Reflections

[Zetti]

& here we are

Part Eleven

It had been nearly two weeks since the children were taken, Nicole had refused to share a bed with Angelo but she didn’t want him to move out because she was scared.

Anger and sadness seemed to be the only two emotions at play and for Nicole, her anger towards Angelo was taking precedence over her other emotions.

Guilt came into Nicole’s head every time she focused her anger on Angelo because she was missing him and the children. She missed the closeness that they always had together.

She wanted her family back. Hell she needed her family back.

Sighing into the pillow, he had tried to keep his eyes closed and force his body into sleep but it seemed to be impossible & after a while of thinking about anything but sleep ironically lulled him into a sleeping state.

‘Has she spoken to you?’ Roo asked Angelo when he went over to see her the next day.

‘Barely’ he responded feeling dejected and alone.

‘Have the police got any leads?’ Roo asked not really knowing what to say to Angelo.

‘I haven’t spoken to Charlie yet’ and he instinctively picked up his phone and dialled.

‘Sorry we have no leads at the moment’ Charlie responded a few moments later.

It was like they had disappeared out of thin air and no one knew where they were. It was painful for everyone

‘Please find them’ he begged with raw pain echoing through his anguish. The whole situation was hurting him more than he had even anticipated.

**

Penn watched as Stacey put the washing out, he could see her clothes sticking to her body, she was barely out of the shower and he was aroused already.

He shook his head as he heard a cry from the kitchen. Stacey dropped the dress she was about to place on the line and rushed towards the sound, she just beat Penn to the room where Mia was crying. Rob had begun to have a seizure.

Penn cursed and rushed to his phone in the lounge and dialed for Julianne. She answered on the second bell.

‘What is it?’ she asked warily.

‘You need to get here right now’

Julianne frowned.

‘What? I have just come from the police station I am out on bail. You really think I would come anywhere near you’ she scoffed with disbelief emanating from every single word.

‘If you don’t Rob will die’ he said.

Julianne clenched her fists ‘What?’

‘He is having a seizure’ Penn responded, clearly scared for him.

He hated Nicole for jumping into a relationship with Angelo but Rob was his biological son and he had soon realised that he would never hurt him.

‘I will be there as soon as I can.’

Julianne wasn’t sure what Penn expected her to do but she knew one thing, leaving Rob there to have a seizure wasn’t something that she wanted to do and even if she did want to, her conscience simply wouldn’t allow it.

Rob wouldn’t stop shaking. Penn made sure that Mia stayed in her room. He didn’t want her to be traumatised more than she already was.

Stacey sighed with relief once Rob had stopped. She had moved all objects that could have caused him harm.

About 20 minutes later, Julianne arrived. Penn hadnt moved from Rob’s side, he was awake and responsive but he hadnt spoken a word to Penn but he didn’t take it badly, the shock of the seizure was still reverberating through his mind.

Penn rarely lost control. When he did lose control, it scared the hell out of him but when it came to Rob, he didn’t give it a second thought.

Julianne checked his vitals with the limited equipment that she had and it all came up as positive, there didn’t seem to be any lasting effects but she did recommend that he be taken to hospital.

Naturally Penn refused.

‘No. He is okay now, I cant let this plan get derailed’

Stacey and Julianne shared an exasperated sigh and looked at Penn.

‘He might get worse’

‘There is every chance he will deteriorate, remember you took him before the hospital had the chance to treat him’

‘If he gets worse then I will consider taking him to hospital’ Penn answered with finality that let Stacey and Julianne to back off. He wasn’t going to risk Rob’s health but he wasn’t going to stop the plan.

He needed to get back into Nicole’s life and to get rid of Angelo. He hadn’t worked out the specifics yet but he was going to do it. His main goal was to have his family back.

His family.

He, Nicole and Rob.

[Zetti]

Part Twelve

Another three days passed, Nicole had barely spoken to Angelo but she didn’t know what to say without crying and she had done so much of that, she couldn’t cope with anymore loss of her emotional control.

She had always prided herself on having control of her emotions which just made the barriers that she had put up harder to maintain but she was determined not to let those emotions overload her.

She felt like utter crap every day, being separated from her two children was too much pain for her to bear.

As she lay in bed that night, she looked over to the side of bed where Angelo should have been lying.

She had pushed him away because of one night that she had forgiven him for so long ago, she didn’t know why she couldn’t accept that he had no idea about Tyler.

Deep down she knew that he couldn’t have known about Tyler but at the same time, she wanted to be angry at him so that she didn’t have to face her sadness and anguish at the kidnapping of Rob and Mia.

She turned over and put her head on Angelo’s pillow, she could smell his aftershave and she realised that she wanted to be close to him. She instantly made the decision to seek him out.

She walked across the landing and made her way to the spare room where Angelo had been sleeping and found it empty; a confused expression crept onto her face.

She opened the door to Mia’s room and winced, she hadn’t stepped into that room since the night she was taken and it was painful to be there.

The memories of that night came back and hit her fully in the stomach as dread turned her emotions and the barriers that she had put up came crashing down.

Flashback

Running up the stairs, she saw Mia’s blanket peeping out of the doorway and she picked it up. Mia had a tendency to end up throwing her doona off.

