Living with my brothers is like a ride on a big rollercoaster. A rollercoaster with loops, sudden changes of speed, and sharp curves. The one that stops unexpectedly upside down. Many times I felt unwanted by them, and even more times loved and cared for. Sometimes it feels as if I am in terrible danger, and then again I feel as safe as never before in my life. I get angry with them, only to laugh with them honestly and out loud later. I am afraid of them and then I seek their comfort.

At the sight of the bruised face of the redhead that I just wanted to forget, my insides twisted as if someone was braiding my guts. I knew already there were many things my brothers had been hiding from me, but as I realized what they could be capable of, I had the feeling that I was again the same little girl Will had picked up from the airport over a year ago. The one who had gotten scared by Dylan's dark eyes.

I followed Tony politely and silently, keeping my head rather low, fearing that I'd see more disturbing things. I heard Sonny's footsteps behind me and they eased my nerves a bit.

Eventually Tony turned to the side where there was a narrow staircase leading down. While the living area of ​​our house was rather bright and spacious, the depths of the forbidden corridor were characterized by its opposites.

If it weren't for the fact that after all I put a lot of confidence in Tony, I would've stampeded from here in a blink of an eye. I'm not kidding, these stairs could lead to a dungeon, a pedophile's basement, or a torture chamber.

The latter was definitely somewhere in this house, judging from the redhead's face, but I immediately pushed the thought out of my head.

I'd expected walkways carved in stone, or floors with ghastly creaky, dusty planks, but the corridor below was not much different from the one above. Here, too, we passed several doors, until Tony grabbed the handle of one of them.

"Wait," he muttered to me as I followed him in. I stopped politely at his command. The door closed behind me and the ceiling lamps flickered and lighted. The room we found ourselves in seemed small. Just a square. The floor was lined with paneling and walls covered with gray and black convex squares, which must've been most likely soundproofed. Next to one of them, there was a large, black, and probably metal wardrobe with massive hinges and generally menacing appearance. And then I looked at an oblong table divided by another wall, and I realized that this room was a hundred times larger than I'd first imagined. Behind the table, there were two long, narrow corridors in which shooting targets hung in the distance. One was closer, the other was further. One had more holes, the other less. Shooting range.

My brothers had a damn shooting range AT HOME.

I don't know what I was expecting, especially when Tony dragged me into the forbidden corridor. I must've thought that we'd go outside from the other side of the house and maybe shoot at empty bottles, as I saw in some movie. The Monet brothers, however, had to go a step further. But who normal has a shooting range under their own roof? And such a professional one?! And to think that I was once surprised to learn that there was a private gym in the mansion.

Something clicked, Tony typed some code on the side of the closet, and it opened with a loud groan. Then I was already 100% sure I must've fallen asleep watching some poor sci-fi on Netflix, and now I was dreaming about rubbish. This is the most likely explanation, isn't it?

I was still obediently standing and not moving, but I tilted my head curiously to see the contents of the wardrobe, or rather a large safe. Tony's stature was limiting my view, but as soon as I noticed a rifle almost bigger than me, I shrank. My brother quickly pulled out what he was looking for and closed the door with a hollow click. When he turned to face me, he was holding a very small and black pistol and a box of, what I guessed, was ammunition.

He put both items on the table and bent down to get the headphones from under it. There were several pairs hanging on a hook, and also some protective goggles.

"All right, come here," Tony instructed me, and I moved closer, trying to control my excitement. I literally felt my hair stand on end.

Admittedly, for a second I was attacked by the unpleasant memories from the forest, especially when Tony was holding the gun in that ghastly tattooed hand of his. Then I shivered and remembered that these classes weren't exactly supposed to be an attraction for me. I didn't come to the shooting range to have fun. I'm here for another reason.

"First, a few rules that you must follow. If not, shooting is over. Are you listening to me?" Tony announced. He pulled the gun away from me, moving it across the counter.

I looked from it to him and nodded, trying to show him how focused I was.

