In this heat even the trees appear defeated. Two days ago some rain fell, large warm drops a that disappeared as soon as they struck the hot tarmac or else sucked into the dusty mud not leaving a trace. Her skin was glistening. She lifted the ice cold glass of sweet tea to her mouth and drank. She had been only in Rome for three days and she was leaving in two days time.

She placed the glass back down and pulled her phone out; 15:30 pm read the time. She locked her phone and then two hands covered her eyes.

••••

"What?" Mirabella said, as she reached the bottom of the staircase. "She did what?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This had to be a joke that Antonio had mastered and convinced everyone to play along.

"Did you head from her?" Her brother asked. "A call or text?"

Mirabella shook her head even though he couldn't see her. "No," she said. "She hasn't spoken to be since everyone came here."

"This girl," Alejandro sighed. "Alright, let me know if you find anything. Auntie is loosing her mind."

"I will."

Mirabella exhaled a sigh. She was still in shock. No one picked Vanessa for the type that would lie just so she could meet a boy. She was always the one that would be straight forward and say the truth, but this was new.

"Don't worry, zia" said Daniel as he spoke on the phone while he walked to the foyer of the mansion.

He ended the phone call and looked at Mirabella. He exhaled a small chuckle as he shook his head while tucking his phone inside the inside pocket of his jacket. "Alessio had gone off with some girl." he said.

Mirabella arched an eyebrow up at him. "A girl?" She said slowly, and then a thought came to her as though she had been struck by lightning. "Hang on, Vanessa is also missing..." there was a short pause as they stood putting together the pieces.

••••

They had been on search for hours. The sky was beginning to loose it's clear blue and was turning into a painting of faded colours. Mirabella and Daniel were supposed to go to a restaurant for dinner, but they had to cancel and see the family because both Vanessa's mother and Alessio's mother were panicking. Everyone was out searching for the two runaways, but luck was not on their side.

Mirabella covered her mouth with her hand and yawned. "How dumb is your cousin?" She asked Daniel. "Why couldn't he ask her out properly on a date?"

Daniel shrug. "Maybe he didn't want to go through her father and thirty uncles that would have chased him out," he said as he took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at his wife. Mirabella rolled her eyes and turned her head to look outside the window while she tried to hide her smile.

Mirabella always knew that her family owned a house in Rome, but she had only been to the one in Sicily the few time's she came to visit Italy. They drove up a long driveway that had a handsome villa at the end with a fountain and cars. Mirabella undid her seat belt and walked up the steps and entered with Daniel behind her.

"They're here," Andrea said loudly, as she walked out of the living room.

"Where is my brother?" Mirabella asked, as they pulled apart from the hug.

"He's in the study," Andrea answered. "Your godmother threw a hurricane at the guys. They wouldn't even look her in the eye because they were terrified." Mirabella's godmother was the sweetest woman in the world, but she could also be terrifying when needed to.

The two girls went to the kitchen and stood by the kitchen island so they could talk without having the elders hearing their conversation. Mirabella was on her second pack of crisps and she was almost done with her chocolate bar. "How could she be so dumb?" She said, as she looked inside the pack of crisps. "She should have known the outcome of this all."

Andrea only nodded, but didn't listen to a single word Mirabella had said. She watched her with a suspicious, but thoughtful expression that had Mirabella slow down on her crisps and chocolate bar. "Mirabella," Andrea began. "You wouldn't keep anything from me, right?" She asked. Mirabella shook her head. "And you'd tell me if there was something going on, right?" Again, Mirabella nodded her head. But what came next out of Andrea's mouth made Mireabella almost chock.

"Are you pregnant?"

Mirabella thought she must've heard wrong, but she also wanted to murder her friend because if the other women in the kitchen heard Andrea's question they wouldn't believe Mirabella even if she placed her hand on the bible and promised that she wasn't pregnant.

"What gave you that idea?" Mirabella whispered.

"Wait! You are?" Andrea gasped and her eyes widened.

"No!" Mirabella shook her head. "I just haven't eaten, dumbass."

••••

While Mirabella was in the kitchen, Daniel was in the study with her brother and a few other people all talking about what they were going to do after they found Vanessa and Alessio and also how they were going to find them. Daniel listened as his uncle spoke to Vanessa's father about everything. Daniel and his cousins looked up to their uncle and since both his father and Alessio's father were no longer with them their uncle was almost like a father to them.

"I knew my brother was sneaky," said Bruno. "But this— I never thought he'd do this. Father would have loved to see this."

Daniel chuckled. "He'd have a go at him in front of Alessio's mother, but would pour him scotch when she wouldn't be looking." Bruno nodded his head and smiled.

A phone went off in the room and Daniel reached inside his blazer, Alessio, read the name of the caller. He stood up and walked out of the room.

He closed the door behind him and walked a few feet down the corridor so they couldn't hear him. He pressed answer on his phone and then held the phone up to his ear. "Dove diavolo sei?" He hissed.

(Where the hell are you?)

"Ehi, cugino" Alessio laughed, and Daniel could hear the nerves in his tone.

(Hey cousin)

"You need to come here right now" Daniel ordered, as he looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was behind him. "Your mum is loosing her mind and Vanessa's mum threw a hurricane" he said. "You need to come here right now."