Nicole stepped into the room and saw the emptiness. She felt like her heart had been ripped out and it had been replaced with a gaping black hole. She felt devoured of happiness at that moment in time. It was bad enough that she had spent the last year without her son but now she had her baby girl taken from her.

How much bad luck do I have to endure before I get my happy ending?

Are happier times ever gonna materialise?

Am I doomed to be unhappy?

Aden joined her a few moments later; he took in Nicole’s face as she sat on the bed crumpled up in the blanket allowing her tears to fall.

He walked to the open window, he punched his fist against the pane, and Nicole barely registered it at first and then he started cursing to himself. The only thing that he was thinking of is how stupid he was not to have realised that the whole situation was a diversion to get Mia.

He heard running footsteps, they were faint at first but they became louder and louder. Aden turned to see Roman striding in before looking out the window again.

‘What happened?’ Roman asked as he strode to the bed and held onto Nicole.

‘She’s gone, I don’t know who or how, but she is gone.’ Her heart breaking as she spoke. ‘Both my babies are gone.’

End of Flashback

Nicole shook her head and removed her emotions from the illusion that she had allowed her brain to suck her into that memory, she didn’t want to relive it and yet she was.

She remembered why she had entered Mia’s room and backtracked quickly closing the door in the process. She walked away and headed into Rob’s room, she saw Angelo lying there staring at the wardrobe.

It was obvious that he wasn’t asleep but she wasn’t sure what to do next and then her body made her mind up for her. She made the conscious decision to leave the room when she heard him say.

‘Are you okay?’

‘Not really’ she replied. ‘I feel like everything is falling apart and I feel like we are falling apart and I hate it, I really hate it.’

He sat up and put his hand out. Nicole didn’t take it at first but Angelo didn’t withdraw it, he knew that Nicole needed him and he needed her.

She took his hand and they ended up lying on the bed. She let her tears fall as Angelo whispered into her ears. ‘Its okay. I am here & we will get the kids back, I promise’

**

[Zetti]

Here is a short chapter, I would rather post a small chapter than nothing at all. I start fasting tomorrow so bear with me as I get used to fasting and writing at the same time. Thanks & I hope you all enjoy the chapter.

Part Thirteen

Nicole watched as the families on the beach enjoyed their days out, without a care in the world. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling. It wasn’t fair; she should be with her children enjoying their holidays.

Life was cruel. Nothing could change the way she felt apart from getting her children back. She needed them back.

Angelo spotted Nicole on the beach, it was the same spot where they had spent their last beach day with the children, the mere thought of it just made him feel like he was falling apart.

He didn’t know how much time and effort he had put into trying to find them but he wasn’t about to give up, he needed to find them.

Roman joined Nicole on the beach and Angelo followed a few moments later.

‘Dad’ she said in surprise as Roman sat next to her.

‘You okay?’

Angelo sat next to Nicole and she placed her hand on his leg ‘As good as I can be’

‘Has Charlie got any new leads?’ Roman asked directing the question at Angelo more than Nicole.

‘No, it is like they have disappeared off the face of the earth’

Nicole looked out at the ocean, it was so peaceful to her, she loved watching the waves crash on the beach and she felt like it was soothing her slightly but it wasn’t enough, nothing would ever be enough for her to ease the void inside her.

‘So Dad. Have you spoken to Roo?’

Roman looked uncomfortable the moment Nicole mentioned Roo.

‘No.’ he said through gritted teeth.

‘You better talk to her, you need to’

Roman looked at her, he was really irritated that Nicole just wouldn’t leave the situation alone. ‘I don’t want to talk about it’

Angelo smiled as Nicole looked at him with a bemused look on her face. She turned her gaze from Angelo to Roman and then she looked beyond his shoulder.

Roo was approaching. Nicole stood up and dragged Angelo with her. By the time Roman had realised what was going on, Roo was stood next to him.

‘I think we’ve been set up’ Roo said as she sat next to him.

Roman glared at Nicole but she didn’t see it as she was hugging Angelo but Roman knew that she probably had a smile on her face.

Nicole had spent a long time trying to get them together again, he was resisting because he didn’t want to put Nicole through any more pain or heartache. It was hard enough trying to get through a day and not have any news about Rob or Mia.

‘Are we going to talk or are you just going to scowl at Nicole?’

‘What do you want me to say Roo? I don’t know what to say?’

Roo sighed. ‘Just tell me one thing.’

‘Go on’ Roman was resigned to the fact that he was going to have to carry on this conversation.

‘Do you love me?’ she asked but she didn’t know if she was ready for the answer.

She watched as his expression changed from a scowl to a pained look. ‘I do, but it is too hard right now’

‘We can do this, we just need to talk to each other.’ Roo said before adding ‘You need to open up to me’

Roman nodded and brought Roo closer to him. He placed a kiss on her forehead and she wrapped her arms around his waist. They weren’t alone, they had each other but would it be enough for them?

[Zetti]

Part Fourteen

‘He needs to go to hospital’ Stacey urged Penn again a few days later as Rob recovered from the effects of yet another seizure.

