•·.·'17'·.·•

I'm holding Eli's arm tightly as we all sit in the living room.

Everyone is here. Romeo stands against the wall as he smokes, Mateo is sitting on the other side of Eli and the twins are sitting across from me. Staring at me unblinkingly.

I lean in closer to Eli and try to hide behind his big arm. I peek out and see is dark outside.

Is probably very late.

I take in a deep breath. They know. They don't know the details. The only ones that do are Elias and Romeo, but they know what happened.

Macys absence makes me wonder where she is.

Is she in time out?

"Enzo, Armani, go to sleep. Is late"

"There's no school tomorrow, Elias" Armani remarks.

"Why don't you tell our sister to spit it out. We want to know what she did now!" Enzo says in a loud voice.

I take back what I said. The twins probably know less then what I thought.

"Go to your room, both of you"

My eyes look up at my brother, cold Elias is back.

As the twins leave, Mateo gives me a warm smile and leaves the living room. It's just my two eldest brothers and me. For some reason I feel more comfortable with just them two then with the others.

"I'm going to bed" Romeo announces after a while and takes his leave.

"Angelica"

I just stay quiet. Afraid that if I do something wrong he'll change his mind and decide he doesn't want me anymore.

"Let's get you to bed" As soon as he stands up I do too, following his every move.

"Goodnight" Elias pats my head and closes my bedroom door, leaving me alone in the darkness. I bring the thick comforter to my nose. There's no one here Angelica. Is okay.

Good thing is friday today. There's no school tomorrow.

I hear a noice and my head twistes towards it. But there's nothing.

I'm going crazy, is all I can think.

I think I try for an hour but I can't seem to be able to relax. I look at the door and remember all the times Macy would stand there, waiting for Jake to finish hurting me.

A knot forms in my throat. There's no one here. So I can cry. but that's not what i'm looking for this time. All I want is comfort. For someone to tell me is okay.

My words aren't enough to satisfy my paranoid mind anymore. I get out of bed and walk out of my room. I go to the door next to me and try to open it. For some reason it takes me way longer then it should, but I succeed. I slowly creak the door open.

I'm just making sure Eli is still here. After this i'm not going to disturb him ever again.

I promise.

It's pitch black I contemplate turning back and suffering in my room. But I don't. I pull through, this is nothing compared to how I felt earlier.

When I get closer I see my older brother. He's sleeping?

He looks so peaceful. I don't know why, but part of me thought Eli didn't sleep. But I guess he does.

I come closer until I stand next to his bed. Slowly I get on top of the tall bed and snuggle next to him. The lump in my throat returns, and this huge sadness overwhelms me. I try to not make any noice while tears flow across my cheeks.

But of course, my efforts weren't good enough, because soon after Eli's hand starts to caresse my head.

"Eli, Jake won't come back, right?"

There's a small pause. "He won't come back Angelica" He wisphers, but his voice is confident.

"You know I didn't-didn't want any of that to ha-ppen, Eli. I promise I told him n-no, but he wouldn't li-sten" My small cry's become a tiny bit louder.

Eli doesn't say anything he just puts the warm blanket over me and hugs me gently.

"I believe you" He finally says. A wave of relief passes through me. "And I promise you won't ever have to go through that again"

I feel so happy right now my heart could burst.

I love my brother more then anyone i've loved before. This time though, it feels different. This love feels safe, and most of all, it doesn't hurt.

...

Elias POV:

"You need to stop smoking so much" I tell Romeo.

He just smirks. "Non dovresti parlare, Elias" (You shouldn't be talking, Elias"

After a few seconds of silence, I light up a cigarette.

"Did she have trouble sleeping last night?"

"Yeah" Is all I say. For a few seconds Romeo doesn't say anything. He just stares aimlessly as he puffs smoke out slowly.

"You know you shouldn't allow her to do that too much"

"Do what?" Part of me is getting annoyed at him.

"You know, letting her sleep with you everytime she can't sleep. It can create trouble for her in the future"

"Don't worry, I know"

Romeo doesn't say anything else. We both just smoke quietly.

I've never told this to him, or anyone else. But I enjoy being with Romeo the most. Other then Cecilia. Romeo doesn't talk much, I don't either. So it just works out.

