Chapter 24 – Alice
“Massimo!” Thea gasped, but Alice just held her shoulder, calming her.
“So, you just want to do what you want, right?” Alice raised an eyebrow “Okay then.” Calmly, she pulled his plate away from him, making Masslino groan.
“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“If you’re not willing to do something that you know will only be good for you, then that means you’re not willing to do the rest either, I believe.” She raised an eyebrow, moving to where he couldn’t reach her “Or was I wrong? Thea, could you get the medicine back, please? Since Mr. Bianchi wants to eat, that means he is also willing to do whatever he needs, right?”
“You…” Massimo glared at her, cornered as if he had been caught in a trap “Do you think you are going to manipulate me like that? I don’t care if I’m hungry or not! I can just get out of here and you can have this damn food…!”
“It’s, okay.” Millie interrupted their argument, her little legs dangling in the air as she tried to get out of the chair “We can split!” she smiled, running to Massimo as soon as Alice helped her reach the ground again “You can have half of my sandwich!” Millie smiled, holding out the entire sandwich to Massimo “We have to ask mommy first, but you’re going to let him eat, aren’t you, mommy?” She turned her big puppy eyes to Alice, making her smile.
“Do you really want to have breakfast with the three of us?” Alice asked, her heart aching to know that her daughter was so excited because she had never had the opportunity to have a real family meal, with more than just the two of them.
“I didn’t like taking my medicine either.” Millie remembered, standing on tiptoe to offer the sandwich to Massimo again “But you can ask your doctor if he has a medicine like mine. So you can have half of my sandwich and we all can eat breakfast together!” she bounced, a huge smile lifting her round cheeks and making her look even more adorable. 1
And, while looking at Massimo, leaning on one of the chairs, Alice realized that not event someone as grumpy as him was able to resist her daughter’s cuteness. After a moment of hesitation, in which he was clearly mustering the strength to deny it, Massimo snorted, shrugging his shoulders in defeat.
“Eat your sandwich, kid. I’ll eat my own.” He turned to Alice, his eyes slitted “Bring my food… And the damn supplements.” He pushed those words between his clenched teeth, but it was with great joy that Thea ran to pick up the poor forgotten pills on the floor “You are more cunning than I could have expected, Dawsey.”
“No, I do not think so.” One of the corners of her mouth lifted “Perhaps you are more soft- hearted than you want to admit.“.
“In your dreams.” He grumbled, again lowering his eyes to where Millie was, still holding the sandwich, now with a disappointed expression “Alright, alright. Stop making that face. I’ll take half of your sandwich, but you have to get another one to eat, okay? A child like you.
1/2
+25 BONUS
AIRE
cannot go without eating.” He broke the sandwich and handed the other half to a super smiling Millie “And I’m going to drink this trash that makes me feel like I swallowed at Jackhammer.” Massimo grunted softly, taking the pill pack from Thea’s hands and swallowing two of them with a grimace.
“It is a good sign.” Alice said, now with a sincere smile as she sat in the chair next to him and placed Millie in her lap “It means that the pills are doing their job and roleasing the nutrients that your body needs, but can’t absorb naturally
“And how the hell do you know this in so much detail?” Massimo sneered, clearly not paying much attention to it, but Alice still couldn’t help but tense up.
“We have more than one pharmacology class at college.” She cleared her throat “Now, eat. You have earned your right to eat whatever you want for breakfast.”
“I’m not your child either, Dawsey.” He grumbled, but still bit into the sandwich Millie had given him.
“Well, if there’s one other thing I learned from my time in college, it’s that sick adults who behave like children should be treated like children.” She teased him, almost laughing at the irritated grimace he made as he chewed, with his mouth full “And, who knows, maybe I can teach you to be as polite and attentive as Millie.”
