𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 • 𝐈 || ❝𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰...❞

>𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

𝐋 𝐔 𝐍 𝐀 • 𝐆 𝐎 𝐌 𝐄 𝐙

Everything was dark. Cold and unbearable. I looked around and listened to the voice that echoed through the spacious environment. Did I know where I was? Of course not. This was the same as every night.

I looked to my left and found her looking to the floor in front of a masked man with a large smile smeared across his face. Her eyes become watery and the tears soon fall down to her rosey cheeks. I look at the man again and horror fills my body.

'Let her go!' I exclaim in anger, but it was too late...

'Mamma!' She screamed.

"Mamma." My eyes open widely and I look to my left, her beautiful blonde hair was messy from her night sleep, she was rubbing her eyes to remove any excess sleep.

"What is it honey? Do you want to come into mummy's bed?" I question and she nods along with a smile printed onto her face. I've always been protective of her.

Her small body climbs into my bed and tucks itself away under the duvet. I hold her tightly as her blonde hair gathers next to my face.

"Did you sleep well?" I ask and she nods repeatedly. I pull her close to me and give her a big hug, my face moves closer to the back of her head and I can already smell the coconut leaping from her hair and up my nostrils.

We hug for a little longer before she sits up and smooths my face with her small hand. I take this moment to mesmerise her eyes and read her face.

"Do you want some food?" I question and she jolts out of the bed with her bunny and waits patiently for me to roll out of bed.

"Do you and Hop Hop want some toast?" I try and encourage her with different foods and she seems to take it well, especially with her Hop Hop around. Ever since she could speak she would call her bunny that.

She races me to the kitchen and already plants herself and Hop Hop to their seats, she smiles at me as I prepare her food.

"Mamma." Her little voice echoes through the kitchen and instantly gains my attention.

"Yes?"

"Can I see Auntie Maya soon?" She looks at me with plead in her eyes, she cups her hands together and intertwines her fingers together as she begs.

"I'll see what we can do." A smile is back onto her face which only makes me gain a smile too.

Moments pass and we're finally sat together up to the table with our breakfast, I smile at Alessia as I find chocolate covering the corners of her face. I use my thumb to scrape off the sugary product and use the wipe next to me to take it off of my finger.

"I love you Mamma." She looks at me with her tiny teeth which are now showing along with a smile.

I smile back and move closer to her forehead where I place a small kiss. "I love you too." I reply with happiness running through the whole of my body.

"What do you want to do today?" I question Alessia and she puts her finger onto her lips and looks up to the sky to think.

"Park!" She exclaims and claps her hands, making a sound echo through the whole of the kitchen.

"And Auntie Maya?" She moves closer and I tap our noses together.

"Maybe, Aunt Maya is at work my love." A pout is soon smeared across  her face, which instantly pulls me into guilt.

I move my hands closer and closer to the sides of her waist and begin to tickle her.

"Not tickle monster!" She exclaims and a chuckle leaves her small pink lips.

"Yes, tickle monster!" I exlciam back and continue to tickle her she screams further and begins to chuckle more.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Alessia was sat patiently on the floor as she held her brown boots in her hands.

"Mamma!" She exclaims to gain my attention, I laugh and continue to check if everything is off in the kitchen.

I bend down and put on her brown boots over her blue jeans and tiny black socks.

"Do you like my top?" She asks and I nod as I analyse the beautiful pink rabbit on her shirt.

"I like your top mummy." She replies with her beautiful blue orbs. She smiles at me and points to my top.

"Thank you, who's ready for the park?" I tease and she nods her head.

"Me! Me! Me!" She declares.

I hold her hand as we exit out of the door, I lock it tight and we stroll down the steps to reach the fresh air.

"Mummy look at me!" I watch as Alessia begins to run and jump around on the pathway, luckily we don't live too far from the park. That was good for Alessia, she could go out more and it would give me an excuse to go out.

I sit on the bench and watch as Alessia is already running off and making friends, she first placed herself on the slide where she let someone go in front of her, the child had beautiful brown hair along with chocolatey eyes. I chuckle as they both suddenly make up a handshake before both going down the twin slide.

I look around and find myself staring at a group of women who all begin to talk amongst themselves without worrying about their children, running around with strangers. But maybe that's the way society is now. Carefree.

I watch Alessia play with her new friend, who seems lovely, sharing her chocolate with her, of course Alessia said yes.

A hand soon emerged on my shoulder which erupted my anxiety.

"Fuck, Maya careful." I announce and watch as I gain a few eyes from other people walking past.

Maya chuckles at me as she takes a seat onto the bench, her bright ginger hair bounces into the air as soon as she glances around with her hazel eyes.

"Where's Alessia?" She cocks up her brow and begins to hunt for Alessia.

"With a friend." I state as I try to find her too.

"Luna, I can't see her..." The worry in Maya's voice already puts me into panic mode, I take my eye off of her for one minute... And she's dissappeared.

"Alessia!" I exclaim but there was no reply. I get off of the bench and started to look around the park, under the swings, through the tunnels even in the toy cars.

"Alessia!" I shout again in hopes I'll hear her beautiful small voice, my anxiety raises and my body begins to shake.

I finally look behind a tree and find her, sitting there with a facefull of chocolate.

"Oh Alessia, you scared me." I state as I calm myself down. Her small arms wrap around my neck as she whispers. "I'm sorry mamma." I hold her close and hug her tightly.

