I straightened up. My lips pursed and my stomach tightened. Small, unpleasant shivers ran under my skin. I stared blindly at Leo's blond head, which dropped again as if he couldn't or didn't want to maintain eye contact with me. He put his hands on his head, mercilessly messing with his fair hair.

"I know it may be stupid, you know, coming to you with it, but I'm not sure what to do, I feel like there's no way out. You saw with your own eyes how I approached your brothers' table in the cafeteria..."

"Leo. I have to go, ok?" I said, suddenly standing up. The boy stopped his muttering, and his head shot up after me. He looked at me confused, but I didn't even wait for any form of confirmation from him, I just walked away quickly. I think he called me, but I ignored it.

As soon as I disappeared around the corner from his sight, I started running. I could feel sweat drops on my forehead that appeared there out of nowhere. It started to ring in my ears. The unbearable heat hit me and I thought I wouldn't make it. I passed people I didn't even recognize. I already had dark spots in front of my eyes. At the last moment, I managed to dash inside the ladies' room, pulled the door of the closest cabin, and without even caring about closing them behind me, I threw myself on my knees in front of the toilet. I immediately started to throw up and it was the worst feeling in the universe. I vomited all lunch and breakfast, and probably the remains of yesterday's dinner too. A small part of it also went through my nose and I shuddered in disgust. With one hand I tried to keep my hair behind my back and with the other, I clung to the toilet seat which normally I'd never touch. Even with my little finger.

Only when I finished did I make a loud, pathetic groan and sat on the floor, leaning my back against the cabin wall and sighing heavily with exhaustion. I had a terrible taste of vomit in my mouth, and tears rolled down my cheeks. My stomach ached from an unusual effort. I felt awful.

"Hailie, are you okay?" Tanya asked. A girl with whom I had biology and PE. Very nice, quiet, and calm. She had brown hair and delicate violet-rimmed glasses. She was gazing at me through the wide-open door of the cabin in which I was sitting.

I nodded weakly and closed my eyelids. I didn't even have the energy to be ashamed of her watching me in this state. Jesus, I didn't flush the toilet. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes again and propped myself up on one hand and reached for the cistern with the other. Tanya left my sight for a second but quickly reappeared, handing me a roll of toilet paper, which for some reason was missing in my cabin.

I thanked, wiped my mouth, nose, and wet cheeks. I had to get a grip on myself. Of course, it's been clear to me since a long time ago that my brothers were dealing with some suspicious business, but for the first time someone in my presence called them a mafia and I can't even describe how terrified I was. Is there still such a thing as a mafia in the 21st century?

My imagination worked like magic and suddenly a man in a suit stood in front of my eyes, with a mustache and a hat stuck on his aesthetically combed hair. Stereotypical mafioso, whose image was constantly used in books, TV series, movies ... And then I combined it with the person of Vincent, in his long black coat, elegant shirt, expensive watch and a signet ring on his finger... I shivered.

Calling my brothers' matters a 'mafia' was far creepier than simply saying about them 'business'. Mafia is brutal, illegal, cruel, and ruthless. And business can be ... various.

I took a breath, slowly calming down. Finally, I managed to get to my feet and reach for the washbasin, where I rinsed my mouth and washed my face with cool water. Oh, what a relief.

Tanya, with whom I had my next lesson anyway, suggested that she could lead me to the nurse. I refused immediately. I didn't need any attention right now. Especially since I wasn't even ill. However, when we entered the classroom just as the bell rang, we were immediately surveyed by Mrs. Roberts, who taught biology and who absolutely adored me. She was a wonderful woman herself, very patient and forgiving, and her voice was so pleasant that I could listen forever, as she talks about the construction of blood vessels and such.

Mrs. Roberts reminded me of a mother and I am not talking about my mother here, but about a general picture of a mother. She had porcelain skin, gentle facial features, good eyes, and fair, slightly wavy, shoulder-length hair. She was so nice that even the worst students who hated books, tests, teachers, and everything related to school, out of weakness for her, tried to behave in her class at least decently.

