Keeley's POV
I sigh as I unlock the door to the house. It has been an extremely tiring day, and from the moment I got to school, it seems like nothing wanted to go my way.
To start with, Mr. Monroe assigned us a shit load of homework, Ms. Loren said we are to have a painting done for tomorrow of someone who has hurt us, English and Physics both left me with hours of homework, and in Gym, Ryder just so happened to hit me in the face with a basketball. Joy. The only good thing that came out of today was that Aubrey invited me to sleepover on Friday after the football game. I at least have that to look forward to.
I walked into the grand foyer and slid off my moccasins before going further into the house.
"She's not going with us," I heard Callan's hoarse voice speak. With the tone he was speaking with, I pitied whoever was on the opposite end of that conversation.
"Well, what are we supposed to do? She has to understand what we do and what happens when someone crosses us, Callan. There is no argument!" Nick's voice boomed through the house.
"Well," I speak loudly as I step into the living room to see the two in a stand-off, "she is here to decide for herself. Now, what the hell is going on?" I dropped my backpack on the ground as I rubbed my face. I'm exhausted and the last thing I need is another sibling argument.
"Nick wants you to go with us to the big house to question a guy that crossed us," Callan growls while looking at our oldest brother.
"She needs to see how we handle things, Callan. This is her life too."
"So you mean," I begin, "that you want me to go with you to torture some answers out of some piece of shit trader?"
"Yes! What is wrong with that?" Nich continues to yell while his hands fly in the air.
"I'm not going," I tell him tiredly but with no room for argument.
Ever since it all happened, I've never been able to be in the room with anybody who has to go through that pain. All I can think of is the desperation that I felt at the hands of him and I crumble at the sight of prolonged torture. I'm fine with dragging someone's death out a bit longer, but I refuse to drag out death for days, to make somebody feel like that. Even the worst of my enemies I wouldn't wish that on.
"What do you mean by you aren't going?" Nick's voice has considerably lowered and his ice-like eyes are only focused on me.
"I mean that I'm not going. I have homework and I'd rather not put people through that sort of pain. You can't change my mind." Callan gives a look to Nick that screams I told you so.
"You are going. Homework can wait." He grabs my arm as well as my bag and starts dragging me towards the door. His grip is tight and even though I'm wearing a hoodie, I can tell soft purple bruises will be on my arm tomorrow.
"If you don't let go, we are going to have problems," I say as quietly as I can to prevent myself from going batshit crazy on his ass. He stops in his tracks and turns to look down at me.
He looks so much like our father right now. Their eyes both hold some sort of anger that is mixed with irritation and the way each of their jaws ticks ever so slightly when frustrated on the right side is uncanny. I can feel the disappointment radiating off of Nick solely because I don't want part of what he is about to do. I can deal with anger, but not so well with disappointment.
"You are going, Keeley. That is final." His hold tightens around my arm as his suit-clad chest begins to rise and fall faster.
I grip his hand and pry it off before snatching my bag out of his grip. "I won't go and you can't make me. I've had a long day and the last thing I need right now is for you to make it worse. So leave me the hell alone."
Just then, the front door opens, and the Moretti's, my father, and Finn all slowly file into the house.
"Keeley, what's going on?" my father asks while eyeing my face. My mask is up right now because I don't know how to feel and I never do. I become destructive when more than one emotion is coursing through my body. Phillips told me that's why I have so many mood swings: when one becomes too much, I switch to another like nothing else happened.
"Nothing, I'm going to do my homework."
"No, you're not. I already told you that you have to come with me. Everybody does this at least once, and you are no exception," he seethes while looking straight into my eyes. I sneak a quick glimpse to my side and see that all of the guys are equally confused as to what is happening.
I turn back to Nick and try to maintain my composure. "You don't think I've done what you're talking about before?" I look at him in surprise. "You don't think that at any time in the past five years, where I killed people whenever instructed, that I haven't brought torture on to somebody else? That I haven't caused somebody to plead for death, only for me to make it drag on for days? That I don't know what it's like? Because I know it probably a lot more than you think. I may only be seventeen, Nick, but I was forced to grow the hell up. I never got the choice of whether or not I wanted to do that. So the next time you want to force me to help you with something I'm not comfortable with, maybe back the fuck off."
