Found and Forgotten

Chapter 22

Zeta POV

At dinner, Xander let me know that we will be leaving at 4 a.m. I wonder what we are doing. I made sure Matteo was okay to watch Boone. He said he'd be happy to. I told Enzo he didn't have to check with me since I have to be up anyway, but he insisted on being my night buddy -- what I've been calling the brother that sits with me until I sleep. So he will stay with my until I need to be up so I can maximize my sleep. I really appreciate it.

Boone curled up and my feet and I snuggled into my bed. I feel so much lighter. My brothers have been majorly distracting me from depression and helped me move towards acceptance, not that I'm not sad still. It hasn't been easy. I know it's building, and with Akira's birthday coming Thai weekend, I know the walls are about to break again.

Tomorrow is Friday. My day with Gianni got moved until Monday because Massimo mentioned we will have guests this weekend. I wonder who. He said it's a close friend of his.

I have a relatively relaxing and peaceful night with Enzo. I wake up just before 4 and get ready in a comfy outfit because it's too early to try hard. Xander handed me smoothie for breakfast and we walked to the car. In the car, he gave me a blindfold and noise cancelling headphones so that I would stay surprised.

After a short drive, I was basically bursting with anticipation. He moved the headphone slightly to let me know he was going to carry me for a few minutes. I really appreciated that he didn't just touch me.

It felt like we went upstairs and I was say on a comfy couch it seems. Finally, he take off e headphones and tells me to take if my blindfold. My jaw dropped when I saw we were on our private jet! What the hell? Where are we going?

I give Xander a questioning look. He just chuckles. We're doing on a day trip. "in a plane? Seriously? Where are we going?" I question.

"To the beach. You said yourself how much you love the water and beach, so I figured I'd take you to your favorite place."

This is so sweet and nice. "thank you" I say giving him a tight hug. "What about my stuff? I can't go to the beach in this."

At this, Xander throws a bag at me. I open it seeing a bathing suit, tshirt, shorts, and some sun glasses. He really thought this out. No wonder he needed extra time to plan this. I look up at him.

"I had one of the maids pack you a bag while you were out with Matteo." He states with a shrug.

"Thank you again. This is more than I could've imagined. I'm so excited!"

"Good. You deserve it Z." He said making me feel so loved.

We played different card games for the duration of the flight.

"We have about 30 minutes left. Why don't you go change in the back room. We will head straight to the beach when we land" Xander said.

I go and change and come out to see that Xander is also changed into swimming trunks and a tshirt. I love the beach. I'm basically bouncing with joy when we sit back down.

We touch down and I instantly feel the warmth as we deboard. We have a short drive to the beach. As we make our way over the dune, I see that the beach is empty other than a shaded cabana and some chairs both in and out of the shade. There is a server that seems to be hovering by the cabana. "I rented the whole private beach for just us." My jaw drops. "This is amazing, Xan!"

I run to the cabana to take off my shirt and shorts before I run straight to the water and dive in, laughing. Soon Xander is next to me. I splash him and he splashes back. It reminds me of our time in the pool. Apparently splash wars are our thing. We jumped waves and played in the water for over an hour. Now we are laying under the cabana relaxing.

Xander says "catch" and suddenly a can is coming at me. Luckily, I caught it. I look down and see it's a canned cocktail. He's letting me drink?

"Is this a test?" I ask.

"No. Just don't tell Massimo. Drink what you want just don't get so drunk you're still drunk when we get home."

So that's what we do. We drink. We laugh. We build sand castles. We have sand fights. We swim. It is a day full of relaxation and laughter.

By the time we get back to the plane, I'm exhausted. When we sit down on the couch, I snuggle up to Xander.

"That was so much fun, Xan. I love you" I say sleepily.

"I'm glad you had fun. I did too. Love you so much, Z" he replied with a kiss on my head. Not very long after, I was sleeping on his shoulder for the remainder of the flight.

Xander POV

We are almost landing and Zeta is still sleeping. She looks so peaceful and carefree. This is how she should always look, but instead she is constantly haunted by the past and weighed down with grief. It's just not fair.

We have landed, and Zeta is still sleeping. I don't want to just carry her after what happened with Dante the other day. I whisper her name. Nothing. I keep repeating her name, getting louder each time, not wanting to touch her. It's not until I'm practically screaming her name that she peaks her eyes open.

"Z, we landed. There's a car waiting for us. Come on," I say.

In her groggy state, she asks "carry me?" With a cute tilt of her head. I'll never say no to that face. I lean down so she can put her arms around my neck and lay her head on my shoulder. I wrap her legs around me and begin walking to the car.

I'm glad that she trusts me enough to sleep so deeply and allow me to carry her, especially with how I treated her when she first came back. I will forever regret that. I'm so thankful that she has a big heart and forgave me.

We get in the back of the car, her back asleep clinging to me. She used to cling to me like this when she was a toddler. I smile at the thought. Despite all that's happened, some things never change. I smile and take a selfie and send it to my brothers. I want to make them jealous and I want them to know she is sleeping and not to wait up. I get some saying 'okay' and others saying they are jealous.

When we are back at the house, I tell a guard to grab our things and I carry Zeta up to my room. I lay down on the bed, and she hugs me closer. I brush her hair off of her forehead and kiss her forehead again. "Good night, Z. I'll be here. Love you." And then I fall asleep, feeling more content with life than I have since Zeta left.