A/N: There are multiple pictures in this chapter. It can be read without them, but they add more detail to the story.
Keeley's POV
"How are you feeling, Kitten?" I opened my eyes to be met with his dark, sinister ones.
I sat up painfully from the bed I had been laying in for the past week where he had been nursing me back to somewhat health. I had been able to bathe and eat something every day, although I could barely hold anything down. The cuts on my body had scabbed over and the bruises had actually begun to heal. I was by no means okay, but I was better.
"Better," I mumble to him. His rough hand reached up slowly and brushed my tangled hair out of my face. I watched him intensely as his eyes moved lazily over my face and down my body, where I was only dressed in a t-shirt and underwear. I wasn't allowed to wear anything else.
"Keeley, I hate seeing you like this: in pain, suffering, tired. I hate it. But you know, it can go away."
I felt my body tense from the words he had spoken, automatically knowing what he wanted from me.
"You know what I want, Keeley. I need to know who you are working for and why you invaded my home. Answer those two simple questions, and I can promise you a life of happiness. If you refuse, I'll have no choice but to put you back in that basement and get it out of you some other way."
I swallowed hard. I want nothing more than to be free of that darkened basement. No more pain, no more tears, no more torture. It would be easy: tell him and although I'd be a prisoner to him, he'd never treated me bad before any of this happened. He was good to me. I could learn to be happy again, and that didn't sound too bad.
I looked back into his eyes and how the warm sun made them seem not so scary. His chocolatey brown hair was tousled how I had loved not so long ago, and the small scar across his eyebrow that I had given to him on our first anniversary was tugging at my heart, begging me to speak the words he so badly wanted me to say.
I was tempted. I was terrified.
"I can't- I can't tell you,"Â I choke out. The words tasted terrible on my tongue, but the safety of my family and all of those that I worked with would be compromised if I told. My life in exchange for many.
An undeniably irritated laugh rumbled from his chest as he stood up to his full height in front of me. He looked out the window before turning to me. I didn't even register the hand that reached out and smacked me across the cheek. My head snapped to the side and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.
"Kitten," he chuckled. "I am not a patient man, but for some unknown reason, I always find myself giving you a second chance. So here's yours. And you know what, I'll add this on: if you don't tell me, I kill your friends. What are their names? Lexi...Alice...Dylan, and- who's the last one? Brady?"
I searched his eyes, looking for any hint of a lie in them. He's many things, but a liar isn't one of them. Was it worth it? Risking the lives of the only people I could ever call family? If I told him, they'd be in trouble. If I said nothing, they'd still be at risk. There was no way out.
"Answer me, Keeley," he growled. His hand gripped my jaw in a tight hold, making me look into those deep brown eyes.
"I-," I stumbled over my words, knowing that these words I said next I would never forgive myself for. "I won't tell you."
I squeezed my eyes shut as tears threatened to spill. He wasn't speaking and I couldn't hear him make a sound, but I knew he was angry. I could feel it rolling off of him in waves that I knew I would eventually drown in.
I dared opening my eyes and as soon as I opened them, the devil himself was staring right through me. Gone was the boy I once knew, and in his place? A stranger with the devil dancing within him.
"Their blood is on your hands, Kitten."
That's the last thing I remember before he's dragging me down to the basement by my hair. He didn't let up once I was thrown back into the blood-stained, cement cell. He beat me for hours with whatever he pleased, ignoring my pleas and pain-filled screams. It got to the point where my body couldn't handle it anymore and darkness consumed me.
But the next time I woke up, I woke up to Lexi and Alice laying on the cold and hard ground in front of me: their heads severed and bodies cold.
I opened my eyes, a scream escaping my body. Broken sobs filled the room as I stumbled out of my bed and collapsed to the hardwood floor.
"Keeley!"
Luca. I felt him shouting something to me as I lay on the floor, but I couldn't hear anything as my vision started to fade.
I was suddenly being picked up and carried somewhere, cold water immediately hitting my skin.
The shower.
I was in the shower. I'm not sure how long it took for me to stop my cries and catch my breath, but when I did, I could finally take in my surroundings.
