seven souls seven sins - Chapter 64: Chapter 64

Xavier's pov:
"Cmon go already!" Xander yeets me towards Nat. I stumble towards her as she peacefully reads her book on a tanning chair by our pool. I rip the book out of her hands as the warm August sun shines down from above. "Hey! I wasn't done with that." She fails to grab it from my hold as I dangle it above her.
One of the pages flick in front of me and reveals a very inappropriate scene.
"Why is he taking an important call during sex?" I hold the book in my shaky hands. Nat grabs it back, red as a tomato. "You don't know Alex Volkov, like I know Alex Volkov." She shoves it to the side, failing to realise that Xander, Chase and Adrien are behind the chair, waiting to pounce.
"Anyways, I was in the middle of a scene." She returns back to her same posture and picks up her smutty book, ready to read again.
"Not so fast." I smirk as our brothers hastily pick up her chair and scurry towards the pool. She shrieks in fear and tosses her book to the side, saving it from being water damaged. She screams, yelling at us to stop. On the count of three, we shove her into the pool and she goes flying into the air.
Once she splashes into the water we all burst out laughing at the prank we pulled off.
She ascends to the surface and blows water at us, causing us to pause our chuckles. We all step closer towards the pool, admiring her drenched facade. A mischievous smile appears on her face and I immediately know what's going on, backing away. She treads towards the pool wall and looks up to us. "Can someone help me out of here? It's freezing." She fakes shivers.
Adrien instantly rushes to her aid, that idiot.
Tash grabs a hold of his hand and yanks him into the pool. He makes a big splash and gets water all over the rest of us. Only Nat's giggles consume the atmosphere. She clutches her stomach due to all the laughing. I spot Vincent and Leo emerging from inside, taking a peek of what's going on.
Adrien's head pops out and he shakes off the water from his hair, immediately rushing to plunge Nat straight after.
"I ain't gonna miss out on this shit." Xander curses and cannonballs into the pool. "Me too." Chase dives straight into the middle. I watch in amusement as they all play fight with each other. Nat's eye catches mine and I immediately back away. She leaps out of the water and walks directly towards me.
"Where do you think you're going hm?" She targets me with a sly smirk and tries to drag me towards the pool but I don't budge.
Instead, I pick her feather-like body up over my back and jump into the pool with her. She screams in excitement as we plunge in together. H20 floods my senses as I quickly enter the pool. As I emerge from the water, I spot Vincent and Leo trying to hold back a laugh. Key word, trying.
It's vacation, they should be enjoying themselves instead of working to death.
It's been a whole month of vacation already anyways. We go back to school next month and it feels as if summer just started. It goes how they say, time flies by when you're having fun. Nat splashes Xander and he rugby-tackles her in the water. They're both fighting like siblings, I knew that he would regrow a soft spot for her again.
They always shared a similar spark growing up, it just took a while to reignite it.
"Oi! Let's play chicken." Adrien calls out and everyone begins to beg Nat to be their partner. She eventually chooses Xander and she gets on his shoulders. They've gotten quite close during this holiday. All it took was a little bit of time together for them to rekindle their lost love.
"Xander you're shaking me!" She shrieks as he pretends to drop her.
I get on Adrien's shoulders and Leo jumps in the pool to get on Chase's back. "Vincent, you better be a fair ref!" I shout at him as he watches from afar. "Carry on!" He lingers beside the pool with his work laptop open by his side. We all barge into each other, Nat and Xander, and us teaming up on Chase and Leo. We both shout in joy as we successfully push them off.
And then there were two.
"You're on." I slyly eye them. Adrien and Xander begins galloping towards each other whilst Nat and I are ready to duel. I have my arms ready and try to fling her off of Xander's shoulders but she manages to kick Adrien in the chest and we go flying back. Chlorine infiltrates my nostrils as I hit the aquatic water.
Darn it, we lost for the third time this week.
Natasha's pov:
"And this for the lovely girl." The waiter serves me my lunch which consists of pasta and a side of salad. "Thank you." I respond as she walks away. We all begin to eat at this scenic rooftop restaurant that overlooks the rocky cliffs of the Amalfi coast. Italy has been a fever dream so far.
I've loved every second of it.
My daily schedule usually consists of breakfast, pool, lunch, beach, dinner, activity and then bed. Now I understand why everyone hypes up summer so much. When you're with the right people, you don't want it to end. My life has genuinely improved since I got on that plane.
I'm much happier too.
I discovered a love for reading books and even snorkelling. I've gotten to know my biological brothers more and it turns out that they're actually pretty fun to hang around with. I take bites of my pasta, savouring every last drop. My diet intake has gotten much better too.
I'm eating like a normal person now.
"So what beach are we going to this time?" I ask and take gulps of my peach ice tea. "Spiaggia Cavallo Morto, a few minutes walk away." Adrien answers and wipes his mouth with a napkin. "Sounds good." I excitedly respond and finish my food. "You all go first, I'll pay and catch up." Vincent assures us as we leave.
