~Amira Levi Mazzanti~

I woke up in my room, cuddled into the blanket. I frowned taking in the empty right side of the bed, before it hit.

She must be in the theatre room.

Swinging my feet down, I slipped on the slippers and put my messy hair in a bun.

I yawned while walking downstairs. The house was completely silent, save for my footsteps.

Pushing the door open, I looked around sleepily, only to find six pairs of eyes looking back at me.

"You're up too soon," Lucian stated, checking the time on his phone. I nodded and looked at the screen.

"Snow White?" I asked, looking around to find who the fuck had the remote. It was Jayden. Of course.

"Rose wouldn't tell me what she wants to watch," Jayden started.

"So he put this on," Rose completed.

I scoffed.

"She likes beauty and the beast more. Or Moana."

"Oh? She was telling us she didn't like such childish movies." Damien smirked at a flustered looking Rose.

"You didn't have to expose me like that,," Rose mumbled, slumping down and hiding her face in her hands.

I held back a smile.

"Sorry," I muttered, before moving towards her. I settled beside her, which was between her and Asher actually.

Pushing my arm under her shoulders, I pulled her to me and cuddled her close for a moment.

"Are you okay?" She asked. I nodded and we stayed like that while looking at the screen.

"You know what? Let's watch Monster's Inc." Damien said, snatching the remote from Jayden.

"Wow. Why didn't I think of that?" Jayden smirked at Rose.

"Because you're a dumb-" A throat cleared interrupting what Damien was saying. "Butt," he completed, looking at Lucian to see if he was in trouble.

Lucian just looked back at the screen, causing Damien to let out a sigh of relief.

I yawned, the right side of my face pressed against Rose's head, while my arms were wrapped around her tightly.

I opened my mouth when Rose pushed some popcorn towards me. Chewing slowly, I watched the movie, while Jayden and Damien kept annoying Rose.

Rose being Rose was not getting annoyed. Instead she just pouted in return.

I would've slammed their heads on the wall till now. She's got a shit ton of patience.

"Dude!" I said, when Jayden brought up that topic again. Sully just got scared from the little girl and she just said 'Boo!'

"Yes?" He asked, ceasing the laughter, which was actually a howl.

"Shut up." I threw a cushion at him.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, throwing one in return.

Oh. He wants to play that game.

I watched as he stood up, ready to fight. Releasing my hold on Rose and pulling my arms away, I stood up. Gathering my shirt sleeve near my elbow, I stalked towards him.

Without waiting for a moment, he picked me up from my waist, as soon as I reached him and slammed me down on the soft mattress. I blinked when one second I was standing and the next I was engulfed in the soft heaven. Jayden was bent over and looking at me, while laughing.

I kicked him in his stomach, making him double over. Taking advantage of his weakness, I rolled over, stood up and pushed him, so he fell down and laid on his back.

Straddling his stomach I picked up a cushion and began hitting his face with it, while he tried to get away.

"Loser!" I yelled, when he couldn't escape the hits. The smirk on his face made me think of running away quickly.

That's what I did.

Holding the pillow against his face, I stood up quickly and got away.

Two steps later, I was caught with arms around my stomach, picking me up off the ground. Not again.

He didn't throw me down this time, instead his fingers found the sides of my stomach, throwing me into a laughing fit.

"This is not fair," I said, between laughs, trying to squirm away, but he held me tight while torturing me with tickles.

"Oh yeah? How was it fair for you to kick me then attack with a weapon?" He exaggerated. "I'm the best brother you could ask for, yet you tried to kill me? So ungrateful!"

"Don't get so ahead of yourself," I scoffed, which came out as a mixture of a gasp and a giggle. Weird.

"My stomach hurts!" I whined, causing him to chuckle.

But the next second, he was thrown back with an exaggerated oof. An arm wrapped around my shoulder and a hand pushed my head onto a chest. I breathed heavily still laughing a little and glanced up.

"You hurt her," Josiah said, narrowing his eyes at his twin.

"No, I didn't." Jayden scoffed and settled down again, as Josiah led me back to sit down.

Rose's face was red from laughing so much. She giggled when Jayden threw the cushion at my face again. Josiah glared at him. He was sitting on Rose's other side.

I gritted my teeth and attempted to stand up, but someone grabbed my arm and pulled me back down. That someone was on my other side.

"That's enough, Jayden," Asher reprimanded, to which Jayden mumbled, 'no fun!'

"You wanna repeat that?" Asher asked. I looked up to see an eyebrow raised and a challenging look on his face.

"No," Jayden said, sarcastically. He flashed a sweet smile, before turning to the movie.