Luca was holding me tightly to his bare chest as the freezing water pelted my skin. The rest of our families were cramped together in the bathroom, their eyes focused on me and filled with worry.
When it felt like my mind had finally cleared, my dream came back full force. I wiggled out of Luca's warm hold just in time and emptied my stomach onto the shower floor. I felt someone's hand pull my hair away from my face and rub my back in slow circles as everything continued to spill out of me. The person didn't stop till the dry-heaves faded and I collapsed into the ground. The shower was still running, but at some point, somebody had turned on the warm water.
I sat up slowly and noticed that it was both Luca and Nick holding onto me.
"Are you- Keeley what happened?" Nick whispered to me. I slowly raised my head up to meet his face.
"Nick, I don't want to talk about it," I choked out. My throat burned from the bile and from crying.
Nick went to say something, but he was immediately cut off by the shouts of our father.
"No, Keeley! This has been happening too much lately and it's time for you to explain. Whatever it is that is bugging you is obviously hurting you. I'm tired of this happening and it's time you give us all some explanation."
I was terrified. My father's shouts did nothing to help the fear that was already plaguing me. I stumbled over my words. I mean, he's not wrong. The dreams have been frequent lately, and it more often than not causes all of them to burst in, worried that I'm being harmed. The only thing, they can't save me from the harm my own mind puts me through.
"Well?" he pushes, wanting me to tell him so badly. But I had a feeling if I did tell him, he wouldn't want to know after all.
"She's in no mood to talk right now and you should respect that," Nick spoke up for me. I thanked him over and over in my mind and looked at my brother like he was my actual savior. "Keeley will tell us when she is ready."
My father looked at me and I could see the irritation in his eyes, obviously angry I refuse to tell anybody about my dreams. His eyes went between me and Nick, and eventually, his shoulders released the smallest amount of tension and a quiet sigh escaped him.
"Fine, but clean up because today is Thanksgiving and we're having people over at noon," he mumbles while rubbing his temples.
I feel my eyes widen at his words.
"But, but we've never celebrated holidays," Sam says. His confusion is just as evident as it is in the rest of us.
"I know," he groaned, and now that I'm paying attention, it's hard to miss the pissed-off expression on his face. "My so generous mother decided that she wanted to celebrate them this year, and because I have the biggest house, I have to host."
I stood up from the shower floor, eager to hear what was going to happen, but slipped on the tile. Luca's arms shot out and caught me just before I hit my face. He helped me out of the shower and didn't hesitate to wrap a towel around my shoulders.
"Wait- so Grandma Leta and your brothers are coming over?" Finn asked in surprise.
I loved Grandma Leta. She was the only one who had ever shown some type of compassion to me growing up and made the best chocolate pie. My uncles, well, they're a different case. They saw me like my father used to: immature, needy, and really just a hassle. I'd never gotten along with them, but their wives were nice enough.
"Yeah, along with Jenna and Cammie and their kids."
I looked around to see all of my brothers wide-eyed as well, even Cal. My father thought Jenna and Cammie were "too much" with their happy attitudes and positive outlooks. And my cousins, well they treated me like shit and would most of the time throw me around.
"So what you're saying," Sam spoke while standing up from where he was sitting on the bathroom counter, "is that the first Thanksgiving any of us has ever celebrated, will be spent with our over-enthusiastic grandma, two uncles who you barely get along with, two aunts that constantly squish our faces, four cousins who cause more problems than an angry Keeley, and four Italians who don't celebrate the American holiday?"
"You forgot the partridge in a pear tree." Everybody's eyes snapped to Callan in surprise at his joke. He awkwardly cleared his throat and shifted in his spot. I don't think I'd ever heard Callan joke before, much less it actually be funny.
"Uh- yeah," my father spoke still giving Callan a weird look.
"Well this should be a shit show," Stefano laughed while walking out the door. Everyone fell into conversation as they left, leaving just me and Luca standing alone, both of us sopping wet from the shower.
"Tesoro, baby," Luca spoke quietly after a moment while moving the wet hair off of my forehead. "What happened?"
My eyes moved to his dark ocean blues. They were swirling with concern and worry for me. I hated seeing him that way.
"It-" I thought about telling him it was just a dream, I did, but at some point, I have to tell him something or he'll just give up on me. I can't afford to lose him.
