The next day my bruise turned purple and when Will met me in the morning, heading for the kitchen, he immediately decided I should stay home. I don't know if it was because in a school uniform, with smoothly combed hair and a purple mark on my cheek, I looked like a victim of domestic violence, or maybe he knew that with every smile or wince, I was in pain.

"I'm fine!" I groaned irritably because I really wanted to go to school, especially because of the news that I had to tell Leo.

"Don't argue with me, little one," he asked me politely but firmly.

I folded my arms.

"But you're exaggerating."

"Hailie," he warned, looking at me significantly. "Please stay home today."

I sighed ostentatiously and rolled my eyes, but I also dropped my hands loosely and turned on my heel to disappear on the stairs and change into something comfortable. I liked going to school, yes, but I wouldn't argue with Will if it wasn't for the fact that I really wanted to talk to Leo and be the one who would inform him as soon as possible that Vince agreed to meet him. Because I managed to convince him. I. Convinced Vince.

I expected to spend the whole day watching TV again. Every moment I just put another layer of pleasantly cooling ointment on my cheek, which of the whole tube was given to me last night by Will, when he came to check on me before sleeping.

I took little naps and watched my favorite series alternately. I also read a book. I was only interrupted a few times. First, by Will and Vince, when they announced that they're leaving and that I'd be alone because Eugenie was sick and she wouldn't be able to come to us for work for the next few days. Then I realized that it was probably the first time I was home alone... No brothers or housekeepers. Before I could jump out of excitement, the garage door slammed and Dylan arrived.

I forgot that he finished earlier on Fridays. Dylan was in college now and I didn't know his schedule yet, so I never knew when to expect him at home.

I was wondering if he'd confront me now for what I said in Vince's office yesterday and a mentally ill part of me hoped that he would. I felt like arguing with someone, and, though, provoking an argument with Dylan was never a good idea, I waited in suspense for him to growl at me so I could answer him the same way.

But he just glanced at me and his eyes stopped for a longer second on my poor cheek. Then he looked away and disappeared on the stairs. I didn't see him again until a few hours later when I was awakened by his and the twins' voices. They just entered the living room, where I was lying, and their presence was an extremely annoying welcome for me.

Nobody in this house reckons with me. They should've respected that I was sleeping.

"Wow, look at this hell of a shiner!" Shane commented, clicking his tongue. I felt him leaning over me, but for now, I only had the strength to flutter my eyelids.

"The redhead fucker has a similar one. I mean ten. And it's only on his face," Dylan said.

For a moment I hoped that I was still asleep and it was just one of those messed-up dreams in which my brothers play the main roles, but then I blinked again and saw all three of them. Tony sprawled in an armchair, Dylan on that small couch, and Shane took up a free part of the corner settee where I was laying.

I sighed loudly and hid under a blanket. For some reason, I didn't feel like looking at them.

"Ey, little girl, we're ordering food," Shane informed me. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," I grunted almost immediately, but also looked out from under the cover because I felt too hot. I just saw Shane throwing his phone to Dylan and how he grabs it and starts browsing the menu.

"You'll choose something yourself or eat what we order," my mean brother muttered.

Idiot.

When he finished, the phone landed gently on my blanket. Well, gently or not, it still managed to irritate me.

"Did you have to throw it? Couldn't you pass it on to me like a normal human-being???" I snapped with an angry face.

He looked at me in surprise, and then mocked me, making some inarticulate noises together with an idiotic face. God, how annoying he was, how annoying!

Tony laughed. Another moron.

I grabbed the phone and started scrolling through the list of Italian dishes, not trying to hide my attitude.

"Someone's grumpy," Shane chuckled.

"Yeah. Some little, spoiled girl," Dylan muttered dismissively.

I lowered the phone and lifted my body on one hand to grab the pillow with the other and throw it at him with all my strength. I aimed at his face, but he defended himself just on time, which I watched with a disappointment.

"You're asking for timeout," he threatened me, but the hand he lazily lifted and pointed at the corner trembled with laughter. I heard the twins started to snicker too.

