- A m a r a R u s s o -
By the time we got home, Ace wasn't home at all, and neither was Samantha or Santino.
"What happened?" I blurted.
"Samantha's tires exploded. Luckily, she managed to keep them in check, but her motorcycle still got out of control. The call disconnected by accident I think, when the bike jerked." Salvatore explained.
"Are they alright?"
"I do not know. It is possible that the both of them got injured, but I do not know for sure until they come back."
"So what's going to happen now?" I asked, and Salvatore gave me an annoyed glance.
"I do not know, Amara. Does it look like I'm there?" he drawled, and I shook my head.
"It's fine, Salvatore. She's just worried." Salvestro said softly, and although Salvatore huffed at being ordered, he complied nonetheless.
"Sandeo, why don't you bring Salvino and Amara with you to find Anna? I'm sure you'll find her with Alessandro and Alessia and you can play with them." Salvestro suggested, and without protesting, Sandeo nodded obediently.
He took my arm with one hand, and Salvino's in the other as he marched us out of the hallway and into one of the playrooms.
The playroom we were in was full of different toys that cost at least thousands of dollars, and there Alessandro was, throwing one of the cars on the floor as he threw a temper tantrum.
"I want my mommy!" he wailed, and the maid - Anna I think her name was - looked exhausted as she picked up after the boy.
"Alessandro!" Sandeo exclaimed, and Alessandro stopped his crying to see who called his name.
When he noticed that it was Sandeo, he ran over to him, jumping into his arms as he sniffled into his shoulder.
"It's alright." Sandeo comforted.
"I want my mommy." Alessandro sniffed.
"Your mommy will be home soon alright?" Sandeo said softly, a soft and gentle expression on his face.
"But I want her now." Alessandro choked, and more silent tears escaped his eyes.
"I know, and I want my mom too, but she's not here." Sandeo replied, and sitting onto one of the cushions, he started stroking Alessandro's hair softly.
I looked around, seeing that Salvino had picked up Alessia who was sitting on the floor, babbling a bunch of random words that didn't make any sense at all.
"You may take a break, Anna. We got it from here." Sandeo told her, and a relieved maid exited the room, no longer in charge of two trouble makers.
"Mommy!" Alessandro cried, and hearing her mother's name, Alessia perked up as well.
"Mama?" she asked, and she started looking around hopefully, her cute little body turning in different directions as she started sucking on her thumb
"Damnit, Aly." Salvino cursed, and tried to distract Alessia, trying to get her attention off of her mom.
"I want my mommy!" Alessandro shouted, just as the waterworks started again.
"Mama!" Alessia giggled, and clapped her hands excitedly, her head searching for her mom who was obviously not present.
"Get Alessandro away from here, Sandeo." Salvino hissed.
"Yeah, I know." Sandeo retorted, "What do you think I'm doing?"
"You're not doing anything, that's what!" Salvino growled.
"Yeah, well why don't you try getting Alessandro to move? He's not willing to move!" Sandeo fired back, and I finally saw what he meant.
Alessandro was twisting his torso on the floor so that Sandeo wouldn't be able to get a good grip on him to carry him up. With Alessandro rolling and thrashing on the floor and yelling for Samantha, that only made Alessia even more curious.
"Fine! I'll leave then." Salvino grumbled, and carried Alessia away just as she started sniffling for her mom as well.
"Mama?" she whimpered, and when her mom didn't show up, Alessia started shrieking in the highest pitched voice I've ever heard.
"I think Salvestro said to play with them! Not make them cry their lungs out!" Salvatore's voice boomed as his furious face appeared into the room.
His presence only made both of them cry louder.
Salvestro soon appeared behind him with a disappointed expression on his face.
"I did say that," he agreed.
"Why are those two crying like they're ass is on fire?" Salvatore questioned.
"They're both looking for their mom." Salvino answered through gritted teeth as he patted Alessia on the back, rocking her back and forth.
In a desperate last resort to get out of his arms, Alessia started twisting and turning as well, making it hard for Salvino to maintain the grip he had around her. This caused Alessia to slip and almost fall to the floor if it weren't for Salvino's last minute reflexes.
"This is just chaos." I muttered, and Salvestro gave me a tired look.
"Oh, this is only the start." he said, facing the now arguing trio. I have no idea if this is how a Christmas is supposed to go, but this was not looking good at all.
~
It's been two hours, and none of them have calmed down. My head was starting to pound, and although the voices have been abnormally quiet, they were now hissing in my head, just causing the headache to increase.