"When I was gone," I started, struggling to find the right words. His eyes widened in shock, probably because he didn't expect an answer. But nonetheless, he stayed quiet and listened. "When I was gone, I was hurt really bad. In my dream, it just- I was there again."
He pulled me tightly into his bare chest without warning. I crashed into him and immediately felt warmth spread throughout my body from the mere fact that I was in his arms. He bent down and placed a sweet kiss on the top of my head.
I pulled back slowly and stared at the man who I had fallen head-over-heels for these past couple of weeks. His hair was sticking to his forehead from the shower and the yellow sun made his tan skin look golden. He hadn't shaved this morning so dark stubble still covered his jaw. Small water droplets rolled down his chest and over his stomach, and I could see every outline of every muscle and scar on his skin. I honestly don't know how I was able to snag him.
"See something you like?" His eyebrows raised and the one corner of his mouth quirked up as he called out my obvious stares.
There are two ways I could go with this: deny it and push him out of the bathroom so I could get ready. Or- I could play the game, and oh how I loved to play the game.
"I do," I spoke in my most seductive voice, the both of us pushing away this morning's events and returning to our normal dynamic.
I trailed my hands painfully slow up his abdomen and over his chest. I dragged my nails up to his shoulders and slowly back down his chest. When I looked back up, his ears were pink, but his eyes had considerably darkened. I dared to step closer, and when I did, I could feel I had the same effect on him that he did on me.
"Do you?" I asked in a quiet breath. I waited for an answer. His hands gripped my hips tighter and when his lips were almost to my own, I pushed my finger against his lips.
"Ah- I don't think so," I whispered. His face held no amusement as my own smile danced across my face. "I just puked all over the floor and I haven't brushed my teeth yet. So you'll have to wait."
I winked at him and happily skipped to the bathroom door, holding it wide open and motioning him out.
I stared at him with my brightest smile as he let out a low growl and moved towards me. He reached out and held my jaw with one of his calloused hands, and I swear if I wasn't determined on winning at this moment, I would have crumbled on the spot.
"You'll pay for that, Keeley. Just you wait."
"I'm looking forward to it."
Luca lets go of me and walks out of the room, not looking back, but that is fine by me because as much as I hate to say goodbye, I love to watch him go.
A smile doesn't leave my face the whole time I wash, scrub, and shave my body, feeling much better than when I woke up. I turn off the water and wrap myself in a fluffy, white towel. I walk across the tiled floor to my closet, where I slip on my favorite robe. I walk back into my bathroom and proceed to dry and curl my hair. I pinned part of it back out of my face before walking to the door where I had hung up the dress I was going to wear.
I slipped on the creamy, long-sleeved, short sweater dress over my lacy bralette and matching underwear. I paired it with the matching knee-high, tan boots, and sweater-like socks. Brady's coin necklace sat gently on my neck as Luca's bracelet hung delicately on my wrist.
I brushed my teeth for a solid five minutes, considering I had puked everything out of my system this morning, and followed it by doing my makeup in what I hope was "elegant gold tones." I made sure to cover up the last few, faded bruises on my neck that Tommy had given me weeks ago.
I looked good, not at all like I did this morning. I glanced down at my phone and saw that it was already 11:30. I really didn't think I had taken that long, but oh well.
I walked into my room and plopped down on my bed, dialing Brady's number. I promised him I would call on Thanksgiving, and I sure as hell wasn't going to break that promise. I waited as the phone rang once, twice, three times before it went to voicemail. I tried a couple more times before deciding to leave him a message. I just hope he would call me back.
Knock knock knock
"Come in!" I shout from my spot on the bed with Gus.
"Fanculo, bambina," Luca mumbles while closing the door behind him. I look up and I swear my heart stopped.
(Fuck, baby)
Luca's dressed in dark jeans that looked like they had been designed to fit him personally. A dark green flannel runs down the length of his arms and torso over a long-sleeved white shirt. Worn brown boots sit on his feet, and that thin silver chain I love so much shines on his tan skin.
He clears his throat and my eyes snap away from him and to the floor.
