"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

- Albert Einstein

THE WALLS were familiar in the house. A soft coral that smelt sweetly of pollen, adorned with frames of photos and paintings, stretched around each room, displaying years of life that were treasured and respected. The living room was warm and inviting, and the carpet, though old and worn out, was still soft with each touch; holding various pieces of furniture that seemed to work magnificently as an ensemble, despite their varying colours and styles.

"Vita, why have you not visited us? We have missed you." Warm hands, a kind smile – Nonna. And beside her, with his eyes closed, humming to the music on the radio was Nonno, tapping each beat softly on his knees. He was sitting in the corner, as he used to, enjoying his space, yet listening in on every conversation, presently and quietly relaxed at ease.

Iris let Nonna take her hand and smiled back lovingly. Nonna's hair was a clean white with silvery tones in her roots, so soft that if she were to lean over and hug Iris, it would feel as though a paintbrush had stroked her cheek. Nonna's face, though wrinkled with age, always stood out as one of great beauty – large green eyes, long eyelashes and structured cheekbones. La mia bellissima moglie, as Nonno used to say, kissing his love on both cheeks at every sight of her.

"I'm sorry." Iris said sadly. "I would visit you more, but mum has been busy, you know."

"Ah, ma per carità! Do not listen to them." Nonna's face filled with anger as she leant back in her chair, staring at a photo of her daughter from years ago. Alessandra had a large smile, resembling Nonno's greatly, with dark hair that tumbled down to her hips, tucked behind her ears as she held out a dandelion to the camera. "I bet it is your stupid father, no?"

It was difficult to think of Alessandra in the picture as Iris' mother. She looked happy and free, without a care in the world; nothing like the cold, stern woman she was used to. "They just work hard."

"Work, psh!" Nonno shouted, waving his hands in the air with a look of frustration on his face. He had not spoken for a while, but the mention of his daughter and her husband had seemed to ignite a sudden energy. "They can find time to see us, if they make it."

"Well, we have our Vita." Nonna said, smiling with adoration at her granddaughter, still holding her hand as if afraid to let go. They had always called Iris Vita, translating to 'Life' in Italian. Their family was large, but they had all moved far away, so far that nobody ever met up for longer than a couple of days – leaving Nonna and Nonno mostly alone in their last few years. Iris was Italian in her roots, as both her father and mother were born in Italy with Italian parents, but she did not know even a few words in Italian. Because of this, she was ashamed. If her grandparents hadn't learnt English for their grandchildren, she would not even be able to speak to them.

Despite living miles and miles away in another country, Iris had always felt a connection to Nonno and Nonna. The last time they had seen each other was when she was twelve, for her cousins wedding. It had been years since their death.

She missed them greatly.

You are our bundle of life, Vita. Our little Vita.

♥♥♥

"Iris." She was shook softly awake by large hands, attempting to position her off his rigid body and back upright once more. Levi: gesturing to the train station that they had arrived at finally.

Disorientated from both her dreams and being in another place, Iris yawned and sat back against her chair, still clutching Levi's jumper around her despite the temperature being hotter with the rising sun.

"Sleep okay?" Levi asked, getting down their bags from the overhead carrier. His shirt rose up as he reached, revealing a strip of bare skin: his taut stomach muscles defined in the light.

Iris looked away, feeling herself stare for too long. "Yeah, good thanks. Did you sleep?"

"A little." He shrugged. "I wasn't that tired anyway. You looked like you needed it more."

Once the bags were back down on the floor of the carriage, Iris stood up and claimed hers, before following Levi out of the train door and onto the platform. Ember and Wrench were already there, with Wrench squinting grumpily at the light, clearly only just woken up from his deep lumber.

"My Uncle is waiting outside." Levi stated, staring at the screen of Hunter's phone - he had been using it as a means of communication.

The four, walking slowly with fatigue, headed towards the main exit, putting their tickets into the barriers and finally stepping on the ground of Georgia, ready to sleep in proper beds with cooked food and hot water. Levi waved to a man that was leaning against one of the pillars – a lanky, thin man that had glasses perched on his long nose and a large grin on his face.

"Levi!" He shouted with glee, his voice thick with southern drawl. "How are you?"

"Okay. I'm worried about Hunter and all, but I'm glad to see you."

The two embraced, before his uncle settled eyes on the rest of the group. "And remind me all of your names – I'm sorry, I forget sometimes. I'm Fred, by the way."

