Matteo POV

He stayed outside Alexia's closed door for a moment taking a deep breath and taking in that whole encounter. He couldn't believe how badly they were all screwing this up. They'd been searching for Alexia since the moment they realized Kiara had left with their little princess. They had spent millions to search for her and had prayed to any God willing to listen to them for the safe return of Alexia and now that they had finally found her, they were all screwing this up. Matteo couldn't understand why Riccardo, Dante, Nico, and Antonio were behaving like they were. He smiled a little as he recalled what Alexia called them. The four Scrooges. It was fitting. They always looked like they'd just sucked on a lemon and were constantly grumpy. But the way they were treating Alexia was extreme even for them. And he couldn't understand why. They had been close with Alexia as toddlers.

And their father? Matteo didn't know what to think. Alexia's word had struck a cord with him. She'd been right. He was there father but he hadn't done anything fatherly to her or Leo for that matter since they got here. His lame attempt at saying he'd gone shopping with that had been a poor excuse. Sure their father didn't go shopping with any of them but he hadn't really done anything. Matteo doesn't even recall him saying anything during their trip. He sighed. He didn't know what to do. He'd already ripped into people before coming to see Alexia. Frustrated, he ran his hand through his hair and sighed again. He'd planned on going to the warehouse tomorrow but now he'd take the day off and spend it with Leo, Alexia and by the looks of it, Marcello as well. Maybe he could take them out and do something fun. They deserved that. With that thought in mind, he became a little happier and walked to his room to plan for tomorrow.

The next morning Matteo woke up early. He had plans to bring Leo, Marcello and Alexia out for a fun filled day. Something told him Leo and Alexia would love his plans. He knew Marcello would. He went to Alexia's room first because girls took longer to get ready. He knocked gently on the door and got no answer as he expected. After all it was only 6.30 am on a Sunday. He opened the door and froze. The room was empty and the bed looked like it hadn't been slept in. His eyes darted towards the bathroom door. It was open and the lights were off. Same went for her closet. Panic started rising in him till he realized she might be in Leo's room. Matteo hurried to the next door. This time he didn't bother knocking and just opened the door. The room was dark, slightly illuminated by a small light next to the bed. In the bed were two small forms. Matteo looked around but couldn't find who he was searching for. Panic started rising again. "Leo." Matteo said as gently as he could with the panic rising in him. Leo murmured something unintelligible. "Leo." Matteo said, having walked over to the side of the bed Leo was in. Still nothing. "Leo." This time Matteo shook him lightly. "Do you know where Alexia is?" Matteo asked. "What time is it?" Leo mumbled into his pillow. "Um. 6.35 AM." Matteo said looking at his watch. "Out on a run." Leo said as he kept his face in his pillow. "A run?" Matteo thought he heard him but wanted to clarify. Leo hummed but then suddenly sat up. "Wait!" Leo exclaimed. "This place has a gyn right?" He asked now looking completely awake. Matteo nodded. "Then that's where you'll find her." Leo said and looked at Matteo. "The gym?" Matteo asked surprised. Leo nodded. "She likes being there in the morning. Especially when she can't sleep or her nightma..." Leo stopped talking when he realized what he'd just said. "She get's nightmares?" Matteo asked. Leo looked at him for a moment before replying. "Don't we all?" Matteo thought about it for a moment. It was true that most people experienced nightmares at some point in time but something about the way Leo had said it didn't sit well with him. He also had a feeling Leo wouldn't tell him anymore about it so he stopped asking. "Can you and Marcello get up and get dressed? I'm taking you two and Alexia out for a fun day." Matteo said. A warm feeling spread through his body starting from his heart when Leo's eyes lit up with excitement.

Matteo walked to the gym and froze when he opened the door. He'd expected to find Alexia on the treadmill or maybe the bike but to his shock she was giving the sandbag a good run for it's money. He studied her for a bit. Her punches were strong and her techniques were incredible. Better than most of their brothers and cousins if he were honest. Her footwork was like watching a dancer preform. The more he looked, the more impressed he became. He was pretty sure she could take on Lorenzo, not that he would ever say that to either of them. Somehow he didn't think that would go over well. He noticed something else too as he was looking at her. Every time she swung her left arm, she'd wince just a bit. Matteo frowned and walked towards her. When she noticed him she stopped and slid her gloved hands over her headphones to take them off. Matteo heard Eminem's Lose Yourself blast from her headphones. "You okay?" Matteo asked. Alexia quirked an eyebrow. "You were wincing when you swung your left." Matteo pointed out. "Ah." Alexia said. "Just a side stitch. Nothing serious." "A side stitch?" Alexia smirked. "Yea, I probably didn't drink enough." "Why didn't you stop then?" Matteo asked skeptically. "Too stubborn." Alexia shrugged. "Did you need anything?" She asked changing the subject. "Oh, yeah." Matteo said remembering what he was actually wanting to see her about. "I'm taking you, Leo and Marcello out today. Can you go get dressed please?" He asked looking at her hopefully. Alexia pulled off her gloves. "Sure. What are we doing?" "That is a surprise." Matteo grinned. "What am I dressing in then?" Alexia asked smiling a little at his obvious joy. "Casual sporty." "Got it." Alexia said as she put her gloves away and then started removing the tape on her hands. He was impressed at how well her hands were taped, but considering how well her boxing was he shouldn't have been surprised. "You should go wake Leo up, he is hard to get up." Alexia chuckled. "I already woke him up." Matteo said. "Did he get out of bed?" Alexia asked raising her eyebrow. "No?" Matteo said making it sound more like a question. "Then he isn't awake." Alexia chuckled. Matteo let out and audible grown making Alexia laugh as she was walking over to the mini fridge they kept in here, were stocked with water and sports drinks making it look like she was very familiar with this room, yet Matteo who trained every day, had never seen her in here until now. "Just make sure he gets out of the bed and he'll wake up." Alexia said after she had chucked half a bottle of water. Matteo nodded. "Dining room when you're done. I've asked the maids to prepare breakfast before we leave." And with that Matteo left the gym going back to Leo's room finding both boys still snoring away in Leo's bed. After having made sure they were both up and out of the bed this time Matteo headed downstairs still pondering over Alexia. He was sure she was hiding something, he just didn't know what.

