Isabella.
I thought I knew Alex but I was wrong. After the strange look he gave me earlier this morning, Alex decided to shut down completely and even Rena noticed. I met Alex's sisters; Sophia, Julia and Kia who are triplets and they told me that Alex's behavior was completely normal.
"We should go out" Julia suggested.
Sofia shook her head, her blue hair following the small movement. "I don't feel like it" She said.
"Come on Sophia, we should go out we can't just stay in all day" kia said.
I smiled at Sofia softly. "They're right, besides Rena and I could use some bonding time like this." I said. I didn't want to force her to come along but at the same time I didn't want her to feel left out while we're away.
"Rena adores you Isa" Kia said.
Sofia pushed her glasses up a bit. "I'll go for yours and Rena's sake" She said.
Rena screamed. "Mommy!" I whipped my head around to see her running towards us with a paper in her hand.
"What is it Rena?" I asked, sitting her on my lap while I braided her messy hair.
She turned to face me was the the paper. "I made a drawing of you, daddy and me!" She grinned at me. I took the paper work and smiled at Rena, my heart wrenching for her when I realized that she's lived without a mother for four years.
"It's lovely Rena, I love it" I said and kissed her forehead.
"As a gift, we're going out now so how about we go find a dress for you to wear?" I asked. Rena squealed which I took as a yes and I left the girls with Rena to get ready.
Maybe suggesting to play dress up with Rena wasn't such a good idea. We spent an entire hour on finding the perfect dress and that too with a lot of convincing.
"I change my mind, I want that one" She said, pointing to one I'd earlier suggested. I shook my head and picked up the dress and put it on her.
"You were right mommy, it does go with my hair" she beamed and twirled around happily.
"That's enough Rena or you'll get dizzy" I said. She stopped and put on her shoes and I was able to get her downstairs before she changed her mind about anything.
"Basin!" Rena shouted, running to one of the soldiers I've seen around Alex. The man scowled playfully and crouched down. "For the millionth time Rena, it's Grayson" He said with a smile some what.
Rena shook her head. "Same thing" she said.
"No it isn't. Basin and Grayson don't sound alike. Say Gray-son" he said slowly.
"Bray-sin"
Grayson sighed. "You're doing this on purpose aren't you?" He questioned.
Rena shook her head. "I'm not. Scout's honor. Maybe your name is just faulty" She shrugged. I burst out laughing, grabbing Rena's and Grayson's attention.
"Good afternoon Mrs. De Luca" Grayson said as he stood straight, the playfulness in his voice gone.
"Please call me Isa. Mrs. De Luca sounds too formal" I said. Kia and her sisters came down just in time as we headed to the parking lot with Grayson and three other soldiers following after us. Rena and Sofia and I sat together, while Kia and Julia stayed together with two soldiers on each of the cars.
"Alex never listens to us. We don't need bodyguards"Sofia said.
"There are a lot of people that hate your brother and they'd be more than happy if they found a potential weakness to him." Grayson said.
Sofia huffed and muttered, "Bullshit"
Grayson was right but I kept mouth shut. One thing I've learned about Sofia is that despite her meek nature, she could also go off like a time bomb. We stopped in front of Rock Creek park, Rena's favourite according to Julia and just the look on her face told me Julia was right.
The girls and I took a table for ourselves, Grayson and his buddies just a few metres away from us with their table watching us closely.
"They're going to create a scene" Sofia muttered, hiding her head.
"What's really going on?" I asked. She's been complaining about Grayson and his men for a disturbing while now.
Kia nudged Sophia with a grin. "She doesn't like him"
"Why, he's just doing his job" I said.
Julia interjected. "Grayson just started working for Alex two years ago and he's basically the highest ranking soldier now which was the position of her former bodyguard that died." Julia explained.
"I mean he's not that good and Alex just gave the title to him like it was pancakes. It's no fair that he gets it so easily." Sophia said.
"I love Basin!" Rena added.
Sofia rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you do"
"You're no fun" Rena said, sticking out her tongue at Sophia.
"I'm going for a walk" Sophia announced and left the table before I could stop her.
Kia sighed. "She thinks it's her fault that he died"
"It's not her fault" I said.
Julia shook her head. "Sofia can be trouble sometimes. Two men have died while watching her." She explained.
"And Grayson's about to be the third" Kia murmured just as he walked past our table and followed after Sofia.
I shrugged. "Maybe she just wants a little bit of freedom" We ended our discussion and ordered some food for ourselves and a drink for Sofia when she returns. It'd been barely ten minutes when Grayson returned with a screaming Sofia over his shoulder like a potato sack, causing multiple heads to turn in our direction as Grayson stopped at our table and dropped Sofia in her seat and in return she grabbed the drink Kia had gotten her and dropped its content on Grayson.
Rena and I shared a glance with a quiet laugh.
"Sit the fuck down." Grayson said when she tried to stand up. I picked Rena up and left the house able with her before things could get more ugly.
"We should do that to daddy too!" Rena squealed.
I chuckled. "I don't think that's a great idea" I said, propping her on my hip. We took a stop at every places Rena loved and by the time we returned, it was starting to get late and Sofia was nowhere to be seen.
"She's in the car" Kia explained. We paid for our food and got back in the car, this time Julia Sat with me and I guess Sofia didn't want to lash out on Rena that's why switched cars or probably because Grayson's the one driving.
Unfortunately, Alex was not happy that we'd gone out which only infuriated Sofia the more.
"Why don't you lock is up and stop the damn lecture." She said.
"You keep complaining when I'm trying to you keep you safe from danger" Alex said, still surprisingly calm.
"You shouldn't have let them go out" Alex said to me.
Kia stepped in. "Don't blame her for our mistakes and it's not like she'd be able to stop us if she tried"
"She's not our mom either" Julia added.
"Go to your rooms" Alex said.
"Running from the truth won't help. You can't keep us locked in here forever" Kia said. Alex ignored their complaints and walked away, the girls reluctantly retiring to their rooms.
"Mommy?" Rena whispered, tugging at my leg. I crouched down and tried to lighten up her already spoiled mood.
"Can I tell you something?" She asked. I nodded and shifted closer to her so she could talk.
"I'm so glad you're here Mommy" She whispered and threw her arms around me, burying her head in my shoulder to silence her cries.
'I'm so glad you're here'
"Promise you'll never leave me again?" Rena asked, hugging me tighter.
I closed my eyes, unsure about what to do.
I sighed and pulled her close. "I promise"
Rena finally whispered, "I love you, Mommy"
Shit.
I didn't answer, instead I just held my daughter and promised myself that I'll never let Alex or anyone else have an effect on her.