Our moment of peace is interrupted by my phone. I pick it up and look at the callers name.

Elio. What does he want now...

I think Romeo notices my annoyance because he says "It's Elio"

"Yeah"

I answer the call.

"Elias" The moment I notice his voice is not all bubbles and rainbows like he usually is, I know it's something serious.

"Elio"

"We have a problem, some of our people received a message that a leader of a gang wants to challenge you..."

"They've gone so far as to even propose for there to be a prize to whoever wins" Elio finishes.

Is this really why he had to call me at 7:oo am for.

"Dejalo, no haran nada" (Leave it, they won't do anything)

"We haven't identified them yet!" Elio says frantically, worried i'll hang up on him. I can feel the worry in his voice.

"Entonces que esperan" (Then what are you waiting for) I say calmly, maybe if I give him something to do i'll get him off my ass.

"They might know..."

"Might know what?" Romeos head turns towards me, hearing intently. I turn as I hear people coming inside the kitchen. The twins.

"You know..."

"No, I don't know" I do. But I don't like Elio or anyone else who isn't my brothers mentioning my sister.

The twins start going through the drawers, acting busied, but I know they are hearing our conversation as well.

"That your sister is back. They didn't exactly state what they wanted, meaning if they win they get to choose they're prize."

I remain still, but at Elios words I can't help but get angry. Not at Elio, but at the thought of someone thinking I would agree to use my sister as a prize.

"Find out who leads this...gang" I tell Elio. Romeo and the twins are no longer hiding the fact that they are listening intently to what Elio is saying.

"Our team is looking into it, but all we've been able to find so far is that they are in new york"

I'm not worried, they are a gang. But that doesn't mean i'll be careless and risk my sisters safety.

"Call me when you got all the needed information" I'm about to hang up when Elio stops me, "Elias, for now, I recommend being extra cautious"

"Va bene" (Okay)

"Elio doesn't speak italian Elias" Romeo reminds me as he holds his forehead.

I chuckle, "I know"

"Then why would you speak in italian!" Romeo says a little bit louder then his usual quiet tone.

"Common Romeo, he knows I said okay" I defend myself.

Romeo just gives up on the conversation and continues smoking.

"Do they know she's here?" Armani asks me.

I look at his hazel eyes and nod.

All our heads turn to the sound of a clash.

"I told you! She only brings trouble. You need to send her away" Enzo says angrily.

"Non va da nessuna parte, Enzo. Quindi inizia ad abituarti al fatto che lei sia qui perché ora è casa sua." (She's not going anywhere, Enzo. So start getting used to her being here as this is now her home)

...

Angelina's POV:

After i'm done sliding on my long socks I slide down from the bed and head downstairs. My steps halter in the middle of the stairs as a hear a loud clash that follow up with voices. By the time I finally step down the last stair is back to being quiet.

Should I go back to my room?

Deciding to stop being a coward, like Mother use to say, I continue walking. My steps are slow but steady.

I peak my head into the kitchen to see all my brothers already inside.

My eyes land the broken flower base next to Enzo. I look towards Romeo then then my eyes connect with Elias who is sitting on the tall stool. I see him and walk towards him. I can feel Enzo's angry glances so I try to hurry it up.

Once i'm a few steps away Elias opens his arms and smiles warmly. I walk into his embrace and he picks me up and places me on his lap. "How did you sleep baby?"

Totally forgetting about the broken glass scattered of the floor I smile at my eldest brother. "Good" I lean my head on his chest.

After a few minutes Mateo appears in front of the kitchen entrance.

"Goodmorning!" A small smile comes to my face from Mateos bright mood.

"Angel!" He comes running toward me and tries to pick me up from Elias lap but Eli holds onto me. Mateo glares at him and yanks me up anyway, earning a glare from Elias.

"You are so adorable!" Mateo spins me around making me giggle like a mad man.

I love them.

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End of Chapter 17

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I could NOT decide which one, so you can decide. But if she were to wear the one on the right then she's wearing tights :(

Also I'm contemplating making the brothers super evil, straight up assholes, menaces to society, but I don't know yet. If I do though, no one will even be able to hate them because i'm not going to publish this book so i'm still thinking about it.