This day promised poorly since the beginning.

It was raining a lot at night and in the morning it was hard for me to wake up and crawl out of bed, and staying in it wasn't an option, because finally I was supposed to go to school and it was necessary to get ready.

Then I saw my reflection in the mirror and my face definitely left a lot to be desired. I had dark circles under my eyes, some horrible, blind, and on top of that, the painful pimple was forming on my chin, and my hair wouldn't settle at all. My bruise was almost gone, but not quite yet, and a yellowish smudge was visible on my cheek, giving the impression that I had gotten soiled with some sauce.

There was no one in the kitchen. I made breakfast for myself and, unfortunately, only a handful of my favorite cereal was left, so I had to mix them with the granola Will always eats after his morning run. It took me a few good minutes to select raisins from my portion. Yuck.

I wasn't satisfied with my breakfast and forced it into myself, wearily browsing Instagram. After some time, my favorite brother came to the kitchen, and although I was glad that it was him, and not Dylan or Tony, or worse, Vincent, who would certainly not improve my mood, today I could only murmur a gloomy hello to him.

He still had the bandage on his hand, which I noticed when he sat down next to me. He prepared fruits with natural yogurt and walnuts and the granola I mentioned earlier. He had made some coffee in the meantime too, but before he took even a sip of it, he looked at me intently.

"Why are you sad?" he asked with concern.

"I'm not," I replied glumly, still staring at the screen.

"I can see you are."

I sighed and put the phone down on the counter, meeting my brother's worried eyes.

"Will, I think I'm having a bad day," I confessed, not knowing then that it will become even worse.

"Are you worried about something?"

Then, completely unconsciously, I admitted to him something that I hadn't even had time to think about yet today, but which apparently was stuck deep in my head, subconsciously not giving me peace.

"You know Vince is mad at me, right?" I muttered softly, glancing towards the kitchen entrance as if it was some kind of mystery that had to be kept away from the others.

Will smiled sympathetically.

"Is that why you're so upset?"

Of course, he knew. It was hard not to notice how Vince was deliberately ignoring me.

"Why aren't you too?" I replied with a question, looking straight into my brother's blue eyes.

"Sorry?" he was surprised.

I lowered my head.

"You're not mad at me for lying to you?"

I barely articulated these words, really. It was very difficult for me to let them pass through my throat. But I had to know.

Will realized what I was driving at as he leaned his head back and rubbed his chin as if wondering what to say to me. Finally, he cleared his throat and focused back on me.

"No."

I looked up at him hopefully. Still, something was missing.

"But why?"

"I don't support lying and I think you should've informed us immediately about your friend's request, but you're young and you have the right to make mistakes. I believe I don't have to be angry with you for you to learn a lesson from them."

I wanted to throw myself into his arms. And then I felt really bad. Will was so kind and understanding and I let him down. He definitely felt tricked and so did Vince, but he just reacted differently.

"Will, I really, really didn't mean to trick you. I was just thinking about helping Leo..."

"It's okay, Hailie."

It wasn't exactly true. It won't be until Vince starts acting normal again. At first, I just felt uncomfortable about the way he treated me, but this morning I must've climaxed in all this because I couldn't really function like that anymore. Due to Maya and Uncle Monty's visit, I saw Vince a bit more than usual, and therefore his indifference to me was even more noticeable.

I trembled at the mere thought of the apology, and it wasn't because I didn't feel like doing it, but because Vincent was simply pushing me away. With his attitude, I had the impression that when I tried to apologize, he would simply ignore me and send me away.

Eh, why can't Will be my guardian? His parenting methods seem friendlier to teenagers like me.

Will ate in a hurry, practically poured his coffee into himself, and finally kissed the top of my head and squeezed my arm reassuringly.

"Have a nice day and keep your head up, little one."

