Ayoooooo!!

How are you, gorgeous? You look stunning omg!!! That outfit looks amazing!!

Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby - Cigarettes After Sex.

On with the chapter

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Emilia POV ✨

Time passed a long time ago, especially for me, every second that flew by felt like a year. Too slow for my liking, and if I could speed time up I'd fast forward to when I'm seventeen.

Oddly specific, but seventeen is one of my favourite numbers, along with twenty-four. But are we not going to talk about how attractive the number thirty-seven is? Damn, he's cute.

As I stand waiting in the cool breeze, I turn my head both left and right in search of the midnight black car I once envied.

I hate my brothers until death but if I want to stay in London then I need to be at this meeting. Somehow I feel responsible for this meeting ahead, if I didn't have an impromptu outburst then I wouldn't be in this predicament.

Shouting out to the entire school that I was technically homeless, not that bad, definitely draws the attention of teachers. A home visit wouldn't be too bad, except I'd have to lie throughout the entire thing, that's the last place I'd call home.

Honk! Honk!

Flickers of lights and the rumble of a horn blast through the surroundings, Axel leaned over and pulled the latch to open the passenger door for me.

Hesitation decided to take the lead, I could just run the other way but I'd already committed.

I fold my arms and tuck them into the crevice of my elbows, which were suffocated by Felix's oversized hoodie, and tread carefully on the cobbles and over the path.

"Hey, Bambina," his voice gleams with joyousness.

Aloof and rude, I ignore him and give him the silent treatment, all I could afford right now was a pathetic excuse for a smile, that in which he happily took as a compliment and cheap sweets.

Somehow, he cheeks wouldn't stop pulling the muscle in his mouth into a smile; he tried to exchange these grins with me and I look away uncomfortable. My bottom was as close to the door that I fear I may fall out, just being in the presence of one of my brothers gave me the chills.

"Your hair. It looks nice..." he makes small talk.

"Umm thanks? I guess," I grumble and shift awkwardly. He looks at me with a tooth grin reaches behind him into the back seat when we reached a stop.

"I wasn't sure which one you liked best," he presents two boxes of fabricated chocolates. Luxurious was definitely the correct adjective to use - opulent maybe. My tongue could only imagine how bitter the chocolate would taste when it was melting on my tongue.

Rich chocolate tasted bitter and strong-like alcohol, cheap chocolate was my jam. It was sweet and just creamy enough for me. Well, dark chocolate was my favourite, but even then it wasn't as bitter as the lusher version of chocolates.

"You're taking me back to Felix's once we're done with this school meeting right?" I say steadily.

"Uhh sure. If it's what you want," he shrugs unbuckling his seatbelt and ions the door. In a flash, he's by the side of my door trying to open it but I beat him to it.

"I've got this-

"I've got my own door," I assure him climbing out of the car and slam the door shut. Maybe a little too hard.

"You have no idea how excited everyone is to see you, especially Valentina," he jingles the keys and fumbles for the right one. "Hahaha, she even made you some churros and muffins. I hope you like them," he twists the lock and pushes open the door and retracts his key.

"Uhh-

"The muffins were bought from a cake shop in town but she just decorated them herself. They were very expensive, can you believe it was almost £40 for fifteen muffins? Of course, Luca couldn't keep his hands off of them, I told him he'll be in trouble if he eats one," Axel continues to speak at a fast pace.

"That's nic-

"We also have piping hot tea ready for you, maybe you can stay for dinner too!" He claps his hands together with a nervous laugh.

"No thanks I'm fine," I shake my hands politely. I should've told him to piss off.

"No really, I insist," he places two hands on my shoulders and I swipe them off in a quick second. Him touching me felt too dominant and scary. I'd rather he keep his hands to himself.

"No really... I-

"Hello, Emilia," I see Alessandro and my entire aura dies out in a flame - match placed under the faucet. His voice was deep and gravely, parched of water.

I squeeze my upper arm and balance on the sides of my shoes with the nerves dancing through my body.

"Cool."

"Your hair looks nice," he ascends closer to me, his posture straighter than aboard and he licks his lips clearing them of the cracks. Not a crack in his cheeks, just a tensed jaw with a stubble.

I swallow and close my eyes ready for impact, my arms shield my face protecting it from the strike that never happened.

I peep through the space between my arms, Alessandro was rolling his eyes with a bored expression playing on his blaśe face.

Numerous knocks silence the deadly tension that floated in the room, Alessandro walks past me and a cloud of his expensive cologne invades my lungs.

"Ahh welcome," he opened the door wide and a man and a woman enter the house. They had lanyards which gave them the title and authority of this meeting, both dressed in a smart attire just like my brothers.

Was there ever a day when they didn't wear this?

The people sniff the air and look around inspecting the place for a spec of dust, they invite themselves in the kitchen and take and a quick tour of it before standing in front of Alessandro, Axel and I.

Just get this over with already! I want to go back to my real home at Felix's.

"May we ask some questions?" The man raises his chin to look up at Alessandro, he was short and plump and had a small area of hair missing at the crown of his head.

His rather large (also rock solid with the look of it) belly hung over his belted pants and his shoes turned up at the ends with the creased marks.

The woman just turned her nose up at Valentina who offered her a muffin which was nicely displayed on a natal tray with white satin collecting the crumbs.

"Shall we?" Alessandro opens the living room door and takes my hand in his, I shiver under his touch. My thumb in my other hand was curled inside my fist and it made a satisfying cracking sound which seemed to calm me down.

I tried my best to act normal but inside, I wanted to cry over a box of popcorn and devour vanilla ice cream with pineapple.

"We shall," the woman says readjusting the strap on her bag.

Alessandro discreetly pushes me down on the sofa opposite to where the visitors were sat, when I'd try and pry myself away from him he'd pinch me and pull me back closer. His face didn't change from the fake grin painted in his face.