‘No’

‘The only way you can get back into Nicole’s life is by giving her Rob back’ Stacey said. Penn was going to respond but Stacey carried on. ‘Think about it. Let Rob go to hospital and make it so that he can go back to Nicole’

‘If you continue to hurt her, she will never forgive you and then you don’t have a hope in hell of getting her back into your life’ she didn’t relent and she wouldn’t let Penn speak.

Once she had taken a deep breath, Penn spoke. ‘The only reason you are saying that is because you don’t want Tyler to be with Angelo’

Penn wasn’t naïve; Tyler was the only thing stopping Stacey from fleeing, she wasn’t locked in. She wouldn’t go anywhere; Tyler was the only thing that she actually cared about and if he took that away from her then she wouldn’t be his pawn anymore and that was the one thing that he wasn’t willing to risk, he hated to admit it but he needed her more than she needed him

**

‘There has been a sighting’ Charlie said to Nicole and Angelo

‘Where?’ she asked but she was trying to keep a handle on her emotions, losing it wasn’t going to do either of them any good.

‘Near the walker’s farm’ Charlie said in a calm yet detached voice. There was no point scaring Nicole or Angelo at this point. Nicole didn’t even notice how Charlie had said it.

‘Who was the sighting of?’

‘Stacey’ Charlie said before counting to 5 and then carrying on. ‘She was on her own and it looked like she was getting supplies’

‘Who saw?’

‘One of the patrols’

‘Did they follow her?’ Angelo asked raising his voice slightly but not too much because he didn’t want to scare Nicole.

‘Yes. But it was obvious that she knew that she was being followed & she managed to lose the patrols’ Charlie finished nervously, she hated the situation and the pain that Penn was forcing onto the family.

Hadn’t they been through enough over the past year? Did they really deserve all the pain and sorrow that they had been subjected to?

**

Penn watched as Stacey embraced Tyler. He knew that she was only putting up with him because of Tyler. He wasn't surprised. Parents always put their children first.

He was always going to put Rob first. He needed to get involved in Rob's life somehow and he knew that it mean that Angelo and Mia who had no connection to him had to be eliminated.

‘Tyler, go upstairs’ Penn ordered in an authoritative tone.

He nodded and smiled at Penn, it made Stacey feel uneasy, it was clear that Tyler was getting attached to Penn.

If she was going to be able to get them both away from Penn, it would be easier if Tyler didn’t like Penn but no matter what, she wasn’t going to let Penn suck him in.

Penn walked up to Stacey. ‘Make sure they are all in bed and then come to bed, we need to talk’

She nodded and managed a weak smile before heading towards the door where Tyler had left through only a few moments earlier.

‘I think it is time to step our plan up a notch’ Penn mentioned when Stacey got under the covers.

‘How?’ she asked trying to muster up some sort of enthusiasm.

‘I think we need to rattle Angelo slightly’

Stacey frowned and sat up. She didn’t like the tone of Penn’s voice but she swallowed the saliva that had gathered in her mouth and looked at him.

‘Why & more importantly how?’

‘He is still reeling from the fact that he is Tyler’s father’

‘Right?’ Stacey wasn’t sure exactly what it was that Penn was alluding to but she knew one thing, she wasn’t going to like it.

‘We need to make sure that Nicole knows’ Penn said and then he added. ‘She needs to meet Tyler’

Stacey frowned. ‘What?’

‘You heard, the only way I can eliminate Angelo is to make Nicole angry that he has a child with you’

‘And how do you plan to make that happen?’

‘Social Services’ he said simply.

Stacey’s stomach practically lurched out of her chest. She never expected him to say that. ‘What?’

‘Stop saying what?’ Penn drawled which just annoyed Stacey that tiny bit more. ‘It is going to happen and soon. Don’t even think about trying to escape. I have people watching this house and escape is impossible.

She smiled weakly and lay under the covers. Penn smiled as he turned the lamp off. He drew her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her. They were both going to need their sleep; tomorrow was going to be a big day.

**

[Zetti]

Part Fifteen

Stacey woke up to an eerily calm and quiet house only a few hours later. She looked over her shoulder and she was surprised to see that Penn wasn’t there.

It was too strange, normally every morning he would be watching her when she woke up. She sat up and pulled the blanket so it was covering her lap and she reached over to the nightstand to check the time on the clock.

It was 7am; her body always seemed to wake her up at this time.

She had never normally been an early bird but since Tyler was born, she didn’t seem to sleep as soundly as she used to.

Her body was naturally tuned to him and she woke whenever he did, literally the moment his eyes opened, Stacey would wake up. There were times when she spent hours curled up in a ball on the bed, watching Tyler sleep.

Every time he whimpered, she would be there making sure, he was not in any immediate pain or that he wasn’t too hot or too cold.

There wasn’t anything that she wouldn’t do in order to protect her son. At the moment she felt inadequate because Tyler didn’t want to spend time with her.

That was strange especially since she assumed that the distance they had been subjected might have made Tyler want to talk to her, to spend time with her but it was like she didn’t even exist at time.

Penn watched as she rubbed her eyes and stretched, he had to admit, it was nice having a female in his bed, someone to wake up to every morning.

