I nodded, smiling sadly. I really hoped she was laughing wherever she was.
We all learned a hard lesson when it came to Misery.
I awoketo the smell of breakfast cooking. I sat up, frowning. We hadn’t cooked a decent breakfast in forever, and certainly none that smelled that good.
I wandered out to the hallway to find Roe and Ren coming out of their room.
“Is Mass cooking?” I called out.
“No,” Mass answered, stepping out of his room with a frown on his face.
We all stared at one another for a moment before we darted forward at the same time and thundered down the stairs.
Once we made it to the kitchen, we stopped in our tracks, Ren crashing into me, as Arianna stood in front of the stove in nothing but a white t-shirt, making pancakes.
“Misery?” Roe choked out, stumbling forward. “Little snowflake, is it really you?”
She turned around to face us, looking so fucking beautiful I almost drooled. She looked way better now than when we’d had her. She’d put some weight on after starving herself. Her eyes were bright and full of life. Her hair was wild and wavy, tumbling around her.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and gave us a sexy look.
“It’s me,” she said.
I darted past my brothers and dragged her against my body, holding her tightly.
“Darling star,” I whispered on repeat. “You came back.”
“I promised you I would,” she answered, hugging me back tightly.
I clung harder, my body racking with my sobs. I’d missed her so fucking much.
More warm arms encircled us.
My brothers.
My family.
I released her so they could have their turn. The twins fought over her for a moment before both kissing all over her and whispering things we couldn’t hear.
When she fell into Mass’s arms, he cradled her to him like she was the most precious thing in the world.
“I love you so fucking much, Arianna,” he said on repeat, rocking her.
“I love you too, Massimo. So much.” She went up on her toes and kissed him gently before pulling away and going back to the stove to flip a burning pancake.
“Fuck the pancakes,” I said, tugging her away and turning the stove off.
She let out a soft laugh as I hauled her straight to the living room, my brothers following us.
“Have I ever told you how fucking sexy you look in nothing but my t-shirt?” I asked, nipping her bottom lip.
She laughed softly, kissing me back.
“Tell me that in a few months when my belly gets bigger.”
I stopped and stared at her.
“What?” I asked the same time Mass did.