Asher kept me tucked into his side, while stroking my hair, chuckling a little when something cute or funny happened in the movie.

I yawned and rubbed my eyes to get the sleep out. I can't sleep through this movie marathon.

Asher moved me so my head rested on his chest with my ear against it. I tried to get away, but he clicked his tongue and kept me there.

I sighed and almost pouted when his heartbeat rang inside my head. Comforting and melodious.

That comfort made me close my eyes against my own will and focus on the calming rhythm.

My head lolled downward, since he was half sitting, earning me a chuckle from him. With one arm under my knees, he pulled me onto his lap and adjusted me so my weight was completely supported by him.

I whined.

"You always embarrass me," I mumbled, hiding my face in his chest when I heard someone saying a long aww at the scene. Jayden is asking for it constantly.

Asher chuckled again.

"This is a brother's love, sweetheart," he said, placing a small kiss on my head.

This time I pouted, but it went unnoticed because my face was hidden.

I took in a deep breath, feeling the sense of comfort and relief spread through my chest.

"You've heard of Rapunzel, right?" Dad asked, looking down at us. Rose and I nodded into his chest, already sleepy and he had just settled down between us.

"So in this story there were two princesses. The Royal twins..." He went on, changing Rapunzel's story and replacing her with two princesses.

"Once their long long hair got braided together." I looked up to give him a deadpanned look. If he turns this into a comedy now.

Rose, however, giggled at that. So, he continued with the new found comedy story.

"Then there were two thieves. The thief twins. Just when they tried to rescue the princesses from their evil mother, their father arrived. That was the king, King Elijah Verlice of the kingdom of hugs, kisses and cuddles. And he said, 'do you think you're worthy enough to have a chance with my daughters?' " He made his voice heavy at the end and laughed like santa.

"Then he fought the evil witch, who kept his daughters hidden away and scared the two boys away. He took the two angels back to the castle and they lived happily ever after," he said, ending the story.

"Why are you so set on messing with every princess story, Elijah?" Mom said, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

That's the last thing I heard before I drifted off.

I woke up to someone shaking me gently. I could hear the heartbeat and snuggled closer, not wanting to wake up. I didn't want to be away from Dad again. I wanted to be in his arms and never leave his embrace.

"Dinner is ready, sweetheart." I heard his voice, still trying to wake me up.

An image of his face formed in my mind, which caused a smile to appear on my face. He shouldn't be interrupting our cuddle time though.

"Dinner can wait, Dad." I muttered, holding onto him tighter. He feels so warm and safe.

Silence followed my response.

This is so unlike him. Dad would've attacked with kisses and tickles. He's not going away, is he?

I tightened my hold. But I can feel him. He's here.

"I love you, little heart."

The voice echoed in my mind. I snuggled closer and took a deep breath, inhaling his scent.

Then my senses hit me like a slap. My slow brain recognised the cologne and immediately everything felt like it was coming crashing down.

He felt so real. So close.

I opened my eyes, only to see Lucian looking at me, with a frown, looking deep in thought.

I took in a deep shaky breath to keep the tears inside.

Pushing myself up weakly, I stood up, avoiding anyone's eyes, that were currently staring at me. Embarrassing.

I rushed out of there, biting my cheek and clenching my hands into fists to keep a hang of my emotions.

Fuck this disorder.

As soon as the door to my room shut, I ran to the bathroom. Locking the door, I slid down against it, sitting on the floor with my legs extended before me.

I looked at my shaky hands for a moment before putting them on my chest.

'And if I'm not around and you need me, I'm right here. Feel your heartbeat. Our hearts are connected and you can feel me in your heart.'

I closed my eyes, causing the gathered tears to fall down my cheeks.

'We would be so happy. I will walk you down the aisle and there will be a prince waiting for you at the other end, who will first have to go through the wrath of King Elijah Verlice for taking his daughter away. But he will prove himself worthy and will keep you happy forever, even when I'm no longer there to ensure your happiness.'

He didn't choose a prince.

'Rosie Posie better not choose a butterfly for marriage. King Elijah Verlice will question the butterfly too as to why it even got attracted by MY Rosie Posie.'

I tilted my head back against the door and let the tears fall, sniffling a bit.

"Bunny?" Someone said, from the other side of the door, startling me.

"Hm?" I asked, not trusting myself to speak right now.

"Can you open the door please?" Josiah said, softly.

"I don't want to," I replied, quietly. I wanted to be alone.

"Can we talk like this then?" He asked, as I felt a little thump on the door. He sat down on the other side with his back against the door.

