EVERLEIGH
I love baba's house as it is sooooo big that it feels like a castle to me. It's always fun running around waiting for either Uncle Moose to catch me or baba when I have the time of my life. Mama and my aunts keep telling me not to run as I can fall and hurt myself but they don't understand how free I feel running around and how much it makes me happy and carefree. I just love to do it and as always, my hero comes to the rescue and allows to let me do whatever I want since he is always looking out after me. Yes. Baba. Baba is my hero.
Right now, I was sitting in our music room. Baba and mine's, we called it the HERO STUDIOS since baba was my hero and he said that I was his. He came to know that I had immense love for music and that's when he built a proper music room for me and bought a new piano, guitar, violin and so many other instruments whose name I forgot but it was all worth it, since I loved to play them and hear the melody that comes out of it. Baba only knows how to play a guitar and so he taught some to me, making me fall in love with it each passing day. It's so soothing, so calming and so refreshing that nothing can beat a rainy weather, with hottttt pizza, a cold drinkand a family member playing a sweet melody on the guitar nearby while you sit with them, listen to the music, talk with them and eat your pizza. Pizza my little baby. Mommy's little little baby.
I was wearing the brown and black frock baba had bought for me from somewhere out of Italy and had made my hair into two ponytails when I closed the door of the music room and took the guitar, placing it carefully onto the ground when I did a little dance getting excited and then lightly slapped the both of my cheeks three times to wake myself up and get ready when I started to play it. The guitar was heavy and I couldn't hold it in my arms like baba could, so I used to put it on the ground and try to play it.
Baba and mama's favourite song was 'If you love her' and they always dedicated it to each other when I always swooned at the love they both showered on each other. I remember sneaking out of bed when it was raining and I just wanted to go out and dance in the rain when I stopped immediately and hid behind a pillar watching baba and mama sitting on the steps in front of the house, watching the rain as he was playing the guitar looking into her eyes. I silently witnessed the both of them and smiled seeing the smile on baba's face as he gazed into her eyes and the love openly displayed on her face as she gazed into his eyes.
He was playing that same song and was singing it for her when I was astonished as I had never heard him sing before. His voice was so beautiful, melodious and immaculate that I sat on the ground beside the pillar and kept listening to him, rocking left and right, a sense of tranquility emanating through my own body, making sleepy butterflies awaken in my heart and making me smile like never before.
The rain started to pound more harshly when he scooted closer to her and touched his forehead with hers as she snuggled closer to him, giggling but he never stopped playing the guitar and singing along when I could feel my elder sister was in tears as it was so beautiful. I always took my elder sister as my mother since she had practically been my mother since I was a baby.
Nobody else was willing to take care of me but her. My own mother abandoned me as she hated the sight of me and thought that I was an ugly child. My dad told me this while he was beating me and told me how he thought the same. But sissy and baba never made me feel that way. Not even Uncle Moose or aunt Em or aunt Ella. I felt loved here.
The song had ended when he placed the guitar aside and kept looking into her eyes smiling when I gasped when he whispered to her, but not much of a whisper, enough for me to hear, "I love you." She whispered it back hugging him when I saw him pulling her closer when I scooted closer to the pillar as I just wanted someone to hug me right now too the way he was hugging her. And as soon as the thought crossed my mind, Uncle Moose screamed from behind, "SOMEBAADYYYY'SSS LOOKINNNNN!" and he rushed away laughing when I scrambled on my feet hurriedly, my heart thumping wildly in my chest where I could feel my rib cage about to break apart as I tried to run back to my room as fastly as my tiny legs could carry.
But baba was baba. Faster than me, smarter than me, funnier than me and the bestttttt. He caught me right before I could even make it a bit away when he rose me in the air laughing when I laughed back trying to wiggle my way out of being caught. He pulled me towards himself, my back to his chest, hugging me strong when he turned around and started walking back towards the entrance of the house, tickling me when I fell into a series of laughters trying my best to get out of the torture. He took me out, sitting on the seats next to the woman he loooooooveeeeeeddddd and made me sit in his lap as he picked up the guitar and started playing it again. And so yes, hence he taught me that how to play it. It took me a full month to get the hang of it but I did eventually.
