"Mom! We're home", Alex shouted from the door.
Little Stacy let go of her hand and run into the house. She found her grandparents sitting together on the sofa with Stella's wheelchair beside them. Richard opened his arms wide for the little one. She jumped onto his lap and he pecked the top of her head. Stacy had been told about her grandma's injury so she was careful with the way she conducted herself in front of her.
"Good evening grandpa, good evening grabdma", she spoke with a bright smile.
"Good girl. How are you doing today?" He asked with a gentle gaze at the little one while Stella patted her cheeks gently.
"I'm fine! Grandpa, mommy took me to Ariel's for a play date."
"Is that your play partner at school?" He was genuinely confused.
"Nooo! That's Annie! Grandpa, how could you forget?" She whined.
"Dad, Ariel is our neighbor's kid", Alex said as she moved to peck his cheek before doing the same to her mother.
Bam!
Alex was startled by her sister's actions as she sat down. She had just slammed expensive tupperware onto the table and walked off glaring at Stella. The older woman sighed when she saw this.
"The dishes did nothing to you!" Alex shouted after Nora before looking at her parents. "What's wrong with her?"
"She's been grumbling something about ruining her love life. Ignore her", Richard said before directing his gaze to the TV.
"When will she ever stop?" Alex shook her head.
"You think she would? She's your mother's daughter. Only if Stella does something about it, then she'll continue like that. Just ignore her", Richard responded with a nonchalant attitude. He could not let himself be bothered by Nora's antics. And if Stella was doing nothing about it, who was he?
"Grandma, where's Aunt Emily?" Stacy looked around for the young woman.
"That's right. Is she running late? I thought I'd find her here already", Alex mused. "I heard her husband is in town. Nora hasn't stopped gushing about it."
Richard looked at Stella in curiosity. He hadn't heard much about the young woman today. He could sense Stella's uneasiness but he didn't want to think too much about it. He would hate for anything to happen to Amy.
Stella ignored their curious gazes as she shook her head in disbelief. Typical of her youngest. She really fell for the both of them. She looked at the time and sighed. It was a little after seven in the evening.
"How about Ian? Have you heard from him?" Stella changed the subject.
"He should be- Oh!" Alex turned to the sound of the door opening to reveal Ian walking in. "Speak of the devil."
He moved to greet his mom and grandparents and ruffled his sister's hair. Nora came back and finish setting the table. She threw herself on the seat next to Ian's. His brows shot up at her behavior.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"You'll find out real soon", she grumbled as she crossed her arms against her chest.
Alex picked up on the conversation and looked at her parents. What was going on?
"I was hoping we would eat first", Stella said barely suppressing her uneasiness.
"Stella, what's going on? Did something happen?" Richard could not help his curiosity.
"Is Emily not coming?" Ian asked. As much as he hated the idea, he forced himself to come over and face the couple. What's a family gathering without Amy and now her husband too? He had to get over it eventually as he figured he would be seeing them quite often.
Stella sighed as she clasped her hands in her laps. "Nora, take Stacy to your room."
As much as Nora was throwing a tantrum because of her apparent heartbreak, she felt sorry for her mother. Seeing her like this, it hurt her much more than herself. Amy meant a lot to them indeed. So she obeyed and took Stacy away.
Stella let out a shaky breath before willing courage to break the news to them. Their faces fell as she recounted the previous happenings. She expected the disappointment and her husband's heartbreak as she sobbed whilst talking but what she didn't expect was for Ian to run out of the house.
"Ian!" Alex anxiously run after her son. She was alarmed by his reaction to the news.
"I thought we had left the past were it belonged?" Richard quietly asked his wife referring to her being a former member of the Night Wolves.
"And it caught up to me. We lost a daughter because of it", Stella sighed as she wiped away her tears.
Richard let out a tired sigh. His heart broke at the sight of his crying wife. He was upset that he didn't see Amy before she left, but he also understood how dire the situation is. Seeing his wife like this, he could not stay mad at her. He pulled her into his arms where she softly sobbed. They had both lost her. He didn't know when he'd see the young woman again but he hoped they day would come. He believed so....
Ian went across to Amy's house. He kicked the door open and run around searching for her in every room he could go into. The furniture was there, everything she bought except for the pot of cactus and her luggage. They were gone. She was gone. Amy was really gone.
He was spun around and pulled into an embrace. Alex was scared after seeing him like this. It seemed they had all grown fond of Amy. But wasn't her son's reaction a bit extreme..... She decided not to think about that and just comforted him as he cried in her arms.
Meanwhile, Amy was fast asleep in Zach's arms at the back seat of one of his cars. She was bundled up in a fleece blanket to keep her warm on their long journey. He sighed in relief. She had been crying for a while and he had finally put her to sleep with his soothing words. Fate had separated her from people she had grown fond of to the point of becoming family. Zach patted her head at this painful thought.
While this was an undeniable fact, a new life awaited them. Them: a family of three.... He glanced at his pregnant wife. Despite the circumstances, a thought surged warm yet complex emotions within him, finally, he was bringing her home.....
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