"It's okay, mummy's not angry." I honestly say, I pull her away and her eyes sparkle with glee.

"Aunt Maya!" She exclaims and throws herself at Maya. Maya is a friend and colleague of mine, she loves her so much and almost treats her as if she's her own. Maya's always been there, throughout my pregnancy, through my birth, she sat on the chair and held my hand as I screamed in pain just to get my beautiful princess out.

I watch the hug continue and Alessia is already holding her hand.

"Come on Aunt Maya!" She exclaims and drags her away to play with the swings. I chuckle as Maya is already struggling to place Alessia in the chair.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Time went on and hours had past, we all decided it was best to go back to the apartment, especially as small drops of water was already falling from the sky and darkening our hair.

"Mamma, I want pizza!" We reach our door and I unlock it perfectly. I watch as Alessia rolls on the sofa and kicks her boots off. She notices her Hop Hop and hugs it tight.

"Aunt Maya look at my Hop Hop!" Her smile is shining brightly, I love her so much. Some people look down on you if you're a single mother. But honestly, I don't care. I'm a single mother and I wouldn't want anything better for my daughter, I'm thankful to have her in my life and share my love with her.

I put the pizza in the oven and put the timer on for less than twenty minutes. We all sit on the sofa and wrap blankets around our bodies as we watch the film Peter Rabbit. I smile each time Alessia watches the film, she laughs, smiles and even looks like she's going to cry. She loves Benjamin the best because of his long ears, she agrees that Peter is 'cheeky'. I always chuckle at the words she describes the rabbits as, its always different.

"Peter! You silly rabbit!" She laughs and points to the TV,  my eyes gaze at Maya who has her eyes fixed onto the film also. I laugh at them both and take Alessia in my arms, holding her closely as I attempt to warm her up.

A few minutes went by, I looked over into the kitchen and heard the beeping of the alarm, I stood up and took her pizza out of the oven and dished it up onto a small plate, blowing it to cool it down and then placing it in front of her onto her toy table. She thanks me and begins to shove a slice in her mouth, not taking her eyes off of the film.

We all sit back onto the sofa but a sudden vibration ran through the sofa.

"Is that yours?" I ask Maya and she shakes her head.

I hunt for my phone and find it hiding behind a large grey pillow. I pull it out and missed the call from Jay. Of course.

I pick up the phone and listen to the voicemail that echos through my ears.

'Luna, it's Jay. Call me back. It's urgent.'

I roll my eyes and glance at Maya.

"Can you keep an eye on her for a minute?" I ask and Maya nodded repeatedly.

I exit out of the front room and travel to my bedroom where there was little to no noise. I pick up the phone and dial Jay's number.

"Hey Jay." I announce, waiting for his reply and what he has to say.

"Good afternoon Luna." He tries to worm his way in to be polite but it doesn't get pass me one bit.

"I have a job for you to do." He states, I roll my eyes and a sudden feeling of defeat collides with my body.

"I need you to come in for work tomorrow, we need to have a discussion." He announces.

"A discussion? About what Jay?" I reply to my boss with the frustration in my body, I'm trying my best not to let it show, but it's proven to be difficult.

"You have a mission to do." He chuckles and I sigh down the phone.

"Jay, I've taken a couple of weeks off, remember? Because it's Alessia's school break, I want to spend time with her." I state, the aggression only wants to invade more onto my conversation, but I have to keep it on a low.

"Yes I know, but shit happens, I need you to come in so we can discuss this further." I can feel him smiling down the phone, all happy and satisfied with his decision. His decision...

But this is what you get for being an officer, right? You've got to deal with the negatives if you want alright pay. I sigh and agree to see him tomorrow. I roll my eyes and walk out of the bedroom with a face consumed with sadness.

"Luna? What's wrong?" Maya comes up to me and gives me a tight hug.

"Mamma?" Alessia questions and wraps her tiny arms around me.

"Go play my darling." I say and smooth Alessia's blonde, soft hair.

Alessia runs off to play with her Hop Hop and I stand here with a tear strolling down my cheek.

"Luna, what's wrong?" Maya seperates herself away from me and looks at me deeply.

"Jay... He's got a mission and wants to speak to me tomorrow about it." I sigh and she rolls her eyes.

"Are you serious? It's Alessia's break!" I nod in agreement and look over to see Alessia boucing around with her bunny.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

I finally put Alessia to bed and place a kiss on her forehead. I sigh and walk away. I slightly close her bedroom door, only allowing a small amount of light in.

I make my way to my bed, Maya left a few hours ago which gave Alessia and I time to bath and get ready for bed.

I finally find myself in my duvet, staring up to the ceiling. I bring the white cover closer to my shoulders. The warmth suddenly engulfed my body and made me feel comfortable and happy. But the thoughts of Jay only made me feel angry, my blood boils but I try to close my eyes and take a deep breath. Bring on tomorrow....

Authors note:

Hi! This is the first chapter of 'Unveiling Dante' I hope you enjoyed it? I apologise for how short it seems but hopefully the chapters will gradually get longer.

And I promise that the chapters get more interesting as they go on, I just needed to open this chapter to show off who some of the main characters are so you have a good understanding of them.  (You won't be disappointed with the next chapters)! There is still so much more to come!

Many thanks,