We've only managed to calm them down for a maximum of thirty minutes as they both drank a cup of chocolate milk while watching TV, and when the show had stopped, they resumed their crying.
"Oh my gosh..." Salvatore muttered in exasperation as Alessandro started crying for his mom again. "That's it. I'm calling Samantha. She needs to get back before I lose my fucking mind."
With that, Salvatore stormed out of the living room, his aggressive motions nearly breaking his entire phone as he punched in the number.
Although I couldn't hear him talking, I got the gist of it.
Salvatore was telling Samantha to get back home because Alessandro and Alessia were being annoying brats who wouldn't calm down until they found her.
Fortunately, it seems that Santino, Samantha, and Ace were already on their way back when he called because not even five minutes later, Samantha was coming back into the mansion. A bit of blood was sprayed all over her body, and Santino and Salvatore had blood all over themselves too.
"What happened?" Sandeo gasped.
"Nothing. This isn't my blood. It's someone else's." Samantha shrugged off, and seeing my look of horror, she quickly explained. "The person I hurt? Yeah, it's his blood."
"You crashed into someone?" Salvestro asked, face turned into one of shock.
"It wasn't my fault. It's not like I intended to hurt him when I got on my motorcycle today. He wasn't even supposed to be there." Samantha defended.
"Mommy!" Alessandro wailed, opening both of his arms wide so that his mom could pick him up.
"Mama!" Alessia repeated, tear tracks staining her face.
"I got you, baby. Just let me take a shower alright? Mommy's stinky right now, and you don't want a stinky mommy, do you?" Samantha said gently, and before they could respond, she was already rushing up the stairs.
"Mommy!" Alessandro cried out, and wiggled out of Salvestro's arms as he ran towards the stairs, starting the climb one by one.
To say the least, they were desperate for their mother's comfort.
Samantha didn't reappear though, already too far up the stairs to hear her son cry for her.
"Mama!" Alessia shrieked, eyes red and puffy from all the crying as she reached her chubby arms into thin air.
"Ace?"
"I can't hold them. I'm covered in blood too." Ace growled, "Hold them tight for me. I'll take a shower as well. Santino, go to your room and take a long shower. I don't want to smell blood on you when you come back down for dinner."
With that, Ace was striding up the steps, his son and daughter waddling up behind him.
~
Thankfully, Samantha took a short shower, but although her shower was short, she smelled amazing when she came out.
"Here, baby." Samantha cooed, and with her wet hair still plastered to her back, she picked up both of her children. "Did you guys eat yet?"
"Well, kinda." I answered.
"You didn't?" she asked, surprised, written across her features.
"No. We were um, too busy taking care of Alessandro and Alessia." I muttered, looking down at my hands.
"Oh! Then come and eat with us." Samantha invited, and although her hands were incapable of moving thanks to the two dead weights on them, I got her message as her fingers moved.
I followed Samantha back into the kitchen, where unsurprisingly, Ace and Santino were already there.
"So..." I trailed off, "What happened?"
"Nothing much," Samantha waved off as she passed Alessandro to her husband. "Someone got hurt, called for help, the basics of it."
"Was the media involved?" Sandeo asked eagerly, and Santino snorted.
"Yeah, no." he replied, "It was just a minor crash, no reason for the media to go crazy about it."
"Right," he drawled, then went back to downing his food as Samantha ripped off the softer pieces of the bread, gifting them to Alessia who took them with grabby hands.
"Eat, Amara." Salvatore ordered, and seeing his expression, I knew to not protest today. Not until he's calmed down and he wasn't on the verge of tipping back into his temper.
Slowly, I took a bite of the pizza that was creating the most delicious scent and chewed it.
We were halfway through the silent, awkward dinner, when Ace interrupted.
"You too, Baby." he said sternly, and Samantha froze, giving him a sheepish, but innocent smile.
"Yeah?"
"Don't think I didn't notice you not eating." he admonished, "Eat."
"But I have to feed Alessia first." Samantha retorted, "Anyways, I'm not that hungry."
"You're just like, Amara. I swear." I heard Santino mumble, and Salvino grunted his agreement.
"What? I'm sure Elena would agree with me." Samantha retorted, and my ears perked up.
Elena?
She knew my best friend as well?
"Yeah, well Elena and you are literally twins, just not blood related." Salvatore countered, and Samantha gave a wicked grin.
"You got that right." she smirked, "She's my buddy through hell and back."
"You know Elena?" I blurted, unable to keep my mouth shut.
"I know Elena, but it might not be the person you're thinking about." she answered, "Describe her to me and tell me her last name."