And he was gone while I continued to toy with my bowl of already disgustingly soggy flakes. Soon Shane and Tony appeared in the kitchen, followed by Vincent and Uncle Monty, who seemed to be ready to leave. The uncle was apparently actively supporting my brothers in their business and Vince evidently valued his knowledge. I remembered my father telling me that Uncle Monty ran the Monets' business for a while after the boys' mother died. Well, he definitely had a great experience, though I had a hard time imagining him as a mafioso. He was so funny and always joking. But slowly, I was starting to understand that personality didn't have much to do with, let's call it, profession.

I waited for Vince to leave the kitchen so I could throw away the leftovers of my distasteful breakfast, but he leaned back against the cupboard as if out of spite, sipped espresso and started talking to Uncle Monty, probably about business, judging by the seriousness and concentration on their faces. However, I couldn't be sure, because their discussion was held in French.

My jaw literally dropped to the floor at the sound of Vincent's perfect accent and the ease with which he chose the right words. He didn't stutter once. Uncle Monty's pronunciation left a little more to be desired, but his vocabulary must have been equally rich as they understood each other perfectly.

I used a spoon to stir my cereal into a bowl, pretending to consume it with great attention, when in fact I was trying to pick up a single word that was familiar to me. I did a few, but it was nothing that I could put together and get something meaningful. It wasn't difficult for me to guess that they spoke a foreign language mainly so that I wouldn't understand them.

Shane and Tony ignored them as they were focused on their phones. They seemed to be also in a sleepy-morning mood. Maybe the weather also had some impact on them. It had stopped raining, but there were still ugly clouds in the sky.

In the end, it turned out that the twins and I were the first to leave the kitchen. As soon as that happened, I was sure Vince and Uncle Monty started speaking English again. Also, of the two of them, only my uncle replied to my quiet "Bye".

"See you, beautiful," he said, winking at me kindly. He was leaning his hand on the kitchen counter and standing opposite Vincent, sipping his coffee with milk from a huge mug that funny contrasted my brother's little cup.

I smiled faintly at him, but I also heard Tony's snort, and even though he was already in the hallway, still staring at the phone and probably not even hearing Uncle Monty's words, my brain was one hundred percent sure that Tony laughed at Monty calling me beautiful. He was right, because how could he... I mean, with this terrible pimple and all?...

I sighed.

Before I got in the car with my brothers, Maya found me. I silently stared at her gorgeous face when she focused on covering the remains of my bruise with her concealer. I felt her delicate fingers on my cheek. How did she always look perfect? She wore powder pink sweatpants and a white T-shirt which hem was tied with a knot just above her belly button. On top of her head, on either side, she had two buns and she looked adorable. Not like me. Maya's beauty reminded me of the lack of mine.

I was surprised at the thought because usually, I didn't have such complexes. Maybe I wasn't a Miss of Universe, but I didn't find myself ugly either, so what was going on? I started to worry about myself and twisted my face a little.

"Does it hurt? Sorry!" Maya exclaimed, immediately taking her hands away from me.

"No, no, that's not it," I replied quickly so that she wouldn't worry.

Maya tilted her head, staring at me.

"I don't exactly feel well," I muttered.

"Did you tell the guys? Maybe you should stay home a bit longer...?"

"No, it's not like that. I mean, nothing hurts me. I just feel bad like... you know. Like mentally," I mumbled, gesturing meaninglessly and wishing I hadn't started trying to explain it at all. I also glanced sideways to make sure the twins couldn't hear me.

"Love, mental health is very important. It can't be ignored."

"I know, I know, I'm just in a bad mood. It happens sometimes, right?"

Maya was watching me closely, taking me more seriously than I expected.

"Mhm. Listen, if you need to talk, I can hear you out, okay?" she said slowly and clearly, her green eyes sparkling with seriousness.

"Everything is fine, really. It's just... I'm getting this nasty pimple right here and... and I don't know... 'I groaned, looking around again. I certainly didn't want my brothers to hear me now.

Maya's features softened and her beautiful lips stretched into a small smile.

"Oh, Hailie," she began, then tossed the concealer tube aside and grabbed my shoulder with her hand. "Straighten up and lift your head," she said, using the fingers of her other hand to raise my chin. "Be confident and no one will notice it, even if you had ten pimples at once." At the end, she lightly tapped my lips with her finger. "And smile. A lot. A smile is the best makeup."

