Chapter 28: How you doin'?

🌺 Leonessa 🌺

The pounding of my heart makes it hard for me to concentrate.

I try to control my breathing as I crack my neck and knuckles.

My hand reaches out for the Wii controller that was clipped into a Wii steering wheel. I close my eyes for a second before opening them again with determination.

"Get ready to eat my fairy dust Toad." I say out loud as I focus on the numbers counting down from 3 to 1.

I press down on the button and I quickly make my way to first place.

"Ha! I could be the next Vin Diesel if I wanted to. All I need is the Tokyo Drift song with Paul Walker sitting next to me (may he rest in peace) and we Gucci man." I exclaim as I send a green turtle behind me.

Suddenly the door bursts open and when I saw who it was, I nearly wanted to chuck my controller at him.

"Heyyy Leooo, how you doin'?" Blake asked in his horrible Joey accent as he walked in all innocent, but we all know, that bleached asshole is anything but innocent.

"What do you want Bleach? I'm kinda bus- YOU DUMBASS! DID YOU SEE THAT? HE JUST SERIOUSLY THREW A BLUE SHELL AT ME! NO WONDER YOUR MOM NEVER CAME TO YOUR SCHOOL PLAYS YOU BITCH!" I screamed at the TV as my King Boo was being blasted off into space with Toad cruising by, laughing his obnoxious little laugh.

I cleared my throat and turned towards Blake.

"Sorry about that, I get road rage. So what is it?"

He stared at me, then at the TV then back at me before shaking his head and mumbling something about how he could wait to teach me how to drive.

That's just plain rude.

He finally sat next to me and took both my hands into his.

"Can you do your most favourite brother in the world a small, tiny favour my little bumblebee?" He asked.

Um...what the fook?

I pushed my head back, probably showing off my beautiful double chin. My eyebrow was raised along with my nose in disgust as I looked at our hands then back at him.

He fluttered his eyes in what was supposed to be a cute way, but he only looked like he was constipated and had major period cramps.

"What is it that you want me to do and what do I get in return for this 'small favour' ?" I asked as I yanked my hands out of his before crossing my arms.

"Ok so I have this good friend who lives in LA. He's a cool dude and I knew he'd help if I were in trouble, so when he asked for my help, I couldn't just say no, you know? He apparantly messed up big time with his step sister and destroyed a ring that was very valuable to her. So could you just, like go over there and repair the ring, in return I'll give you ice cream everyday, for a month." He concluded as he looked at me hopefully with his hands folded into a begging motion.

"Ugh fine, make it two months and you got yourself a deal." I eventually gave in because I'm just a good person.

He moved towards me for a hug but I quickly did a mini backwards somersault to dodge it.

Don't touch me...just don't.

"Well now that's out the way, get your ass up. You can't spend your birthday playing Mario Kart." He stated as he pulled me up from the couch.

It is indeed true that I, Leonessa Serrendo, the most greatest woman to live after Audrey Hepburn (obviously), is turning 15 today, on the 28th of September. I give all the readers permission to mark it down in their calenders.

Yikes, I'm getting old.

"But I don't want toooo." I whine as I leaned my weight backwards, trying to make it hard for Blake to drag me but that proves to be useless as he throws me over his shoulder like a sack of beans.

(Beans beans the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you...💃)

"And I don't caaare." He whined mockingly back as he carried me away.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

We were currently in our backyard for my birthday dinner and I was in a state of frightened shock as Flynn finished his dance routine which he claims is his birthday present to me.

His arms were crossed in front of him as he breathed heavily. His so called 'dance routine' mainly consisted out of The Macarena, him doing flips from the wall in our backyard, yelling "Parkour!" and his abomination of The Worm.

After a small awkward silence with a cricket noice in the background, we all slowly clapped our hands in complete confusion and worry for this boy's sanity. He bowed deeply from left to right and then eventually sat down with a face full of pride.

"Anyways, I guess it's my turn." Dominic said after he snapped out of his temporary shock and went to stand on the mock stage they had created out of blankets and fairy lights. Mind you, we were all in onesies, per my request, that reflected our personality. For example, Dominic was in a onesie that looked like a suit, Blake is a purple dragon, Hayden was a robot, Killian's looked like a cop uniform and Flynn was a unicorn for obvious reasons.

I of course looked the most amazing out of them all since my onesie was that of a shark.

The name's Bruce mate, chomp chomp bitch.

Dominic was just about to speak when the phone from the front gate rang. He huffed out an annoyed sigh and crossed his arms. And I kid you not, the man pouted.