"I'm Ember and this is Wrench." Ember pushed Wrench forward, who smiled slowly and nodded at Fred, still dazed.

"So if that's Ember, you must be Iris." Fred said, holding his hand out to Iris. "A pleasure to meet 'ya, Iris."

Iris smiled, unsure of how he knew her name. "Nice to meet you too. Thanks for having us stay here. It means a lot."

"Of course!" Fred frowned with confusion. "Is that an Aussie accent I hear?"

"She's English, Fred. I told you." Levi said, rolling his eyes. He shook his head at Iris in apology.

Fred's eyes lit up, and he took a couple of the bags, wheeling them towards a rusty red car that sat waiting on the pavement further up. "Oh, yeah, of course! Well, it's no wonder then."

Iris looked at Levi. "No wonder what?"

Fred turned around to wink at his Nephew, shoving the last of the bags in the boot. "No wonder-"

"Nothing." Levi laughed. "He speaks crazy sometimes."

Once they were all in the car and driving away, Fred put a Backstreet Boys album on and began to sing loudly, tapping his fingers against the driving wheel. Levi, sitting in the front of the car, turned around to make the gesture of slitting his own throat in embarrassment, Iris having to look away to avoid Fred seeing her laugh.

"I want it thaaat waaaay," Fred sang, bobbing his head up and down. "Hey, Wrench, what's your actual name then? Surely your parents didn't call you Wrench, right?"

Wrench nodded, looking small and squished next to Ember, who was sat between the two gang rivals. "Uh, yeah, well-"

Fred continued singing, interrupting Wrench. "Tell me why!"

"They actually called me-"

"Aint nothing but a heartbreak..."

"They called me-"

"Sorry, man." Fred laughed against the sound of the music. "Say that again?"

"My real name is-"

"Tell me why!"

Wrench looked at the girls in irritation, mouthing: "I give up."

"Sorry what was that?" Fred asked, turning down the music. "Your real name was....?"

Wrench refused to answer, crossing his arms and glaring out of the window like a toddler in a tantrum.

Ember, by stark contrast, was laughing so much she was beginning to cry. "Louis. His name is Louis."

"Well why didn't you just say so?" Fred answered, turning back up the music again. "Oh and by the way – it's only another hour until we get there, folks! What'dya say, do you think we can fit in two runs of the album?"

♥♥♥

Despite Fred seeming rather strange and energetic, his lake house held a sense of calm and quiet; grand with its size but simple with its décor. The grass around it was neatly cut, a bright green hue, spotted with flowers and various plants around the garden. Just a few feet away from the house was the lake, so smooth and still that it resembled a giant mirror, shifting into whatever was placed around it.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Levi said as they got out of the car, getting their bags from the boot. He looked around at the house with a deep admiration, his own treasured nostalgia.

The door to the house opened, revealing a woman with curly ginger hair and freckles, wearing a flowing cardigan that flew out behind her ethereally. "Why, that was quick Fred! You didn't go speeding on my ass again did you?"

Fred threw the others a sheepish look: he had gone over the speed limit several times, claiming that he was so hungry for chicken nuggets that he would risk anything. "Daphne. You know I love you so. Why don't you give your husband a kiss?"

Wacking Fred with the tea towel in her hand, Daphne reached over to hug Levi, introducing herself to the rest of the group before inviting them in. "My two boys are upstairs. They won't show till lunch – those damn hermits, stuck to their screens! But I'll put food on the table in 5 minutes so Fred, if you want to show our guests to their rooms, I'll forgive you for being annoying today."

They were led up a large wooden staircase, aligned with windows along the left wall, where the view of the lake and the trees around it stared at them with beauty. Iris had never been to a lake house before – it was so unique that she found herself wanting to stay there forever. No wonder Levi seemed to love it there – even Wrench was curiously looking around.

"So, there are two rooms that you can share." Fred announced, pointing to one room that was right in front of them, and another much further down the hall. "Two double beds, I'm afraid. I'd say the girls could share and then the boys, but I don't think Levi would want to-"

Levi shoved Fred out of the way. "Shut up."

"I was gonna say I don't think Levi would want to share with Wrench, but clearly he has other things in his mind!" Fred chuckled to himself, stepping aside so Ember and Wrench could enter the first room and put down their belongings. "Y'all have bathrooms with showers in the rooms, so not to worry about that. Levi, I'm sure you could show your lady to the other one."