I snatch my backpack out of his hands before going up the stairs, and I don't look back.
When I get to my room, Gus is laying on the floor looking like he just woke up. I move to my bed and crawl into it while my best boy comes to lay down right next to me. I look into his sweet eyes as I scratch his ears gently. I match my breathing to his own, and soon enough, my body relaxes.
Part of me wants to tell my family what happened just so they might get off my back. So that maybe I don't have to look over my shoulder every second of every day. So that maybe I can just be okay.
But I can't. The more they know, the more dangerous everything gets. They'll look at me differently, and as selfish as it may seem, I won't tell them. I can't have them panicking or getting a target placed on their heads. I can't lose them too.
Trying to distract my mind, I pull my backpack onto my bed. Now's a better time than any to get some stuff done.
***
Five hours. I look at my little clock and I've been doing homework for the past five hours. It's now nine o'clock, and I have still yet to eat or do my painting for tomorrow.
I groan as I stand up and walk to my bathroom. As I gaze in the mirror, it's quite evident that I look just how I feel: like shit. My hair is sticking up and tangled down my back and dark circles lined the bottom of my eyes. I had washed the makeup off my face earlier that had covered my bruise, and now I can see that it's a lot worse than I originally thought. It's grown just a little bit till it now covers not only my right eye and temple but part of my cheekbone as well. The bullet wound on my neck is doing better, though. I've been religiously applying creams and band-aids to it.
I use the bathroom and change into an old pair of sweats and a tank top before going to my paint room. I turn on some classical music and just stare at the blank canvas in front of me.
"Paint someone who has or still is hurting you. Who, whether you realize it or not, controls every single thing you do. Paint with your feelings, not with your mind. When I look at this, I want to feel your pain."
Ms. Loren's voice rings in my head as I compose a mental list of everyone who influences the things I do. Is it the man who continued to hurt me for months on end till I escaped on the brink of death? Is it my father who is there but no matter what I do, it will never be enough for him? Is it a certain Italian who walked straight into my life and no matter how much I like him, it hurts me that I've let my guard down? Or is it... my mother? The woman who never cared for me or even remotely liked me? The woman who died in my arms when I was twelve and who told me that she never loved me but appreciated me being there so she didn't have to be alone?
It seems as if my heart thought for itself because I didn't even realize my hands were already creating a woman's figure from paint.
I remember growing up, all I wanted was to be loved by my family. I would go out of my way and do things for both of my parents that needed to get done without even asking. Whether it be their laundry or just cleaning, I would do it. I would do it and only hope that it would make them happy. Yet it never did, so I moved on to my brothers. I'd follow them around and try to join in on whatever they were playing or doing. I would get the cook to make cookies so I could bring them to those five boys who meant more to me than anything, and still, it never worked. We didn't celebrate holidays, only birthdays, and I can't even count how many times mine went unnoticed. The only person who would acknowledge me was Cal. And now, I act like everything is good between my brothers and me, that the years of hurt just simply vanished when I came home. It didn't, though, and because I'm receiving some form of love from them, I'm scared to tell them these things for fear everything would go back to how it was. I can't go back to being that unloved kid whose only friend was the gardener that I saw once a week. I refuse to live like that again.
I sat back as I dropped my brush into a jar of water I'm not even sure how many hours later. I'm not sure why, but every time I paint or draw my mother, I make her an angel when she was far from it. The large, colorful one hangs up on my wall, and this is no exception.
She's walking away in this one, surrounded by darkness that fades into lighter greys. The only white is the paleness of her skin and the wings sprouting from her shoulders. My father used to say that she was his angel, but I could never see her like that. She didn't know how to raise a girl after having five sons. I remember that any mistake I made, no matter how small, I would get punished for it. Sometimes it would be chores, sometimes I would get things taken away, and rarely, but it still happened, would I get hit. Just a quick slap across the face that nobody would even realize was there. She was no angel, but my father would never know that. He loved her too much.