He never used to fall in love but he had fallen for Stacey. It put him in an awkward position because he was meant to be with Nicole. He had never fallen in love before and he doubted he even loved Nicole.

He just wanted to give Rob a family with his biological parents; he just needed to make Nicole see that.

Tyler bounced out of his room and ran down the stairs. Stacey heard footsteps on the landing and pulled herself out of her daydream and got up. Penn moved away from the door and headed down the stairs.

Rob was rubbing his eyes as he came out of his room, closely followed by Mia. It was evident that Mia had been crying, her eyes were patchy and red.

Stacey picked her up and took her down the stairs. Rob followed behind them. She placed Mia in a chair and poured cereal into a bowl for them both.

Penn watched intently as Stacey gave Tyler some toast and ruffled his hair, he was curious to see what it was that Stacey was going to do next but his phone beeped. He gazed at it & then smiled briefly before shutting his phone and placing it in his pocket.

Stacey looked up. ‘Who is it?’

‘It’s just relating to what we talked about yesterday’ his eyes went from Stacey to Tyler and then back again. Stacey gulped and nodded at his words. She heeded his warning‘Escape is impossible’

**

‘What time are we going?’ Nicole asked Angelo.

They had decided to go and search the area for themselves; maybe they could find something that the police had missed.

’10 minutes’ Angelo said as he headed into the shower.

Nicole sighed and made her way to the kitchen. She heard a rustling outside but she didn’t think anything of it.

She just cleaned the kitchen and scrubbed the worktop to within an inch of its life. It was a distraction from her life but she didn’t want to be distracted. She just wanted her family back in her life.

‘Right, let’s go’ Angelo announced from behind her making her jump slightly. He put his hands on her waist and spun her around so that they were facing each other ‘Are you okay?’

‘You startled me’ she admitted.

‘Sorry’ he said as he placed a kiss on her forehead. ‘Let’s go’

The car journey was very strained as neither of them knew what to say to each other. Nicole stepped out of the car; she saw so many paddocks and trees outstretched in front of her eyes.

She couldn’t see anywhere where Penn could be but then she noticed a small flash. She blinked and tried to focus in on the sight but it had gone.

‘Okay, where should we start?’ Nicole asked as Angelo joined her.

‘Let’s just go through the paddocks towards the bush’ Angelo decided ‘We cant stray too far though’ he reminded her.

‘Okay, let’s do it’

‘Hold on, we aren’t doing this alone’

‘Who else?’ she asked

Angelo was about to answer but his answer never came as Nicole heard a little boy cry. She spun around towards the sight and she saw a young boy walking towards her.

He had a bruise on his face and his clothes were torn. Nicole crouched down and Angelo froze for a second. He too then crouched down and held out his hand ‘Are you okay?’ he asked

‘I want my mummy’

Nicole had to stop her tears, for a moment there she was imagining that it was Rob that had said that and she struggled to hold back her emotions. She had spent so long holding back, it was really hard not to break down but at that moment in time, she had to focus on the situation in hand.

‘What is your name?’ she asked

His tears had already begun to fall and Nicole wanted to hug him. No kid should have to be hurt or separated from their parents.

‘Tyler’ he said in between sobs. Nicole paused for a second and looked at Angelo but Angelo was still looking at Tyler, it was obvious that Angelo had just realised that he was looking at his own son. He held his hand out again and this time Tyler took it. He brought him close to him and whispered. ‘it is okay, you are safe now. I promise’

Nicole didn’t know what to say but she couldn’t deny Tyler some sort of hope, he was innocent. None of the situation was his fault but she couldn’t help but feel a little bit of anger towards Angelo for having a son with someone else even if technically at the time they weren’t even together. She resented Angelo for at least having been reunited with one of his children and she didn’t even know if either of her children was even alive.

**

A warning..there will be a death in a few chapters time..a permanent death...some may like it, others may not...feel free to speculate..

[Zetti]

Part Sixteen

Roman and Aden were driving along the road to the location where Angelo had asked them to meet him. They were happy to help but Aden wasn’t sure if going behind the back of the police was a good idea.

‘They are useless, we are better off doing this by ourselves’ Roman mentioned as they pulled up. Roo was in the back, she had insisted on coming along. Roman didn’t want her there but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

‘I agree with Roman, it has been weeks and nothing has happened, maybe taking actions into our own hands will help’

Roman smiled as Aden conceded defeat and all three of them stepped out of the car. Roman was confused when Aden sped up to the space where he saw Nicole and Angelo.

‘What happened?’ Aden asked

Angelo stood up, bringing Tyler up with him. ‘This is Tyler’ he said as Roman winced slightly.

‘As in?’

Angelo nodded. Aden looked at him and then smiled gently at Tyler ‘I am a doctor. Can I look at your face?’ Angelo crouched down yet again and encouraged Tyler to let Aden examine him.

‘Good boy’

Nicole moved away from them and walked towards Roo and Roman. Roman hugged her ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yes I am’ she said, she wasn’t lying; she just didn’t know what else to say to them both. Nicole’s phone and she jumped but she picked it up. The screen said unknown number.She frowned but she answered the phone.

