Infinity Chronicles Book Two, page 21
“How about I wake you up with a bucket of ice water and see how you like it?”
“Not in my bed! You guys want to start your prank shit, it won’t be in my room,” Ares tells them while tucking his shirt in.
“Speaking of your room, when are we going to get a more permanent situation set up?” Ollie asks.
“What are you thinking?” Ares tips his chin in Ollie’s direction.
“I don’t know, I just know it’s something we need to talk about.” Ollie looks around the room. “What about something like your parents have going on? A few extra rooms close together, and a chill spot where we can relax without someone always being around.”
“You mean like Mia?” I poke my head out of the closet, interested in the conversation. I’m hoping my comment leads to Ares telling me when she might move out, but my question goes unanswered.
“Not to mention my parents. Now that they’re back, who knows how long they’ll stay,” Dante adds.
“We could look, but it could take a while to find something we’re all happy with. It might just be best to build. Plus, we have security to worry about.” Ares is fully dressed when I step out of the closet. My own pair of fitted jeans and sweater looking a little underwhelming compared to his slacks, shirt, and vest.
“Building would be awesome, but that would take months, maybe even a year before it would be ready. There has to be a better solution than just hanging out in this room until then,” Ollie tells Ares, and he seems uncharacteristically serious about the whole thing.
“We’ll figure it out. I’m actually pretty stunned Mia is still here anyway, I figured she would have moved, especially after dinner the other night.”
I snort, and all three guys look in my direction. Luckily, there’s a gentle knock at the door, which saves me from having to explain my unladylike response.
“Better tell Milo to hurry up in there,” Dante mutters as he heads into the bathroom.
I smooth the chunky fabric of my sweater down before taming my hair with my hands after. Ares sends Ollie a pointed look, with one brow raised and his chin tipped down, warning him to be good. Ares takes one last look around the room sighing before opening the door.
“You’re awake,” she announces, her voice more chipper than it should be considering I know she hasn’t had very much time to sleep in the last few hours. “Where is everyone?” I see her try to peek her head around Ares from either side.
“Buongiorno Mamma.” Ares leans down and places a chaste kiss on his mother’s cheek. A beautiful smile lifts her lips as she pats his back.
“Salutofiglio.” When he leans back, she takes hold of his upper arms and gazes up at him. “Finalmente, you smile.”
Stepping back from her, he holds out a hand in my direction. “We were coming out to meet you, but I know you’ve probably been making my fathers crazy trying to get in here.”
Rosa swats Ares’s arm with the back of her hand. Her eyes go straight to me and I see a flare of recognition there. Butterflies fill my stomach, not just because I’m meeting her for the first time, but because of what I might learn from her. “You are Mandy’s daughter,” she says with absolute certainty.
“Mamma, this is Laura, Laura Fallen.” He looks at his mom, waiting for some confirmation about my name, but Rosa isn’t paying him any attention.
“Did you know my mother well?” I finally find my voice.
“I thought I did, yes,” Rosa replies. I think I’m the reason she used past tense. She’s probably questioning if she ever really knew my mother at all, I know I am.
Twisting my hands together, feeling very vulnerable, I sense more than hear Ollie coming to my side. Rosa and I are still staring at each other with so many things to say, but I definitely don’t know where to begin.
“Milo and Dante should be out any minute, how about we head over to the kitchen? Gloria should be here soon. I’m hungry,” Ares rambles, filling the silence.
That breaks the spell and Rosa clicks her tongue, her lips pursed. “I can put something together. Tell your brothers to hurry.” Rosa is out the door within seconds without looking back.
“Works every time,” Ollie says and offers Ares a grin.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“Implying I’m hungry.” Ares gives me a small shrug. “Getting us out of trouble is my specialty. I haven’t always been the well-behaved sweetheart you see now.” Ares runs his hand over the front of his vest. I know he’s teasing, trying to lighten the situation.
Shaking my head and looking over at Ollie I say, “Has anyone ever accused him of being a sweetheart?” I hook my thumb in Ares’s direction.