"Keeley?" My head snapped at the sound of the smooth, Italian voice that has invaded my mind the past couple of days. Luca was standing in the doorway with a small plate of food, a fork, tissue, and a bottle of water. "Can I come in or...?"
I cleared my throat and took one last look at my painting before walking over to him. "Let's sit outside, yeah?"
He gives me a slight nod and together we walk to the small balcony. I sat down on the small bench swing next to Luca.
"I brought you some dinner, considering you haven't eaten and it's already eleven, and we don't have any paper towels, so I brought you a tissue." He hands the plate of scrambled eggs and toast to me with a small smile graced upon his lips.
I feel a small lump in the back of my throat at the small gesture. Today has been a pretty shit day for me and him just bringing me dinner, I don't think he realizes how much it meant.
"Thank you," I whisper as I take the plate from his tan and calloused hands to my small, dainty ones. He gives me a small nod as I begin to eat, and for a few minutes, nothing is spoken between us as we stare at the night sky.
I set my plate down on the balcony before turning to face him. His strong jawline is covered in a light stubble and I can't help but love the small bump that sits on top of his nose. He's wearing sweats and a hoodie, and his dark, ebony hair is a mess, but it's a pretty mess.
Luca's ocean blues turn to me and one of his eyebrows go up. "What?"
"Nothing," I tell him while wrapping my arms around myself. Halloween is Friday, and I can only hope it won't be this cold.
Without a word, Luca's muscled arms wrap around me and tug me closer to his body. I'm immediately surrounded by not only his warmth but that heavenly woodsy scent that follows him wherever he goes.
"You okay, Tesoro? You looked tired." I crane my head up to look at him and find his face painted with worry.
I snuggle a bit closer to him and I can feel his grip tighten. I tuck my legs under me before responding. "It's just been a long day, Gnocco. Tomorrow will be better."
He stares at me in amusement, allowing me to see the slight sparkle in his eyes. "Did you just call me a dumpling?" he laughs. I feel his chest vibrate from laughter and it causes a small smile to appear on my face.
"It also means a good-looking guy, and don't let that go to your head," I tell him while I lean into his chest.
A deep chuckle escapes his lips as one of his hands moves to run through my hair. I close my eyes at the feeling, knowing that this is exactly what I need right now.
We sit there a while longer, just enjoying being together. I hate that I love this. I hate the fact that he has this power over me that causes me to relax and breathe. I hate that I love how he smells and how shielded I feel from the terrors of the world when I'm with him. But what I hate most is that I've only known him a few days and already feel that if he were to leave, part of me would go with him.
"I can see the smoke coming out of your ears. What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" He gives me one of his million-dollar smiles and a warm tingly feeling makes its way up my spine.
"Just thinking." I give him a reassuring smile as I take one of my hands and place it on his firm chest, right on his heart. I feel its beat and my body slowly relaxes.
The stars are bright tonight and they litter the sky. I'll never get tired of looking at them. Something about those fiery balls of gas makes me happy.
Never would I imagine myself in the spot I am right now: curled up into a guy who's quickly becoming one of my favorite people, slowly rocking in a swing with the cool October air surrounding us to the sound of the crickets. I take it in, these moments, for there are few too many of them where things seem to be okay.
***
"Get up, I'm not done with you." Nixon's voice snaps me back into my own personal hell. I had been unchained from the ceiling and my shoulders were screaming "Thank you", but my back and ribs are not. Nixon had been beating me for at least a half-hour at this point. I could feel muscle deep bruises forming where my old ones still are, and my ribs are burning from the blows he had delivered.
Just before I could manage to crawl back onto my knees, the door opens, and in walks the devil himself.
"Nixon, why are you beating my beloved so badly?" I watch him walk into the room and give Nixon one of the deadliest glares I had seen. "Look at her, you imbecile! You don't kick her when she's down!"
