♡ ♡

Before calling Nico.

"So, you gonna tell me whose house this is?" Romeo asked me as we drove home. "Or do I need to turn around and break the door down to see for myself?"

"You definitely don't need to do that," I smacked his arm lightly. "It's my friend Nicos' house."

"Nico, huh?"

"But don't call him that, he doesn't like it. Call him Cross," I quickly corrected myself.

He nodded, "So, how'd you meet Cross?"

Leaving out a detail never killed anybody. I told him, "He's my self-defense teacher. He has been giving me classes so that I can kick people's ass if needed."

"Really?" he looked surprised for a second. "That's actually a smart idea."

A smile spread across my face.

We pulled into my driveway and got out at the same time. We entered the house, and Rios' voice from his room reminded me of what Nico suggested.

I stopped walking in the kitchen, making Romeo run into my back. He complained, "Move it, idiot."

"Shut up, moron."

I turned around and pulled him into the living room so that we were further away from the staircase. I whispered to him, "Rio has been drinking and smoking. I don't mean to be overbearing or controlling, but I'm worried about him."

"Smoking what?" he replied at a normal volume, making me smack his chest.

He put his hand over where I smacked him, "Ow. You're actually better at hitting now."

"Thank you," I smiled sweetly.

I shook my head, "Not the point. But what do you think we should do?"

He thought for a second.

"I mean...he's a teenager. They drink and smoke, as long as he isn't hurting anybody or himself, I think it's fine. But then again, he could lie and say he's going out to drink when he's actually doing something else," Romeo rubbed his jawline, his own words stressing him out.

He sighed, "Let's just keep an eye on it. He isn't drinking or smoking anything right now, so if it's just something he's doing occasionally, I think it's fine."

I nodded. Rios' voice yelled from upstairs, "There are two guys building on me! They're on me, they're on me! I one-pumped them!"

Romeo and I glanced at each other before starting to laugh. I shushed him and took a deep breath before walking up the stairs, and going into my room.

I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling.

A smile formed on my face thinking about Nico.

I pushed myself up, deciding to braid my hair before going to bed. I sat on my bathroom counter, pulling my brown hair into two french braids.

I shook my arms which were sore after, and walked over to my closet to change. I let out a sigh seeing that one of the t-shirts of Rios that I stole was now gone.

I walked out of my room, going to Rios. I knocked before entering, but as my eyes scanned his room, I realized he wasn't there. I poked my head back out into the hallway and noticed the light on under the crack of the bathroom door. The shower was on, and I smirked knowing I'd be able to steal it again now.

I walked over to his closet and snatched it out, and I did it with a smile. Snooze you lose.

As I was exiting, I noticed his phone light up on his desk. I just glanced at it while I walked by, but as I saw some of the words, I stopped dead in my tracks.

I walked over to the phone, reading the text, 'Yeah man, got that shit for you. Meet where we usually go.'

My heart stopped in my chest for a moment while I gulped.

I heard the sound of the water stopping, making me rush back into my room. I pressed my ear to my door, nervously playing with my braids as I listened to see if he was going to leave.

I heard his closet open and shut, and a few minutes later, I heard his footsteps walking down the stairs.

I slowly opened my door, peaking through the small crack. I watched Rio reach the bottom of the stairs, dressed in clothes and shoes. He glanced around, making sure that nobody was downstairs, before turning left and walking out of view.

I quietly left my room, making sure my footsteps were silent. I waited until I heard the front door open and close before rushing down the stairs, nearly falling as I did so.

I looked outside while I put my shoes on, and saw that he was going on foot. Once he was a good distance away on the sidewalk, I opened the front door and shut it quietly.

The sky was dark, and his frame was only being lit up by the dim streetlights. I kept a good distance from him, making sure to walk close to the trees and bushes on my right-hand side in case I needed to duck behind one.

The night was silent. No cars drove by, probably since it was the middle of the night.

Rio kept walking. And walking. And walking.

My legs were starting to hurt, but I mouthed my 'ows' instead of saying them out loud.

A park finally came into view. I wasn't familiar with where we were, but Rio seemed to be.

A guy in a hoodie sat on a bench, and he was the only person there. Rio walked up to him, and I hid behind a tree, but kept my head poked around it slightly.