As might be expected, Mrs. Roberts, at the sight of my white as a piece of paper face, immediately got out from Tanya what was happening to me. I sighed as she directed us to the nurse without letting me say a word.

I was fine, but I preferred to pretend I was a bit sick rather than to admit that I got overwhelmed by my emotions after finding out that my brothers were some bloody mafia. Less unnecessary explanations.

It wasn't a break time anymore when Tanya led me to our school's medical aid office. It was located in a different wing, so we had to cross the main hall of our school, where of course, with my great luck, we had to bump into Shane, Tony and two of their buddies, with whom they were just returning from outside to school, late for their classes and in excellent moods.

Seeing them, I grabbed Tanya by her wrist and wanted to back quickly into the corridor while we had the chance, but she got too late what I meant, and Shane's eyes fell on us.

Wonderful.

"Hey!" he called out at once, not even for a second considering whether to leave me alone. His companions also stopped and got silent, with Tony at the forefront. They were probably having a cigarette a moment ago and they didn't even hide with it, because Tony had one of cancer sticks stuck behind his ear, and one of their colleagues, probably the annoying Tyler, who had recently snitched on me to them, was playing with a lighter.

Excuse me, are they subject to any special treatment here? Because they behaved like kings of life, and the woman sitting in the gatehouse seemed to deliberately ignore them.

Did the school staff know what the Monet's brothers were involved in?

"Why aren't you in class?" Shane asked, approaching us. Tony followed him, leaving his friends behind. I wanted to let loose a loud, frustrated groan. I also felt that standing next to me Tanya stiffened.

"Mrs. Roberts sent us... somewhere," I replied, unable to come up with a good excuse in my state. I couldn't also count on my companion who apparently got very stressed by the fact that she and I were in the center of the Monet twins' attention.

"Where?" Tony asked right away, almost demanding an answer.

"To the nurse," I replied with a sigh, quickly searching in my head for an idea explaining why two girls would be sent there, other than sickness. I didn't want them to know that something was wrong with me. I was going to convince the nurse that everything was all right and I hoped I would be allowed to go back to the class.

"Why?" Shane pushed, and he and Tony now stood opposite me and Tanya. They both looked at me expectantly. They looked so funny together. Although they were identical twins, they rarely looked as identical as now.

They are in a mafia? I felt an unpleasant squeeze in my stomach again.

"For something," I murmured.

"For what?" Shane narrowed his eyes. "Why are you so pale?"

I clenched my teeth, but before I could give them some useless answer again, Tony took a step forward, focusing his gaze on my poor friend who looked as if she had done something serious and now she had to confess to her parents, school principal, and the Supreme Court.

"You. What are you going there for?" he growled at her. I knew very well that he was trying to intimidate her, which he obviously flawlessly succeeded in. If I didn't know him, I'd be scared too, so I couldn't blame Tanya for speaking immediately, giving me only one apologetic look.

Did Tanya also know that Tony and Shane are part of the mafia? Are they even part of it? For God's sake, they are still in high school! It doesn't make sense.

"Hailie felt unwell."

I looked sideways, biting the inside of my cheek.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Er... well..." I felt Tanya's eyes on me. She was begging me to take over her explanations, but I wasn't going to do it and she finally understood it, because she just sighed and finished. "She felt sick?"

It's not difficult to guess that Tanya answered every question Tony asked her and after this short interrogation, the twins knew that I was vomiting during the break in the school bathroom. They quickly sent her back to class and she obeyed them without a word. I watched her giving me one last guilty look, but I smiled gloomily to reassure her.

"Why didn't you tell us you were feeling bad?" Shane asked, placing his hand on my back and pushing me slightly toward the corridor where the nurse's office was located. I cringed at this touch and hoped he didn't sense it.

"I don't feel bad. Nothing happened," I replied automatically, knowing inside that a lot has happened because my sweet peace in which I could have remained was brutally disturbed. My brothers and father did their best so that I could live in it as long as possible and now I knew why. It was another heavy load that landed right on my shoulders.