Then throwing Shane's phone at him seemed like a great idea. He was only able to catch it thanks to his perfectly trained reflex and shot me a half-murderous look. He also shook his head slowly.

"Hey, how about we'll be throwing your phone, eh?" Shane asked me with a note of irritation in his voice. At this point, Tony was guffawing.

I literally boiled. I had the feeling that I was so close to crying soon that I dug out from under the blanket and got up to get away from them as far as possible. One more moment in the company of these idiots and I will give up the ghost, I swear.

"Where do you think you are going? What about the apology?" Dylan called after me.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed at him and (in case he wanted to chase me) I quickened my pace. Fortunately, he didn't move from the couch because he probably noticed that I wasn't in the mood for jokes, or simply because of pure laziness. I only heard him murmuring to the others, "What's wrong with her?"

If it wasn't for the fact that I knew that neither Vince nor Will was at home, I'd probably run straight to my oldest brother's office just to complain about the rest. Then I'd probably regret it, but it doesn't matter. Now I was shaking with anger. I locked myself in my bedroom and sat there alone for long hours. I only let Shane enter it when he brought me my ordered meal.

I was firmly convinced that my brothers were behaving today more frustratingly than ever, but later I realized that they were as usual, and it was just me who reacted differently. I found out the reason for this change in the evening when I went to the toilet. I stared dumbfounded at the down part of my underwear.

It wasn't the first time it happened to me. A few months before my mom's death, I got my first period. I remember announcing this to her. She smiled then and said something like "Congratulations, my little woman". How wonderful I felt, so mature! Well, after that I had some irregular bleeding twice. Back then I didn't understand that my cycle would've settled much faster if it hadn't been for the tragedy I went through. And my eating disorder definitely didn't help to get it back. But I didn't know it at the time, and in a house full of men, there was hardly anyone to remind me of the importance of this matter.

That day I was bleeding so heavily for the first time and I was terrified because this time it wasn't just a stain. Panicking, I started to look through my stuff in my bathroom storage box, looking for pads. I found two. Two sanitary pads. That's hardly enough to survive until tomorrow morning...

I was horrified. A bit because I didn't expect the period to be so bloody, and a bit because I wasn't ready for it, and as a perfectionist, I was seriously afraid of such unexpected situations.

I changed clothes, did the handwashing, and took a few deep breaths. I missed my mother twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, but in a situation like this, I felt like simply falling to the floor and just crying out of powerlessness. I needed her so badly.

I had such a good relation with her that when I got my first period, I practically shamelessly boasted about it to her. Now I was shivering with fear and embarrassment at the mere thought of having to talk to someone in this house about it. I suddenly felt very, very lonely.

First, I went downstairs to quickly add the sanitary pads I needed to the shopping list that hung in the kitchen, on the fridge. At Monet's house, Eugenie was responsible for grocery shopping and toiletries. Luckily, there were always the biggest on Saturdays, so according to my twisted calculations, I could somehow survive until tomorrow. Maybe I'll even find her and ask her to go to the supermarket a little earlier?

I slipped into the kitchen and already grabbed a pen to add my need to the "wish list" (as we called it with my brothers) when my hand froze in the air.

Eugenie got sick. That's what Will told me this morning. My heart stopped in my chest. Jesus. Who knows when she will return to work and when this list will be realized. Will the guys do the shopping? When?

I headed uncertainly to the living room and stopped behind the sofa. The good news was that I didn't see Dylan anywhere. The bad ones - only Tony was left. He lied sprawled the way only a man can, in a corner settee, in a place that I had previously occupied. Spread-out, with one leg on the couch and the other on the table. On his stomach, he was holding a huge bowl of popcorn, which he crunched, stuffing it into his mouth. A TV remote control and his phone were laid by his side. He didn't look like he was planning on going somewhere that evening.

"Tony?" I started, and after a while, when I knew he heard me and just ignored me, I continued with my question. "If Eugenie is sick, who will go for shopping?"

