Good Cop Gone Bad ~ Rewritten

78| continue

•••••
three years later

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"Di nuovo," My little Lana giggles after I throw her up in the air again. I catch her and hug her, then my wife reaches us and tickles her tummy, making her giggle again. (Again)
"Dai, amore, è ora di mangiare," Aria says, taking Lana. Our daughters full name is Adelaida Mirella Rossi. But when she was just a baby, the boys would call her Adilana because they could not say her name right for some reason. From there, her two nicknames Addie and Lana were born. I like calling her Lana because it reminds me of when I was first dating her mom, my amazing wife. (Come on, love, it is time to eat.)
I follow behind them, going into the house and to the dining room where all the boys are seated with my mother. "Nonna!" Lana squeals, clapping her hands.
Aria sits next to my mother with Lana on her lap so she can also be next to my mother. I sit next to her, at the head of the table.
"How are you, tesoro?" My mother asks Aria, smiling at her and lightly squeezing our daughters arm, making her giggle.
Aria smiles as well, "Very good," she says, hugging Lana and squeezing her. They keep talking for a while as the maids bring out the plates of food.
"Papà, can we go to the beach this weekend?" Leo asks me after taking his first bite of food. The twins are now around six and a half years old which is insane. I cannot believe it has been so long since they were born, and time flies by so fast.
I look over to my wife who nods a little, smiling as she gives a small bite of food to Lana. "Of course, angioletto. We will leave early to have a full day there, sì?" I ask. They nod and we all keep eating, talking, laughing.
Once everyone is done, the boys help me with taking the plates to the sink. We all head to the living room where my wife and mother most likely are.
I see Aria standing there and I stare, admiring her. She's so gorgeous and the things she does are so cute. She is wearing a white dress with yellow flowers, her hair up in twists and a white bow to tie it together.
Our daughter is dressed the same way. A white dress with yellow flowers, hair up in twists with a bow. Both of them have curly hair. It has been a habit of hers for a long time to dress them similarly.
She has told me that she wants to make sure all of our kids grow up ready to be confidently independent but like any parents, we will be very sad when they don't need us anymore.
          "Surprise!" I hear someone scream from the foyer and recognize it as my father in laws voice.
         The boys gasp and stand as quickly as they can. "Nonno!" Enzo yells, as they all run to the foyer.
         We had no idea he was coming. We walk to the foyer where all the boys are jumping into his arms. Aria walks over to him, hugging him as Lana wants Leonardo to carry her. "Ciao principessa," he greets Aria who makes her way over to me.
        "Ciao papà, come stai?" Aria asks him as Enzo walks up and asks to be held by her now that she is not carrying Lana.
It was not until I became a father that I learned that kids reach half their adult height by the time they are two years old. Both Leo and Enzo are over four feet tall already and when they were two they were around three feet tall. I didn't know they would grow so much so quickly.
Now, Leo and Marco come to me and ask to be held. I squat down and grab both in one arm then stand back up, lifting them both off the floor.

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•••••
Aria Rossi

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I slowly opened my eyes as I felt the little movements on the bed. I looked down to see all four of our children climbing up the bed to lay down with us. Enzo was barely walking into the room with Lana in his arms.
"Mamma," Marco mumbled as he cuddled up next to me. Matteo was still asleep. Until Leo jumped onto him.
Matteo basically flinched which made them all laugh. He turned to face us and grabbed Leo, hugging him. Enzo placed Lana between us then got in next to her.
"Good morning," I said to all my babies as we were all cuddled up together.
"Morning," Lana mumbled, her adorable little voice distorting the word but making it sound cute. "We go to beach today?" she asks.
I smile at her, "Sì, amore. We should go get ready so we can leave soon." I tell her.
"Just wait a bit," Matteo says, extending his arm until it wraps around even me, all our kids cuddled between us.
After another half hour of cuddles and jokes, we all get up. I go with Lana to her room to pack her back and get her ready first.
I sit her on the counter as I put her hair into two braids. I always do little affirmations with all my kids while I am getting them ready and they love it, I also think it is good for them.
It is one thing for me to constantly tell them I love you, you're beautiful, you're strong, you're brave, you're smart, you're kind, but it is another thing for them to actually believe it. What is important is that they believe it.
"Sono," I start for my daughter as I start on the first braid. (I am)
"Bella," she finishes, smiling at herself in the mirror. "Sono gentile," she says by herself, making me smile widely, "Sono intelligente, sono forte." she continues. When I finish, she stands on the counter and turns to look at me, then hugs me. I hold her to me and kiss her cheek. "Ti amo, mamma." she says and I want to cry. (Beautiful. I am kind. I am smart, I am strong. I love you, mom)
        "Anch'io ti amo, angioletta mia," I tell her, making her hug me tighter. I smile, almost wanting to cry. She's so sweet, my little baby.
         I carry her into her room and we pack her back together. She picks out two books from her reading corner. They are learning books we have been using with her for a while and she loves them.
I carry her while I go check Marco's room. I can hear him and Matteo in the bathroom already getting ready and saying the affirmations. I smile to myself and move on to the twins room.
We have asked them several times before if they would like to move rooms and not share one anymore but they say the same thing every time. I can hear it in my head, "Mamma, he's my best friend I love sharing rooms," they both say. It is adorable.
I walk in to find them both sitting in their reading corner with two bags in front of them looking through their book shelves. I knock on the door to get their attention. "Need any help?" I ask them.
"Sì, per favore. We cannot decide which books." Enzo says. They have about six laid out on the ground and are staring at them all.
"Well, they are all pretty thin, so why not carry three each in your bags?" I ask them.
Leo shakes his head, "Sappiamo che non li leggeremo tutti, ma non sappiamo quali vorremo leggere," he says to me. I smile. All of them love to read, Marco less than the rest but he still does. ( We know we won't read them all, but we don't know which ones we'll want to read )
         "Leo, we get our clothes, then we come back to books later," Enzo says, making me giggle to myself but they stand up, "Mamma, can you help please?" he asks.
         I follow them into the closet and place Lana down on the floor, letting her walk around a bit.
          I help pack some clothes for them and they go back to their books. I took care of the main things, the sunscreen, the snacks, everything else.

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•••••

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       I squeal as my husband picks me up and carries me into the water as all our kids follow after him, running into the water.
         I laugh as he places me down, the cold water reaching just above my knees. He picks up Leo and Enzo while I grab Marco and Lana and we walk deeper into the water.
         Both of them hold onto me tight. I look up at Matteo and smile, laying my head on his chest. I can feel him press a kiss to the top of my head.
         Life is perfect.

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•••••

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that's it. it's over. next is the epilogue. i will spend the next few days editing a book come true and then after that i will start writing brett and paris' story

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but bye bye

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~elle 🌸

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