"You look like a zombie," Shane said to me, grinning a little at me as if he wanted to cheer me up, but unfortunately, his smile, in this case, wasn't enough, so with a grumpy face, I was already opening my mouth to snap when a warning appeared in his eyes and he added, "Better don't say anything."

The twins separated from their colleagues, telling them they'd see each other later. I raised my eyes, but I was completely ignored and I felt a sincere urge to throw myself on the floor and make some interesting show of hysteria. I refrained, remembering that I should behave mature and that I would certainly regret it later.

Besides, are they seriously in a mafia?

The escort of my brothers was an act of embarrassing overprotection for me and my explanations that I felt better now didn't affect them or the nurse who was an elderly lady who was famous in our school for her severity and suspiciousness. She usually assumed that the students coming to her were pretending to feel unwell to avoid a test or oral assessments and to be dismissed to home, which was a very dangerous approach, but in most cases the right one. However, she treated me seriously as soon as I crossed the threshold of her office and I don't know if it was because I entered with the company of the Monet twins, or because I really looked bad.

The nurse couldn't do much. She asked me a number of questions, touched my stomach, and even measured my temperature. Shane was with me all the time, and his presence didn't make me feel any better, even though the nurse told me I had the right to ask him to leave, even if he was my brother. As it turned out, Tony disappeared in order to call and inform Vincent about my situation. This almost made me suffer a heart attack.

"I want to go back to class!" I protested to all of them at some point when I was lying on the couch and supposed to rest, but the only thing I could hear was the endless discussion going on between the twins and the nurse, who wanted to send them back to their classes now because there's nothing they could help me with. They couldn't take me home themselves either. It would conflict with school policy.

I really felt better now. The emotions subsided and I knew I wasn't sick so I could go back to my classes. I didn't want to skip them. I'd have to catch up with the missed stuff anyway. What's more, the last thing, I wanted, was unnecessary attention around me.

Maybe I changed my mind a bit when it turned out that it was Will who came to pick me up. He was dressed in a gray T-shirt and jeans, his dark blond hair was a little more messy than usual. His blue eyes found me and I felt the immediate need for comfort.

Will hugged me, listened to the nurse, then helped me stand up as if I had a problem with my legs, not my stomach, and finally, in the hallway, he exchanged a few words with Tony and Shane, pressing me to his side like the greatest treasure. Suddenly, I felt that maybe I'm a little sick and I need Will to take care of me. Sometimes, I quietly admitted in front of myself that Dylan was right, and in the company of my second of my oldest brothers, I was getting soft as an overcooked dumpling, this is how much I wanted to feel cared for.

Then he led me to his car and was as absolutely lovely as always. He treated me like an egg. He asked me to let him know when I feel nauseous again, especially while driving. At home, he sent me to the couch straight away, covered me with a blanket, and let me watch as much tv as I wanted. I also heard him giving Eugenie instructions on how to prepare a light dinner for me.

And is he also in a mafia?

I felt small remorse because he was apparently worried about me and I could calm him down if I told him the truth. That my nausea was caused not by illness but by emotions. In a moment, however, I remembered what its real reason was and I didn't really think that accusing him and the rest of my brothers of belonging to an organized criminal group would enlighten his mood.

I thought a lot about Leo and how I left him alone with his problem. I didn't think I could help him, but I should at least explain why not. I left him lost and overwhelmed, on the stairs by the janitor's cupboard. I'll have to talk to him again.

Will only came to see me from time to time, as he had to work, and I wondered endlessly what his work from home was about. Could mafiosos work remotely? Was Will in a mafia? I cringed. It sounded silly and inappropriate.

And then Vincent came to see me. I kind of fell asleep with a pad in my hand because I'd been watching the "Money Heist" for the third time on the Netflix application installed on Play Station. The pad slammed to the floor when, at the sight of my eldest brother, I fully woke up from my little nap.