The guy on the bench stood up once he noticed Rio, and they did a bro handshake. They stood there and talked for a while, and I fought back a sneeze because if I sneezed right now I'd just pick up a shovel and start digging my own grave.

The guy handed something to Rio, and Rio put it in his pocket. It was too dark for me to see what it was, but when they turned in the direction of the tree, I quickly moved to be behind it.

I leaned my forehead and hand against the tree while I stared down at my shoes, making sure my breathing was quiet so that they didn't hear me.

After a few minutes, I peeked my head back around, and my heart dropped seeing that both Rio and the dealer were gone.

I swore under my breath, removing my hands from the tree. I turned back around and jumped backward, my back hitting the tree seeing Rio standing directly in front of me.

I ignored the pain in my back, too frozen over the look he was giving me.

His stance was calm. No emotion on his face. If a random person saw him right now, they probably would think that he's a statue.

"What the fuck are you doing here," his voice came out cold and angry, but was at a regular volume.

I gulped. When I didn't answer him, he took a step closer to me, "You stalking me, now?"

"Did you relapse?" I forced my voice to come out. "It's okay if you did, Rio. It's nothing to be ashamed of, but-"

"Fucking stalking me cause you think I'm shooting up again?" he cut me off, anger filling his eyes, and his upper lip curled. "Wondering if you need to tell mommy and daddy to have me sent back to rehab?"

"Rio-"

He pulled a small bag filled with weed out of his pocket and held it to my face. I let out a breath of relief, although his face still remained the same.

"Elle, you've always been the person that I've trusted most. I've always loved you the most out of our entire family. But you need to stop invading my fucking privacy," he got very close to my face, making me look away from him. "You need to learn when to fuck off."

I whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Only I overcame my addiction, not you. So leave it to me to keep myself from relapsing," he stepped back from me. "And stay the fuck out of my business."

"I'm not going to tell mom and dad," I whispered.

He nodded, "You're right. You're not, because if you do, I'll never talk to you again."

His words made my heart drop.

I swallowed my saliva. He took a few steps back as tears filled my eyes, but I didn't let any fall until he turned around.

A car speeding down the road came to a stretching halt, making Rio stop walking as we both looked at it.

My parents jumped out of the car, not even shutting their doors behind them. They looked at us with worry, confusion, anger. But all emotion on their faces got melted off once they saw what was in Rios' hand.

"Is that weed?" my mom asked in disbelief.

Rio looked at me over his shoulder. Jaw clenched, balled fists. I quickly said, "I didn't tell them, Rio! I promise."

"You knew, Maribelle?" my dad crossed his arms at me. "We jump in the car after waking up and finding both of you gone, check your location to see where you are, and you're taking your fucking brother to go and buy drugs?!"

My heart dropped. I forgot that my mom made me share my location with her.

"No-"

My mom cut me off, "Get your ass in the fucking car, Rio. I hope you enjoyed having a fucking door, because it's getting taken off now."

I tried to defend him, "Mom, dad, it's okay-"

"Shut your mouth, Maribelle."

My moms words were as cold as ice, nearly making me shiver despite the warm weather. My dad walked over to Rio and grabbed him by his arm, dragging him towards the car. My mom spat at me, "You can walk home. It'll give you time to think, since you clearly don't do a lot of that."

Rio struggled to get out of my dads grip, but my dad continued to drag him. Rio looked over his shoulder and yelled at me, "I fucking hate you, Elle!"

My cheeks were soaked as his yells became quiet once the door was shut. My parents got in the car, speeding down the road to take him home.

My back slid down the tree, until I was sitting on the grass. I sobbed into my knees, wishing I would've just minded my own business.

I hope the dirt doesn't stain my pants. I like these pants.

I lift my head up, wiping my tears while sniffling.

I didn't know how to get home. I didn't even want to go home now.

I turned off my location with my mom. She's probably going to yell at me the next time I see her, but it seems like she was going to do that anyways.

I think of who I could call. I could call Romeo. I could call Winter. I could call my grandparents.

But I want to call Nico.

He's going to kill me for waking him up.

The phone picks up, and he speaks worriedly, "Elle? Is everything okay?"

A hiccup came out of my throat as I cried, "I'm sorry for waking you up, but I didn't know who else to call. C-can you come get me?"

I knew who else I could call. But I only wanted to call him.