"You uh- you look really... nice." I internally cringe at the sound of my voice and how it allows Luca to know exactly how I'm feeling.
I hear his footsteps walk closer to me, and when he's close enough, he takes my hand and tugs me off of the bed.
I look up to him and find he's already staring at me. His eyes travel down to my chest and to my legs, his eyes lingering a bit longer there.
"You know, we could always skip Thanksgiving and just hang out here," he whispered, his voice suddenly sounding thick as his Italian accent peeked through.
"We could, but I don't think we would get away with it."
A broad smile crosses his face as he leans down and kisses me. His hands dig deeper into my hips and pull me closer while my hands snake their way up and around his neck.
Luca's mouth presses harshly against my own as he deepened the kiss. I feel him lick the seam of my lips, and I open my mouth to give him access. Our tongues swirled together fighting for control over the other, and I eventually give in to him. If it's one thing I've learned over the past few weeks we've been together, it's that when it comes to me, Luca is a possessive man. Not overbearing, but if we're out and some guy looks at me even a second too long, Luca is either threatening their life or kissing me as no one should in public to make his claim. I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything.
He slowly pulls away and all I could hear was the sound of our heavy breaths and beating hearts.
"Sei così sorprendente, Tesoro," he whispers into my ear. A chill runs up my spine and I can't help but shiver as my eyes fluttered shut.
(You are so amazing, Tesoro.)
"E così sei tu, Gnocco."
(And so are you, Gnocco.)
I wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but the sound of the doorbell rang throughout the house, immediately followed by the shouts of my family.
Luca chuckled as I leaned my forehead against his chest. One of his hands rubbed my back as he placed a gentle kiss on top of my head.
"We should go down there, shouldn't we?" I mumble reluctantly.
"Yeah, we should. Come on, Tesoro." Luca held on tightly to my hand as we left my room and headed towards the staircase. The volume of the voices got louder as we went down, and when my feet hit the bottom stair, I could see my father's family gathered around, talking wildly.
Uncle Logan and Aunt Cammie were standing with my father and Stefano with their daughter, Liza. Uncle Seth and Aunt Jenna were chatting with my brothers and the other Morettis with their three sons, Adam, Jeremiah, and Luke. And then the woman of the hour, whose eyes were already on me as I turned to her: Grandma Leta.
A large smile crossed my face as I walked to her. When I was just within arm's reach, she pulled me into a tight hug, and her familiar lavender scent filled my nose.
"Oh my baby, look at you!" She held me by the arms and stood back, taking in my attire.
"This beautiful hair and those eyes! Not to mention how much you've grown!"
I let out a small laugh and gave her the happiest smile I could give. She still looked youthful: her skin was smooth and her eyes were bright. Her long, grey hair flowed around her shoulders and although she was smaller than everyone else, besides me, it was obvious she owned the room.
"Oh! Let me hug her!" I was briskly pulled away and yanked into the arms of both of my aunts, each of them gasping and cooing over my looks.
"Logan, look how much she's grown!" my Aunt Cammie yells. I look over my shoulder and see my two uncles and all of my cousins staring at me, each a little in awe.
The last time they had seen me was at my mother's funeral, and at that time, I still dyed my hair, wore blue contacts, and was barely 100 pounds. Needless to say, I had changed quite a bit.
I smiled awkwardly at the two of them and did my best to wave, but it looked more like a weird twitch because I was still smooshed between the two.
"Oh, and who is this?" my grandma asked smugly while eyeing Luca. Both of my aunts' heads snapped to Luca who was standing there obviously uncomfortable.
I was abruptly let go and stumbled a little into Nick, who was so gracious enough to catch me. I watched the three women swarm Luca and smoosh his face. His eyes turned to me, pleading for help, but all I did was laugh and turn back to my brothers and cousins.
"Look at that: little Keeley doesn't look so little anymore, does she?" Adam spoke with a smug look.
"Ah- she still looks like fun to mess with," Jeremiah popped in, his steel-blue eyes swirling with mischief.
"That would probably end very badly on your end." My voice comes out a bit colder than I had aimed for, and I could see Luke's face contort into surprise.
"At least she's still feisty and won't put up with your guys' shit." I looked over to where Liza was walking our way. Besides us, there were no other girls born into the family. Married in, yes, but by blood, no.
