37.2 Katerina

The rest of the ride was silent, save for the radio playing softly in the background. I looked down as I felt Alex slip his hand into mine and give it a gentle squeeze, which I returned. His eyes remained on the vacant street. It wasn't long before he pulled into our road and parked the car next to mine. Alex shut off the engine and got out, and we followed after him, with John carrying Ella inside.

"Hey, I didn't know when you guys were going to come home, so I ordered some food. I left some in the microwave," Hayden said as he walked out from the living room, stopping in his tracks when he saw Alex's siblings.

"Sorry for not calling to let you know," I apologized, but he smiled, shaking his head.

"No worries. Savannah just went down for her nap about five minutes ago, so I'd suggest you not make too much noise when you go upstairs," he said, holding the baby monitor. We nodded, with Alex leading his siblings upstairs towards the guest rooms while I led Hayden back to the living room.

"So how did it go?" he asked. I smiled; for a 16-year-old, he was the noisiest kid I had ever met in my life. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

"It went well. How did Savannah behave? She wasn't a handful, was she?" I asked.

"She was very well behaved. She only got fussy or cranky when she needed a diaper change, a bottle, or when she wanted to be held," he answered. I nodded, rubbing my back as exhaustion hit me like a tidal wave. "Why don't you go take a bath while I heat up the food for you all?"

"You don't have to do that, H. Why don't you go take a breather? You've been home all day with Savannah, and I'm sure you would rather be somewhere else than here," I said, but he shook his head.

"No place is better than being here for my family. Besides, I have work that I need to finish before I get my GED next week," he replied, and I smiled. He had begun taking online courses since he dropped out of school in his sophomore year. He's a smart kid, so he's been taking junior and senior year classes to finish school early. Whenever Alex has the time or vice versa, we'll help Hayden with some work he doesn't understand since we both graduated high school and had taken the same courses Hayden is currently taking.

"Go on then, finish your work, and then you can join us for movie night. How does that sound?" I asked. He beamed, nodding his head, leaned over, and kissed my cheek before he was up and running towards the stairs, nearly knocking Alex down on the way.

"Sorry!" he called out. I shook my head with a chuckle and sighed when Alex joined me in the kitchen, taking a seat across from me. He took my feet and placed them on his lap before removing my heels. I hummed, closing my eyes as he began to massage them.

"How's Ella?" I asked, opening my eyes to look at him. He smiled softly at me.

"She's asleep right now, but she's going to need time to adjust to the fact that her parents are criminals," he answered. I nodded. "I called Valentina and Alessandro while you were changing and asked if they'd like to join us for dinner tomorrow night."

"And what did they say?" I asked. He smiled, letting me sit up straighter.

"They said they'd love to and suggested we get dinner at Queen," he replied. I hummed in response.

"That's fine by me, but what about John, Vanessa, and Ella? And Hayden and Savannah?" I asked.

"They want to meet them as well, so we're all going unless John, Ella, and Vanessa don't want to join," he said. I nodded.

"I know that with today's trial it'll be hard for them, but at the same time, I think it'll be good for them to get to know the sister they believed was dead. It'll give them a chance to catch up, much like you and them," I said, cupping his face. He smiled, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss on my lips, making me smile. "Now, why don't we get something to eat before we have our famous movie night?"

"Sounds perfect."