sticking my tongue out at Leo who looks at me in shock before wiggling his fingers at me as he begins walking in my direction, oh no. I squeal and hide behind Ace and Alex using them as a shield. Leo doesn't get far as Zac walks towards Leo and swiftly lifts him over his shoulder, Leo protests to be let down as we all begin to laugh once again.
I've never laughed so much in my life.
Zac ignores Leo who's now began trying to get out of his grip and failing miserably, he turns to us with a grin-
"Right guys, how about a movie night?"
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End of chapter twenty two :)
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I hope you guys enjoyed some sibling bonding! 🤍
Next chapter will be up on the 6th✨
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