Ollie’s eyes twinkle. “Maybe if you’re comparing him to the devil.”
“Who’s the devil?” Milo comes out of the bathroom dressed in black joggers and a t-shirt that looks a little too tight.
“Ares,” Ollie and I say at the exact same moment. Our eyes meet, and I can’t hold in the giggles that erupt.
Milo gives a curious look but shakes his head. “Dante said we’re skipping?” He ignores the whole devil comment.
“Say yes, say yes,” Ollie pleads, the puppy dog look back on his face.
I let my grin slip, the seriousness of what we’ll be discussing today instead of being at school weighing on me. “If you think calling in will work, I guess we could skip today.” My tone makes it clear I’m nowhere near as excited as Ollie, but he lets out a whoop and smacks a wet kiss on my cheek.
“Here, you can use this.” Ares picks up his sleek phone from the top of the nightstand. As I go to take it from his hand, he pulls it back. “Don’t let me forget to get you a phone after we have breakfast.” I nod my head, but I don’t have any intention of reminding him.
The screen lights up, revealing what looks like a picture of the cosmos, or an oil slick, with the time displayed across the front. “How do I unlock this?” I twist the phone around looking for buttons. Ares cradles my hand and places the phone in front of his face, when he turns it around and I can see the screen again, there are several icons, including a little white phone in a green box.
“It has a facial ID, we can add yours in later.” Ares is already walking away, gathering things from the room.
“Does anyone know the number?” Dante’s out of the bathroom now too, and he’s over by the closet getting dressed.
“Got it.” Ollie grabs the phone from my hand and he punches several buttons before handing it back. “Not the first time I’ve called in sick.” He makes a pouty face and I roll my eyes. He wasn’t calling in because he was actually sick.
An automated voice directs me through several prompts before I’m leaving a message on the attendance line with my name, grade, and reason for my absence. I hit the red button to end the call marveling at how easy it was. For my part, I added a little whine in my voice to make it sound good for whoever listens to it.
None of them seem to be in a hurry to leave the room, but I know it’s my reluctance that is keeping us here. After another five minutes passes where the guys are all needlessly busying themselves, I muster up the courage to say, “All right, lets do this.”
Dante wraps his arm around my side and pulls me in close. “Laura, we’re here, and we aren’t going anywhere.” I sigh, clinging to his words and his body.
Chapter 19
I can smell the kitchen way before we get near it. The aroma of fresh-brewed coffee fills the air, but as we get closer, I can smell something sweet and chocolatey.
“Finalmente, I made marocchino. Your Papas wanted eggs, come eat.” Rosa is bustling around the kitchen.
Ares and Dante’s fathers are lined up at the island, each with a plate of scrambled eggs and sliced meats. They turn in our direction as we enter the room. “Morning, everyone sleep okay?” My face flames bright red because I wasn’t expecting them to bring up our sleeping arrangements.
“Good, no thanks to Mamma.” Ares’s tone is light, making it clear he knows she was in the room, but also clear he’s not upset.
“I knew you would wake them,” William, the man who looks most like Ares and Dante, mutters as he returns his gaze to his unrepentant wife.
Rosa shrugs a delicate shoulder, her face impassive. She wipes the counter with a washcloth, pushing any stay crumbs into the sink and hanging it over the side after giving it a rinse. She’s fairly tall, taller than me maybe at around five foot nine. Her dark hair falls over her shoulders in soft waves, and she’s curvy. Nowhere close to fat, but definitely thicker than what I would call thin. She turns, giving us her full attention. She has Dante’s full expressive lips, but her eye color is all Ares’s tawny brown.
“My boys,” Rosa sighs, her arms stretched out wide as she waits for them. Dante heads over to her first. He wraps his arms around her back after she leans up to kiss his cheek, throwing her arms over his shoulders. They each leave me, forming a line so she can greet them, cooing in half Italian, half English. I stand awkwardly near the doorway.