It was night time, a few hours behind my bed time when I started playing the guitar, the beautiful voice coming out of the instrument, making me smile on my own. This was so beautiful and I wanted to play this for forever. I remember making a wish to God to let me be a guitarist as I wanted to one day play in front of the whole world and proudly tell them that my baba had taught me.
I giggled and relaxed more when the song kept on playing but I suddenly stopped when I heard a huge laugh coming from outside. The laugh oddly represented Uncle Moose's when I stopped playing the guitar and went to the window. Since I was small and couldn't stand up to my full height or even get till the lower end of the window, I turned around and dragged the cushions baba had placed here so that sissy could sit with us while we played the instruments and while he taught me how to because despite sofa's being there, she loved to lie down and enjoy while we played.
I pushed all of the cushions and lined them on top of each other when slowly I started to place my knees on it and tried to climb one by one. Finding balance, I tried to put the nearest cushion on top when I was very near the starting of the window. The pile of cushions was becoming huge when I agitatedly wondered why did baba's house have windows up so high. He always used to pick me up in his arms so I could see outside making me feel more small. But cute.
I placed the last cushion and placed my right knee a bit when my whole body wobbled and I suddenly felt a tingling sensation in my stomach when I grabbed the window sill quickly, my voice coming out all funny and wobbly as a whisper, "Babaaaa." I always called him when I felt scared or when I felt the need to find peace. Mama and him. They are the best.
I placed both of my knees on the cushions and stood up looking outside when my eyes widened to see Uncle Moose acting so weird. He was swinging left and right while standing when I slapped my forehead. Baba had swings attached for this very purpose and not to stand and take a swing.
Jumping down from all the cushions, I quickly ran outside and made my way downstairs. I ran towards Uncle Moose who was laughing with a guard and had a glass bottle in his hand. The guard's eyes widened when he looked at me when I tugged on Uncle Moose's pants to get his attention. He looked down at me and laughed, "Eveeeeee. Eveeee ma babyyyyyy."
I cringed as he had never said that to me before when I shook my head and held his hand pulling him to the swings. He was not walking properly when I was confused and I felt like crying because I didn't want anything to happen to him. He had a very nice heart and didn't deserve any pain when I stopped and looked up at him, "Uncle M, are you okay? Are you in pain?"
He suddenly swayed on his feet when I wanted to cry but he laughed, "Purrrrrrfectooooo babaaayyyyyy."
I squinted my eyes thinking what was wrong with him when I pulled him towards the swings and made him sit on one. He drank something from the bottle and smiled, looking at me when I folded my arms and sighed, "You can take a swing here, it's nice-"
"Eveeeeeeeee-"
"Uncle Moose, are you okay?"
He rolled his eyes and smiled his big smile when he nodded feverishly, "Jour unclee isss bayoteeful. Purfect like......." and then he narrowed his eyes, squealing, "nachos."
I sat on the nearest swing and looked at him, "Which nachos?"
"Cheesy meesy naughty naughty nachosssss."
He drank whatever he was drinking when he looked at me and winked, laughing, "I see what you doin dere, donnnnn even thinkkk bout eetttt."
I started to take a swing, "Uncle Massimo, you don't look good, I-"
He looked at me with a confused expression, "Ion look good? You sayin," he got up from the swing and swayed when I instantly extended my arms to hold him if he fell when he pointed at his outfit, "that ion look goodie? I lookin badass honey."
I continued taking my swing when I wrinkled up my nose and shook my head, "Nopes. Baba looks more handsome."
His eyes widened when he came closer to me and whispered, "You have a dad?"