‘Hello’

‘Nicole’

‘Penn’ she hissed as she nearly dropped the phone.

Tyler whimpered as soon as she said that name. Angelo hugged Nicole to let her know that he was there for her and Roman gestured to her to give him the phone but she shook her head and carried on talking to him.

‘Where are my children?’

‘They are here with me, they are both fine’ he added.

‘Put them on the phone’

Penn sighed but he knew that she would ask that of him. He gestured to Stacey to bring Mia forward and he gave her the phone.

‘It’s your mummy’

‘Mummy?’

‘Mia’ she breathed holding onto Roman for support.

Angelo stood next to her and took the phone ‘Are you okay?’

‘Daddy!’ Mia cried out before Penn snatched the phone off her and pushed her back towards Stacey. Mia was in tears and she picked her up.

Stacey was close to tears herself. She still had the image in her head of Penn striking Tyler, the cut lip that Penn gave her when she tried to stop him.

Penn was deranged but she didn’t know what to do, her heart was shattered the moment Penn made Tyler leave the house with torn clothes on, with no food or water. She didn’t know what to do or how to make him feel better.

‘You agreed to this’ Penn justified as he made Tyler walk out of the house on his own. He had sent Rob and Mia to their rooms. Stacey didn’t have the energy to fight Penn; she was so drained of her emotions. Emotions that she didn’t even know she was capable of having.

She felt like she had been ripped apart and put back together, with parts of her that didn’t feel whole. Devoid of being able to shed any of her emotions, she was focused at that moment in time on making Rob and Mia happy.

That is what she had to do to satisfy Penn and in return, she would have to turn off her own emotions and feeling about Tyler, if the plan went well, then Angelo would be with him and she knew that he wouldn’t turn away his own son. He wasn’t heartless. Unlike Penn.

‘What did he say?’ Angelo asked as Nicole hung up the phone a few moments later.

‘To meet him at the abandoned warehouse just off the corner of Yabbie Creek’s junkyard’

‘Let’s go then’ Roman said

‘Hold on’ Nicole said ‘He wanted me to go on my own’

Angelo and Roman both looked at Nicole like she was going mad. Angelo recovered first and automatically responded with ‘Hell no’

‘We have to’ Nicole reasoned ‘He will not listen otherwise’

‘Why don’t I go with you?’ Roo offered

Roman had barely recovered from the shock of Nicole’s words only to be dumbfounded by Roo’s ‘Is there something in the water today?’ he muttered to himself, Nicole and Roo smiled at each other briefly before realising what situation they are in.

‘He said it had to be me alone’ Nicole repeated running her hands in her hair and trembling slightly. A few moments later, Aden and Tyler re-joined the group,

‘Is he okay?’ Nicole asked?

‘He should be fine, but I think it would be better if he was taken to hospital.’

Nicole nodded ‘Angelo, you should go with him’

He shook his head. ‘No, Aden can go, I am not leaving you’

Roman was getting annoyed at how they were still contemplating letting his own daughter face this madman on her own.

‘You can’t do this’ he growled but Nicole responded as calmly as she could ‘You cant stop me Dad, these are my kids we are talking about, I would do anything for them’

‘Our kids’ Angelo supplied.

‘Yes, sorry, our kids’

Angelo was torn, he wanted the kids back but he didn’t want to put Nicole in danger, he had a decision to make and he wasn’t sure what the right decision was going to be.

‘You can’t go on your own, he will never give you the kids’ Angelo put in after a few moments of strained silence.

‘What do you think I should do then?’ Nicole asked clearly not knowing what else to do or say.

‘You have to go to see him’ Angelo conceded ‘but not on your own’

Roman was tempted to punch Angelo but Angelo added ‘Its better if it is someone he hasn’t met before, he won’t be as suspicious’

‘I doubt he will have the kids with him anyways’ Nicole said as she thought more clearly about it. Angelo nodded and finally spoke again ‘Roo is the best person, Penn hasn’t met you before’

Roo nodded and ignored Roman’s protests. ‘Okay, let’s do it’

**

& as for whether or not it is

Nicole

you will have to wait and see...am not saying anything else...

[Zetti]

Part Seventeen

‘Are you ready?’ Roo asked Nicole as they stepped out of the car into the junkyard. It wasn’t hard to work out why Penn had chosen this place.

It was far enough from civilisation, and not even a tramp would willingly step into this place which just made Nicole all the more frightened for the children.

‘As ready as I can be’ Nicole said as she flattened her dress down, she didn’t know why she was so worried about her appearance.

She was nervous and if she was honest, she really wanted Angelo with her. She was grateful that Roo was there but she felt a bit angry that Angelo was with Tyler.

Although, Angelo wanted to be there, she did leave him with no choice, she was confused and angry which just meant that Angelo was caught in the middle.

Begrudging Tyler his own father, wasn’t what Nicole wanted to do but she didn’t want Angelo to forget that he has two other children.

She was trying her best to secure their future, and if she was completely honest with herself, Tyler had no place in her family.

She hated feeling like that especially since it made her look like the unreasonable one but she couldn’t help how she felt. She knew that she c

‘Did Penn say if we had to go somewhere?’