Malcolm pushes back his stool and heads over in my direction. Ares's eyes track his movements, but he stays over with his mom. Malcolm reaches out his hand when he’s standing in front of me. “Hello Laura.”
Accepting his hand, I return his gaze and shake. “Hello, sir.”
His lip lifts at the corner, but he covers it quickly. “You can call me Mal,” he offers. He doesn’t look like someone you’d call Mal. Ares may get his dark hair from his mother, but he must get his fashion sense from his father. Malcolm or Mal, is dressed much like his son, only he’s wearing a tie, and he skipped the vest for an unbuttoned suit coat. It’s barely nine o’clock in the morning. Now I really feel underdressed. “It’s a lot to take in, huh?”
I swallow, because it is, more than he probably knows. I didn’t even know what I was a few weeks ago. “Yes, you could say that.”
“I remember meeting Rosa’s parents, and Williams.” He leans in a little closer fighting a small smile. “I assure you, you’re doing just fine.”
I take a peek over at the others, wondering when they’re coming back. “It’s definitely a new experience.”
He chuckles. “I bet it’s a little more unsettling than meeting your boyfriends’ parents.”
I scrunch my face in confusion. “Aren’t you my boyfriends’ parent?”
Mal tilts his head. “I just meant a regular boyfriend, not your pairs.”
“Oh, I see.” A flush spreads across my face, and I can’t believe I even said that out loud. “Well, I’ve never had one of those so…” I try to recover, but I think I made things more awkward.
“William,” Mal calls, saving me from myself as he greets his pair—partner? I’m not sure what they call each other. I make a mental note to ask the guys.
“Thought I’d come say hi before Rosa gets a hold of you.” My eyes bulge out at his announcement. “Not like that, I mean once she has you, she’s probably not going to let you go.” William winces. I think he has a case of verbal diarrhea as well. “Hell…” William brushes his hand down his pant leg and extends it to me. I accept the shake, but he pulls me in and wraps his arm around my back. After a quick couple of pats, he releases me.
I blink up at him owlishly. Did that just happen? Is it possible that he is just as awkward as I am? William's brow is furrowed as he looks down.
“You’re just standing here letting this happen?” Ares's voice floats over in our direction. I look over and see Malcolm with his hand covering his mouth, trying to hide his smile.
“Just be thankful you learned how to treat a lady from me and not him.” Malcolm chuckles while pointing at William.
“Dad, did you really just give her a bro hug?” Ares sounds positively scandalized. That’s the exact moment I can’t hold in anymore of the tension. A laugh bursts free from my mouth as my shoulder shake. Leaning forward, I laugh way too hard, but it’s not just the bro hug, or his awkward words, it’s everything.
“Great, now you broke her,” Ollie chides, stepping over to my side. I swat him with the back of my hand, trying to calm my laugh, but every time I slow down, I imagine William’s face after he hugged me.
“Quit giving your papa a hard time,” Rosa admonishes, stroking her hand over William’s shoulder. He looks down at her, and any of his awkwardness disappears when he gives her a saucy wink.
Clearing my throat as the last of the giggles melt away, I meet Rosa’s gaze, and she scans my face before looking into my eyes. “You look very much like your mamma, Amanda.”
“I never really thought so, she… she’s had a tough few years.”
Rosa takes my hand in hers and her grip is gentle as she asks, “Can you tell me about her?”
I was the one expecting to ask questions, so it catches me off guard. Opening my mouth, I catch Dante’s gaze, and he nods.
Rosa insists on making eggs for the guys and me. Ares and Milo went and got a couple more chairs so we can all be in the kitchen while she prepares the food. I get my first taste of what Rosa calls a marocchino, it’s coffee with chocolate and milk. Finding out how to recreate the drink has become a new priority, cause damn it’s delicious.
Rosa pushes a plate in front of me, and the eggs are soft and fluffy with a few slices of thinly sliced meat off to the side. As the others begin eating, she turns so her rear is leaning against the counter. “Tell me about you, about your mamma. Where have you been all these years?”