I bit my lip, and when Tony shrugged in response, not even glancing at me, I closed my eyelids. I couldn't talk to him about it. It's too hard, I can handle the situation myself. Somehow. I'll make something up.

I checked all the bathrooms I know in the whole house, except for those in my brothers' rooms and in the working wing. Nothing. In this damn residence, apart from my bedroom, any trace of femininity was impossible to be found. In two bathrooms located in the guest rooms, I even came across packets of condoms, which I immediately threw aside as if they burned me. Damn brothers.

Then I returned to my bedroom and thoroughly searched every millimeter of it, hoping that somewhere a packet of fresh, ready-to-use pads was hidden. Not a chance.

I sat on my bed and looked at my mom's framed photo. God, if only Will was at home. I would burn with shame explaining to him the situation, but he'd help me. Unfortunately, I needed to get shopping as soon as possible and I couldn't assume that I'd meet him tomorrow right in the morning.

I started toward the door, finally deciding to put my cards on the table in front of Tony.

And then I turned back and sat on the bed for another half hour. I'll curl up and die. It's Tony. I pressed my face into the pillow, letting out a frustrated groan.

"Please, kill me!" I sighed to no one in particular and although the material effectively muffled the meaning of my words, I remembered that I lived in a house where guns are available in almost every shape and color, so I immediately raised my head and looked around suspiciously, as if fearing that someone would comply with my request.

I'm getting crazy.

To make matters worse, I had pain in my lower abdomen. I felt terrible and I wasn't as happy that I got my period as I was a year ago.

I needed to go to the supermarket. Now. Tony has to help me. He is my brother. It's his duty. Especially since we were left alone at home. Who else could I ask?

When I stood behind the sofa in the living room for a second time, looking at the back of my brother's head, who had not changed position since the last time, I felt my nerves devouring me. As if the lazily crawling snakes made a nest out of my stomach.

"Tony?" I asked again and went around the couch to stand in his vision, which was unnecessary because he was watching a program about cars and apparently didn't intend to take his eyes off it.

I licked my lips.

"Tony, I need something from the store."

"And?" he muttered, still not paying me even gram of his attention.

I took a shuddering breath. At least he spoke.

"I need someone to give me a ride..."

"And?"

I clenched my jaw.

"Tony, I need you to take me to the store."

He finally gave me a look, but as if I lost my mind. He almost tapped his forehead.

"Please, Tony."

I was playing with my hands nervously.

"I'm busy," he said indifferently and stuffed his mouth with another portion of popcorn.

I looked back for a moment as if I were looking for strength and energy to deal with the youngest of my older brothers.

"This is an emergency," I started again, taking a step forward.

In response, Tony belched so loudly that I winced and my cheek hurt. Normally I would probably comment on it under my breath, but now I wanted to stroke him, so I bit my tongue.

I stood there and fought fiercely with my thoughts to come up with a good reason that would convince Tony to agree to go to the supermarket with me without telling him the truth, but he obviously didn't care about anything, so finding a right argument bordered on the miraculous.

"If you are standing already, you could bring me a beer. It's in the fridge," he said after a while, and when I didn't react at first, he threw a grain of corn at me. Then I shook myself out of my trance and looked at him.

"Get lost," I hissed, suddenly getting angry.

Tony shrugged and put the bowl of popcorn on the table, then got up and walked slowly into the kitchen, avoiding me indifferently and checking his phone on the way. I stood there in this living room, frantically going through my head and meager ideas that came into it. And then I heard the rattling of the bottles and opened my eyes wide. If he drinks, we won't go anywhere.

I ran into the kitchen just as Tony grabbed the beer opener that was a magnet attached to the fridge. Without thinking much, I grabbed and pulled him by the back of his shirt.

"Tony..."

He clicked his tongue with clear discontent and turned away, finally facing and focusing on me. He was a bit annoyed. Apparently I was disturbing his calm, lazy evening.

"What's your problem? You'll go tomorrow with Will or someone. Go away," he grunted at me.

Aw, another beloved brother has just been added to my special list of beloved brothers.