‘No he said, I will know where to go?’ Nicole said, she didn’t think much of it at the time but now she was thinking maybe she had walked into a trap.

She saw a door open and Stacey stepped out. Nicole knew that she had to walk forward and so she did. Roo followed slowly behind her.

Stacey stepped into the room and walked to the side. Penn had disappeared for a moment but Stacey figured that was just part of his plan, he had never made this part clear to her but she was still reeling from the fact that Tyler is out there and she didn’t even know where he was.

Unbeknownst to either Roo or Nicole, Roman had followed them, there was no way he was going to leave them both defenceless especially against a man who was known to be manipulative.

On top of the fact that he had his two grandchildren as well, Roman couldn’t see how he could just stay on the side-lines.

There was too much at stake.

Way too much at stake.

Nicole walked in feeling like she was about to be sick. Saliva had gathered in her throat and she couldn't even swallow it. Roo squeezed her hand.

"Breathe, it is okay" She was trying to ease the tension but she

Nicole stood at the edge of the room. Stacey was on the side of the room. There was no sign of Penn or the children but then Nicole didn't think that he would let her see the kids, at least not yet.

‘So who are you? Roo heard a voice ask.

"Roo" she stated.

Penn didn't look pleased when he walked into the room. "I said, alone" directing his disdain onto Nicole who was shaking.

Nicole felt defiant ‘Meet you on my own? You are deranged’

Penn growled losing a little bit of his self-control not that there was much of it left. ‘Careful. I have your kids"

Stacey saw a shadow pass by the door slightly and moved her gaze away so that Penn didn't get suspicious.

Nicole was curious and so she asked him a question "How are you alive?"

Penn smiled, he hadn’t even thought about that day, the day he had ‘supposedly died’. He had never intended to stay away for so long but he was strangely proud of what he had ‘achieved’ that night.

Flashback

Penn lay on the floor, barely breathing, the knife had penetrated his hip, he could feel it, it wasn’t deep but it was still incredibly painful. It was a scorching and stinging pain.

He tried not to move but the pain became unbearable. He knew he couldn’t stay there, Will would return with the blonde bimbo and try to bury him. He wasn’t even dead but he couldn’t tell them that

His stomach ached and stretched even when he didn’t try to move, he was concentrating on trying to ease the pain.

‘What the hell?’ he heard a familiar voice penetrate his thoughts.

Penn breathed in slightly and opened his eyes, things began to float from one area to another, and it would click into place and then float away again.

He managed to lift himself up so that his body was laid up against the side of the bed. ‘What are you doing here?’ he croaked as he regained his vision.

Surprisingly since he was able to move against the bed, the throbbing pain in his hip had subsided slightly.

‘You should in in Bronstein Mental Hospital’ he chastised

Penn groaned as he edged himself up, clutching at the bedcovers, he picked himself up and sat on the bed. He saw the knife and eased it under his sleeve.

‘Bro, stop trying to fix me, I am perfectly sane’

Penn stood up and his brother approached him. ‘I am taking you back, you need to be looked after by those who are qualified.’

‘Nathaniel’ Penn shot out, knowing that his brother hated being called that. ‘I am fine’

‘You look it’ he heard his sarcastic reply.

‘Sarcasm doesn’t suit you’ Penn gripped Nathaniel’s shoulder and tried to get him to leave the room but Nathaniel was a lot stronger than Penn especially since Penn was injured and stood his ground.

‘Let’s go’ Nathaniel hooked Penn’s arms under his shoulders and slowly eased him towards the door but a few moments later, he was doubling over in agony. Penn had shuffled the knife down his sleeve and had stabbed Nathaniel with all the strength that he was able to muster.

Penn heard footsteps and wondered what he was supposed to do now, he darted his eyes around the room and saw the closet open, he shuffled along, stretching his wound which made him scrunch up his eyes but he managed to get into the closet. It didn’t stop the pain but he closed his eyes and tried his utmost best to calm his breathing as he heard Will’s voice.

‘Let’s get him out of here’

Penn closed his eyes as he let the pain take over and he slowly drifted off into unconsciousness.

End of Flashback

**

[Zetti]

Part Eighteen

Roman froze as he made his way around the warehouse and found a second exit, the lock was pretty easy to force and like a true soldier, he eased his way in through the door,

He found himself in a room with no windows just air vents and two doors opposite to where he was stood.

It stunk of urine; mustiness crept into the dark room and infected every corner. He could smell the crap of animals all over the floor.

The mouldy bits cracked as he walked across it despite his best attempts to avoid it, he scrunched up his face but it didn’t make a tiny bit of difference, he could

He was pretty sure that he had stepped into one of the deposits but he didn’t want to find out.

He breathed in the stale air and he found himself gagging, he walked as slowly as he could towards the door, he could see a light from under the door but he couldn’t hear anything.

He figured that no one was actually outside but he had to be extra careful, his family’s life was in danger.

Roman edged his way out of the door, and he was shocked at the sight in front of him. Rob was lying there with ropes tied up to him.

He had clearly been knocked unconscious. Mia whimpered as she saw Roman but he put his fingers to his lips. He didn’t want to alert anyone who might have been guarding them.

