"Hey guys, how was the Harry Potter marathon?" I ask when I walk out into the kitchen. Lucy, Miles, and Kai are all eating at the counter.

"It was good, but some parts were a little too scary for little Lola," Kai says, chuckling. "She buried her face in my chest half the time."

"I fell asleep halfway through the second movie," Lucy informs me.

"Yeah, why don't you tell mom, how you fell asleep," Miles prompts, and Lucy glares at him.

"What do you mean?" I ask as I serve myself some yogurt and sprinkle some granola on top.

"Miles is just giving Luce a hard time because she fell asleep on Marco," Kai answers before he picks up his bowl to drink the milk from his cereal bowl.

"Oh?" I look back at Lucy who's face is turning pink.

"It's not like I did it on purpose."

"Yeah, well. You could have fooled me," Miles states through a mouthful of cereal.

"We're friends, and why do you care?" Lucy questions. "You've done way more than that, and you don't see me pointing every little detail out the next day."

"I don't care, but he's clearly into you, and he's way older than you." Miles defends.

"He's sixteen," Lucy points out.

"He's turning seventeen in October," Kai speaks up. "We were talking about football, and that got us talking about his birthday."

"And I'll be sixteen in September, so a whole year older. That's no different than mom and JP." Lucy explains.

"This isn't about mom and JP." Miles states. "We're going to be living, together, like brothers and sisters with them. It's...weird. Plus, I'm like ninety percent sure he has a girlfriend."

Lucy's head snaps over to him, "He does?" She asks quietly.

"Well, I don't know for sure, but if you paid attention to any of the pictures in his room, he's around a bunch of girls. Marco's cool, but he kinda strikes me as a player. I would know, I mean, have you met Kai?" Miles comments; Kai throws a pillow from the couch at Miles's head.

The pillow hits his face because he sees the look on Lucy's face.

Miles tries to retract his words. "I could be wrong, though. All I'm saying, Lucy, is be careful."

I find myself remembering how JP felt when he realized he liked me, but we were raised like siblings, so it made him feel like what he was feeling for me was wrong.

"Listen, Lucy, if you and Marco decided to pursue something, there will have to be some boundaries," I tell her.

"No, there won't because nothing is going on, Mom. I'm going to go take a shower." Lucy says as she slides off the stool and heads to her room.

"I know he likes her, but he needs to figure out his shit first," Miles says quietly.

"If he has a girlfriend, then yes, you're right, he does. And Lucy knows you're just looking out for her." I squeeze his shoulder.

"Alright, let's do something; we haven't done anything since we went sightseeing," I tell them, and then I get an idea. "Oh, let's go to Coney Island!"

"Maybe we should bring the kids?" Kai says.

"Good idea," I tell him, but then realize I have to communicate with JP, and I know he's going to be less than cordial, especially after I slammed the door in his face this morning. "Let me just call JP and see if they're available."

I scroll through my phone, finding his contact, and hit the call button; I gnaw on my nail as it begins to ring, wondering how he's going to respond.

"What?"

"It's me."

"No, shit."

"So, I was wondering if I could take the kids to Coney Island?" I ask him.

"When?"

"Today. Right now, we'll head over to pick them up here soon."

"Fine," He hangs up. I mutter some color names for him under my breath.

"Who are you calling names?" Lucy asks as she ties off her hair damp hair in a braid.

"No one. We're going to pick up the kids and go to Coney Island, " I tell her.

My phone rings, and I see it's Sean.

"Hey, gorgeous. I wanted to see if you wanted to get together for lunch?" Sean asks after I greet him.

"Well, what about going to Coney Island with the kids and me, like all the kids?" I ask.

"Sure, sounds fun. When?"

"Right now, do you want me to come get you? Or do you want to meet us there?" I ask.

"I'm not that far from you, so I'll head back over." He tells me.

"Okay, see you soon."

"Sean's coming with us," I announce.

Twenty minutes later, we walk through the garage with Sean and take one of the larger SUVs. Sean drives while Nicky and another guard follow in a different car.

The kids do carpool karaoke, and I laugh when it's Sean's turn. He's a good sport and sings along even though he's completely tone-deaf.

When we pull up to the Villa, all the kids except Lola are waiting outside, including JP. His dark eyes seem to enflame when he sees Sean is with us.

Marco is the first to say goodbye to JP and walks towards us as we get out. He heads straight for Lucy, but she sandwiches herself between Miles and Kai casually, but I can tell Marco notices by the confused look he has as he greets her.