"Uh, dark skin, black curly hair like mine, blue eyes, in grade eight," I listed, and before I could continue, Samantha had cut me off.
"Nope, the Elena I know has light skin, brown hair, hazel eyes, is my age, and is married." she said fondly, "Anyways, we have to talk about the Christmas party."
"Mhm," Ace hummed in agreement, "The party will be the day after tomorrow during the afternoon, starting exactly at twelve in the afternoon, lasting until nine in the evening."
"Nine hours?" Santino raised a brow.
"Yeah. It's a long one, but we all have to attend." Ace nodded solemnly, looking anything but wanting to go to the party.
"Where is it going to be hosted?"
"Oh, somewhere in Russia."
"Russia?" Sandeo shrieked out loud, and my eyes were almost bulging out of my head.
We were going to Russia?
"Yes. We will be going to Russia, catching the first plane tomorrow morning. The party information was just sent, but we can make it." Ace nodded.
"Why do I even have to go?" Sandeo whined.
"Because you are part of the Russo family, and you must show a united front."
"It is going to be so boring. We have no friends there." Sandeo complained.
"And? We'll only be there for two days at most before coming back here to celebrate Christmas." Salvatore countered, "Besides, you have the twins, Amara, Salvestro, and me to keep you company."
"But the twins suck."
"We suck?" the twins said simultaneously, taking great offence to his words.
"Yeah, you do suck, a lot." Sandeo agreed, a smug grin on his face as both of the twins' faces burned bright red. I had no idea what they were embarrassed about. Or maybe it was anger?
"We do not suck." Santino growled menacingly.
"Oh no, that is not what I meant." Sandeo back-peddled, but his grin was still plastered to his face.
"Oh that is exactly what you meant." Salvino retorted, his hand raising. Before Salvino could send the first punch though, Salvatore's voice had broken through.
"Enough is enough. Sandeo, stop antagonizing your brothers, and twins? Stop taking everything so seriously. You know that Sandeo likes riling you up, so ignore him." Salvatore snarled, and the trio had their mouths snapped and zipped shut before I knew what was happening.
That was fast...
"Anyways," Salvestro said awkwardly, always the more calm and patient during these conversations. "You were saying Ace?"
At his name, I turned my head to see that Ace had a nasty scowl on his face. I had almost forgotten about him... Until now.
"Just make sure that you have everything packed. We will be there for a maximum of two days, so pack accordingly." Ace sighed, "Amara, Samantha will pack your luggage for you because you have never been to these types of parties before."
"I don't mind," Samantha agreed, "Just lead me to what you packed in your suitcase coming here, and I'll try my best to fit what you'll actually need into your bag. Watch and learn."
"Okay." I answered meekly, my food totally forgotten as I fidgeted with my hand, picking at my newly made nails.
"Don't touch your nails, Amara. I do not want to get them redone." Samantha snapped at me, her good mood gone in an instant.
Yelping, I jerked up, my arm hitting the top of the table as I let out another yell of pain.
"Are you alright, Bambina?" Salvestro addressed me, and I nodded, still hissing like a cat as I wrung my hand, trying to get rid of the burning sensation travelling through my wrist and into my upper arm.
"Yeah, I'm good." I managed to get out through gritted teeth as I leaned over my arm, lessening the pain... Only by a fraction.
"Drama queen." I heard Santino mutter, and a glare found its way onto my face as I scowled at him.
'You should hurt him' the voice suggested unhelpfully, and thankfully, I managed to restrain my movements before I actually did it.
'No.'
'You're no fun.' the voice pouted, before leaving my mind once again, now just a dark presence hanging over my head.
Shaking my head violently, I tried to get rid of the feeling of someone looking at me, and succeeded after a few minutes.
"Whew." I let out a puff of breath, only to realize that everyone was staring at me like I had gone crazy.
"What did you do that for?"
"Nothing." I murmured, and sat back onto the chair. I hadn't even noticed that I had gotten off.
"It better be nothing." Salvatore agreed, before they went back to their conversation.
Damn, this voice was just getting worse.
~
Russia.
Such a beautiful, serene, place. Especially when it's snowing.
Yeah... No.
Beautiful? Definitely.
Serene? Not right now.
"Who the fuck are these drivers? Don't they know it's winter?" Santino growled as Salvatore swerved to the left just as a car zoomed right past us, barely making it as we skidded across the ice.
"No idea." Salvatore growled, "I have no idea who gave these idiots a driver's licence. They don't deserve one."