He walks over to me and I flinch when his hand nears my face. If I wasn't paying attention, I would have missed the hurt that flashed through his sinister eyes. His sharp features were clenched in frustration, but his chestnut hair was perfectly intact.
"I'm not going to hurt you today, Kitten. If I continue to hurt you in the state you're in right now, you won't live through the night and death would be too easy. No, I'll take care of you." His voice had softened and when I looked at him again, he looked like the boy I once knew: soft, gentle, captivating.
One of his arms snaked under my knees and the other around my back. He stood up slowly and gently, his gaze toward me appeared almost tender. He walked out of the door and the fluorescent overhead lights caused black dots to fill my vision.
"Shhh, it's okay, my love. As of right now, you're safe. You'll always be safe in my arms."
He carried me up a flight of stairs, and we entered into an extravagant living area that was filled with large, burly men. I could feel each pair of eyes burning into my skin as they watched him carry me away to an upstairs bathroom.
He sat me down on the toilet and began to remove the scraps of clothing that barely covered my body. My hands shot out and stopped him at the hem of my shirt.
"Please, no," I croaked out as I felt a single tear run down my bruised and bloody face.
His beautifully terrifying eyes held so much emotion as they stared into mine. His rough hand slowly raised to my face where he ever so slowly used the pad of his thumb to wipe away my tear.
"Keeley, I'm not going to hurt you today, not tomorrow, or even the day after that. You need to get better. I love you too much to let you just die. I want to help you, let me help you."
The conviction in his voice took me back to the days where I believed anything he would tell me, and I felt myself unconsciously nodding and leaning into his hand.
Somebody, please save me.
***
I shot awake and I could feel a cold sweat covering my pale skin. I stepped onto the cold hardwood floors and stumbled my way to the bathroom, not quite sure if I was going to puke yet. That was too real, way too real. His soft words and gentle touch I could feel still lingering on my body, and that feeling sent me to the toilet. I emptied my stomach and collapsed to the floor, knocking everything off the sink on my way down.
I can feel my chest rapidly rising and falling as I try to grasp onto anything in my surroundings as everything was slowly slipping away. I faintly hear shouting, but I can't be sure because the darkness slowly consumes me.
Luca's POV
"So, what are our plans today?" Nick asks his father. All of us guys are sitting around the dining table eating our breakfast and might I say, it's actually nice to have more people to talk to rather than just my family.
"Well," Dominic begins as I shove yet another spoonful of cereal into my mouth, "I have some basic errands for some items that need to be picked up and I planned on heading to the coast to check up on one of my hotels. You have one out here, right Stefano?"
"I do, and I've been meaning to get out there-" A loud thump cuts him off and it is quickly followed by barking.
Keeley.
All at once, the ten of us shoot up out of our chairs and run up the stairs. I make it up first and draw out my gun before barging into Keeley's room. The rest of the guys follow suit behind me as I slowly creep towards the bathroom. I wait a second before opening the door and my eyes shoot everywhere till they land Keeley who is passed out on the tile floor.
My thoughts are drowned out by the shouts of everyone as I fall to the ground and gather Keeley in my arms. Her skin is damp and clammy to the touch, but I can feel her breathing and it seems to be strong. I release my own breath as I sag against the vanity.
"I think she just passed out. She's breathing pretty well," I tell them. I see everyone's shoulders visibly sag as it goes quiet in the small bathroom.
The Harris's give each other a knowing look before returning their eyes back to Keeley.
"Well, this throws a wrench in my plans. She can't go to school today and I don't want her home alone," her father says breaking the silence.
We all sit quietly for a moment in her bathroom, slowly calming down as we watch her breathe.
"Luca can stay with her if you want," my father says breaking the silence. "Sam and Donnie can go to school and the others can join us with business. When Keeley feels up to it, Luca can drive them into town and do your errands," my father proposes. All of our eyes turn to Dominic as he ponders the idea in his head.
