hide and seek // finn wolfhard

4/4

Jennifer.

that was the name of the kind woman who, instead of running me over with her car, took me in and drove me to the nearest police station, to where I was then confirmed to be a found "missing kid" and told that my parents and sister would be here to take me home by tomorrow.

so, here I am, sitting quietly in officer Hudson's office chair as my tired legs tapped up and down. and as I waited for my parents to arrive, as my fuzzy  mind continued to focus on finn and the last words he told me. the names he called me...the disgust in his eyes as he yelled in my face...

he hates me.

the boy who took my family, my innocence, and my heart, hates me...and i'm sad about it. after all hes done to me...I still love h-

my uncontrollable reoccurring thoughts of finn came to seize as the office door swung open. my head then snapped in it's direction, the familiar sight causing both my eyes and theirs to gloss up.

"baby..." my mother announced, breathlessly. "mommy!" I yelled, wasting no time to hop out of the chair and into my mother's arms. the simple feel of her warm embrace caused every last problem I had to dissolve.

soon enough, my empty back is accompanied with two more bodies, my father and sister. the familiar and very must so missed act of kindness, caused my heart to thump against my ribcage.

I inhaled her beloved vanilla fragrance as my mother proceeds to plant continuous kisses on my head. eventually, we pulled apart from each other but, my body remained locked tightly in my mother's embrace. seeing her tear stained face only made me miss her smiles that much more.

her small hands shook vigorously as she attempted to hold my face in them. her skin touched mine as if, if she held on too tight, i'd break into a million pieces. "norah...baby." she whispered, almost inaudible. "mommy...im so so sorry. I should've listened to you and-"

"no, no, no shush, baby. you have nothing to be sorry for. you understand me? this is not your fault." she told me, making sure that I knew.

"yeah, its mine." my father announced, abruptly. his sudden statement caused my head to immediately snap in his direction. as soon as our eyes met, the man broke down into a pit of tears as he took it upon himself to scoop me off my feet and hug my torso as if I was all of his hopes and dreams.

and in return, I buried my face into the crook of his inked neck as my pale arms wrapped around his neck as well. 

"Eleanor, la mia bella ragazza. Sono così dispiaciuto per tutti mi sono causato. Avrei dovuto guardare più forte, avrei dovuto essere un padre migliore e... ha fatto in modo che tu fossi al sicuro, tesoro. Sono just...so dispiace." he spoke into my skin.

translation: "Eleanor, my beautiful girl. I am so sorry for all ive caused. I should've looked harder, I should've been a better father and...made sure you were safe, love. I'm just...so sorry."

I am the only person in my family who can understand my father's native language, making the simple fact of his words, to mean that much more. when he spoke to me in Italian, it always made every word he told me, a secret. something only he and I knew.

I allowed his words to linger on a little longer as he placed me back onto the floor. "va tutto bene, papà." i assured him.

translation: "it's okay, dad."

i then looked up at the tall man, once again meeting eyes with his beautiful green ones. "ma, posso avere una cosa?" I asked, quietly.

translation: "but, can I have one thing?"

"yes, baby, anything you want. say the word, and it's yours." he told me, wiping away the pesky tears that refuse to dissolve from my now peachy cheeks.

"Potresti fare quel pollo Alfredo che mi piace? Sai quello con il Parmigiano-Reggiano?" I asked him, immediately causing him to burst into a pit of laughter.

translation: "could you make that chicken alfredo that i like? you know the one with the parmesan cheese?"

my father then looked to my mother and sister, who currently wore questionable expressions, and laughed. "food." he told them, causing the two to also join in on the uncontrollable train of laughter.

"you wont believe what i did when i found out you were coming home. i cleaned your entire room, used my entire savings to buy you new clothes, and shoes and..." my sister began to rant to me on her acts of kindness, up until her glossy eyes met mine for the first time since we've seen one another.

"god, i missed you so much." she breathed out, before grabbing my arm and taking me into the same tight embrace both of my parents held me in moments before.

after the hugs and  fairly dissolved tears, everyone gave me one last look before smiling and announcing suddenly, that we need to stop crying and start eating.

and that's when i knew...i was home.