"Can't." Alessio said shortly.

Daniel arched a brow. This was the first time Alessio said no to him. "Mi dispiace?" He said. "Deve esserci un problema con il ricevimento, cosa hai detto?"

(I'm sorry. There must be a problem with the reception. what did you say?"

"They will kill us if we go there now," Alessio said. "And by them I mean her mum and my mum."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed as he thought. "Okay," he finally said. "Where are you?"

After Alessio told Daniel where he and Vanessa where he tucked his phone back in his blazer and exhaled a sigh as he ran a hand there his hair.

"Was that Romeo?" Mirabella asked. Daniel turned around and saw her with a red tube in her hand that had Pringles written on it.

Daniel watched her for a moment and then blinked a few times. "Si," he replied. "He and your cousin are waiting for me."

Mirabella nodded as she placed the lid back on the tube and then placed it on the dresser that was on the side. "Okay, lets go" she said.

Daniel caught her arm and stopped her from taking another step forward. His touch was gentle, but firm compared to the first time he grabbed her by the arm when they first met. She looked down at his hand and he realised what he was doing. He took a step back and released her arm. "I told them I'd go alone," he said.

"Well it will be a surprise for them then," Mirabella said sarcastically with a small smile, and then she called out loudly. "We're going to check outside again!"

"Okay."

"Facci sapere se trovi qualcosa."

(let us know if you find anything)

••••

They drove to one of the hotels the Rodriguez family owned. The hotel was a tall skyscraper with many windows and palm trees. There was a fountain outside in the driveway that the cars used as a roundabout, there were a few steps made of stone that led to the clear glass doors. There were people walking around and some where waiting for their cars to be brought to them and others got out of their cars so they could be taken to the car park.

Mirabella and Daniel got out of the car and entered the hotel. The ceiling was so high that Mirabella began to wonder how they managed to hang the chandelier. The ceiling was made of glass and you could see the sky perfectly. The floor was made of grey and black marble stone and the colours were mixed together. There were leather black sofas and armchairs on the left with a black glass table, there was a reception desk with two girls working behind it and on the right were the elevators and the staircase.

Mirabella looked around with her hands on her hips as she tried to spot Vanessa and Alessio. "Unbelievable," She said. "They're not even here. They just love playing hide n' seek, don't they?"

Daniel's phone ran, and Mirabella walked towards him. She watched as he answered the phone and spoke. "Yes, we're here" he said. "But where are you?...okay, wait there."

Daniel tucked his phone in his blazer and then took Mirabella's hand in his.

They walked towards the elevators and on the right was a restaurant with leather armchairs and a bar. The restaurant hand only Alessio, Vanessa and three bartenders there. Mirabella pulled her hand free from Daniel's and marched inside the restaurant.

Alessio and Vanessa were sitting next to each other one of the sofas with their fingers intertwined. They appeared to be talking about something, but their conversation stopped and expressions changed from happy to scared. They both stood up and looked at Mirabella. "Mirabella, we can-"

Mirabella hit Vanessa on the arm and tugged on her hair. "Do you have any idea what you have done?" Mirabella hissed. "You know how worried you mum is? No one would look her in the eye because she terrified and threatened them. You lied and told everyone that you were going shopping when really you were going to meet someone."

Vanessa stood silently and stared at her hands. She was in so much trouble and she knew that what they have done was bad.

"It was my fault-"

Mirabella looked at Alessio with a sharp look. "And you!" She cut him off. "You. Are. In. So. Much. Trouble. As well," she said, as she hit him with every word on the arm. "Why didn't you knock on the door and ask her dad if you could take her out on a date? But instead you took her out without telling anyone. Alessio, are you dumb or does you brain shut down from time to time?"

Alessio looked at Mirabella with his mouth slight open. He didn't think she'd be so violent, but he was wrong. He looked at Daniel who stood behind his wife with his hands crossed over his chest while smiling. "Are you not going to stand up for me, cousin?" Alessio asked.

Daniel pretended to think and then shook his head. "No," said Mirabella. "He will not stand up for you. What you two have done was stupid and had all of us worried."

Alessio and Vanessa looked at each other and then they looked down on the floor. Mirabella watched them for a moment and felt bad for shouting and hitting them. She stepped to the side. "Lets go," she said, and Vanessa and Alessio walked out of the restaurant.

Daniel looked down at Mirabella as they followed Vanessa and Alessio. Mirabella began to wonder what she'd do if she had a daughter who done this. She wondered what her reaction would be. What would Daniel do. "Thank God she's not my daughter," Daniel heard her mutter.

"I'd ring the boy's parents, 'sorry for the loss of your son' and lock her up" Daniel said, and Mirabella laughed.

••••

Once they reached the villa they a got out of the car and entered through the front door. It was already dark outside and the sky was covered in stars that looked like diamonds. They walked towards the living room where everyone was sitting and looking worried.

"Romeo and Juliet are back," said Mirabella, as she went to sit down where the piano was.

Vanessa was tackled by hugs and questions from everyone in the room. They asked her why she ran off without saying a word and what could have happened to her if Alessio didn't show up. "You could have been kidnapped," said her mother. "Or killed— oh, mio Dio."

(Oh, my God)