"Where are you?" he asked me, and I heard him get out of bed.

"I...." I sniffled. "I don't know."

I wiped my cheeks while taking a deep breath, "I'm going to share my location with you."

"Okay. Stay on the phone with me, please," his voice was gentle and soft.

I nodded and sniffled, "Okay."

"Favorite color?" he asked me.

I felt confused why he was asking me right now.

"Pink," I told him. "Pastel pink."

"Favorite food?" he asked.

"Sushi," I smiled just thinking about it.

"Ew," he said as if it were a reflex. "Uh - I didn't mean that, what I meant...was....um..."

"You don't like sushi?!" I spoke in disbelief.

He replied, "Honestly? No."

"You just haven't gone to the right place, then. I'm going to take you to the best sushi place in Boston," I told him.

I stayed on the phone with him the entire time, until I saw headlights pull up in front of the park. I ended the call and stood up, my back hurting a little as I did so.

I walked slowly to meet Nico while he rushed over to me, and his eyes were scanning my body up and down as if he were looking for any injuries. He cupped my face and tilted it up, "What happened?"

"It's a long story. Could I tell you at your house?" I asked.

Something flashed across his face. I started to worry he was going to say no, but my thoughts were cut off by him nodding, "Of course. You don't have to tell me; I just want to make sure you're okay."

He wiped my tears and whispered, "It hurts me to see you cry."

Of course, he was able to make a smile form on my face. Once I smiled, he allowed for himself to.

"I think the dirt stained my pants," I sniffled while looking down at my pants.

He put his hand on my chin and forced my head up, "I'll buy you new ones."

"I'll get you something that'll cheer you up on our way," he said while putting his hand on my lower back to guide me.

I winced a little, since he put his hand where my back hit the tree. He instantly removed it and looked at me with concern, "Are you okay?"

"Yea, my back just hurts," I told him while starting to take slow steps to his car.

I was suddenly lifted off of the ground, Nico carrying me to the car as if I weighed nothing. I looked up at his face while he carried me, and my smile grew slightly wider.

"Thank you," I told him.

"I don't want you to thank me."

My eyebrows lowered, "Why not?"

"'Thank you' is used when somebody does something nice for you. But I'm not doing something nice for you, Elle. I'm just doing what you deserve."

My sad heart warmed in my chest. He opened the passengers' side door and set me down, not rushing me to get in.

Once I was in, he walked around the car and got into the drivers' side. My intrusive thoughts told me to grab onto the wheel and swerve it, so I grabbed onto his right hand with both of mine. When I saw his mouth turn up, I decided that he didn't mind.

He went through the McDonald's drive-thru on our way to his house, and I was glad the ice cream machine wasn't down because I probably would've started to cry again.

I finished my ice cream at the same time that we pulled into the driveway, and he ordered me, "Keep sitting."

Make me.

He got out of the car and walked around to my side, picking me back up again. He carried me into his house, and headed up the stairs.

He set me down on his bed, and I removed my shoes. I felt a little guilty seeing that his blankets were on the floor, telling me that he rushed to get out of bed.

His hair was messy, and he pulled a navy blue sweatshirt over his head.

"I'll sleep on the couch-"

"You'll sleep in my fucking bed," he cut me off.

My eyes widened. I asked, "You're okay with that?"

"More than okay."

I bit my bottom lip while I smiled. He tossed me a pair of his joggers and a t-shirt, and he told me, "I'll turn around so you don't have to walk to the bathroom to change."

I nodded and watched as he turned his back to me. I took my clothes off, my heart beating rapidly in my chest, knowing that he could turn around and see me.

I pulled his baggy and warm clothes on, pulling my braids out that got stuck in between the t-shirt. I told him, "You can turn around now."

He did, and I got more comfortable in his bed.

He sat down beside me and ordered me, "Lay on your side."

My eyebrows lowered, but I did as he said. I laid on my side, my face turning and looking at the wall, while he still sat beside me.

I felt him lay down beside me, and his warm hand went to my back. He rubbed it gently, using his thumb to press on where I probably had a red mark. He asked me softly, "Is that helping?"

I nodded my head, and he said, "Good."

I shut my eyes, feeling his hand go up and down my back continuously.

And as sleep came closer and closer,

I fell asleep with a smile on my face, as if I had never cried at all.