I looked at him in disbelief, "Uncle Moose, did you lose your memory or-"
"NO." and he turned around looking at the sky when he drank from the bottle, "I ain't loosin memory before I die honey." and he started to shake his ass and started dancing when I covered my eyes. What the hell was wrong with him? I couldn't understand.
He looked back at me and laughed when he took his seat on the swing, "I kanow I yam a greatttt dancer. And-"
"No Uncle Moose, let me finish please."
He squinted his eyes in concentration and nodded turning his face away, "Yah yah, you go take a shit."
I scrunched up my face when I got off the swing and stood in front of him when he widened his eyes and laughed, "Now dat wasn't some massive shit."
"Uncle Moose, yellow with peach pants?"
"Yah. Gurls ran after me. WEEE WEEE WEEE. I said NO. I said, my broooootherrrr kills meeee-"
"Uncle Massimo."
"Yes love?" he drank some more of the drink he was holding.
"I was saying baba dresses more handsome. Yellow shirt and peach pants don't suit you."
"Then?"
I smirked, "Black shirt like the one baba wears-
"Dress shirt you mean?"
I nodded, "Yes, black dress shirt," and I smirked again, "sleeves rolled up a bit, black pants, black raybans, black Rolex, spotless clean black shoes...........OOOOFFFFFF!"
"Oh. You mean gangsta?"
"Yes heheheheh."
He raised the bottle at me smiling, "You good eh?"
I nodded when he gave me the bottle, "Wanna try some?"
I took the bottle from him when I heard hurried footsteps and saw guards running here and there but I couldn't understand why they were running and why one guard was using his phone to talk to someone so I turned around and looked at uncle Moose, "What is this?"
"Alcohol.........YUMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!! Try some."
"Would baba get mad?"
"Whose your dad, honey? Drinak some."
I raised the bottle to my lips when I looked at him, "But what if baba scolds me?" There were sudden tears in my eyes when my chin wobbled and my voice cracked, "I-i....I don't want baba to stop talking to me."
ASHTON
EVERLEIGH WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT???????????????????
MASSIMO WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT??????????????????????
WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT????????????????????
OH WHAT WHAT WHAT WHATTTTTTTTTTT????????????????
Leaving everything behind, I? I ran like a mad man. I ran like a deranged person. I ran like never before. Bumping into Emma and literally pushing Sophia out of the way when my darling hit her face into the wall, I didn't even care when I just ran outside as fast as I could praying to God that Everleigh didn't even take a sip of it. What the fuck was wrong with Massimo? This was exactly the type of thing he did quite some years back on his birthday. Went to a club, got drunk, abducted a seven year old and then handed himself to the police and said stupidly, inspector I kidnapped this girl, call my brother, he will agree. I mean...........what the fuck.
And now this? This was a bit too much when I ran outside with the speed of lightning. I left this child for a few minutes and here she is, with a drunkard, about to literally consume alcohol. I'll die with these massive amounts of heart attacks.
EVERLEIGH
Uncle Moose pouted his lips and pulled me in a hug, "Ain't nobody gonna be mean to ma child. And ya are feeling sed?"
I nodded when he clapped his hands and pointed to the bottle, "Drink some."
"Sure? Is this good?"
"Awwhhh honeyyy, dis amazinggggg, you gonna go fly to Mars ma love."
I got excited, "Really? This will help me get transported to Mars?"
"OH DEF YEAHHHH!!!!"
Adrenaline pumped through me and I raised the bottle to my lips when even before I could taste it, somebody harshly pushed the bottle away from my hands when it fell to the ground breaking into little pieces when I shrieked. I raised my hands in front of me to protect myself and quickly looked up to see baba standing there, looking very pissed and very angry with the way his jaw was clenched and the way his eyes held rage. He glared at me, his hands into fists when I ran to him and tried to pull those fingers apart as I knew it was hurting him. Whenever he clenched his fists like this, he used to dig his nails into his palm till it hurt him and I did not like this. I pried the fingers away and looked up at him when he kept on glaring at me and kind of scolded me, for the very first time in my entire life, "Room. Now."
