• AMALIA •
I wake up again, a yawn escaping my mouth as I look up at Mason, who's holding onto me with one arm as he puts his phone to his ear with the other. He doesn't look very happy.
"Emma—you can't come here!" He whisper-shouts. "I have to take care of my baby sister."
I frown, nosily trying to strain to hear the other side of the conversation.
"We need to talk, Mason." Emma says. "Someone else can take care of her, you have lots of siblings."
He lets out an annoyed sigh. "No. I am. If you wanna talk so badly then we can now. On the phone."
He looks down at me, and his expression softens when he sees that I'm awake. "Never mind. I'll call you later." He says, not giving Emma a chance to reply before he turns his phone off, setting it onto the bedside table.
"Is that your girlfriend?" I ask.
He rolls his eyes. "No."
I smile and lean my head back onto his shoulder. He kisses my cheek and sits up, bringing me onto his lap. "You wanna go see Xander?" He asks.
I nod. He stands up, setting me on his hip carefully before leaving the room, keeping me in my blankets. I lean my head on his broad shoulder.
He stops outside of Xander's door. He doesn't knock or ask for permission before pulling the doorknob down and letting himself inside.
Xander is sleeping in his bed, on top of the covers and still in his clothes. Mason is quiet as he carries me over to the bed, setting me down beside my oldest brother. I tilt my head, then tap on his shoulder.
He scrunches his nose slightly, but doesn't wake up. Then, still asleep, he wraps an arm around me and scoops me over to his side, resting his chin on the top of my head while letting out a small, content breath.
"I'll be back in a second." Mason says quietly, leaving the room. I look up at Xander, peaceful in his sleep, and lay my head on his chest. He wraps strong arms tighter around me, cocooning me completely in his embrace.
I close my eyes for a moment, opening them when I feel a hand begin to lightly scratch the back of my neck. I clench them shut again, memories of my mum flooding through my head, but then I force myself to remember that it isn't my mother holding me, and that she'll never be there to hold me again.
I glance up at Xander, who smiles sleepily at me. I can see the relief flooding through his expression as he leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek.
"Hi, princess." He says tiredly.
"Hi."
"How are you feeling?" He asks.
"Fine. My head hurts a bit though."
"Yeah?" He questions, concern filtering through his eyes. "Who brought you in here?"
"Mason."
He grabs his phone off the bedside table and types something in before putting it back. He sits up, letting out a small breath as he adjusts me on his lap.
I kiss his cheek, and he smiles as he runs his fingers through my hair. He looks tired. I hope he's okay.
Mason walks into the room, a small box and a water bottle in his hands. He smiles at me, sitting down beside Xander and I. He opens the box, revealing a small pod of paracetamol. He pops one out and offers it to me. "Here you go."
I shake my head. "No thank you."
"If you don't feel well then you should have some medicine, princess." Xander tells me.
"I don't like it." I mumble.
"How come?" Mason asks softly.
"It makes my mouth go fuzzy, and—it tastes weird." I say. "Also sometimes it makes me tired, and I don't like to sleep that much, except for when I'm really sleepy. And I just slept, so.."
"It'll help your headache feel better." Xander says, his voice patronisingly soft.
"No thank you." I repeat.
They share a look. I lean back on Xander and grab the water, but don't touch the medicine.
"Do you wanna go back to your room?" Mason asks.
I turn to Xander. Before I even have to ask, he says: "you can stay here if you want."
I nod and smile a small smile. Mason stands, then leans down and kisses my forehead. "Do you want me to bring Petal in?"
"That rat isn't coming in my room. I don't want the plague." Xander says.
I turn to him, eyes widening as my mouth forms a shocked O. His lips tilt upwards at my expression. "What?"
"Why are you being so mean?" I ask, frowning.
He tilts his head and sighs. "Because Mason went out and got you a freaky looking gerbil."
Mason snorts. I glare at both of them. "She isn't a freaky looking gerbil! You are—"
I'm cut off when he begins to tickle me. I squeal and try to roll off his lap, but he holds onto me, continuing to torture me as Mason laughs. I squirm, giggling uncontrollably.
"St—op!"
"Apologise for being rude to your favourite brother and I will." Xander says.
"But Elijah's n-not here." I stutter between laughs. He tickles me harder and more frequently, saying something to Mason that I can't hear. Then four hands are tickling me mercilessly.
