Losing Love

37

Hope's POV:

I stretch my arm out across the bed, only to find it empty. My head pounds as I open my eyes and let them roam around the room in search of an impossibly handsome, 6'3 green-eyed brunette with a bullet hole in his left arm and impeccable abs. Unfortunately, there is no sign of him. Nonetheless, my eyes continue searching until it lands on the small table next to my bed. There lays a white pill and a glass of water. I sit upright on the edge of the bed and place the pill in my mouth, swallowing it down with the water from the glass. I stand up straight and throw on Dominic's large, black Armani hoodie. His scent crawls through my nose and fills my entire body with a peaceful sensation.

I walk quickly out the door, through the hallways, and down the stairs, excited to be reunited with my one true love. Even though I just saw him a few hours ago, I still miss him. I walk through the kitchen door and sure enough, there is Dominic hovering above the stove with his phone in one hand, and a spatula in the other. On the stove lays a pan with a frying pancake in place. The picture of Dominic's parents and sister is placed on the middle of the kitchen table, he must've been looking at it earlier today.

I gracefully step towards Dominic and wrap my arms around his waist from behind. He tenses at first, but then eventually relaxes when he realises it's me. He turns around swiftly and plants a kiss on my lips, "goodmorning baby" he says in a low, deep voice, "Goodmorning" I smile back at him. He places his phone and the spatula back down and wraps his arms around my back. We stare into each other's eyes for a while, having a staring contest, before a strong smell fills the kitchen followed by dark smoke.

"oh shit" I hear Dominic mumble as he lifts the pan off the stove and tosses the smokey-black pancake into the trash, he then opens a window and pours more batter onto the pan. I burst into laughter as I hop onto the kitchen island, he turns around with a sheepish grin plastered across his face.

We eat as we continue to talk and laugh about anything and everything for about an hour, I check the time and notice that it's 11:28am.

The conversation eventually fades as Kyle and Elisa walk into the kitchen, hand in hand. "Goodmorning little sister" Kyle grins at me as he taps my head, "Goodmorning asshole brother" I joke back, Elisa chuckles as Kyle glares at me, it eventually turns to a smile. I turn to Dominic to notice that he's staring at Elisa with an expression that almost resembles need, I furrow my eyebrows at him as he looks back down at me while shaking his head to himself. Almost instantly, Cole and Cheryl stroll in groggily. Cole has his neutral expression while Cheryl doesn't seem to be taking the hangover well, I smile at her as I open the cabinet and pass her a pill. She takes it and offers me a smile in return. Carter then walks in while cracking his knuckles. "Goodmorning" he says louder than necessary, I glare at him while Cheryl mumbles at him to "shut the fuck up". He gives her an offended expression as he looks up at me with an apologetic smile.

Cheryl takes an extended sniff in, breathing in the scent of the burnt pancake that still lingers in the air before quickly turning around and rushing to the bathroom, she begins throwing up in the toilet as Cole chases behind her. "You okay?" I ask her as she comes back in, Cole following behind her. She nods her head, "yeah, just a hangover thing I guess" she replies. I shrug as I turn back to Dominic.

"So, what happened last night?" I ask Dominic quietly, "well, Kyle was right and my parents were being held captive by the Spanish, but we got them back" he informs me, "and what about your sister?" I inquire curiously. "She's still ali-" Dominic is cut off by two people in their late 40s strolling in. I gasp mentally as I take in their state, I have never seen anything worst on a human.

They are both covered in dark bruises and scars, some older ones and some fresher. The woman's long blonde hair is dead and her skin is the palest I have ever seen anybody's. She is extremely skinny, practically just skin and bones. She looks so fragile. Her blue eyes hold an unimaginable amount of pain and memories that will cause her nightmares for the rest of her life. The man is tall, like Dominic, he has the same hardened green eyes as him. He still has some muscle but it's obvious that he was much more muscular before. His dark hair with strands of white hair and beard is grown out long too. Though they both look awfully unhealthy, they still seem to scream power. Despite everything they must've been through, they hold a confident shield around them that let's no one read through them, like Dominic does around other people.

"Sofia?" The blonde lady, who I assume is Dominic's mom, utters in disbelief. We all turn to see who she is addressing. Our eyes lands on Elisa who is staring at Dominic's mom with wide eyes, "right, sorry it's Elisa isn't it?" She questions.

Elisa nods her head slowly, her wide still widened. Dominic's mom runs up to Elisa and wraps her arm around her, his dad following shortly behind. Elisa lifts her arms and backs away, "im sorry, do I know you?" Elisa asks as politely as she can.

"Oh my- I'm so sorry, you wouldn't remember me" Elisa stares at the blonde lady with an expression that begs for answers, "we're your parents, Dominic is your brother" Dominic's dad answers bluntly. My jaw drops as I turn to stare at Dominic. His eyes leave his parents and Elisa and turn to me, he gives me a nod, as if to tell me it's true. I turn back to the scene in complete awe.

Elisa has an unreadable expression plastered on her face, she isn't saying anything but she stares directly at her parents. Dominic unwraps his arm from around my waist and walks up to the kitchen counter, he lifts the framed picture and hands it to a speechless Elisa. Elisa stares down at the picture, and then back at her parents. Her eyes fill with tears as she struggles to speak, Dominic's mom quickly wraps her arms around her daughter as her eyes begin to fill up too, his dad follows behind and wraps his arms around his wife and daughter. Elisa begins sobbing into her mother's chest as everyone in the room, including me, stares at the emotional reuniting with tears in their eyes. Dominic stands behind them uncomfortably, his dad looks up at him before forcefully grabbing Dominic's right arm and pulling him into the family hug. I notice Dominic swallow back his tears, and look up at the ceiling as he wraps his arms around his family. Tears threaten to escape my eyes too.

After minutes of them just hugging as Elisa and her mother sob, they finally untie themselves and wipe their eyes. Dominic's parents say their hello's to everyone in the room, they meet Cheryl for the first time and seem to get along well. Dominic is now standing beside me with his arm back around my waist, he kisses me on my temple as he watches his family that he just got back. His mother's eyes roam the room once more before landing on me. Her eyes travel down to Dominic's arm and she rushes over to me, his dad following behind. "I'm so sorry I didn't see you there, who might you be, bella?" She asks in the sweetest tone I have ever heard. I offer her a smile before answering, "I'm Hope Ricci" I answer while lifting my hand as a gesture for a handshake, "she's my girlfriend" Dominic adds with a smirk, his mom ignores my hand and immediately wraps her arms around me in a tight hug.

I'm taken by surprise at this gesture but quickly recover as I wrap my arms back around her and hug her back. "Luca Moretti" his dad introduces himself, lifting a hand for me to shake. I take hold of his hand with mine, but before I have the chance to shake, I'm pulled into a tight hug from his dad. I smile at this and hug him back.

Once I'm released from his grip, I look back at his mom, "I'm sorry, I don't think I got your name?" I say as politely as I can, "oh I'm sorry, it's Anna Moretti" she introduces, "but you can call me mom" she adds with a humerous wink at the end. I laugh at this while Dominic chuckles lightly and stares down at me with a sparkle in his eyes.