Page 107 of XOXO

“Bella,” I said as a warning.

“Too bad! I bought them with my own money,” she said, grinning as Levi pouted. “The tour is in an hour and it says it’s about twenty minutes from here.”

A phone rang and Vi answered it immediately.

“Hermano,” she said holding her phone out. “Buenos dias. ¿Porque me esta hablando muy temprano?”

“Porque mis hijos estan locos.” A man's voice came through.

I scowled, wondering who the hell she was talking to. Levi matched my expression, looking over her shoulder.

“Awww, they just love their daddy so much they need to wake you up at….” Vi checked her watch. “Five in the morning?”

“No, they are heathens who need to start sleeping till at least 6 in the morning,” he groaned. “Tía! We miss you!”

I relaxed when I heard tía, that meant it was her brother and his kids. Ru still looked possessive as he watched her.

“Her brother,” I said softly, hoping he heard me.

“You guys are getting so big!” she said, as Ru relaxed.

“I need to change and get a drink,” he said, running his hands through his hair.

“Good session?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he smiled softly. “My mind feels like a giant mess sometimes and I just self-sabotage. She was a lot of help today and gave me a lot to think about.”

“Good, you don’t have to go with us,” I said, watching Vi laugh. “You can stay here and relax.”

“No, I need to get out,” he said standing. “Like you said, I deserve some happiness.”

“I’m in Athens with some friends I met here,” she said.

Ru looked over his shoulder with a scowl. He looked so offended I almost laughed.

“Mario, it was amazing. The islands were so beautiful. I swear they didn’t look real,” she said, walking to the dining room and standing up her phone, looking so animated as she talked about our last two weeks.

Ru took a deep breath before leaving for his room. I shook my head, wondering what the hell was going on in that mind of his.

“Is he ok?” Levi said, sitting close to me, leaning on my shoulder.

“Yeah, but I think it's going to take him some time. I think he’s facing a lot of things right now that he doesn’t know how to deal with,” I said, kissing his forehead, holding him close.

“I heard you guys talking,” he said, looking over at Vi who was still talking to her brother. “I don’t think she would do anything like that to Ru, but I think for his sanity, he should bring up an NDA. She would totally sign it.”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll suggest⁠—”

“Are you sure you’re ok with these guys?”

I stopped talking to hear what Vi’s brother had to say.

“Yeah, I promise. They are nice and cool guys,” she sighed.

“Maybe you should give me their names and I can decide for myself.”

“Mario, everything is fine. I promise. They even hate me staying in hostels,” she said. “So far I've been staying with them and they have been adamant about finding better accommodations for me.”

“Well, thank god someone is keeping you safe,” he sighed, as a kid yelled. “Well, keep your location on and don’t go back to staying at hostels. If you need me to, I can send you money.”