REIGN (A REVERSE HAREM)

83. Roman

Arabella giggled as she hand fed me a cherry. I fucking hate cherries but she loves them. I spit the stone out to the left of me and focus on her again, feeling the cherry fill up my mouth.

Disgusting.

I swallow it down quickly and she turns her attention to Luca.

I lean back on my hands and watch her as she colours in Luca's tattoo's while eating cubes of cheese.

She asked for it to just be us as we went on this date but i didn't trust me. Not alone with her in a supposedly relaxing time.

She drove us all up the hills, out of state and up some mountains. Parked in a random ditch and then forced us to carry the stuff as she found a place right at the top of the mountain, covered by bushes from the outside but a beautiful view as we sat and watched the sun go down.

She's making the most of what she can with quick glances at me every now and then to make sure i'm okay.

I'm fine. I wish she would stop worrying about me so much.

"That's the north star." Luca points up at the black sky, the only thing illuminating us is the glow from the moon and the seven candles she bought.

She leans back, in my arms and i have no choice but to lean back with her. She looks up at the sky and i do too. Luca does the stargazing. He has the star constellations tattooed across his back and gains a new one for every loved one he's lost.

Asher lays beside Luca and she smiles as we all stare up at the sky.

"My mom." Luca clears his throat, "Momma always took me to the fields back home and taught me the stars." He says.

Arabella's head turns to look at him, "Valentina is cool."

I smile.

"She is." Luca agrees, "Best mother i could have wished for."

Arabella smile at that and curls into me a little more, i tighten my hold around her. She's safe with me, i won't let her go.

"Can i know more about you guys?" Arabella asks.

I've told her more than i've told anyone. I don't know what there is possible more to tell.

"What do you wanna know, princess?" Luca asks.

"Your friendship, mainly. I've never seen guys be as close as you are."

Luca looks at me as if he's asking permission and when i look away, he takes it on his own account to answer.

"So Romans mom, my mom and Asher's dad all grew up in the same neighbourhood in Italy. So we'd all spend time together." He says, "Asher and i more but Roman when he could too. Anyways, we kind of just had this bond growing up."

"It was like love at first sight but completely platonic." Asher mumbles from beside Luca and Arabella giggles again.

I could get drunk on the sound of her laughter.

"We all were really alike each other. We kind of just became friends like that, more like a brotherhood though." He adds on. "We never had any brothers, Ash and I didn't, so we took Roman in to be our little bro."

I hate reminiscing. Despise it.

But i forget how healthy it can be sometimes.

"When Isabella died, we tried getting Roman out but his dad was too powerful. It wasn't until Juliana took him under his wing that we really started becoming close."

"Sixteen?" Arabella looks at me.

"Juliana cared for me as soon as my mother passed, my love. I didn't move to the states until i was twelve."