She improved my mood a bit with this and I timidly raised the corners of my mouth for her. Maya was an interesting character in my life. I always thought that people like her (read: rich, spoiled, beautiful, and young girls) were mean, but she was different. Of course, I'll always remember her idea of ​​an arranged marriage, but I was slowly discovering that Maya was just like that. Spontaneous, and she lived a bit in a different reality than me. But she was also a woman and I needed a woman in my life so desperately...

As nice as it was, it didn't make my cloudy day bright. Especially when I saw the car going behind ours, which was big and dark and surely belonged to Sonny, my bodyguard.

Mona and Marshall didn't make me feel any better either. Of course, I was glad to see them, but then we moved on to discussing the happenings at Mrs. Hardy's bakery. I told them about Leo's move, and with that, we switched smoothly to the subject of Vincent. I wasn't telling them everything, but I felt the need to complain to my friends about the fact that my guardian wasn't very empathetic and how much it affected me.

''Okay, I've only seen Vincent a few times in my life and he's definitely far from a typical parent, and from what you say, being the perfect guardian is also out of his way, but you know, Hailie, no one is perfect... '' Mona said when we sat on the windowsill in one of the corridors.

"Except you," Marshall interrupted, winking at me.

"I love my parents, but if you analyzed their behavior, you would see that they make a lot of parenting mistakes. My dad has a very hot temper. He yells at me almost all the time and it's hard to talk to him normally. My mom barges into my room without knocking, oh how annoying it is! She always just finds me something to clean. She has an eternal problem with my grades and if I think about it, I rarely hear anything nice from her."

I lifted my finger.

"BUT. Your parents aren't involved in any suspicious activities," I pointed out. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the word "mafia", so I wasn't going to use it. Even in my friends' company.

"You never know, recently my dad was on the phone and he was so upset that I thought he would give up the ghost, I swear. Who knows who he was talking to..."

"Mona means that your situation is definitely difficult, because your brother is your guardian, and suddenly you found out that you have six brothers..."

"Five," I murmured and shivered at the very thought of having even one more.

"Yeah, five. I always get it wrong. The point is, there are a lot of them and you always complain about them and you have a right to do so, but often the things you say also mean that they really care about you. Not everyone is lucky enough to have people in their lives who care about them. Some parents suck. Mines are okay, but I could write a book about what I would like to change in their behavior towards me," Marshall said.

I know why it was so hard for me to listen to them. In a way, they were defending Vincent and unconsciously making me feel worse and worse. Guilt no longer felt heavy in my chest, it was killing me like a big black boot crushing a poor little ant. I was sincerely glad when the break was over.

On the next one, I wanted to focus on what I did best, which is my studies, but I was interrupted by Leo, who appeared out of nowhere, right under my classroom. He was probably purposely looking for me. As soon as I saw him, I begged heavens for him not to come near me. I didn't feel strong enough to talk to him. I didn't know what to think about him.

His face was stained black here and there, but his eyebrows were no longer covered with plaster, although a small cut was visible. Apart from that, he looked like he always did in a neat uniform, blonde hair, and with those golden eyes. Oh, I forgot how nice they shone.

"Hey, I've been waiting for you to come back to school," he said gently, stopping next to me.

"Why?" I asked unceremoniously, looking up at him with tired eyes. "You already got what you wanted."

Leo looked at me for a moment and he once again seemed to be just the boy who asked me for help in the past.

"I want to know if you're okay."

I clicked my tongue impatiently.

"But why?"

"Hailie, I'm really sorry if you felt I had taken advantage of you. It wasn't like that at all. I wanted to deal with Vincent. That's it. My intuition told me, as I sat across him, that it'd be simply better to admit the truth."

I looked up at him angrily.

"And did your intuition tell you that you'd make my brother angry with me? That I'll get into trouble because of your wonderful plan?"

Leo paused.

"You know what, I wish I'd helped you," I snapped at him, not really meaning it.