20 minutes later all three kids were down in the dining room. The boys both wore jean shorts. Marcello wore a star wars t-shirt while Leo had put on a polo. Both boys were wearing sneakers. Alexia came down wearing jeans, a hoodie and the high top canvas shoes she'd just gotten. She had her damp hair braided in a french braid and she'd put on a light layer of make-up. She looked stunning. All three of them were wearing their Apple watch like they'd been told. They sat down to eat. The boys took turn asking in various away about the plans and tried to pry it out of Matteo. Alexia sat quietly and ate her yogurt with fruits, nuts and seeds. Matteo still didn't like how little she ate and he knew he needed to have a talk with her about it, but he didn't want to do that today. He wanted them to have a good day. The boys each shoveled in several pancakes. Leo also took some fruits but Marcello avoided it like it was pest. Marcello had always hated fruits and vegetables so their maids had found creative ways to sneak it into his food. When they were done eating they all got into Matteo's SUV. The boys took the back seat while Alexia took the front passenger seat. Matteo started driving out of the estate, looking in the rearview mirror and saw the two black SUVs carrying their entourage of bodyguards right behind them. Eventually the boys settled down and started their own conversation. Matteo kept glancing at Alexia. He wanted to get to know her but he wasn't sure how to do that with how closed off she seemed to be. "Do you play any sports?" He asked as he glanced at Alexia. "Nope." She answered still looking out the side window. "What's your favorite subject in school?" He continued. "Recess." She answered making him chuckle. "That isn't a subject." He argued lightheartedly. She was quiet for a while. "Physical education, I guess." She finally answered. "I like running." "Really?" Matteo asked surprised. She nodded her head and Matteo noticed it. "I like running too." He said excitedly. "Maybe we can go on a run together?" Alexia turned her head to studied Matteo. "Sure, that sounds fun." Alexia said after a beat of silence. "You start school tomorrow, are you looking forward to it?" He asked. "No." She answered curtly. "I don't like school. It's boring." She was back to looking out the side window. Matteo had seen her school transfer papers. They had been far from impressive. Bad grades and comments from teachers and peers made her look like a troubled teen. Matteo knew she would have a hard time at the private school they had been enrolled in. They didn't tolerate troubled kids or bad students. Sure they knew not all kids was equal and some struggled with different subjects but as long as the student put in the work, the school would help them. Matteo didn't think Alexia put any work into school. And the fighting and bullying? That would have to stop or she'd be expelled. Their father could only pay them so much before they'd stop looking the other way. He sighed to himself. He should have stayed off the school topic. "What's your favorite animal?" He asked after a moment of silence. "Elephants and Lionesses." Alexia replied without hesitation. "Why elephants?" Matteo asked. He could see why she'd like female lions, but he didn't quite understand the giant animal. "Female elephants are born for leadership." Alexia said before smirking. "Plus they are smarter than the males. Much like homo sapiens if you ask me." Matteo failed to hold his snort of amusement back. Her school transcripts did not verify that statement. He was just about to say something but when he glanced at her, all words on his tongue fizzled out. The look on her face said she knew exactly what he had been thinking. "You know... You really shouldn't judge a book by it's cover." Alexia said simply before looking away, resting her head on her door and closing her eyes, ending their little conversation. Fuck... Matteo cursed to himself. That hadn't gone as he had hoped. The rest of the drive the only chatter was between Leo and Marcello. When Matteo parked the car, they finally realized where they were, Matteo spotted some curiosity shining in Alexia's eyes though she remained quiet while the two boys couldn't hold their excitement in check as cheers and laughter bubbled out in the backseat.





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Authors note..

Sorry it took so long to update. I moved in early December and then caught a bad cold that wouldn't leave me so I've been pretty useless most of December.