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(edited)

As soon as I see my parents walking through the door, my eyes water as if they have been waiting for a simple command.

"Oh, Willa," Mum comes rushing to my side, her tears already staining her cheeks. She hugs me like never before and I only have the strength to hug her even tighter and sob. Dad reaches out, too. In no time, I feel his arms wrap around me from my other side and give my forehead a kiss.

God, how I missed them.

"We were so worried," Dad says and steps back to take a proper look at me. He features are worn out, most probably from stressing too much and not being able to sleep because of it. He's been this way since I can remember. Especially since what happened to Liam.

"I'm okay now." I say after my sobs subside, and dad shakes his head.

"I should've looked harder, honey, and all this wouldn't have happened." he refers to me ending up in the hospital.

"Dad, it's okay. It's not your fault."

Mum squeezes my hand to tell me they're here now.

"I'm just glad we found you when it wasn't too late." She says and dad nods. My lips turn upward in a smile in agreement.

My eyes, then, sneak a peak of Lazz for a short moment. He's watching our whole interaction quietly, not wanting to interrupt anything.

Minutes pass by and mum's calmer now. Dad, too. They haven't taken their eyes off of me in fear I'd dissappear on them again, and I don't blame them.

Then, Gio asks dad to talk outside about Jade's 'arrest' and dad agrees begrudgingly because of me.

"Mum, how's Chris?" I ask my mum about my little brother. I can't imagine how he's coping with everything that has happened and I remember Silvio threatening to hurt him that time.

"He was scared he wouldn't see his big sisters anymore," She says quietly. "but he knows where we are now and that we'd bring you home. He wanted to come, too, but we told him he'd be more safe at your aunt's."

I sigh and inside my heart breaks. He shouldn't have gone through all this.

"He's okay, baby, don't worry about him." She tells me and kisses the top of my head.

"Now, can you officially introduce me to this young man?" She glances at Lazz who looks confused by her sudden request for a couple of seconds.

"His name is Lazzaro. Lazz, this is my mum Sarah."

Lazz, for the first time since my parents came, moves. He stands up from the couch and walks up to mum to shake her hand.

"Nice to meet you," He smiles at her.

"Nice to meet you, too." She reciprocates the smile and then becomes serious. "We were reluctant at first about you being related to that man and then being here, but our daughters both seem to trust you. I'd also like to thank you for staying with Willa here at the hospital, and for helping Jade with the phone call. It means so much to us. "

As mum finishes, I notice she said some phone call. What phone call did Lazz make to help Jade?

"It was the least I could do. I don't agree with my brother's principles and actions. They were wrong. I just wanted to help Willa out."

Mum looks satisfied with Lazzaro's answer so she nods, but I'm still confused.

"What phone call?" I ask them both. Mum looks at me with a small smile.

"Lazzaro called Jade to tell her Silvio has you and to assure her you're okay. He gave Silvio's number so she can  get you."

I turn my head to Lazzaro and cock an eyebrow.

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Didn't work out as I'd hoped in the end." He shrugs.

"Maybe it wasn't the best case scenario, but all of us left that beach alive—well, alive-ish then, at least." I say with a small chuckle and he joins in.

Mum watches us amusingly, but her tiredness is shown through her yawn.

"Okay, I should go get us some coffee." Lazz says after noticing this, and mum nods.

"Good idea."

After mum's confirmation, Lazz walks out.

A minute after Lazz leaving, dad and Gio walk back in after their few minutes of discussion and neither one of them has a positive look on their faces.

I carefully observe them and turn to mum to see her reaction. She seems hopeless after noticing them.

"And?" She asks dad on which he heaves a deep sigh.

"We'll head back to the hotel to work a new plan. " Dad cuts short to shake his head. "Gio says they have already relocated her to another outpost few hours from here."

Mum's face drops and dad quickly walks to her to comfort her.

This is hard for all of us, but especially for my parents. It's just problems and new complications every way they turn and I don't know how to help them.

As dad talks with mum and assures her they'll find Jade, Lazz comes back with five coffees in his hands.

"I spoke with the doctor." He says and hands Gio and my parents their coffees. "You just need to sign the papers and they can discharge her today."

"Really?" I ask him.

"Yeah," He tells me and hands me the cup after giving the others theirs.

"She hates coffee." Mum chuckles after taking a sip of her own. Lazz gives her one of his charming smiles and winks at me.

"I know." He says. "It's hot chocolate."

Upon seeing his reaction, mum raises an eyebrow in slight amusement.

She found Lazz and I's friendship intriguing for some reason. It makes her focus on something else than Jade for even a little while and it helps her not think about the dangerous situation her daughter is in.

I thank Lazz with a smile as he takes a seat on the couch he's gotten familiarized with over the past week.

"I'll go sign the papers, then, so we can get you to the hotel quicker, baby." Dad says, standing up, and kisses the top of my head. I nod.

After dad disappears behind the door, Gio gets a call from Vince and he, too, exits. Only me, my mum and Lazz are left.

"So, Lazzaro," Mum begins, "you've got any girlfriend waiting for you back home?"