Of course he has to be a gentleman even when on vacation.
"See you soon Princess." He leans in to give me a kiss on my head. "Let's go kiddo." Chase ruffles my hair and guides me down the steps, walking alongside me as we reach the beach. As I turn the brick corner, 4 jet skis appear into view. "NO WAY!" I jump up and down and immediately hug Chase.
"The best that money can buy." He smirks at the water vehicles.
I strip off my clothes, revealing a cute pink bikini underneath. As the rest of my bio brothers get changed, I spot Vincent walking along the grains of sand. "Missed me?" He steps up to me and I jump into his arms. "Can u share a jet ski with me?" I plead and even bring out my infamous puppy dog eyes.
"How can I say no to you?" Vincent cups my face.
I squeal in happiness and we both rush over towards the shiny jet ski. "Oi, don't forget your life jacket Tash!" Xavier tosses me a safety vest and I strap it on. Vincent hops in first and I go behind him, clinging onto his torso. "You ready Princess?" He tests the handles.
"It's now or never." I shout and he takes off into the horizon, everyone else trailing behind us.
As the sun shines down on the crystal water, the jet ski dashes through the ripples. The farther we get, the waves get harsher. I tighten my grasp around Vincent, scared to let go. He notices and slows down around the bay. The rest of my biological brothers catch up and Xander shouts across the water.
"Let's do a race! The first one to the orange buoy over there!" He challenges all of us.
We all begin to line up. The pairs are Vincent and I, Adrien and Xavier, Chase and Leo and Xander all on his own. "On your marks.." Vincent starts. "Get steady.." Adrien continues. "Go!" I shout and we all go zooming towards the target. The wind catches as my hair flies back.
I scream in enjoyment, having the time of my life.
As everyone draws near, Adrien and Xavier begin to cut infront of Chase and Leo. Xander manages to bump us but Vincent quickens the pace, leaving Xander trailing our tail. Xander goes after Xavier and Adrien, causing them to fall behind. It's just us and Xander remaining, with everything at stake.
That was a blatant lie, nothing was at stake except bragging rights later on.
We speed up taking the lead and I peer over towards Xander, who has his eyes on the prize. Then a brilliant idea hits me. "Slow down and match the same speed as Xander!" I yell, hoping Vincent can hear me over the engine. "What? Why?" He asks and nears closer towards Xander, who's only 50 metres away from winning.
"Just trust me!" I shout and Vincent follows my command.
As he leans in, I wobbly manage to stand up. I shuffle my legs onto the seat and I pounce onto Xander. He automatically looses control of the water vehicle and flies off with me attached into the aqua water. We both emerge from the depths of the deep blue bay and he immediately turns to face me.
"That's cheating!" He splashes water on me in annoyance.
"That's payback from earlier at the pool." I stick my tongue out. He smiles at the memory and it's my turn to splash water onto him. He laughs and dives underwater. I tread lightly, trying to figure out what he's doing. Not long after, I feel something strange grab my legs and I shriek out in fear.
As the seconds pass, Xander flicks me over his shoulder and swims with me all the way back to his original jet ski.
Vincent comes over and raises his voice. "Princess! That was utterly dangerous!" He scolds as a smirk appears into my face. "It was so worth it. We won after all." I cheer in celebration. "Let's get back to the beach, I want a rematch!" Xander demands and speeds off back to the sand.
See what I said? Summer holidays is like another version of heaven.
And I've reacted better to people raising their voice at me. Before, I always used to either flinch or quiver due to Mother and His harsh words, but now I've accepted it with grace. I've come to terms that Vincent only does that because he cares for me, as he's stated like a hundred times before, his number one priority is my safety and that's why he freaks out over little things like this.
He's scared for me, which means he loves me.
Time Passes:
"Shhh, we're getting to the best part." I quiet Chase down, who was only trying to eat his popcorn. I snuggle closer into Xander's side as we all watch Moana on the television. We're on the scene when she's about to meet Tamatoa, my favourite crustacean character. I rest my legs on Adrien's lap, with a fluffy blanket covering my legs. Today was so fun, but so tiring at the same time.
It felt so good to relax and spend time with my brothers after a long day.
I pause for a moment, wondering what I just thought. I felt so good to relax and spend time with my brothers after a long day.
Spend time with my brothers. My brothers. Woah. I referred to my biological brothers as my brothers. I sit there, looking at each and every one of them.
We all sit together in silence, but with everyone here, it feels warmly peaceful.
I feel at home when I'm with them. They've been patient with me, taken care of me, and took me on this amazing holiday. I couldn't ask for anything more. Back in London, I absolutely detested summer. I had no school so staying at home and taking care of Mother was a given.
This time it was different.
These past 6 months have been different. My whole life has been flipped upside down. I moved to a whole new continent, moved in with a couple of strangers and completely changed the way I ran my mafia. If I'm being honest, I wouldn't change a single thing. I feel at home now, I feel at home with them.
I feel at home with my brothers.