"Okay, I guess that's fine. Luca, if you don't take care of my daughter, I won't hesitate to put a knife in your leg. Understand?" His eyes shoot daggers into my own as I nod my head. He gives one last look at Keeley and hesitantly walks out of the bathroom. I receive similar words from her brothers before my family follows them out.
It's just Keeley and I left on the bathroom floor, and I use this moment to take her in. Her beautifully blonde hair is matted against her forehead with sweat, and the bruise on her face is slightly swollen and a deep black and blue. Her nose is small and has a similar bump to mine right in the middle of it. And when her eyes are open, her high cheekbones and soft jawline make her strikingly gorgeous.
I slowly raise myself up off the floor, careful not to startle Keeley, and walk her back to her bed. I lay her down gently before returning to the bathroom to clean up the mess and get a cold washcloth. I wipe the cold sweat off of her face, once back in her bedroom, and set the cloth across her forehead. I slowly raise the covers up over her body before silently walking out of the room.
I let out a sigh of relief as I walk to my room down the hall and hop in the shower.
***
Half an hour later, I'm fully dressed in a pair of light-wash jeans, a long sleeve black Henley, and a pair of black tennis shoes. The thin silver chain my mother had given me hangs around my neck and I slide my phone and wallet into my pocket.
"Hello?" a quiet voice asks from the hallway. I rush to my door and pull it open. Keeley is standing in the middle of the hallway with her arms wrapped around her torso.
"Hey," I say. She jumps and turns around quickly, but when our eyes meet, she relaxes. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. Where is everyone?" She shuffles her bare feet closer to me until we are one a few feet apart. Her eyes do a quick once-over of me, and I find myself standing up straighter.
"They had business on the coast today, so it's just you and me. When you're feeling up to it, your father gave us a few errands to run." I look at her and she just slightly nods her head, still looking a bit out of it.
"I'll go shower and then we can head out, yeah?" Her eyes don't look as bright as they normally do when they look at me.
"Sure. I'll be downstairs," I tell her. She gives me a small smile before she walks back to her room and me downstairs.
***
"You ready?" I turn from my spot on the couch to see Keeley not standing ten feet from me in white tennis shoes, black ripped jeans, and a military green quarter zip. Her blonde mane is piled on top of her head in a bun with a few pieces left out to frame her face. She used makeup to cover up the bruise, but it still slightly manages to peak through. A silver coin necklace hangs around her neck with a few others.
"Luca?" I cough and snap out of my Keeley-induced trance before standing up and clearing my throat.
"Yeah, sorry. I'm ready...and driving." She gives me a look. Uh-oh.
"I'm driving," she tells me firmly with just a hint of sass.
"Um, Tesoro, you are not driving considering what happened this morning, and I won't push, but I'm already a little freaked out for you as is and I would really appreciate it if you would just let me drive," I tell her. She gives me an amused look and that familiar sparkle returns to her beautiful golden eyes.
"Okay, Gnocco, you can drive," she chuckles. The use of the nickname she gave me causes a warm, tingly feeling to consume my body. I shoot her a smile before we lock the door and get in the Hummer.
"So, what exactly are we doing?" Keeley asks from beside me. I glance at her from the corner of my eye and merda, the way the warm sun is shining down on her makes her look even more breathtaking than she already is.
"Dry cleaning, groceries, and I think we're also supposed to get a new mop for the kitchen," I tell her.
"Okay, sounds good."
***
"What's the next thing on the list?" Keeley asks from beside me as we continue down the grocery store aisle.
I glance down at the slip of paper Dominic had left for me. Luckily, there was nothing on the list that had to be refrigerated so we could take however long we wanted. "Next thing is paper towels."
We turn down the correct aisle and head towards the mound of paper products. "I didn't know there were so many damn types of paper towels," she mumbles.
I try to conceal my laugh, but the way her eyebrows crinkled together caused a small chuckle I might say to pass my lips.
Her head whips to mine and is angled up to meet my eyes. "Something funny, pretty boy?" she spits out. This only causes me to fall into a fit of laughter.