I turn to stare at her, withholding an annoyed groan. I know where this question of hers leads to.

She's always done this to me and Jade. The first couple of times was funny to watch, but when we noticed what she was doing it became embarrassing. One time, she tried to set me up with a guy at our family reunion at grandma's. She thought he was one of my cousin's friends, but he turned out to be a cousin himself from my dad's side. He had been living in Canada most of his life. That's why mum didn't know we were related. It was more awkward than you'd think afterwards.

I cringe just thinking about it.

Mum ignores my stare, though, and focuses on Lazz.

"No," He tells her and steals a glance at me , "I don't."

"And you say you're Italian, am I right?"

"You are right."

"So you know how to cook then," She says to him with a sly grin and Lazzaro chuckles.

"Mum, not everyone who's Italian knows how to cook." I furrow my eyebrows and interject. She shakes her hand at me in a dismissive manner and waits to see what Lazzaro's answer will be.

"That's true, tiger," Lazz looks at me, but mum isn't having it. She probes further.

"So, you don't know how to cook?"

"Oh, no, on the contrary." He tells her. "I can cook magnificently. My mother taught me when I was younger and I continued doing it after she died in a way to honor her."

"That's perfect because Willa can't cook for shit."

I glare at her in disbelief. She's seriously roasting her own daughter here.

Lazzaro's rich laugh booms throughout the whole room.

"You seriously don't know how to cook?" He asks me, his eyes holding an amusing glint.

"Shut up." I can only manage to say before the blush creeps onto my cheeks.

In the next few minutes, mum manages to tell Lazz more of my embarrassing stories and attributes. When I'll get mad at him for laughing he'll apologize, kiss my hand and keep on laughing.

Idiot.

Then, just like God sent, dad walks in with Gio by his side and a frown on his face.

I swear, they've become best buddies.

"What's wrong?" Mum's easy-going expression morphs into one of confusion.

"Someone's already paid the bill. They didn't want to tell me who." Dad answers. I already know who has paid it, though.

I look at Lazz and he's already looking at me. He knows it, too.

He sighs. "It was my brother. I can tell him-"

"The bastard who shot my daughter?" Dad's voice rises an octave.

I was reluctant to tell him who Lazz was related to when dad met him couple hours ago, but Gio had already told him. He had also explained to my parents how Lazz had been the one who tipped off Jade where I was and gave Silvio's number.

That's why Jade didn't send Lazz out in the first place and even trusted him.

"Dad, calm down. I don't think he meant anything bad with it."

This was just one of Silvio's moves to redeem himself and to justify the chance I gave him.

"I can't calm down, Willa. You barely came out alive in the end because of him."

I sigh. "I know, dad, but he didn't mean it."

"And you know that how? Why are you protecting him, Willa? Why are you protecting the son of a bitch who put a bullet in you?" Dad's voice becomes louder.

"I'm not protecting him, dad." I am.

"Honey-" Mum sees how the situation starts to escalate quickly and goes to calm dad down.

"No," He cuts her off, "don't you see that he's messed with her mind?"

Mum doesn't have anything to say to this so she stays quiet.

I glare at dad, but I bite my tongue and refrain from saying anything further that would cause a bigger fight.

I turn my head and steal a glance at Lazzaro. He looks like he agrees with my dad one hundred percent.

"Sir, I can talk to him and deal with it." Lazz tells my dad. "I don't want to sound disrespectful, but he's the least of your problems now."

I thought he'd go against me, too, but he went against my dad instead.

After the longest pause we've had in this room since my parents arrived, dad sighs and rubs his face tiredly.

"You're right. " He finally says and sits down on the chair.

I turn to Lazz and give him a small, grateful smile for that gesture.

After that, Gio got another call and had to run. He told my dad they'd meet at the hotel to discuss the plan. Mum helped me get dressed in the bathroom into some normal clothes with the nurse that came in and Lazz packed the few things I had in a bag.

Dad and I, however, didn't say a word to each other. He thought it'd be better if he went and got the car running up front.

"You packed everything?" Mum says to Lazz as soon as we slowly emerge from the bathroom and he nods.

As I walk for the first time since the surgery, every wound feels like it's on fire, especially now that I'm off the pain medication, but the nurse said it'd hurt for a couple more days until they heal properly.

I take a seat at the edge of my bed and Lazz hands me my glasses before he zips up the bag. I take them and put them on.

God, it feels weird to have them on after all this time.

"Can you walk, baby?" Mum asks me, her eyes giving me a worried look, and I nod. I inhale deeply, preparing for the pain that will come with me walking, and stand up.

The sharp pain washes over me right away and to subdue it, I hunch over ever so slightly and it seems to work just a little bit.

Mum catches my arm under hers and helps me walk while Lazz quietly follows us with my bag.

It takes us a while to get to the front door where dad has been waiting for us in the car. Lazz, then, opens the back door for mum and I to get in, and then gets in himself in the front.

Dad spares me a glance in the rear view mirror and when he sees I'm moderately alright, drives off to he hotel.