Lucy greets him in return politely and then pulls her phone out. I sigh internally, hoping this isn't going to be a problem.

I turn back and see Carmen is hugging Isabella then JP. I greet Isabella, and she kisses my face. Her eyes move to where Sean is, and I call out to him. He smiles as he reaches for my hand. "Mamma, this is Sean. Sean, this is my mom."

She smiles and pulls him down to kiss both sides of his face. "He's very handsome, Stellina mia." She tells me in Italian.

Lola walks out of the house happily and skips to hug JP but stops when she sees Sean.

"Who are you?" She questions, looking up at him.

"This is my friend, Sean," I tell her. Lola looks up at him, eyeing suspiciously, and then looks at our joined hands. Then, finally, she turns back to JP, "Can you come with us, John Paul?"

"No, not today, Lolabug. I'll see you for dinner, though, okay?" He bends down to talk to her.

"Is he your boyfriend, Stella?" Carmen asks me straightforwardly, looking at Sean now, too.

"Yes"

"But you're supposed to be with JP." She responds, and the awkwardness continues to build.

"You know we haven't been together for a long time now, Carmen," I tell her.

She frowns back at me and then purses her lips at Sean, assessing him. "It's nice to meet you, Carmen. I've heard a lot about you," Sean smiles and holds his hand out to her, and she hesitantly takes it.

"Stella doesn't talk about you," Lola pipes in, and I see JP's lips twitch to hide a smirk before he rubs his chin.

"Toby! Hey little braddah, you ready to go on a ride?" Kai steps in and helps alleviate the tension. Toby looks over at Kai and nods eagerly, and holds his arms out to him.

"Lunch tomorrow, mamma?"

Isabella smiles at me and nods, "Si non vedo l'ora." (Yes, I can't wait.)

JP informs me he needs to switch out guards then walks back into the house without saying anything else. Nicky looks at me and shrugs as he follows JP into the house.

<><><><>

The park is busy, but everyone gets a chance to pick a ride to go on. Marco keeps trying to engage Lucy in conversation throughout the outing. She's still polite and friendly but not her usual chatty self, and he clearly notices the difference in her.

I decide it will have to wait for later tonight after we drop the kids back at the Villa to talk to her; because every time I try to speak to Lucy, the little ones need or ask for something, and I get pulled away.

After we eat lunch, we explore more of the park and end up hanging out at the beach. Lucy, Kai, and Marco are walking along the shore.

Carmen, Lola, and Toby are helping Miles build a sandcastle with a mote and everything. I smile as I see how all the kids interact and play with each other.

Sean and I lay out on the sand and talk about some of our favorite memories of coming to Coney Island as kids before everything changed. We laugh as we also reminisce about our school days, and I wish Enzo were here with us.

I hear laughter and see Lucy and the girls, along with Toby, are now burying--well, more like covering Miles in the sand.

Kai and Marco are throwing a football around with some other kids they befriended on the beach.

"This was fun, Stels. Thanks for inviting me. They're all great kids. It's good to see they all get along really well," Sean says, looking over the kids.

"It was, and yes, they're great," I smile, "Hey, you are going to be in town for Annalisa's wedding, right?" I ask as he interlaces his hand with mine.

"Yes, I'll be back on Thursday," He tells me as he brushes sand away from my leg and moves in to kiss me; I lean into him and kiss him back softly.

"If this is what it's going to be like, then I think you and I will have a great time all the time," He smiles at me.

I chuckle, "Well, there's going to be rough days, too, you know?" I tell him as I brush back his hair from his face. "I'm no expert by any means, and I'm sure some kids are easier than others, but trust me, I know I had days where I wish I could unload everything I was thinking and feeling. That's why I'm glad JP is having them meet with therapists to help them cope with what's happened to Tobias and what Melanie is going through."

"But I think if you make it, so they know they don't always have to feel sadness or pain; they'll be more good days than bad," Sean comments.

"Well, you can't make pain or feelings of sadness go away, Sean. If I learned anything through what I've gone through, it's better to go through what you're feeling and learn how to manage it healthily. I pushed it away for a long time until it all came to a head, adding to everything else that happened when I was taken and it was not good. I almost didn't make it, and I don't want the same thing for these guys."

"Mom!" Miles shouts, and I pull away from Sean and see Miles is frantic.

"What is it?" I stand up quickly.

"Toby! He was here, and then he was gone!"

My heart drops to my stomach as I look around. I just saw him; where did he go?

I shout for Toby along with Miles.