"Nope, not at all," I tell her while raising my hands in surrender. Her face still looks skeptical as she turns back to the pyramid made out of paper towel packages.
"Goof," I mumble not intending on her hearing me, but somehow she does and the next thing you know, I'm falling down. Not just into the floor, but into the entire pyramid of fucking paper towels.
I can hear her laughing loudly as the paper goods continue to rain down around me. By the time I finally get my bearings, Keeley is bent over and red in the face from laughter. No noise is coming out and she's just shaking and clasping one of her small hands to her chest.
"Oh, you're gonna get it now," I say lowly with a hint of amusement. She stops laughing immediately and her eyes widen as I jump up and run towards her. She lets out a loud shriek as she jumps onto the cart uses her leg to push off. I chase her down the aisle as she continues to use our cart of groceries as a scooter.
I can still hear her laughter mixed in with my owns as she manages to effortlessly turn down the next aisle. People are staring as I chase her through the store, and we could most definitely get kicked out, but cazzo, I'd do anything to keep her laughing.
We barely manage to avoid running into people, but we weren't so lucky with the apples. The entire display starts rolling all over the floor and Keeley just laughs harder. She shoots off towards the other end of the store while I almost eat shit from slipping on the red Honeycrisps that litter the floor.
I finally manage to grab her around the waist and pull her off of the cart. The cart keeps rolling, but I couldn't care less as Keeley's back is pressed to my chest and her head is bent back over my shoulder just roaring in laughter. I spin her around in circles till I slowly sit her on the ground.
She stayed pressed into my side, and when I looked down at her, I found her already staring at me with that brilliant smile I love so much. I returned the gesture and squeezed her just a bit tighter. "We should get going before they kick us out," I tell her softly while my eyes look around at the mess we've made.
"Okay," she chuckles.
***
"You hungry?" I ask her when we finally get situated in the car. Her cheeks are still rosy from laughing and a lazy smile is plastered on her face.
"Yeah. What are you hungry for?" I glance at the clock and see it's already at one o'clock. When we left the house this morning, we drove into the neighboring city to get the suits we had all had dry cleaned and then went to Walmart to buy a mop. And after our slight delay in the grocery store, I'm starving.
"How about burgers?" I ask while looking at the beautiful girl beside me. Her eyes are swirling with tenderness and joy when she returns her gaze to mine.
"Burgers sound great."
We drive ten minutes to a small corner diner and somehow I manage to park her giant car in one of the last spaces. I hop out and walk over to her door and open it for her. I offer her my hand and she takes it while stepping out of the car. She goes to let go once the door is shut, but I only squeeze her hand tighter.
"What?" I ask innocently like I don't know that I'm still holding her hand.
She shakes her head as her smile widens. "Nothing."
I lead us across the street and into the diner. The inside looks like a typical sports bar and the lighting is pretty dim for midday. It's crowded with people watching last night's football game and the bustle actually feels nice.
"Welcome to Mac's! Just the two of you today?" a young hostess asks us. Keeley nods her head and we are lead to a small table by the windows. I pull out a chair for Keeley before sitting opposite of her. "Here are your menus and your waiter will be right over."
She walks away and leaves us to ourselves. I look up from my menu after a moment and see that Keeley's eyes are intensely studying the menu. Her eyebrows are slightly sinched and I can't help but think how gorgeous this girl is.
"Anything look good?" I ask while setting my menu on the edge of the table.
"Yeah, I think so," she murmurs. A small smile spreads across my face just as the waiter appears at our table.
"Hey, my name's Will and I'll be serving you guys today. What can I get for ya?" I gesture to Keeley first but it's like she didn't even hear him.
"Tesoro," I say and her head snaps up to me and then to the waiter.
"Oh, sorry. Can I have the-um classic American with fries and a lemonade, please?" Her voice comes out soft and beautiful and if I wasn't sitting down, it would have made my knees weak.
"Sure," the waiter stumbles. He clears his throat and blinks before turning to me. "And for you-sir?"