"Well, I mean, you technically drive like that too, right?" Sandeo pondered loudly.
"No," Salvatore disagreed, "I don't drive like a lunatic just because I'm pissed off."
"It's not like you haven't done it before though." Sandeo retorted, and a warning glare from Salvatore had him zipping his mouth shut.
"Where are we staying anyways?" Salvino asked.
"I have no idea."
"Then what do you know?" Santino drawled.
"Nothing."
Santino and Salvino's jaw dropped to the floor with his words.
"You don't even know where we are going?" Santino shrieked.
"No, I'm just following Ace right now. He booked everything for us, so I'm just going to be following him." Salvatore shrugged, but you could still tell that he was agitated about not knowing anything.
It wasn't long before we arrived, and to say that the hotel was extravagant wouldn't be a lie at all. This hotel was the definition of rich.
"What the..." I couldn't even describe this place with words as it was absolutely breathtaking, and I am sure that the beauty would only increase in the night and when we were actually inside.
I could only imagine what the inside would look like if this is what the outside looked like. I mean, it was Christmas, which meant that inside must have a lot of Christmas decorations.
"It is gorgeous." Salvestro breathed, and I agreed.
"Salvatore!" Sandeo exclaimed.
"What?"
"Why don't you ever bring us to hotels like these?" Sandeo complained, "I wouldn't mind living in these things for the rest of my life."
"Because we aren't that rich." Salvatore stated, but there was a tinge of annoyance in his tone. This pretty much hinted that Sandeo should shut up now, but of course, Sandeo ignored the warning signs and plowed on.
"We are though! We have enough money to last us a lifetime." he whined, and Salvatore's brows twitched.
"Enough, Sandeo." he growled, and pulled into a parking space.
'You know your brother is annoying, right?' the voice commented, but I pushed it away. I won't listen to its voice. I hate it, I think.
'If you hated us, you would have told Salvestro about us by now.' the voice laughed, and I sneered. Sure, whatever helps float their boat.
'You mean whatever helps float your boat.' they gloated, 'You will see soon that you don't hate us.'
"Come on. Ace is already waiting for us." Salvatore ordered, shutting off the engine as he climbed out of the car, the rest of us stepping out with him.
"But what about our luggage?" I asked.
"Someone will get them for us." Sandeo answered, waving off my question as we walked towards the family.
Alessia was in one of those baby slings, and her face was plastered onto her mother's breasts as she sucked on her pacifier, her huge innocent eyes looking around her new surroundings.
"Why is Alessia in that?" Sandeo asked.
"Because I don't exactly trust my men to hold my children for me." Ace answered.
"But isn't it bad for your back?"
At this, I saw Samantha scowl in Sandeo's direction as Ace turned towards her.
"Why didn't you say that it was bad for your back?"
"Because you never asked."
Just then, a couple came over.
"Bitch!" the girl called, and I gasped in fear for the girl.
I expected to see Ace go ballistics at the woman. However, he didn't do anything except for tightening his hands into fists as he controlled his anger.
"Lena!" Samantha greeted, her usual cold expression on but her eyes lighting up with joy.
"We just finished packing. Decided to come down and give you a hand." Lena shrugged, before she perked up at who was in Samantha's hands.
"Can I hold her?" she cooed, and Ace shook his head.
"Not now. Not until we've fully settled in."
Lena pouted, sticking her bottom lip out. "But-"
The man beside her pinched her arm, and she squeaked before swiping at him.
"That was unnecessary!" she growled, her fake innocence long gone. Honestly, she looked a bit like Samantha with that face, but it seemed like she's got a shorter fuse.
"I was only tryi-"
"We should go." Salvestro interrupted, and fully looking, I see Salvatore and Ace, both having fuming expressions on their face.
"Right," Samantha agreed, quick to catch on. "Get to your rooms, unpack, and then we can go exploring Russia."
***
All right! This is the second update I promised all of you, and there will be another update in a few hours to fulfill the three chapters I promised. I have been working on these chapters for hours to get them done, so please do tell me that these chapters are decent, or else I'm afraid your author might die (I'm kidding, of course. Give me your honest opinion).
Anyway, thank you all so much again for 1k votes and 26k reads. I really appreciate it, and thank you for sticking with me thus far. This story is about halfway done now, so you can guess that there will be about 25 more chapters? I don't know for sure yet, but there will be definitely be at least 20 more chapters, so look out for that!
So, let me know what you think, and I'll talk to you guys again in a few hours through another chapter! Stay safe guys!
~ CRAZY40429 💋
QotC: How many best friends do you have?
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