That’s a loaded question. I can’t even remember all the places we’ve lived. “We traveled a lot,” I tell her.
“Laura and her mother lived in a motor home,” Ares interjects. Rosa tilts her head as she tries to envision what Ares is talking about.
Pulling the sleeves of my shirt over my fingers, I drop my hands to my lap. I haven’t really talked about my mom much, not even with the guys. I don’t really know where to begin. “My mom, she struggled with a lot of things, and it only got worse the older I got.” I think back to the times when I was younger, when my mom would actually go out of the camper, get dressed in something other than sweatpants and a holey t-shirt.
“I can’t believe she has been running this entire time,” Rosa says almost to herself.
“Do you know why she was running, or from who?” I latch onto her words needing to know the answers, especially if it will help me find her.
Rosa takes a deep breath. “How about I tell you about the Amanda I knew, and you can tell me about the one you know.” Rosa smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“Yeah, okay,” I agree easily. Seems like we both only know half of the story anyway.
I’m sitting in a chair and Dante is on the arm of the chair next to me. The rest of the guys have taken seats around the room. We haven’t been in here before, it’s much more formal than the rooms we’ve hung out in so far. The furniture is heavy with thick patterned fabric and wood accents. There’s a huge fireplace taking up almost one entire wall. You’d have to have a small mountain of wood to fill it. The stone extends up to the ceiling, making it seem even larger. Several seating areas are dotted throughout the room. Ares and Milo are to my left on another sofa, while Ollie has opted to sit on the floor near my legs. He’s not touching me, but he’s close. I appreciate the support.
Rosa and her men are all on a couch across from my chair and they look completely at ease with each other. Something I find envious at this stage of our relationship. Before I can ponder too hard what it was like for them when they first met, Ares pipes up, “Who was Leon?”
Rosa closes her eyes but takes a deep breath. “Until recently I haven’t thought about this in years.” William places his hand over Rosa’s and she gives him a small smile in return. “I met Amanda by chance. I had taken Ares to the park one day and there was this lovely young girl there. She was with a little boy herself. I still didn’t have very many girlfriends here, especially one with a little boy. We chatted while the boys played, and by the end of the afternoon we had exchanged numbers and had planned to meet again in a few days.”
“Who was the little boy?” I can’t help but ask, do I have an older brother out there somewhere?
“I think his name was Teddy, turns out she was just babysitting him for the summer while she was out of school, but we met up a few more times for playdates with the boys.” The emotion that filters through me isn’t quite relief, but it’s something close. I don’t know how I would handle finding out my mother hid even more from me.
“I don’t remember him,” Ares mutters.
“Well you were young, you only played with him a few times before Amanda confessed to me that she was a Synergist.” Rosa looks to the left, a frown falling over her features. “She had heard Ares talking about his papas, as in two, and asked if I had remarried. I didn’t want to lose her friendship, but I wasn’t willing to lie to either, so I told her I had two husbands. Her face lit up, and she asked me if I was in an Infinity.” Rosa’s lips lift with a small smile.
“After that I knew why I was always drawn to her, our lives aren’t always easy. Especially when outsiders judge us. That’s why so many groups chose to settle close together, so we have people around us we can share our lives with who won’t judge us.”
“So, she knew what she was?”
Rosa looks over at me, her eyes shrewd. “Yes, of course.”
“Laura’s mother never told her what she was, never told her about Infinities,” Dante announces, brushing his hand over my back.
“But…” Rosa opens her mouth, her words failing her.
“My mom was… withdrawn at best, paranoid to say the least. She seemed to get worse as I got older. I wasn’t allowed to have friends, or to do anything that would draw attention to myself. We moved around a lot and it got to the point where she never even left the RV.” I sigh as guilt for thinking she was crazy eats at me. If she would have only talked to me, told me the truth… I don’t even know if I would have believed her. I probably would have thought it was just her delusions. Ares makes his way over to the chair, taking up a seat on the opposite arm of his brother.