"First of all, you always keep it pointed only in there," he said, raising the weapon towards the corridor where the targets were hanging. "You want to tell me something, you want to scratch your head, you want to flip, whatever, always make sure you aim there, never here," he gestured at himself and the rest of the room.

"Ok," I nodded my head.

"Always be focused and listen to what I say to you. Don't mind-wander off to the land of ponies, just keep track of what you're doing."

"What ponies?"

"When I say stop, you have to stop and put down the gun. Understand?" Tony continued, ignoring my question which was accompanied by my raised eyebrows.

"Yes."

"Keep your finger off the trigger unless you're ready to shot."

"Where am I supposed to keep it then?"

"In your nose. Anywhere off the trigger."

It cost me a lot to nod instead of rolling my eyes.

Then Tony showed me how to load the gun as well as turn it off and back on. When he finally handed it to me, I felt its weight in my hand, and this time I remembered aiming at Jerry. How I was afraid of killing him, and finally how I almost shot him with my eyes closed, aiming for his leg. The memory made me shiver. Now my fingers tightened on the weapon even more, until Tony told me not to squeeze it.

For about an hour, I just repeated ad nauseam the moves Tony showed. I agreed that they were crucial, in the end, I wouldn't use any gun without turning it on, but I just got impatient to start shooting. Tony finally reminded me that if I didn't concentrate on the basics, I would be allowed to shoot only on PlayStation, so I took his words to heart and in the end, I managed to correctly, but still, a bit clunkily, do all the actions my brother required. I watched with undisguised envy and fascination how agilely he was handling the weapon. Part of me knew that he was probably too young to have so much experience with it, and it was disturbing, but on the other hand, if I had grown up in a house with a shooting range, I probably would've had it too.

"Whenever you exercise, put it on your ears," he said, handing me the headphones. "And this is for the eyes," he added and pushed the goggles into my hands. I adjusted the size of the headphones and put them on my head, preceding them with goggles, which only slightly limited my visibility. However, I quickly got used to them. The headphones muffled the sounds, but when Tony spoke again, I could hear what he was saying.

"You must stand steadily and balance your weight on both feet," Tony instructed me, standing so close behind me I almost leaned against him. The gun was on the table in front of me, but I felt that in a moment I'd finally be able to aim it. "Straighten your back and set your feet parallel to the target, shoulder-width apart," he muttered and emphasized his words, placing his hand on my shoulder and using the other to stab me with his finger in my thigh. "Bend your legs at the knees. Slightly. Okay, now hold on," Tony finally put the gun in my hand. I squeezed my fingers around it and kept it stretched out in front of me, aiming at the direction where the target hung. My heart was pounding with adrenaline. As if at least I was about to skydive.

"You can bend your elbows a little if that's comfortable for you. Always hold it with both hands. Remember about a kickback. Be ready for it. It's best to position your wrists stiffly, like that. Keep your head straight. I said straight, don't bend it down. It's the weapon you have to adapt to yourself, not the other way around," he said, helping me get into the right position. "Set it to the eye. Higher. You aim at the target, but your eyes must focus on what you are holding in your hands. If you are not focused and steady, you will never get where you are aiming."

I nodded, absorbing all the instructions.

Tony was still standing close, though not behind me anymore. I was sure he was on full alert to take control of the gun I was holding at any moment if he needed to.

"Okay, come on," he commanded, and I tensed even more. It was two seconds after I made sure that I was focused and that I was using all the advice Tony had given me, then pulled the trigger, reminding myself at the last minute to aim for the center of the target.

There was a loud bang that was pleasantly muffled by my headphones. My body swayed by the recoil, but my feet were glued to the ground. A spent cartridge fell next to them, and wherever the bullet itself flew, it surely missed the target, as it still looked untouched. I noticed it with a bit of disappointment, then looked at Tony.

"What are you waiting for? Go on," he said. I was glad he wasn't making fun of me, so I returned to the position in full readiness, this time remembering about the target. I could see it in the background, a bit blurry as my main focus was on the gun, as Tony advised. Okay, Hailie, show us what you can do.