"And I, Hailie, am very, very grateful for that. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to do anything. You're a great, good person, and I'll say that whenever I can. I'm eternally thankful to you," Leo deadpanned.

I blinked at him, not knowing how to react to his words.

He took a step forward.

"Hailie, I don't know what would've happened to me and my mom if it weren't for you. Never in my life would I abuse your trust if I had another option. Please try to understand this."

I clenched my jaw and turned my head to the side.

"You just handed me over to Vince,"

"It's your brother. I knew he wouldn't hurt you.

I snorted.

"What? He didn't... he didn't hurt you, right? Did he, Hailie?" Leo asked, a crease forming between his eyebrows. In a split second, worry and concern appeared on his face.

Now I sighed and shook my head, closing my eyes for a moment. When I opened them, I looked back at Leo's golden gaze.

"No," I replied, then, to my own surprise, I added. "You're right, he wouldn't hurt me."

There was something like relief on Leo's face.

"Thank you. Really."

I forced a smile.

"I'm glad I could help you. I hope you and your mom won't have problems anymore."

I stood there for a second too long until I finally told him a simple goodbye and walked away. I really, really wanted to blame Leo for my argument with Vince, and it would be quite easy because if it wasn't for him, it wouldn't have happened. But the decisions ultimately belonged to me. It was me who agreed to trick my family. Leo had no interest in turning me against it. He was just helping his mother.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel as angry with him as I expected myself to be. I was still a bit disappointed, but my brain was able to absolve Leo with no problem knowing why he was doing it, especially since I was focused on my own guilt.

This is probably some step into adulthood. Taking responsibility for my own actions. I don't know. But I know Vince didn't blame me for trying to help my friend, but for lying and the whole intrigue behind his back.

To get out of Leo's sight, I decided to enter the lady's room. I just wanted to leave him, and yet we were standing in front of my classroom, where I was having my next period, so it wouldn't be smart to walk too far away. That's why I entered the toilet, hoping that when I got out of it, the boy would not be there anymore.

I immediately regretted the move, because inside I found Audrey brushing her long hair, immediately catching a glance of me in the mirror. Yes, great, that's exactly what I needed right now. I still didn't know how to behave in front of her. She usually made it easy for me because she was just avoiding me, but this time, when I walked over to one of the wash basins, I could still feel her eyes on me. Not having any better idea what to do, I pulled out the concealer Maya had given me this morning and started applying another layer of it to my cheek.

"I saw you talking to that boy with a bruised face," she began suddenly, and I froze, because I didn't expect for anything in the world that she'd talk to me.

I looked at her, not knowing how to react.

"I also saw you talking to him before he had a bruised face," she continued as I leaned back from the mirror and straightened. Audrey turned completely to me now and dropped her hand with a hairbrush in it. She was looking at me seriously. "Is it your brothers' job again?"

My mouth had to open unconsciously.

"W-what?" I stammered out.

Audrey casually tossed the brush into her wide-open backpack and put her hands on her hips.

"I'm asking if your brothers beat up another boy who dared to talk to you."

I closed my mouth and frowned.

"Audrey, you have no idea what you're talking about."

"They beat him up or not?" she pushed.

"No!" I snapped.

It was their employee who beat him.

Of course, I didn't say that out loud.

"They actually helped him. That's why I spoke to Leo. Because he asked for help and he got it from them," I informed her. I really wanted my brothers to be considered "good guys" at least once.

"Wow, how generous they are," Audrey snorted venomously, and in one agile movement, she threw her backpack over her shoulder, still open, and hurried out of the bathroom, leaving me alone.

I exchanged a gloomy look with my reflection in the mirror, then sighed deeply.

What I didn't think of was that Audrey would think over my words and confront me again at the end of the day.

I was relieved to go to my last class. It meant that school was almost over for today, and the whole hopeless and unremarkable day would soon end with it. Then I felt someone prodding my shoulder, and as I turned around, I saw my ex-friend's face.

"Can we talk?" she asked dryly.