I don't know if I was more angry or ashamed, but I must've blushed a lot when I finally couldn't stand it anymore and blurted out:

"I got my period and I need pads."

Tony was staring at me for long seconds as if I was a picture. He blinked a few times, and a mix of embarrassment and disgust slowly appeared on his face. He frowned and leaned his head back a little. If this situation wasn't so humiliating for me, I'd definitely start laughing at this look.

He then raised his eyebrows, gazed around the kitchen, as if looking for a hole that he could jump into and hide from me and my girlish problems.

"Fucking hell," he muttered under his breath and hung the magnet back on the fridge door with a loud slam. Then he rubbed his face and took a deep breath. "Fucking hell."

"Tony, I really..." I started again, but he raised his hand, interrupting me.

"Hush," he growled. Then he turned away and headed for the hall. I stood still, tensed, listening to my heartbeat, and trying to assess the effectiveness of my honesty. And after a moment, the sound of jingling keys reached my ears. A second later Tony called, "Come!"

I quickly get out of the kitchen, not giving my brother time to change his mind. I looked like a poor thing in sweats, and with a battered face, but nevermind. Nevermind. I immediately hopped into the passenger seat in Shane's blue Lamborghini, which Tony picked from all the cars available here.

As I watched him starting an engine, a thought came to my mind. I should ask Vince for driving lessons. Then, in this kind of situation, I could drive myself to the store without asking anyone. Of course, assuming that his overprotection would allow it.

I also caught the reflection of my face in the side mirror and got even more embarrassed because I was red as a tomato. Maybe it's good, at least Tony knew that it wasn't a comfortable situation for me either.

My brothers' awesome cars, especially sports cars like the one I was sitting in, had such loud purring engines. They sounded like leopards, getting ready to attack, and I usually enjoyed this sound, but today the vibrations that have permeated through the entire car and its passengers, irritated my aching tummy.

Fortunately, the road to the supermarket wasn't long, and Tony also didn't shun any excessive pressure on the accelerator, as if he wanted to be over with this trip as fast as possible. Soon, we parked among the sea of ​​other cars belonging to people who at the last minute wanted to do shopping today.

When entering the store, Tony set a fairly fast pace and I could barely keep up with him, but I didn't have the courage to peep a word to him to slow down, even though my tummy hurt more and more. I was afraid because I'd never experienced menstrual cramps before and I didn't know how disastrous they could be.

For some reason, Tony grabbed the shopping cart. Maybe he was planning to do bigger shopping that I thought.

He finally stopped in the right alley without even looking at me. I tried to ignore him and focus on choosing the right purchase. I looked at all these packets of pads in various shapes and colors, with and without wings, scented and super delicate as a butterfly touch, with painted daisies, extra thick, extra thin, for a day, for a night, for good morning and goodbye. I bit my lip so I wouldn't cry. And how could I know what to choose? Which brand is the best?

I got hot because I felt pressure from Tony. I grabbed two different boxes, each in my hand, and started reading the description on one of them. I was a perfectionist and it was very important for me to buy the right products. If I had oily skin, I wouldn't buy a cream that will make it greasy. In a similarly conscious way, I wanted to buy sanitary pads. I tried to remember the appearance of the packaging of those I used today, which my mom bought me a long time ago, but my mind went blank.

"Well?" Tony urged me on, giving me an impatient look. Apparently, he didn't feel comfortable standing with me in this alley and awkwardly looking around, rubbing his eyes, then scratching his head.

"I need some more time," I muttered, glancing at the tampons. I've heard somewhere that they're more hygienic, but will I be able to use them at all? I put one of the packets back in place and reached out to read about them.

Tony narrowed his eyes.

"You don't use it," he protested before he could bite his tongue.

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.

"And how do you know what I use and what I don't?" I hissed angrily. He annoyed me with his childish behavior and the fact that he didn't make my task any easier for me.

Tony raised his upper lip and grimaced as he also lifted his hands.

"I don't know, I can't. Fucking hell. I'll be waiting there," he said and walked a bit away, which I was happy about because his presence only stressed me.