Ashamed, I picked up the item for which destroying I would definitely get hell from Dylan and the twins who used the console most in this house. Fortunately, it worked, so I put it aside and focused on my guardian, who stood nearby and looked at me. He even asked if I was better. I couldn't do anything about the fact that his dignified style today stressed me even more than usual. While it was hard to believe that Tony, Shane, or Will could have been part of a mafia, Vincent was a completely different story. His whole attitude radiated warning and threat. Now, at the sight of him, I tensed more than usual, and, with his perceptiveness, I was sure he noticed it, so I could only pray that he'd take it as a side effect of my current state.

Vince didn't bother me with his presence for too long. As soon as he made sure I was all right and I needed only a little rest, he disappeared. Only then could I try to relax again.

I sighed.

I needed an answer. Earlier, I had accepted at one point that my brothers had secrets that I shouldn't pay attention to. Now, however, Leo has activated more mechanisms in my head that have driven me even more to get answers. I don't have to know everything, but ... but a piece, a little piece of information about my family... The mafia sounds cheesy and untrue, so how is it?

I bit my lower lip and thought about what to do. I can't start pushing my brothers. I didn't have the courage to do it. They'd eat me alive. They've already presented more than once how protective of their secrets they are. By the way, I remembered what I knew they were capable of. Threatening to other people, beatings, and killing too? 'Yes, that too,' the voice in my head confirmed quietly. I ordered it to shut up immediately.

Will certainly didn't belong to any mafia. He just brought me a fluffy blanket.

I grabbed the phone and searched for Leo's Instagram profile. He had a private account, but I could send him a message. I chose this option with a stiff finger and thought about what to write.

And then I quickly closed the app, looking around suspiciously. Is it possible that Vincent had insight into my messages? Did he somehow know the passwords for my social media? He never asked me for them, he only dictated to me what privacy settings I should have on the particular portals...

Well, but I got a phone with a GPS locator, so only the devil itself knows what else he installed there. I didn't think about it usually because I don't have much to hide, but now... now it's better not to write to Leo.

The rest of the day I vegetated on the couch until the twins showed up. They interrupted my peace with their noisiness. They appeared out of nowhere, knocking me out of another nap. Tony took the pad out of my hands, which I was half-consciously pressing against my chest, and Shane almost crushed my feet as he sat next to me.

Something like a grumpy grunt escaped my mouth.

"Shush," Shane said, not even glancing at me, busy with fixing his gaze on the TV screen. The boys turned off my show and I didn't even know which episode there was being currently played, but I still woke up and called out:

"Hey, I watched it!"

"Go to sleep," Tony muttered dismissively, not looking at me either.

"I was resting! And now you're bothering me," I grunted, and when I finally got my foot out of Shane's heavy thigh, I nudged him.

"You said you were okay."

I fussed a bit more, but soon it was completely jammed by a machine gun. Its sharp burr sounded a few tones too loud as for my ears. Tony and Shane started their shooting game, not caring that enjoying the benefits of a home theater in this way, they will lose their hearing very soon.

I didn't leave for my bedroom, as I planned at first, but stayed with my brothers and watched them killing members of an opposite gang until the evening, wondering if they were so good at it in real life too.

God, stop it, it's just a video game. It doesn't look like that in real life.

No? And how do I know how it looks like in real life?

At the end of the day, Will visited me in my bedroom before I went to sleep. He asked me a hundred questions about how I felt and I answered them all before I started convincing him that he had to watch this Spanish series. He answered that maybe someday because now he has no time for series and in return, he asked me to describe him the whole plot. I was struggling to choose the right words to encourage him, but not reveal too many key scenes.

The last thing I remember that day was his beautiful, indulgent smile, which he gave me when I described to him how much I adore Denver's laugh. Then Will kissed my forehead and I probably fell asleep. Will certainly wasn't in any mafia.

And then I dreamed of the memory of a cabin in the woods, where my brothers brought the bald guy who shot Tony and how Will brutally handled him there.

My consciousness deliberately stuffed these images into a separate drawer in my brain. That drawer was locked with the key and it wasn't going to open that soon. And now, damn Leo found a crowbar and just like that broke the lock.