"I'll get it." I laughed out as I handed the huge jellyfish plushie to Killian, a gift from Bleach himself.

I made my way to the ringing phone and quickly answered it.

"Who is it this time Trey?" I asked jokingly since there was a lot of fan mail and presents from my business partners and my brother's allies.

Let's just say I'm going to Mexico in two weeks to visit Axel, his wife, Lamina and his daughter, Roja as a birthday gift from him.

"Uhh...we have a sir, what did you say your name was again? Ah, a sir Butler for you miss. What are with these people's names?" Trey stated, mumbling the last part.

"Hmm, strange indeed but send him through, thank you Trey." I said before hanging up.

A few seconds later there was a knock on the door and I didn't waste much time opening it.

What I didn't expect was to see an old man in a crisp white suit holding a small box wrapped in matte black wrapping paper. A gold card was tied to the box and I could see my name written on it in a beautiful calligraphy style with a heart next to it.

I looked up at the man's face only to see that his head was held high with his eyes closed in an elegant way.

Alright, who's this Alfred Pennyworth's doppelganger and why is he on my front porch.

"A present to the hopefully future Koroleva from the future Korol' of the Russian Mafia Empire." He stated professionaly as he gently placed the wrapped box in my hands. (Queen; King)

"The future Korol' ?" I questioned slightly confused whilst trying to stiffle a chuckle at the strange honorifics the man used.

"You don't get paid enough do you sir Butler." I asked, the humour behind my words being clearly heard.

"I'm afraid not moya Koroleva, now if you'll excuse me I have to make my way back to Russia and tell the future Korol' of your reaction to his present." He stated and I could see he was trying very hard not to let out a heavy sigh of exhaustion. Poor thing.

Ahh, so this is a gift from the beautiful eyed weirdo. That dude just doesn't give up, he even got my number somehow and hasn't stopped texting me for the past month, so basically since we left Russia.

I pulled out the card from under the golden string that was tied around the box. I flipped the card open and read the words that were still written in the beautiful calligraphy.

~

To my beautiful I'vitsa .<

Sincerely

Your weirdo

~

Ugh, this pervy weirdo who makes my blood pressure reach the damn milkyway has his way with words doesn't he? Ah shit, the letter was honestly adorable and now I'm screwed.

Why do feelings have to exist, I didn't ask for them and they are definitely not needed.

I sighed as I ripped the wrapping paper open to reveal a black box. I slowly lifted the lid and sighed once again. Now I'm double screwed.

Why did he have to know my tastes in jewelry? He's making it very hard to not like him.

"Tch, he can be glad that it's pretty and that I actually like it otherwise it would've been Juju's new chew toy." I mumbled to myself as I clipped the hand bracelet on and studied it by slightly rotating my hand.

I placed the card in the pocket of my onesie and quickly made my way back to my brothers when I realised that I've been gone for a while.

Their eyes followed me as I sat back down on my chair. Blake was the first to notice the piece of jewelry that decorated my hand.

"What's that on your hand?" He asked ad he slightly pointed at the bracelet causing all my brothers to look at it too.

"A gift." I stated vaguely as I casually hid my hand under the table.

"Yeah no shit sherlock, I meant who's it fr-"

"Sshh Bleach, can you not see that Dominic is trying to say something important, be quiet now." I scolded which made him shut his mouth but not before grumbling a few profanities under his breath.

"Thank you Leonessa." Dominic said before he took a deep breath. He looked me in the eye and I could tell that whatever he's about to say, is actually going to be very important.

"I'm sad to say that our parents couldn't be here to see what a wonderful and strong woman you turned out to be. I won't lie to you, the first thing I thought when they told me that they had found you, was that you were going to be a lonely, weak little girl who had no one by her side to support her. I thought that the girl I would see at the airport would be shy with little to no confidence which I would've never held against you since I wouldn't have hesitated to show you how strong you actually are. But something told me you already knew. You know that you are strong and you have proved yourself right multiple times from the unfortunate event in the desert to the kidnapping of you and your brother."

Dominic closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath, as if he was going through all these memories in his head.

His speech was starting to get to me as my throat started to get scratchy along with the familiar burn behind my eyes.

He once again looked at me before speaking again.

"You continued to be strong and you used logic and instinct which will get you far in life Leonessa, trust me. And when I actually saw you in that airport, I saw someone with the right amount of confidence and power, someone who didn't back down and stood for what they think is right. I knew that the past you hid behind your smile and I noticed because I used the exact same method. But look at you fiore, you're sitting there stronger than ever, surrounded by a family that loves you for who you are and that will never change. I think I speak for everyone here and I speak for our parents who is looking down on us right now...