He canvassed the area and saw several doors which must have led onto a corridor, he wasn’t sure if he should check but he heard a footstep from behind him and he spun around ready to defend himself and protect the kids but he saw it was Angelo.

‘What the hell?’ he said out of shock. Last he had seen it, Tyler had been attached to Angelo’s side.

‘Like I was going to leave Nicole?’ he said with a duh expression spreading out on his face.

‘Okay, grab Mia’ Roman said as he untied Rob. He checked his pulse. It was faint but it was there.

‘We need to get them to hospital’ Roman muttered.

Angelo nodded and shushed Mia who had begun to tremble. ‘It’s okay baby, Daddy is here’

Roman looked over his shoulder. ‘Get a car and drive them, we can’t risk Penn finding out’ he said in hushed tones listening out for any unknown noises, his senses were heightened.

‘Got one outside’

Roman’s eyes arched in surprise and Angelo’s response was to shrug ‘I did used to be a policeman’ as if that was a good explanation but it satisfied Roman who made his way out of the room and towards the car.

‘Drive safe’ Roman said with a stern look on his face.

‘Save them both’ Angelo ordered.

Roman nodded and made his way back into the room, he canvassed the room for any signs of what could be lurking behind the doors that was in front of him.

He stepped out and his instincts was right, it was a corridor, he couldn’t see anyone but that didn’t mean that there was no on there, it was a quiet place at the moment.

He made a conscious decision to turn right, he couldn’t explain it but there was something drawing him there.

**

Tyler and Aden sat in the hospital room; he had been given the all clear but until social services could turn up, Aden had volunteered to stay with him.

‘So what is your favourite game?’ he asked trying to take his mind off his ordeal. It was painfully obvious that he had been subjected to abuse over the past few hours if not longer.

‘I love soccer’ he admitted

‘Really?’

Tyler nodded allowing a smile to form on his face. He liked Aden; it was nice to talk to someone who wasn’t going to hurt him but he was hurting because he missed his mother.

‘I want my mum’ he admitted a few moments later.

‘I know, you will see her soon’ Aden said wishing that they would all be okay, even Penn, he personally he had to be mentally unstable to be able to do this.

**

‘Clever wasn’t it’ Penn asked as he finished recalling his flashback.

‘Fishing for compliments?’ Nicole scoffed ‘That is just you all over’

Penn wasn’t about to let Nicole rile him up, he had spent too much time controlling his emotions just to allow her to trample all over it.

Roo moved forward slightly and lost her footing; she slipped and banged her head against the steel that was lying on the floor.

Nicole shot to her side. ‘Are you okay?’

Roo put her hand to where it had been struck by the steel, there was no blood but she could feel a bump forming.

‘Its okay, no harm done’

Penn watched in amusement but made no movement, Stacey was in the background and she saw someone walking slowly towards them.

‘Go and see if the children are okay’ Penn ordered her.

She nodded grateful for the chance to try and get out of the situation. She walked towards the place and she recognised the man.

Roman stood up and moved his hand towards the gun he had placed in the waistband of his jeans. She put her hands up mouthed ‘He isn’t armed’

He wasn’t sure about what he should do next regarding Stacey, but he didn’t get a chance to decide when he heard Penn’s voice.

‘Having a nice chat Stacey?’ he shot out clearly angry.

Roman pushed Stacey behind him. ‘Go’ he said as he pointed his gun at Penn’s head with a glare etched onto it.

‘You really think a gun scares me?’ he asked ‘I have escaped death once’

Roman didn’t move his stance, he firmly pointed the gun at his head, and he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him. He looked at Roo who was holding onto Nicole or maybe Nicole was holding onto Roo, from that distance, it was hard to tell.

Penn slowly moved towards him and Roman pushed down on the trigger causing a gunshot to resound in Nicole’s ears as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.

**

[Zetti]

Finally managed to get this written..

hope you all like this..

Part Nineteen

‘Are they okay?’ Angelo asked Aden.

‘Mia is fine, Rob is unconscious, but it’s a good thing, his body needs the rest’

Angelo wasn’t convinced ‘so they will be both fine?’ he needed the assurance for himself and so that he wouldn’t focus his anxiety on Nicole. He was terrified that he might lose her.

He knew that Roman was more than capable of rescuing them but he still felt fear, after everything that they had been through, he couldn’t lose her now.

She hadn’t even seen Rob yet. It was strange how much had happened in the past few months and how it didn’t even matter now, all that matter was that the kids were safe.

He had half his family safe, he just needed Nicole to be safe and then he would be okay. He still had to deal with the fallout from finding out that Tyler is his son but right now his priority was Nicole, he had to focus and he knew that Nicole would want him to be with the children.

‘They are going to be okay’ Aden assured him.

‘Tyler?’

‘He is fine, a bit shaken up but he is okay’ Aden replied as he signed the prescription which had just been given to him by a passing nurse.

He wasn’t even meant to be working but they were short staffed so he volunteered to work.

‘Where is he?’

‘With Social Services’

‘What?’

‘I had to. I had no choice’ he said as he saw Angelo’s shocked yet forlorn expression.

Angelo sighed. ‘So what does that mean?’