"There's nothing to talk about," I mumbled.

"I know there is. Do you need me to call Asher instead?" He asked, gently.

"I don't have anything to talk about," I said, wiping the tears away.

He sighed.

"Was it a dream?" He asked.

"I don't know what it was. But it felt so real," I said, my voice cracking at the end. My throat closed due to the emotions returning.

"What was it?" He pushed, keeping his voice calm and gentle and trying not to show the sadness. But I felt it.

"Just him telling a story to make me and Rose sleep," I muttered.

"Oh? What story was it?" He asked, curiously.

"Improvised version of Rapunzel where there were two twin princesses and two thieves and he was scaring boys away and rescuing the princesses," I said, with a sniffle after two or three words. He chuckled lightly.

"He was a great father," He said, quietly.

"You haven't even met him," I commented.

"But I know enough from what you're showing," He said, sadly. "I'm sorry you had to part so soon. I'm grateful for how he has treated you and Rose."

I stayed silent at that. I don't think I can ever get over the loss. I don't think I'll ever come to terms with the fact that he's gone and never coming back. He helped us cope with Mom's death. He showed us ways we could get over her death. He guided us through it.

But there was no one to guide us through the times we faced after he left. There was no one to comfort me. Instead, I forced my emotions down and focused on helping my twin through it. At least, one of us isn't fucked up, thanks to that.

"Bunny?" Josiah called out, when I stayed silent for too long.

"Yeah?" My shaky voice said.

"Unlock the door, please," he said, after a moment. "I'm worried. I can't leave you alone."

I sniffled and moved away from the door, hearing him stand up too. I opened the door, looking down at the floor, with my red teary eyes.

Josiah stepped forward and bent down to my level.

"Can I hug you?"

I looked at him, smiling sadly, before I nodded slowly.

He stood straighter again and took one step forward. Picking me up into his arms, he wrapped me in a tight warm hug, before he started moving.

He sat down on the bed, keeping my head tucked into his chest.

"He might not be physically present here." His voice was so soft that it blended with the comforting silence. "But he is blessing you and giving you the strength to fight through this. You've got five brothers now. All of them are ready to give their lives for you. Maybe God knows that he owes you your happiness. Maybe Dad and Mom requested God to bring us back together."

"You're calling my dad 'Dad'," I mumbled, looking up at him.

"Well, he was our stepfather too. And he's already earned that title. He did so much for us, more than our own father ever did," he said, still keeping his voice soft.

"What did he do for you?" I questioned, fiddling with the collar of his Tee.

"He took care of you and Rose. He kept you happy for so many years." Josiah kissed my head.

"Thank you," I said, softly.

"For what?" He asked, in the same tone.

"For forcing us to live here," I said, wiping the tear away. He let out a chuckle and kissed my head.

"Let's go have dinner now," he said softly, picking me up. Before I could protest, I saw he was heading to the bathroom instead.

He made me sit on the counter and bent down to get something out of the drawers under the sink.

He got a washcloth out and ran the water over it.

He had a soft smile on his face as I let him wipe my face with it.

"We love you, Bunny. All of us do. You can fight this disorder and I'm sure you will," he said, kissing my cheek after he had dried my face. My arms moved on their own and wrapped themselves around his shoulders, hugging him tight.

He rubbed his hand on my back, before picking me up off the counter.

"Can I walk?" I asked. My face was buried into his neck as I mumbled that.

"Of course. I'll put you down once we reach the kitchen," Josiah said, kissing my cheek again.

I nodded and took in a deep breath.

'You smell like love my little hearts. Big heart smells like home.'

Dad smelled like everything I could ask for. Comfort, affection, home, love, safety. Mom smelled like a mixture of love and comfort. Funny how I was closer to my Dad than I was to my Mom.

My thoughts were cut short when Josiah put me down and smiled.

"Although I feel cold now, but your hugs are really good. Warm and Loving," he said, ruffling my hair.

"Yours too," I muttered, shying away instantly.

He chuckled quietly and opened the kitchen door for me. I entered first, feeling everyone's eyes on me.

Lucian cleared his throat, causing everyone to look away.

A hand on my back led me towards the table. I sat between Jayden and Asher, while Josiah took his usual seat beside Rose.

I looked down at the table, not making eye contact with anyone.

"Are you okay, Bunny?" Lucian asked. There was something different in his voice and tone. Something I've never heard from him before. But I don't know what that is.

"Yes." I mumbled, glancing at him.

The glance took longer to return back to the table. I couldn't take my eyes off his, when I saw the worry swirling there, clear as water.