"Baba-"
"EVERLEIGH! I SAID, ROOM! NOWWW!"
My chin wobbled when I ran towards uncle Moose who had a crying expression on his face when tears falling down my cheeks, I hit his knee three times and started crying, "I told youuuu, I told you baba will be angry and you said he wouldn't be. I told you that I don't like it when baba is upset with me and you still told me that he wouldn't be."
He opened his mouth when I turned away and ran to my room, crying because baba mad at me felt like the whole world mad at me. Baba getting silent meant the whole world giving me a cold shoulder and I didn't like it. I ran to my old room which I shared with sissy and closing the door behind, without turning the fans or the lights on, I laid on the bed on my stomach and started to cry.
Baba was not happy with me.
ASHTON
My heart broke to see my Everleigh crying. I never wanted to raise my voice with her but I couldn't control it since she was about to drink alcohol for God's sake. It's never healthy and I didn't want anything to happen to that little dove. As soon as Everleigh ran away crying, I wanted to get done with Massimo's topic quickly so that I could go to her and hug her. Massimo looked at her running away when he started........crying? And wailing?
"AYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, you made her cryyyyyyy AYEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"
I rolled my eyes and slapped him hard to shut him up when he did and choked back a sob looking at me when I glared at him, "Massimo, this shit isn't funny. I don't care what age girls you kidnap when you are out of your mind but making my daughter drink alcohol? This shit is not funny and wouldn't be appreciated in my house. You do this again, I'm sorry but I would have to make you leave this house as right now, my daughter means a lot to me and I hell wouldn't appreciate you literally making her drink alcohol. And no more clubbing for you. Girls can go clubbing since they can be controlled by us, but you are not allowed, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Now since you are mad drunk, I have recorded whatever I have said and I am sending the voice recording to you. Listen to it when you get sober and take this as my last warning, I wouldn't tolerate you doing this with Everleigh again."
I stopped and looked at him breathing heavily when he started crying again, "AYEEEEEEEEEEEE you made her cryyyyyyy-"
Rolling my eyes and turning around, I called two guards and asked them to throw him into his room when I turned on my heel and started to go inside the house but not before plucking a rose from the garden. For my upset girl.
I went inside and first went to the music room to see she wasn't there, but the most odd site were the fallen cushions near the window. What were they doing there? Shrugging the thought off, I went to my office to see she wasn't there, not even in my room, not even in the kitchen, not Emma's room when I got scared. My heart started beating wildly against my rib cage since I knew she ran away upset, sad and crying but now I had no idea where she had gone, if she was okay, if anyone knew where my princess was, since I had never seen her act impulsively. I rushed to my office and activated all the recordings of the cameras, sweat trickling down my face, my heart thumping wildly when I just prayed to the God above to keep my little miss tornado girl safe. I rewinded back till I saw her little self running when I chuckled at her speed. Cute.
I kept watching it when she went inside the room she initially shared with Sophia and closed it never getting out when I fast forwarded it with 2x speed that maybe she had left the room later and gone somewhere else but she didn't. Turning off my laptop, I exited my office and went towards that room when I knocked, "Princess?"
She didn't respond when I slowly opened the door to see her little body shaking when I could hear sobs coming from her as she laid on her stomach onto the bed. My heart itself felt like as if it was retreating back to a corner and was crying as it was genuinely hurt when I sighed and closed the door, the room turning dark with a little bit of moonlight peaking in from the blinds when I went and sat on the bed next to her. She didn't move when I poked her shoulder, "Princess?"
No answer.
"Monkey?"
No answer.
"Banana peel?"
No answer.
I laid on the bed, stretching out my legs and resting my body weight on my right elbow when I poked her shoulder again, "Gorilla, giraffe, elephant?"
Her cries stopped but she still didn't answer when I tried again, "Chimpanzee."