Another bang. And then another one. And next. Until I had to pause to reload the magazine. Tony gave me a new one. I hit the target three times. Once in a white field that didn't count. But once I was very close to the red point in the middle. Very.

"After each shot, take a few seconds' breaks to judge how good and close it was to the target. It will be easier for you to correct your mistakes," Tony advised as he watched as I was reloading the gun with a little struggle.

Following his directions, I would fire and reload my gun on and on, I don't even know for how long. Tony made occasional comments that I always took to heart. Vince wasn't kidding, he really knew his stuff. The shooting was great and I had a lot of fun, especially as I could see my progress with each round. It all made sense. I also liked that, unlike in hand-to-hand combat, my petite body didn't matter much. It was more about accuracy, concentration, and cleverness, and these all could be trained.

"Stop," Tony ordered after a while, raising his voice so I could hear him well.

I lowered the gun obediently and Tony's hand slipped the headphones off my ear so I could hear him better.

"That's enough," Tony announced.

I was already opening my mouth to protest when Vincent interrupted.

"Well done, Hailie," he praised me and clapped his hands lazily a few times. I immediately turned my head towards him. He was standing in the back, leaning against the wall, watching me for no idea how long. Because of the noises and the headphones, I couldn't even hear him coming in.

"This is so cool!" I exclaimed excitedly, glad that I hadn't been as hopeless as I'd expected. Even Vince thought so.

I didn't think and turned to him completely, still holding the gun, and in this moment I noticed how the slight amusement on my brothers' faces (caused by my childish joy) replaced the sudden terror.

"Hey!" they both called out at the same time, reaching out their hands towards me.

My heart skipped a beat and in a split second, I got myself under control and immediately turned back towards the targets, cursing myself for my stupidity. Amazing, that's what I need right now - to accidentally shoot someone!

"Sorry!" I gasped with panic, letting Tony take the gun from my hands and carefully unload it. Then he put it back on the desk, shaking his head.

I took a risk and turned back to look at Vince, who was covering his face with his hand. I noticed that he does this often when someone's stupidity overwhelmed him. Well, oops.

"Sorry," I repeated softly.

Vince looked up at me, but before he did, he lifted his eyes up very quickly.

"It's okay, Hailie, but you have to be careful. It is not a toy. You must be very focused, all right?"

"Yes, I know, all right," I confirmed quickly.

That's when Vince approached us.

"So how did it go?" he asked Tony. I don't think he's been here since the beginning. That's good.

Tony shrugged.

"Not bad. At least for the first time. It steers her right a bit."

Such words from him were a huge compliment, so I smiled.

Vincent, however, remained serious.

"Well, Hailie, in order for you to ever use a gun to defend yourself, you need to reach almost perfection at shooting."

"Yes, I just need to practice," I promised. I really enjoyed it.

"Mhm, just don't forget about your lessons with Will and Dylan. I care more for you to contribute to that training."

I sighed and pouted.

"But I prefer shooting. And Tony is nicer to me than Dylan."

Vince just raised his eyebrows, letting me know that these were no arguments to him, but I saw Tony lift one corner of his mouth up in a smirk, collecting spent cartridges from the floor.

"Just wait,' he muttered, but I ignored him.

When I was returning with two of my brothers to the living part of our house, I felt for the first time this strange certainty that I usually lacked. I walked step by step with Vincent, with Tony and Sonny behind my back. We also passed the guard outside my eldest brother's office door. For the first time, I wasn't a lost lamb who accidentally ended up in the working wing of the house only to get a lecture from Vincent. This time I was one of the Monets. I was learning to shoot. Ha!

This amazing feeling lasted for only a moment, because a few minutes later I was closing door to my bedroom with the intention of doing my homework in peace. And the last thing I saw was Sonny stopping nearby. What an idiotic job, I'd freak out if I had to follow someone all the time.

Shane knocked on my door soon, while I was sitting on my essay with books open all around. Hearing his voice made my heart skip a beat immediately. Man, I was afraid he would reproach me that instead of first telling him about the photos, I went straight to Vincent and I was already preparing an excuse in my head when my brother walked in.