"Let's not panic; I'm sure he's around here somewhere," Sean says calmly.

My heart is pounding as I scan the beach, and I wonder if he went towards the water as I watch the waves come up the shore and drag other beachgoers into the ocean, and I'm starting to panic fast as fear and dread start to set in; overwhelming me to the point, it becomes hard to breathe.

Kai and Marco run towards us, "What's happened?"

"We don't know where Toby is," I say, and my eyes burn with tears as I rush to some of the people around us, looking for him.

I hear the others begin to shout and ask other beachgoers if they've seen a small dark-haired little boy; describing Toby's outfit to them.

Lucy is trying to comfort Carmen and Lola, who are both scared and crying. I call the two guards over to us and ask them if they've seen Toby; they look at me alarmed and shake their heads. One of them gets on the phone immediately, and I know he's calling JP.

Sean, Miles, Marco, and Kai are all shouting for Toby throughout the beach. My hands find their way to my head, and I drag my fingers through my hair; how could I let this happen?

I run towards the pier running through the crowd of people, and freeze when I think I see him peering over the edge of the deck. 

I don't want to shout his name, afraid that will cause him to fall into the ocean. So instead, I make my way over to him quickly and grab hold of him.

"Toby!" I cry as I hold him. "I'm so happy you're safe! Please don't leave like that again."

"I look at fishies," He says happily, and I hug him close to me as the tears fall down my face.

I pick him up and head back to the rest of the kids. They all rush me and take turns hugging Toby. Carmen and Lola are red-faced from crying. Even Marco's eyes are red-rimmed as he holds his little brother. The two guards look relieved too, and one of their phones rings, and I hear him say he's found and safe in Italian.

After some time, the kids calm down but continue to hug Toby over and over again.

We decide to head back to the car and load up.

The drive back to the Villa is quiet. Realization of how terrible it could have ended hits me like a ton of bricks. Lola and Carmen are still sniffling, and the guilt that I was a part of a traumatic experience for their childhood is overwhelming.

As we pull up, JP is outside waiting, and even though he has his dark aviators on, I can see he's furious. Joey, Enzo, Santino, and Topo are all outside with him. Annalisa and Isabella walk out of the house when I step out of the car. I watch as Carmen and Lola run towards JP, holding on to him crying again.

Kai takes Tobin out of the car seat and holds him as he walks around the car to the front of the house. "Papa!" Toby calls out, and Kai sets him down.

Toby runs toward JP, and JP kneels to hug him before he picks him up. He hugs him tightly and talks to him quietly. He kisses Toby's head before he hands him off to Isabella, asking her to get the kids ready for dinner.

My mom gives me an empathetic look and smile before she takes Toby inside with Lola and Carmen.

Annalisa squeezes my arm before she calls the older kids over to her and leads them inside the house as well.

JP turns to face me as soon as the door closes, "What the fuck happened?"

"I...I don't know. Toby...he was there and...and then I heard Miles shouting, and Toby was gone."

"You don't know?" JP repeats slowly through his clenched jaw.

"You're supposed to keep an eye on them at all times!" He yells at me. "My guess is you were fucking distracted."

"She didn't do anything wrong," Sean starts to defend me, and JP sets his angry eyes on him.

"Stay out the hell out of this; this doesn't concern you!"

"Stella concerns me!" Sean yells back at JP. "Your own fucking guards who are paid to keep an eye on everyone didn't even see him walk away. This isn't her fault!"

"Stop it!" I yell to get both of their attention. "JP, Toby was playing with the girls and Miles, I looked away for a minute; it just happened so fast. I don't even know how he made it to the pier so quickly."

"The pier?" JP questions in disbelief and grabs me by the arms. "Do you realize what could have happened?" Shaking me as he shouts.

Sean grabs JP's hands, pulling them off me before he shoves JP away from me. I hear several guns unholster; I stand in front of Sean when several of JP's men aim their weapons towards Sean.

They lower their aim when I don't move.

"I've had them for almost four years and have never lost track of them! Not once! You have them for less than a fucking day and look at what happened!" JP yells at me, and I wish I could stop the damn tears from escaping.

"That's enough, John Paul," Enzo comes next to him, "It's obvious she's upset; you don't need to make her feel worse."

"You're never taking them out again," He looks back at me with fire in his eyes.

"You can't keep me from taking them out when I want, JP." I return his glare.

"We'll see about that," He storms back into the house. 

~~~~~~~~~

*** I have a love/hate relationship with angry JP hahaha!