As Fred departed back down the stairs, singing to himself, Levi smiled at Iris with a bashful look on his face before walking towards their room. She noticed that he was carrying all the bags, though neither had acknowledged that, and despite him knowing she could do it all herself, it was nice of him to take them anyway.

"We have the best one." Levi said, placing the bags on the floor and looking out at the large double doors at the end of the room. With four long strides he opened them and revealed a small balcony and a table, looking out at the lake around them and everything in the distance. The morning mist in the air was dewy against the balcony railings, and they were cold to the touch as Iris placed her hands on them and looked out.

Levi watched her. "You really think we can find Hunter?"

"I do." She turned to face him, her hair blowing with the slight warm breeze in the air. "I would tell you if I thought it was impossible."

Nodding as if satisfied with her comment, Levi moved back into the room and jumped onto the bed, letting out a sigh of relief as the cushions moulded his body. "I could sleep right now."

Iris walked back into the room and smiled, taking her bag and unpacking some of her clothes into the wardrobe. They would only be there for a day, but it was something she loved to do whenever she arrived somewhere – the process of it made her feel more at home, as if she wasn't just endlessly travelling between places. It used to drive her parents crazy when she went to business trips with them – hence why she and Matteo were banned after a few years.

"Lunch!" Daphne's voice called out, booming through the house. At the sound of food, various movements echoed around, eager and hungry.

Levi, who sat up and ran a hand through his dishevelled hair, smiled to himself. "You know, I haven't heard anyone say that since my mum died."

Iris looked at him sadly.

"No, it's nice." He said, walking to open the door with his eyes sparkling. "It makes me remember the good stuff, you know?"

Smiling back, Iris followed him down the hall, where they met with Ember and Wrench appearing from their own room. Levi seemed more positive, for some reason, which had surprised her. If anything, having lost his brother would make him angry and depressed, but the determination that they would find him seemed to have ignited a burst of positivity. It was refreshing.

"Man, that bed feels amazing." Wrench said, clicking his neck. It reminded Iris of the fatal fight she had with him, where Davis had died. He had clicked his neck to ready himself for the fight, and now here they both were in the middle of America able to be in the same room as one another. That didn't mean she forgave him. After all, the reason Davis had died was because of the Mongrels.

"I'm surprised you didn't go straight to the loo, Wren. Oh, sorry, I mean poop boy." Levi said, laughing to himself as they all filed down the stairs.

Wrench glared. "Watch it."

Already seated at the table was Fred and Daphne, followed by two younger boys who stared eagerly at their food. The youngest one, who had red hair and a Spiderman shirt, jumped up at the sight of Levi, his face erupting with happiness.

"Hey Sammie." Levi said, letting the young boy run into his arms. "You're getting so tall now! You're gonna be taller than me soon."

Sammie grinned, showing a gap where his front teeth would be. "And my teeth have fallen out! The tooth fairy gave me twenty dollars!"

"Twenty dollars, jeez!" Levi ruffled Sammie's hair before taking a seat next to Iris, his arm touching hers.

The other boy, who was quieter and more reserved, cleared his throat. "Where's Hunter?"

Daphne poked his arm, sending him a stern look. She was placing all kinds of food on the table – even the nuggets that Fred had been desiring. "We told you about that, Ethan."

"It's okay." Levi said. "He's not here at the moment, but I promise he'll come back and visit soon."

Ethan nodded slowly, taking a large bite of bread from the table. He seemed around Hunter's age, maybe slightly younger – and the way Daphne glanced at him anxiously made Iris realise how vulnerable they were at that age, old enough to think they could face anything alone, but scared on the inside.

The lake house was the resting phase before the plan would spring into action, so Hunter wasn't a popular topic. It was too hard to bring up - that they were all enjoying each others company whilst he could be anywhere in the world.

After all, it was the unknown that was terrifying. It wasn't just Ethan that feared for Hunter. It was everyone sitting at that table, hoping that what Levi had said was the truth, and not just a saying of reassurance.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

AUTHORS NOTE: I just wanted to apologise for any wrong Italian that I used earlier on in the chapter - if anyone wishes to correct me I would be very grateful as I am not Italian myself and wish not to offend anyone that is!!!!

Lots of love,