"Hey, Liza," I say with a soft smile.
"Hey, Keels." We all fall into conversation while Luca's still being smothered and fawned over by my aunts and grandma.
"Keeley!" I whip my head over to where my father is calling me from. I immediately straighten my shoulders and void my face of any emotion. I walk towards him, Stefano, and my uncles to where they are standing by the stone fireplace, the afternoon sun shining in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"Yes?" My voice is smooth and calculated as I come to a stop beside him.
"A bit rude to not say hello to your uncles, no?" His hand gripped onto my shoulder and forced me to face the two men that have always picked on me and treated me like shit on the bottom of their shoes.
"Hi." I manage to plant a tight-lipped smile on my face as the two intimidating men stare me down. They haven't changed much as they are both still intimidating, stern, and extremely traditional. They believe women belong in the kitchen or doing some sort of cleaning. The two of them both prefer their women weak and to just sit back and listen, wearing their modest clothes and not speaking even a single swear. Now they aren't abusive or demanding or anything like that, because let's be honest, my aunts are both strong-headed women and don't put up with that shit, but they like to keep things in patriarchy, unlike my father.
"Keeley. How was military school?" my Uncle Seth spoke gruffly while digging his hands in his jean pockets. All of the men were dressed similarly: sweaters or plaid with khakis or jeans, even my father.
"Good as it can be, I guess," I say as nicely as I can. In the background, somebody laughs.
"Is that where the tattoos come from?" my Uncle Logan spits out looking disgusted at the floral piece on my shoulder and neck.
"Yep. This one and the one that covers the left side of my body. Not to mention the one on my back either, but that one I got when I got home." I smiled at him as his fiery gaze turned from me to my father.
"You allow this sort of behavior in your house, Mr. Mafia-Boss?" Seth speaks with disgust evident in his voice. I turned my eyes to my father who had an amused smile on his face.
"I do, but you know Keeley, she's strong and will do as she pleases. This world needs strong women, so I'm perfectly fine with that." I bite back a laugh at my father's words and my uncles' faces.
"Lunch almost ready?" I ask my father, who I'm surprisingly getting along with.
"You know what? I think it is." He laughed as he clapped a hand to my shoulder and yelled for everybody to make their way into the dining room where he had managed to put another table in to accommodate all of us.
We all piled in and filled the seats around the table. I was sandwiched between Nick and Adam while Luca had been dragged away to sit between my aunts. Luckily, he was directly across from me so we could still talk.
The catering service my father had hired brought out plates piled high with turkey, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, about four different casseroles, and cranberries. A breadbasket sat in the middle of the table with large bowls of butter beside it.
"By the way, Keeley," Nick whispered to me after everyone had begun eating. "Where's the rest of your dress?"
I shook my head as an amused smile danced across my face.
"Thought I'd leave it upstairs today," I quipped. I stuffed a spoonful of potatoes into my mouth and ignored him, happy to just be eating. He let out a gruff sigh as he turned to his plate.
My plate was almost empty when Seth asked my father about the mafia.
"So, how's it all going? Everything running fine?"
Seth had planned a long time ago to take over my grandfather's business someday, and he was supposed to, but he became a little too careless and wrapped up in the lavish lifestyle, eventually leaving my father to step in and take over.
"It's good. As of right now, we're doing the best we've ever been with Chavez out of the way," my father spoke while shoving the rest of his dinner roll in his mouth, earning a glare from Grandma Leta.
"You finally got Chavez out of the way? We've been trying that for years. How'd you make that happen?" Logan asked with shock laced in his voice.
A smug look crossed his face as he sat up a bit straighter. "Well, I added on a new assassin and they are quite good at what they do."
I smirked as I shoveled the last forkful of food into my mouth. Not ladylike at all, not even in the slightest, and I too got a look from Grandma Leta.
"Who the hell did you hire that we never found?" Both of my uncles looked highly intrigued by my father's words, and I couldn't wait to see their faces when they found out.
"Well, it turns out, Keeley's anger is good for more than just arguments."
I held back a laugh as the two paled and turned their faces to me, shock evident in their eyes.