We are so proud of you Leonessa. I am proud of you and it will stay that way until the day you leave this earth."

Finally, someone was finally proud of me. Someone cared.

They actually cared.

And it feels fucking amazing.

Dominic's words were like the final blow. That final cord that was struck on the guitar at the end of a beautiful song.

Everything was quiet as I bowed my head to avoid everyone's eyes. My shoulders started to slightly shake and the moment my hands touched my face in effort to cover it, the dam broke.

The dam that was filled with memories, emotions and thoughts that I poured into it to forget.

To forget how I felt when Mrs. Green, the head of the Orphanage, told me that I didn't have a Mommy and Daddy, even though something deep inside me knew that I did, I did have parents.

To forget the man I trusted with all my heart. I believed that he could protect me from the darkness of this world when he was the actual darkness.

After all, it's not the world that's dark. It's the people in it.

To forget when Phoenix, my brother, one of the most important people to me, lost his life at the hands of his own father and how I was the one to see his beautiful hazel coloured eyes close for the last time.

The frustration I felt with the things I had to go through, every formula to an equation or a complicated question that I just couldn't understand. I didn't have anyone to ask for help.

The first time when the realisation that I was alone hit me like a train on high speed.

All these things that I poured into the dam in my head, all these shitty things filled that forsaken dam until it was about to overflow. And when Dominic said that he was proud of me, when he said that he loved me for who I was as a person, that dream I had as a child, the dream of having someone care for me and love me, didn't seem so stupid anymore.

That was when new emotions hit the dam, the emotions known as accomplishment and self pride. They felt like small water droplets hitting the never ending dam, but they were enough to make the walls crack and burst in all directions which caused a loud sob to escape my mouth, then another and another.

Everything around me was suddenly muffled as I cried. The arms that were wrapped around me in comfort could barely be felt but I still felt them and it only made me cry harder.

The words came out along with a sob which made me question if they understood what I said but with how they all started to tear up, I knew the words were heard loud and clear.

"I love you guys. I love you all so, so much and you have to stay with me for the rest of my life. You are not allowed to throw me away like burned rice or I swear I'll bury you all alive with wild maggots. A-and you have to love me back and you have to love my personality and my amazing humour, b-because I know that I won't be able to handle it if you don't." I choked out as I removed my hands from my face to make sure they heard me.

We were all somehow on our feet as they all surrounded me in a hug. Blake and Dominic were the ones who hugged me the tightest since they were closer whilst Flynn, Hayden and Killian made a barrier around us.

I could feel Juju licking at my fingers that were pressed against my side. I rubbed his head as he leaned into my touch.

We were all crying on one another's shoulders for a long time. All of us have been waiting forever to let the tears we have been holding back be free.

Everyone had their own reason for crying, if it's for the hardships they have endured, the emotions they haven't fully embraced or just that realisation that everything will be alright in the end.

The burning of our throats and the stuffy noses were being embraced as each tear brought a new sense of relief.

A new sense of freedom.

Dominic eventually broke away from the crying circle, and I must say for someone who just cried their heart out, he still looked like a badass bitch in his suit onesie.

"I uh, have one more gift for you which is from me but also mainly from our parents." He said as he quickly picked up an object that looked like a framed picture with one of those bows that are meant for presents on the top right corner.

When I got a closer look at the picture, I almost cried all over again.

It was two pictures in landscape form, enclosed in a rosegold detailed frame. I traced the faces of the two people I could hardly remember.

"Dad always bragged about the way you looked at him. He claimed that he was your favourite person which caused mom to hit him upside the head." Dominic stated with a small smile on his face as he gazed at the pictures.

"There were always the typical fights you have in a household for example when I was mad at them for not allowing me to eat cookies before dinner. But they would always make it up to us by bursting into our rooms with confetti canons. We would then all watch a Disney or Dreamworks movie with ice creams in hand." Killian explained as he hugged me from behind.

"And although he was the leader of one of the biggest Mafias in the world, Dad always wore pajamas that had some sort of pun on it with a picture relating to the pun." Hayden added with a chuckle.

I laughed at the fact that almost every pajama set I own has a pun with a picture on it.

"So that's where I got that guilty plessure from." I stated with a smile as I felt another tear roll down my cheek.

I hugged the framed picture against my chest as I took a few steps back.

