Home Again Book Novels & Stories

But I knew it hadn’t. Over the past three years, the time Cicio Russo spent alone with me had grown shorter and predictably shorter. He would rather stay in the grand study, where he dealt with all his family business, facing those dull shelves with bulky books, than come home to be with me and my everlasting warm company. The meals I reheated again and again, the lights that stayed on night after night—it all felt like they were telling me: He was not coming back. One night, Cicio came home late and paused for a moment when he stepped through the door.

**Homecoming** The familiar scent of home—the faint aroma of Claire’s lavender candles, the comforting smell of old wood, and the lingering hint of last night’s rain—filled the air as the Hayes family finally stepped through their front door. Despite the exhaustion from the relentless chase and the constant threat looming over them, the warmth of their home brought a fleeting sense of safety. For the first time in what felt like ages, they were back where they belonged. But the sanctuary of their home was tempered by the reality of the battles still ahead.

I watched Mom and Dad fuss over my little brother, soothing him as they took him out the door. The door closed softly behind them. It was not loud, but it landed in my chest like a stone. I thought I would cry. I did not. My eyes stayed dry, almost painfully dry. I stood in the living room for a very long time before going back to my room and dragging the little suitcase out from under my bed. Five years ago, I had dragged that same suitcase into this home. I had been so small then that I could barely remember the children's home. What I remembered was Mom crouching in front of me, her eyes bright and kind, asking, "Do you want to come home with me?"

' They'll wish we'd taken them out with a single bullet. I returned his smile, pulled my child closer, and walked back to the comfort of our home. It was not long before Derick and Jasmine were locked away. With the White family's 'special care,' their time in the slammer was a living nightmare. By the time Ayden turned 10 years old, the worn-out pair was released. Derick's first move as a free man was to divorce Jasmine and try to track down Ayden and me. Little did he know that I had taken Ayden and left for foreign shores a decade ago, back to the stronghold of our family.

I returned home to Azurea alone. My mother opened the door. The moment she saw that there was no one behind me, a look of quiet heartbreak flashed across her face. My father sat on the sofa, his back straight as always, but there was a deep exhaustion in the way he held himself. I could not help but recall what they said to me five years ago. And now I was back–like a soldier who lost the battle and fled home. I turned my phone on and off again. The unread messages and missed calls from Clara Miller almost flooded the screen.

And I was finally home. To be continued...

Only mine was missing. In my past life, I'd signed right here, moved to tears by his so-called sacrifice. Then he'd kicked me straight into prison. I raised my head and looked at Gabriel's face, so full of manufactured concern. "Let's talk about this at home. I'm dizzy." Wild joy flashed in Gabriel's eyes before he masked it. "Of course, of course. Let's go home. I'll make you some tea." We returned to our temporary apartment. Gabriel bustled around, fetching my slippers and draping a blanket over my shoulders.

Her world had been full of dreams then, of life in the big city, of being engaged in a more vital, immediate, impactful world. “Well, you got what you wished for,” she murmured. Her life on Capitol Hill had certainly been . . . impactful. Ten years later, here she was, back home again. Only, as the old adage so wisely proclaimed, she couldn’t go home again. Not really. She was back in the Cove . . . but had no idea what home would actually mean to her now. “Home, and yet . . . not entirely home.”

I tried to focus on my studies and ignore the bugging thoughts about Jolene. An hour or two passed and I was finally finished with everything I needed to do for my classes tomorrow. I began to return the books that I got from the shelves because I haven’t even noticed that I had spent too long in the library that it was already getting darker outside. I had to go home as soon as possible. With the constant fear in the back of my head worrying about where Griffin could be and that unknown person who has left a present outside my house are still out there potentially watching me, I know I needed to head back home right away.