"You? You killed him?" Adam spoke from beside me. The rest of the table turned to me: my father's family confused and the rest of us highly amused.
"Chopped his head right off, well, after he shot me of course." I pointed to the faint scar on the side of my neck. "Not necessarily an easy way to go, but after I'd already killed about a dozen of them, you could say my adrenaline was pumping pretty fast and it wasn't too hard to go straight through the bone in his neck."
I let out a clipped laugh and grabbed another roll from the basket. I tore it in half and shoved one part of it in my mouth.
"You're letting my baby kill people? And you let her get shot?!" Grandma Leta screams at my father as she abruptly stands from the table. The amused looks on mine and my father's faces were quickly replaced by fear.
"She's fine now. Plus, we train every morning and twice on Tuesdays to prevent this sort of thing. We haven't had any accidents since," my father calmly assured her.
"Well, except for the time she came home and had bruises on her-" Sam was slapped harshly on the back of the head by Callan to stop him from speaking, but the damage was already done. The dining room fell into an uproar as everyone started screaming at each other for different reasons. Grandma at my father for being an idiot, my aunts to my uncles saying that they needed to mind their business and shouldn't have brought up the mafia, my brothers screaming at Sam for mentioning the night where Tommy had hurt me (although they still didn't know it was him), and the Moretti's and my cousins were just siding with whoever they seemed fit. The only two people sitting this argument out were Luca and me.
"Okay, that is enough!" Grandma Leta eventually yelled over everybody. The room silenced at an instant and our eyes turned to her. "We are all at fault for something here whether we want to admit it or not, but I will not spend Thanksgiving screaming at each other like complete idiots! This is the first time this family has spent Thanksgiving together in thirty years, and I will not have it ruined. Now, sit all of your asses down and eat the damn pies I spent three fucking days making!"
My jaw was basically on the floor at Grandma's outburst. I don't think I've ever heard her yell, nonetheless swear, in my entire life, much less thirty seconds.
One by one, the family sat down with guilty expressions as the pies were brought out and set in front of us. I took two small pieces of my favorite chocolate pie and smiled contently to myself before putting a forkful in my mouth.
Eventually, we all began to talk again, purposefully staying away from all things mafia. My aunts and Grandma Leta asked about school and what was new with me. I happily chatted away with them, thankful to be able to talk to a female in this testosterone-filled house. I also learned Liza was majoring in education and how she was loving her classes. Liza and I used to be close before our families moved away from each other. I had missed her.
I was still kind of hungry even though I had eaten two plates at lunch and two slices of pie. I may be small, but I can out-eat most grown men and still feel okay afterward. There was one slice left of coconut cream and I set it on my plate.
"Do you ever stop eating, Ms. Piggy? God, leave some for the rest of us." My hand stopped midair as I turned my head slowly to look at Adam. I think I hear an "oh no" from someone, but I'm not sure. The whole table fell silent and I could feel the tension growing between us.
"What did you call me?" I ask with venom laced in my voice. I tried to push back my anger that was threatening to spill out, but it wasn't working out too well.
"All I'm saying is that eating that much food is highly unattractive for a lady. If you want to keep your figure, you should learn to not eat like that." He gestured to my plate and turned away, but I just stared at him in disbelief.
"Keeley, just let it go-" I raised my hand and cut Finn off. I looked at Grandma.
"Grandma, I'm very sorry," is all I say as I pick up my pie plate and slap it right across Adam's face. Coconut cream flies everywhere and the plate breaks under the force it had hit his head with.
"Maybe you should learn to shut your fucking mouth," I growl. Nobody moves as he raises a hand to his eyes and wipes the whipped cream out of them.
"You little bitch." In an instant, he hits me from the side and we go tumbling to the floor. I hear everyone stand up and I feel their arms trying to pry me off of him, but like hell, I'm going to let that happen.
He reaches up quickly and grabs one of the pie tins from the table.
"Adam! Don't-" but he does anyway. My grandmother's famous blueberry pie is smashed into me and I go tumbling back.
I tried to keep crazy Keeley away, and I thought I did. But when I looked up and met my father's eyes, his face told me my eyes had already darkened.
Well, guess there's no going back now.