And I swore I felt something warm, something comfortable wash over me, like two pairs of arms wrapping around me in a big hug. It was gone as soon as it came, but I still felt it and I couldn't help it as a big smile bloomed onto my face

I looked at all my brothers who stood in front of me. They were my people, my family. And I loved them with every inch of my beating heart I claimed was made of stone.

"Efcharistó pou eísai i oikogéneiá mou. Grazie per essere i miei fratelli." I spoke the words in two, meaningful languages that I longed to say for a long time with a smile that wasn't strained or tight lipped.

(Thank you for being my family. Thank you for being my brothers.)

And so we ended the night off with an Advil party in the kitchen for all of our headaches and homemade chocolate milkshakes at 11:00 pm.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

My phone vibrated on my pillow precisely at 12 o'clock midnight, just a few minutes after my brothers went to bed.

It was quite a hassle to get them to go sleep in their own rooms since they all wanted to have a sleepover in mine.

How I convinced them was beyond me.

I stared at the screen of my phone as I read the caller ID in my head over and over.

'Beautiful Eyed Weirdo'

My hand subconsciously reached out for my phone. I swiped the green button upwards before bringing the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked in a slight whisper but it sounded like a shout in the silence of the house, though I couldn't be louder than Juju's snoring.

I was met with a long silence and was ready to check if I actaully swiped the green button up but a loud gasp from the other side stopped me.

"You actually answered?! You actually just sai- oh shitticles!" A voice started to exclaim before they suddenly cursed followed by a thud.

"Did you just seriously fall from wherever you were sitting?" I asked jokingly as I tried my hardest not to laugh.

A groan of pain was heard followed by another curse but this time it was in Russian. I tried silencing the bubbling laughter coming from my throat into my hand but it was proved to be fruitless as a snort escaped my mouth.

"It's not funny. I didn't expect you to actually answer!" He exclaimed whilst I heard some rustling from his side. The rustling sounded like sheets so he must be in bed like me.

"Well I did, but only because your letter was quite adorable and you piqued my interest, so what is it that you want to talk to me about?" I asked bluntly only to let out a small chuckle when I heard him clear his throat in embarrasment when I called his letter adorable.

"I hope this isn't too fast for you I'vista, but it would be a great honour for me to take you out for a day. You can totally say no though, I wouldn't want to pressure you into anything you are uncomfortable doing. And I was only joking about the whole future queen thing, though you are a queen and a badass one at that but I-"

"Sure, I'll go on a date with you." I answered with a smile, cutting him off from his rambling and was once again met with silence.

"Y-you would? Like you're not what they would say in English terms "pulling my leg", are you?" He asked sounding completely dumbfounded.

"Yup, just text me the date and time, you'll be the one picking me up though. You just have to know that I will be wearing a special piece of jewelry called The Deathly Rose and I won't be afraid to use it." I stated coldly but all he did was laugh in response.

"Understood. Get some rest now, my beautiful I'vista. I will see you soon." I could already see the bright smile on his face as he spoke those words, making the corners of my lips raise just a tad.

"Don't ever say that again because that was just cringy as fuck, you perverted weirdo." I replied snarkily as I quickly hung up but not before hearing his laughter from the other side of the phone.

Hm, maybe he's not that bad. Still a weirdo though, with beautiful eyes.

THE MOTHERTRUCKING END BITCH

🐬🐋🐳🐟🐠🐡🐙🦈🐬🐋🐳🐟🐠🐡🐙🦈🐬🐋🐳🐟🐠🐡🐙🦈🐬🐋🐳🐟🐠🐡🐙🦈🐬🐋🐳🐟🐠🐡🐙🦈🐬🐋🐳🐟🐠🐡🐙🦈🐬🐋🐳🐟🐠🐡🐙🦈

Yes my fellow jellyfishy, this is the end of Leonessa and her journey with her brothers, a weird journey but a memorable one indeed.

It's honestly been quite the thrill to do this (especially when your mom keeps pressuring you to post a new chapter every minute of every day, love you mom😗). I never would've thought I'd actually get to put my obviously amazing humour to good use.

This book was more about humor and comedy instead of the drama which is what I strived for since all these kinds of books were a little too serious for my taste. I mean...

"Why so serious?" ~Joker

There will be 2-3 bonus chapters so look out for them but after that, this book will officially be completed after 10 months (Damn, that's a long ass time.)

Of course, since I've had a taste of how it feels to write a book I'd be done and over it, right?

WRONG!

If y'all enjoyed this book's beautiful humour and breath taking misfortunes, then take a trip to my profile and take a look at my second attempt at writing a book ✨Skylar✨

Here's the last meme of this book...

Cheers🍹🙂😐☹️😭