"I'll have the steak burger and onion rings with a water," I tell him. His eyes go big before he murmurs something and walks off.
"Would it kill you to not look at him like you aren't going to tear his head off?" Keeley asks me, clearly amused.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," I say with a smirk. All she does is smile and shake her head at me.
"You're trouble, you know that?"
"I am not," I gasp feigning hurt. This gets one of her melodic laughs past her pink lips.
"You so are. I mean, come on, who in their right mind would run in a grocery store?"
"You started it!" I gasp for real this time. Her giggling is drowned out by shouting from the bar. A bunch of men are cheering over some play on the TV.
"Oh, Gnocco, sweet sweet Gnocco. You should know by now that when it comes to you and me, stuff like that will never be my fault. Plus, you're the one who took down the pyramid." Her face is a light pink and an effortless smile is plastered there.
"Please, we all know I would never cause problems," I chuckle. I smile at her and it's at this moment that I realize I've never felt more at ease in my life. Just her and me together, a pair of fools, but a pair of happy fools. Back in Italy, I was an assassin. I was never able to goof off and have fun like I wanted to. My father made me serious and although my brothers and I got along, it was only on very few occasions where we let loose. But with Keeley, with my Tesoro, everything was different. Hell, I've laughed more in the past four days than I have in the past four years. She makes my life easier, and a hell of a lot more worth living.
***
"So what do you want to do?" she asks me. We had just finished putting all of the groceries away and letting Gus out, so we had about an hour to kill before my father said they'd be back.
"I don't know. What do you feel like doing?" I look at her as she lets her waist-length hair down from its bun. She runs a hand through it and cazzo if it isn't attractive.
"Movie? I could use some downtime," she tells me.
"Sure," I agree as we walk to the living room. I sit down against the arm of the sofa and kick my sock-clad feet up. Keeley grabs the remote and when she turns back to me, I can see the inner battle in her of whether to sit with me or not. I don't give her that choice.
I pat my leg and I can tell she suppresses a small smile. She lays down on top of me to where her head is on my chest and her legs tangle with mine. I have one arm around her, pulling her body closer to mine, and the other one is propped up under my head.
"What movie?" I ask her. She's got a concentrated look on her face as she scrolls through the movie list.
"Oh! What about Beauty and the Beast? I've never seen it." Her voice is an octave higher and I can tell she's excited.
"That's perfectly fine, Tesoro," I chuckle to her. She squeals in excitement and wiggles back and forth. I have to hold back a groan at her movement.
We watch the movie, and at some point, she ends up between me and the side of the couch so her head is in the crook of my neck, somehow she can still see, and one of her legs is tossed over mine. My hand is around her body and holding onto one of her smaller ones. I loved having her this close to me. Something about her vanilla and cinnamon scent calms my body to the point where I could fall asleep just like that.
I hear the jingle of keys and both Keeley and I's heads snap towards the door. In walk both of our families, each giving us a pointed look.
"Luca, I'm not sure I like coming home to the sight of you holding onto my baby sister like that," Nick says in a low voice. Keeley sighs before turning her head back to the movie.
"Chill out, Nick. We're just watching a movie." I try not to smile as the sassiness I love so much peaks through.
"Did you two even go to the store or did you just curl up into a lump and watch shitty movies all day?" Dominic asks while staring at where our hands are joined.
"All the groceries are put away. Don't worry," she sighs. Her head snuggles a little further into my chest and I can't help but let a small smile cross my face.
"You two make me sick," Giovanni says while walking away. I laugh as they all spread out and either join us or follow the two Capos to the kitchen, where they proclaimed "They were going to make dinner and if we don't want to starve, we better suck it up."
"Did you even get paper towels?" someone shouts.
Keeley's eyes snap to mine as they fill with humor and I'm sure mine look the same. We give each other a knowing look as the events of today flow through my mind. I let out a quiet chuckle.
"Oops."
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Ugh, I love this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it and enjoyed learning some insight into Keeley's past.
Please vote and comment if you like this chapter! Happy Reading!
Final Word count: 6597