‘I have spoken to social services, they are considering taking him into care’ Angelo looked pained as he took in Aden’s words.

‘But what if I took him in? I am his father’

‘You aren’t named on the birth certificate so until a DNA test can be done then there isn’t much you can do’

‘So do a DNA test then’

‘We can’t, not without Stacey’s permission’

Angelo groaned but asked ‘Can I at least see him?’

‘I will see if they will let you’ Aden relented, he couldn’t deny Angelo the chance to see his own son, but he was wary of the effect it would have on Tyler because he was incredibly confused and understandably traumatised by the situation.

Aden returned a few moments later. ‘He doesn’t want to see you’ he replied as gently as he could.

Angelo nodded in response, he wasn’t surprised, the poor guy didn’t know what was going on, and if Angelo was completely honest with himself, he didn’t think that he had a right to be a father in Tyler’s life especially since he hadn’t even been there for the past 6 years.

Did he even deserve to be in his life?

He realised that only Tyler could ever answer that question, no one else. Tyler had to be the one to decide if he wanted Angelo in his life. Though to be fair, Tyler at this point in time didn’t even know Angelo was his father or at least Angelo assumed that.

How could he know what Stacey had told him? He made a mental note to ask Stacey if he ever got the chance, he wasn’t going to willingly give up the chance to be in Tyler’s life.

Tyler deserved better and if he ever got the chance, he was going to be there for him. He had to be there for him.

**

[Zetti]

Part Twenty

The gunshot was still resounding in Nicole's head but it didn’t affect her as much as it did for Roo, it caused her to feel dizzy but Roo couldn’t ignore the doubt in her head that it wasn’t because of the gunshot. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the chance to ponder it as she felt more and more lightheaded. She gripped onto Nicole’s arm and Nicole immediately realised that Roo’s injury was more serious than she had initially thought.

‘Are you okay?’ she whispered as Roo held onto her arm a little more tighter

‘I can’t feel my legs right now’ she said as she struggled to stay upright but she neglected to say that her head was throbbing more than it had been when she first banged her head.

So many thoughts were running through her mind but the main thing she was worried about was that Roman could get hurt; she didn’t want that, she needed him in her life. America had been good but she missed having someone in her life where she could feel safe and protected and what’s more, to be a part of a family.

She never truly felt a part of her own family, maybe it was guilt from giving Martha up or maybe she was just holding onto some residual sadness that made her feel worthless but whatever it was, she didn’t want to lose Roman, she loved him and she couldn’t honestly say that she had ever felt the same about any of her previous partners.

Nicole made Roo sit down against the wall; there was no point in wearing herself out even more especially when she had no idea what was going to happen.

Roman was occupied with Penn who didn’t seem to want to move out of the way. ‘You might as well shoot me, I won’t let you near either of them willingly’

Roman breathed in and positioned his gun towards Penn’s chest. ‘Don’t push me’ he warned menacingly and Penn for the first time realised that he wasn’t actually in control of this situation. He was already increasingly aware that he had probably got the kids safe & sound.

He scrambled his thoughts to try and rearrange his plan. Despite these ‘setbacks’ he had no intention of letting Nicole walk out of his life.

Everything had been leading up to this point, Nicole was the end game and judging by the look on Roman’s face, Penn knew that he understood that.

‘Shoot me’ Penn repeated, he wasn’t going to give up and so if he did get shot, he got shot, he wasn’t about to let Nicole go without a fight. It wasn’t who he was and he had no intention of changing ever.

**

Roman didn’t change his demeanour nor his stance, adrenalin was pumping through his veins, sweat beaded in little clumps on his forehead but he didn’t let it distract him. He had to make sure his family was safe.

Nicole saw that Penn and Roman were still in a standoff but she was worried about Roo. She had gone clammy.

Nicole was no medical professional but she guessed that the blow to the head had caused more damage than they initially thought. She felt uneasy, she knew that Roo needed to be in a hospital so she stood up and spoke. ‘Take me and let my Dad & Roo go’

Roman was shocked to his core and he stood up a little bit straighter but he didn’t move the gun.

‘What?’ Roman said once he had got over the initial shock

‘Roo needs to get to a hospital and you need to take her Dad’ she said.

He shook his head. ‘I am not leaving you here with this unhinged moron’ he spat out.

Penn watched as Nicole looked pained but she remained defiant. ‘He won’t hurt me’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘Because I love her’ Penn interrupted finally admitting the depth of his feeling for her. Nicole didn’t react to it; she had to be impartial till she had got her father and Roo out.

‘Please, let my dad take Roo’

‘In return for you staying with me’ he asked needing confirmation? He wasn’t sure how it was going to be perceived.

‘Yes. I will stay with you as long as you let Roo go and my Dad’

Roman looked pained but he didn’t get a chance to respond to either Penn or Nicole. ‘Fine, they can go’

Nicole sighed in relief and helped Roo to stand up. Roman put his gun back in his holster and she moved towards him passing Roo over to him. ‘Take her’ she said as Roman gripped onto her arm.

‘Don’t do this’

Penn pulled Nicole back and said directly to Roman ‘Go before I change my mind’

**