Within The Families

3: Vamoose Feeling

Dragging my brush along the barrel of the silver Glock in my hands I sigh.

I watch as the bristles glide down the cold metal, a light luster accentuated by some of the first rays of sunshine that have peeked into the room through the half-shut blinds.

"Who the hell gave you that?" I hear Liam sigh, yet I make no effort to lift my head to face him.

"They only had filter coffee--" My head snaps upwards only to meet Alessandro's, two cups of steaming coffee skillfully balance in one hand with two sandwiches in the other.

"What are you doing here?" Liam questions gruffly, his eyes alternating between Sandro and me.

"I was dropping by--"

"To enquire about Jason," I add cutting him off.

'I can't deal with their big-brother act right now' I reason with myself when a sliver of doubt about my relationship with Sandro nudges my mind.

'I'm not backing away from him, not now, not ever'

I proceed to communicate the same thought to a very puzzled Sandro, who is quick to understand--not for a moment letting his emotions give us away.

But Liam wouldn't be Liam he if didn't look at everything with an eye of suspicion. And now that eye is directed toward Sandro and I.

"Whose gun is that?" Liam resorts to his former question, instinctively causing me to lower my gaze to the beauty in my hands.

"Sa-Alessandro's," I reply swiftly, with an impenetrable façad of nonchalant-ness.

Liam raises quirks a single brow upwards. "And what is it doing with you?" In demands, crossing his arms across his chest.

I shrug and let my gaze wander towards Jason's unconscious figure lying in the bed next to me for a fleeting moment before returning it to meet Liam's.

"I needed a distraction. Cleaning my weapons forces me to focus on work and doesn't let my mind wander," I mutter, my eyes now trained back to my hands.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you tag along," I hear him mumble under his breath--a tone of genuine regret lacing his almost inaudible tone.

My eyes almost immediately shoot up to meet his with a glare. "I'm not leaving," I assert.

"I'm better off here," I add, my eyes shifting towards the monitors connected to Jason, their constant rhythmic beeping an assuring aid to my building anxiety.

He sighs at my words knowing that there is nothing he could say that would make me want to leave Jason's side--he had already lost that battle this morning.

With nothing more to say, he silently makes his way to the sofa that pushed up against the wall all the way on their other side of the room.

With Liam's eyes fixated on his phone, Sandro takes that as a go-ahead and makes his way towards me and hands me one of the coffee cups and a sandwich.

"You didn't have to," I mumble to him, while slowly sipping on the cheap brew.

"I know," he shrugs while unwrapping the clear-film from over his own breakfast.

"But I wanted to," he adds earning a small smile of gratitude from me.

Grabbing the brush and Glock back into my now slightly warmer hands, I continue brushing off the non-existing dust from it's every joint.

"How are you holding up?" He asks, his tone gentle, but the undertone of concern doesn't go unnoticed by me.

His simple actions like is what makes even the most painful moments of grief a lot more bearable.

Knowing that he cares, that he's there is enough.

He is enough.

"Hey?" he nudges my shoulders gently pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Shouldn't you be on your way back to Italy by now?" An annoyed Liam remarks before a single syllable leaves my lips.

"Indeed I should be," Sandro nods, raising yo his full height from his place beside me.

Wordlessly I hand him his Glock, my mind now already engulfed in gloom at the thought of his absence.

'He's going back?'

Reading my gaze that somehow seem to have found his, he offers me a sheepish smile before blinking as a sigh of reassurance.

"I'll explain everything later," his actions translate to.

"We will keep you in the loop from our end, hope you do the same," Sandro says his cryptic words directed to Liam.

"Of course," Liam nods, his annoyance rolling off of him in waves.

With one single discreet look at me, Sandro leaves the room.

I sigh inwardly at his departure. 'It's cold again' I note as the warmth that spreads through me every time I'm around him, vamooses my being.

"The two of you have grown really close, haven't you?" Liam remarks sounding out to be a question when it clearly is not.

His 'big-brother' overprotective mode evidently switched on.

I shrug. "Being kidnapped and leaf to rot in a tiny cell does that to people," I reply nonchalantly.

"Where is everyone else?" I ask my eyes finding a comfortable spot on the white titled floor to focus on.

"Xavier and Noah are busy with the funeral preparations. And Jack..." He sighs. "Well, Jack's the same he was yesterday...or I hope."

"Still locked himself in his room?" I ask even though I know the answer.

"Yeah." The undertone of concern hides behind the obvious frustration in his tone.

But who could blame him?

We haven't heard from Jack for over three days now. The last time I saw him was the day back at the hospital when we were given the news of dad's passing.

He took it the hardest.

He refused to talk or even eat. The psychologist advised us to let him grieve, but also make sure he eats--which Xavier had successfully managed to do.

But that is as far as we could push it with him.

I can't believe I actually miss him irritating me.

'Oh, what I would give for him to just call me names or even pull my hair...I miss that idiot brother who never failed to be a pain in the butt'

"Everyone grieves differently," Ms. Hart--the psychologist--said.

"He just needs time"

We know and understand that, but knowing and experiencing it are two different things. His absence almost makes me feel like I've lost another member of my family at the same time.

'Whoever did this will have hell to pay for. I'll make sure of it myself' This is a promise I fully intend on fulfilling, no matter the cost.

"There has been another blast the entire Sánchez cartel family is dead."

Author's Note:

Happy Monday everyone!

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter...and before you say it I know! That these few chapters have been very depressing, but I promise this will start to get better...eventually.

Stay Safe wherever you guys are. And always remain healthy.

Comment &vote cuz I read and appreciate each comment and vote you guys leave.

Thanks for reading.

See you next Monday!

Some shameless self-promotion; if you like my writing style fancy, magic and mystery with a hint of romance I would highly recommend my other book Fitting The Stereotype.

Do give it a try! 

~Kia