I grinned when she didn't move when I knew what will. I knew exactly what to say to get her to come to me when I whispered lovingly, "Baba's mini love? Baba's mini angel?"
She jumped up and lunged at me, hugging me hardly when I laughed and cradled her into my arms and it was then that I noticed that the fan was not on. I knew I would be giving her a long ass lecture to save her from this incident in the future when I turned the ac on and laid on the bed, with one leg dangling off and cuddled her closer. She rested onto my chest, wounding her arms around my waist and held me close making me feel loved.
I hugged her tightly and kissed her head, "Love?"
Her voice came out so squeaky, so small and so broken, "Are you mad at me?"
"No. Why would I be mad at you?"
She looked at me, "But you scolded me."
"I was angry at your dic-beautiful uncle moose." I was about to say dickhead but imagine explaining to a six year old what's a dick. Sophia would be shoving my grave in my own house in the next hour. And I have got to say, despite being the mafia boss and inflicting fear upon other people........that woman scared me shitless at times.
Everleigh looked at me when I pushed her head back on my chest and cuddled her close as she snuggled in close too, "Princess look, I always told you never to drink or eat anything new here or anywhere until and unless baba and mama don't allow. That drink which Uncle Moose was having is for elder people and not for beautiful little children like you. It is actually harmful for you and it would have killed baba if anything happened to his baby. No?"
Plastering her cheek onto my chest, she just nodded when I harshly kissed the top of her head, "So Princess-"
She wiggled her little body in protest, "Baba's mini love."
I chuckled and kissed her head again, "Okay. Baba's mini love, please never drink any new drink until and unless either baba or mama don't say that you can. Believe me we know better and we know what is good for our baby and what is not and that drink isn't good for Baba's mini love, okay?"
"Okay." She asked after some silence, "You are not mad with me, right?"
I picked her up and placed her on my lap, till she was facing me, "Nopes. Nopes nopes nopes and nopes. Baba himself cannot live without talking to his mini love." I rubbed my nose with her when she giggled and I placed the rose behind her ear when I nodded, "Hmmm." I gave her a thumbs up, "Perfect."
She lunged at me and hugged me when I wrapped my arms around her hugging her when I whispered, "I am sorry for screaming at you earlier. I just got too extra sensitive about my little world."
She nodded and whispered an okay before snuggling her face in my neck and this is something I believe should be in every home to establish a healthy relationship with your own child. Not always is the child wrong and not always is the parent wrong. Similarly, not always is the child right and not always is the parent right. If a parent can make a child apologize in front of them for a mistake the child did, then I believe a parent should also apologize when they make a mistake as confidence builds up in a child that yes, their parents are also like them and can make mistakes. If today I did make a mistake and apologized to Everleigh, accepting that yes, I did wrong, I know for once that in the future, if she makes a mistake, she will think that her baba apologized for a mistake he did despite being elder so she should also apologize for a mistake she did.
And no matter how big the mistake is, I would never ever scold her because scolding her would lead her to have fear in her heart and I don't want her to start hiding things from me or some little mistake thinking that her baba will scold her and hence let's hide it or solve it on our own. No. I would want her to think of me or Sophia as the first people to go to whenever she does something wrong. I want our image to be the first to pop up in her mind making her believe that she has to come to us whenever she makes a mistake. And I would never scold her but guide her no matter how big the mistake is. That is literally why it's called a mistake. So that in the future when something happens, instead of her confiding in some random friend who she won't even know is a true friend or not, she can confidently confide in either Sophia or me and get the best solution. By our behaviour she would also know that I always, always and alwaysssss have her back. Always.
And plus. I love my mini angel a lot:)
I kissed her head, "Want to learn a new song on the guitar?"
She grinned, "Yesssssssss."
I clapped my hands, "Get up. Let's go to HERO studios. Ashton Everleigh studios."
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Peace.
A.ZChaudhry
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