"I was joking!" I exclaim, trying to push them away. After another minute, they stop, only for Mason to grab my blanket and wrap me up within it. I thrash, trying to claw my way out before he can add more.
It's no use. Mason and Xander add more blankets until I end up looking like the girl from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory who was turned into a blueberry.
"Aw, Ammy, you look so cute." Mason coos, reaching over to pinch my cheek as Xander cradles me on his lap, one arm under my head as though I'm a baby.
"I can't move." I grumble.
"Aw, is the baby sad?" Xander teases, holding me close to him as a smile plays on his lips. My eyes narrow into a glare. He laughs.
I look over when the door opens. Elijah walks in, and he looks like he's about to say something when he pauses. His lips break out into an amused grin.
I frown.
"Dad's on the phone for you, Xander. He says he tried to call you but you didn't answer." He says, walking over. Xander adjusts me in his arms as he grabs the phone from Elijah, putting it up to his ear.
"You look so cute." Elijah says, still grinning.
I scowl.
His eyebrows raise in surprise. He looks over to Mason. "What's wrong?"
"She's a little fussy."
I kick as much as I can in my cocoon, but I hardly end up being able to move. "No I'm not. Babies are fussy, and I'm not a baby."
"You're not?" Mason questions, titling his head.
"Stop." I whine.
Elijah laughs.
Suddenly a phone is at my ear and my fathers voice is talking through it. "Amalia?" He questions.
I smile, everything else forgotten for a moment. "Hi, dad."
"Hi baby." He says softly. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah." I say as Xander, Mason and Elijah talk amongst themselves. Xander still continues to hold me, but he loosens some of the blankets so I'm able to move and has the phone up to my ear for me.
"I'll be back soon, I'm sorry I had to go." He tells me.
"It's okay." I reply, even as my heart clenches. I just got back, and I haven't seen much of him. It's okay though; I understand. He has much more important things to do, and I have my brothers anyway.
But I really want him.
"Do you want me to get you anything?" He asks.
"No thank you." I say quietly.
"Okay, I'll see you soon, sweetheart." He tells me. "Can you pass the phone back to your brother?"
"Which one?" I ask.
I can hear the amusement dance in his voice as he says: "Xander."
I pull my hand out of the blanket and grab the phone, holding it up to Xander. He takes it as I roll off his lap, climbing off the bed.
"Amalia." Elijah says. I look over at him as my abdomen begins to simmer with a quiet pain.
"Yeah?"
"Sit back down." He says calmly.
"I want to go get Petal."
"You shouldn't be walking—dad told you." Mason says.
"I—" I begin, pausing when Elijah stands and puts his hands under my arms, setting me back onto the bed.
"You stay here, I'll go get her." He says, then leaves the room swiftly, and with it any chance of a protest.
Mason wraps an arm around my shoulders. "You have to be careful, piccolo orsacchiotto."
(T—Little teddy bear.)
"I don't know what that means." I say.
He smiles and kisses my cheek. He doesn't tell me, only hugging me until Elijah returns to the room. He sets my dog on my lap, and I stroke her back as she curls up into a ball, falling asleep.
Elijah sets a hand on my shoulder. I look up at him. "Have you seen Cole yet?" He asks.
I shake my head.
"Do you want to now?" He questions.
I consider it for a moment. I don't think Cole likes me, so why would he want to see me? And he hasn't tried to, despite the fact that he probably knows I'm back. Maybe he just doesn't care, and I don't want to make him annoyed if I go into his room. That'll just cause his dislike for me to increase.
Elijah and Mason both look at me expectantly. I shrug.
"You don't know?" Mason questions.
It doesn't matter what I'd decide anyway, because the door to Xander's room opens again and Cole steps inside, eyes narrowed into a glare.
"Which one of you took my fucking charger—"
His words die off when he sees me. An emotion I can't name passes through his eyes before they soften a fraction. "Hey, Amalia."
I smile. "Hiya."
"Are you okay?" He asks after a moment.
"Yep." I reply.
He looks up, switching his gaze over to Mason. "Was it you?"
"What?" Mason questions.
"Did you take my charger?"
"No." He says. "But there are spares downstairs."
"Oh," he replies quietly. "Alright." He turns around, "bye."
I wave, then he leaves. I turn to Mason, who smiles.
"What?" I question.
"I took his charger."