***
"Do you have any idea how many problems you've caused today?" my father asks quietly as he stares down at me.
After me beating the shit out of Adam, everyone had been ushered out of the house and I had been instructed to go clean up. That was two hours ago, and in those two hours, everyone had changed into comfy clothes, the splatterings of pie had been cleaned off the floor, and the sun had set.
I didn't know what to say to him, so I continued to sit cross-legged on the couch playing with the string on my pajama shorts. He stood in front of me and waited for an answer as my brothers and the Morettis were milling about awkwardly.
"He called me Ms. Piggy," I mumbled softly, that being my only excuse. With all the training I do and all of the stress I face daily, food is my comfort. It always has been. I mean it's not unhealthy, I train daily and work on myself, so I don't see the problem in indulging in my favorite foods.
"Keeley," my father sighed, rubbing his temples like he always does when he's annoyed, frustrated, or confused. "It wasn't right what he called you, I know that. You just can't go crazy like that. He could have ended up seriously hurt and then where would that have left us? Strangers are one thing, but like it or not Keeley, he is family."
All the words he spoke were soft, and for once in my life, I think he actually understood, and I understood what he was saying. I probably shouldn't have beaten Adam that bad.
"I'm sorry," I whisper while keeping my eyes on the ground. I felt bad for ruining Thanksgiving, the first holiday I've actually ever spent with my family.
"Just, next time, please don't do that crazy-eyes thing. That freaks me out." I laugh at my father's attempt at a joke and a ghost of a smile appears on my face when I look up at him. His eyes aren't the eyes of a mafia boss right now, but rather they're understanding and compassionate, something I rarely see from him.
"I'll try," I laugh. The tension in the air is lifted and I can visibly see everybody relax.
"Okay then! Now that that issue is resolved, I think we make the best out of this shit-show Thanksgiving and have a family movie night!" Finn says wildly with a huge grin.
As I watch everyone get ready and start bustling around to get their "movie time things," a feeling of contentment washed over me. If you would have told me five years ago that I would be celebrating Thanksgiving with family and that we were actually getting along, I would have laughed. But now as I watch Donnie and Sam fight over the end seat of the sofa and Nick arguing with Stefano about which movie we should watch, I realized that they're what I'm most grateful for: a family who despite their problems and differences, can still work it out and love each other regardless. Thank God for people like them.
Nick's POV
"Are they sleeping?" Stefano asks from the other side of the couch. I turn to where they are in the love seat, and sure enough, Keeley was spread out over Luca as he held her tight to him, both of them passed out cold.
"Yep. What are we going to do with those two?" my father asks no one in particular.
Keeley and Luca have spent every moment that they could together for the past weeks, and I still have a hard time accepting it. The kisses and the hugs and the obvious attraction between the two, it makes me sick as an older brother.
"You know that they're basically made for each other, right?" Finn laughs. I shake my head and grumble under my breath, but I can't find it in me to deny it.
"She's happy when she's with Luca, like there isn't a care in the world. I mean we've seen it from the first day that they met. They're made for each other," Dad speaks quietly.
"Same with Luca. He was never this happy in Italy. Don't get me wrong, he's a good kid, an easy-going guy, but he's different with Keeley. Neither of them will admit it, but they love each other. I have no doubt that they would give their lives for the other and would do just about anything to keep one another safe," Stefano spoke, never once taking his eyes off of the two lovebirds.
"They do love each other, don't they?" Finn smiles from beside me.
Keeley has secrets, bad ones, we all know that. I have no doubt in my mind that Luca does too, and from what it sounds like, neither of them were good till they met each other. Keeley is a strong girl, stronger than I think any of us understand, and sometimes she needs somebody. Luca is that somebody for her and I know that she will be that person for him.
I watch as Keeley unconsciously snuggles herself deeper into Luca and his body moves in a way that shields Keeley so we can barely see her. At this moment, there is absolutely no denying it: Luca would protect her. I've known it all along, but it seems like for the first time, I actually understand that.
"Yeah, they do love each other."
________________________________________________________________________________
Hey guys! I hope you loved this chapter as much as I did! Tell me what you think and if you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a vote!
Happy Reading!
Final Word Count: 6629