He was still in his school uniform, only the top buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned and it was pulled out of his pants loosely. He also had lost his tie somewhere. Since he didn't even have time to change, he must've just returned from where he went after school.

"Hi, little girl," he greeted friendly, which was a good sign, and he approached my desk, scanning all those books.

"Hi, little boy," I murmured, putting my pen down. I watched Shane tilt one of the books as if for some reason he wanted to know its title, and as a result, inadvertently closed it, losing a chapter I'd been using. I closed my eyes for a moment at his soft "Oops." He opened the book back on some random page as if that'd help me.

"I spoke to Vince," he announced after he leaned against the desk and finally simply put his hands in his pockets.

"Mhm?" I mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

"He told me what happened to you at school," Shane reached out one hand and ruffled his hair, clearly embarrassed. "Look, sorry. It's... so stupid. You shouldn't have seen these pictures or been put in that position. It's good that you didn't give in to these guys and went to Vince with it.

I let the air out of my lungs slowly.

"I thought you were gonna be mad at me," I admitted honestly, pleasantly surprised by his attitude.

"No. I'll be fine if I get crap from Vince sometimes," Shane shrugged. "This time it was deserved."

I smiled sympathetically. After all, I, myself, knew very well how it is to get "crap" from our oldest brother.

"There's only one thing I don't get, how this idiot managed to get these pictures..." Shane wondered aloud.

"I don't care at all," I muttered, holding my hands up to let him know I didn't want to even think about it.

Shane glanced at me with a teasing smile.

"Oh yeah, by the way, Vince wanted me to tell you that what I did was wrong and it's not allowed."

I raised my eyebrows, and he ineptly tried to hide his laugh with a sudden attack of cough.

"Don't worry, I'm not that stupid to make love in the locker room, at school."

I don't think I managed to offend him, because he just tilted his head, still smiling.

"Make love," he repeated after me, then shook his head. "You're adorable, little girl."

I turned my head away from him to hide the blush, and he laughed again and ruffled my hair before leaving my room.

I was relieved that Shane wasn't angry with me. I just didn't know what to do with Audrey and Jason now. I was hoping that Vincent would take care of this for me, but I didn't think he would be that effective, because when I went to school with the twins the next day, Mona ran up to me in the parking lot with saucer-wide eyes.

"Jason's got expelled!" she called out, even before I got out of the car.

"What?!" I gasped and immediately looked at my brothers. Mona turned red like a tomato, glancing at Tony. But his gaze only slid over her. He didn't look impressed with the news.

"That's a shock," Shane muttered, also not shocked at all.

I turned to my friend and pulled her aside.

"How do you know that? What happened?"

Mona didn't have much more information. There was a rumor at school that Jason had been kicked out. His locker had been cleaned and he had nothing to look for here anymore. My jaw literally dropped as it turned out to be confirmed the news. Moreover, Audrey was suspended for two full weeks. The trace of this incident will, of course, remain in her papers, which will be a serious obstacle in pursuing the further, dream path of education.

Incredible. Nobody from the school's office even asked to talk to me. I kept forgetting how great, apparently, Vincent's influences were.

The number of attentive, curious, cautious, admiring, and even anxious looks that I was getting in classes, in the corridor and in the cafeteria that day began to overwhelm me.

"Well done, Hailie!" Lavinia called to me, grinning and holding her thumbs up. Yeah, she was definitely not a fan of Jason.

I smiled stupidly at her and fled from her immediately, wondering how much all these people knew about the whole situation. I felt like I was the only one missing a piece to complete a whole picture.

"Hailie," a soft voice I recognized immediately called out. I was about to go to Mona or Marshall, depending on who I'd find first, to get something more from them, even risking being late for class, but I stopped when I saw Leo.

He came closer to me, surprising me by how deeply he was looking into my eyes. He wasn't interested in anything else. As if he wanted to talk to me. Or he needed something again, like the last time he betrayed you in front of Vince, I reminded myself dryly.

"Leo," I replied, putting on an indifferent, gruff mask on my face.