"So, I'm sure Emilia knows why we're here-

I tried to make my voice sound elegant and sweet but I came across as nasty and naughty. "Actually I don't."

"Well, we're here because we received a few reports from anonymous students about February 17th. Just two days ago."

Nodding wearily, I take a short glance at Alessandro who's jaw was clenched in a locked position, his teeth gritted making me cringe.

His hands cup his jaw and rub it. The sound of his hand scratching his stubble sounded like cutting something. His nails were at a normal length but then scratching skin made me want to rip my ears from m head.

"Yes, I heard about that. May I ask the problem?" He says flatly.

"The problem is: a few students that were at the scene described it as 'dramatic' and 'saddening' because they also told us you 'kicked' your sister out of the house. She was supposedly living her friend... we just needed to check if everything is okay at home," the man says not making eye contact and filling out a form. I saw him write down the number of my address by reading it upside down.

Recalling what happened, I don't feel an ounce of guilt in my body, I actually felt great about my confrontational speech but if I say a thing now I could be sent back to Brighton in a jiffy.

Maybe going back to Brighton wouldn't be so bad after all, my mum's grave is there. Maybe I could see her again and be with her. Tell her the adventures of the past year of my life, I know she'd be shaking with laughter.

"Yeah we're fine, right?" He turns to face me, an arm wrapped securely around my back.

Lips parts as I was about to speak, but I stop them and pull them into a straight line and nod enthusiastically and hungrily. My hopes were they're be convinced by my Oscar-worthy performance.

"See, I'm not so sure about that, I recently spoke with Felix's parents and they claimed you've been staying with them for almost two months now... can you confirm this please?" The woman asks eagerly as the man jots down his notes.

"Uh yes. The thing is, we've just had some adjustments done to our house, we redecorated and we didn't want our sweet Emilia getting sick from the fumes," the way he spoke out 'sweet' made the sweetness of the word seem so bitter.

"She wasn't too happy with our adjustments to the house so she threw a paddy over it, no biggie. Right, Emilia?" He was trying his hardest to be sweet but I could tell by the way his jaw was wrenched and fists were clenched around my waist - gripping me tightly where I want to wince - until they turned a yellowish-white.

"Fair enough. Now, Mr Russo, can you explain Emilia's grades?" The man lifts his head to squint at Alessandro, he readjusts his glasses and pushes them up as they were slipping off of the edge of his nose.

Speaking of glasses, I think I might need some, my eyes take a long time to focus and even then, I can't see from far distances and it's all blurry. When I stare long enough, my vision just becomes an undeveloped image that's blurry and fuzzy. Like I'm seeing nothing but a solid colour sometimes.

I'd ask Alessandro or Elijah to take me to the opticians but considering my new living arrangements I'd feel rude to ask them.

"What about her grades?" he questions in a deep tone and leans forward, trying to intimidate them.

"You see, Emilia's attendance overall this year isn't great. Coincidentally, for almost two months she's had amazing attendance," the woman gives a pointed look.

"Confused. Evaluate?" Says Alessandro who was losing his temper by the second. I noticed he was becoming more agitated by the grip that kept in tightening and loosening on my arm.

"Well, we heard she's been staying with her friend Felix's for the past two months where she's had amazing attendance and grades... my point is, whenever she's home - where - she's either missing school or not doing well in class. In the past few weeks she's never looked as healthy as she does now, before, she looked tired and drained," the woman concludes with her hands brushing the small lint off her pencil skirt.

"Maybe, just maybe, staying with her friend while 'adjustments are being made to the house' isn't such a bad thing."

"So what is it you're suggesting?" Alessandro staggers sounding offended.

"Not suggesting anything, but we will be keeping an eye on Emilia and her brothers at school. The only thing we're leaning towards now is neglecting a child, perhaps three," the woman gives a pointed look as the man continues to write down a few things in a text box.

"Neglect? Ridiculous, have you seen my home?!" Alessandro throws his hands everywhere.

"That's the exact problem, we think you're worried more about the materialistic aspects of life, rather than making your 'home' feel like an actual home for a child," the woman takes glances between Alessandro and me, looking for a reaction.

She was right. Very right, it shocks how easy it was for her to say all of that when it took me five months to speak to Axel about hating it here. Speaking of, Axel still stood at the doorway, bowing his head in shame, shaking it side to side.

"I assure you ma'am Emilia has everything she wants," Alessandro rushes out.

"She has everything she wants but love. It's all I'm seeing here," the woman bites her lip in disappointment.

Maybe I did want love from them, a loving home for once in my life. Other than the fact Alessandro was a complete asshole to me, I did want love from my brothers and I wasn't getting it. They were treating me more like a colleague they had to protect rather than love.

I just want somebody to love me. For once, is it so hard to ask for?! How can four letters be so difficult to show? I know more about photosynthesis than love. Crazy.

"We do love her," Axel interferes with an offended tone.

"Not enough it seems like. Look at her, you can't deny that she looks more energetic ever since she was staying with someone else. Someone else which is perhaps more loving than her actual home. I worry this may not be the safest environment for Emilia after all," the man stops writing and turns to face a tensed Axel.

"So what happens now? Is she staying here?" Axel asks the man again, moving in a little closer.

"For now. To make our decision, we'll keep an eye out for her academic performance. Maybe I could speak to Emilia outside for a few minutes? If you don't mind that is," the man packs his clipboard back in his bag and stands up, fastening his tight blazer once again and pulls his lanyard out of the jackets.

Alessandro must've forgotten they were there again because he looked like he would explode in any second, but he lets go. "Sure."

I give a tight smile Axel on the way out, feeling relieved to get away from Alessandro and his death tight clutch.

As the guests were about to leave, the woman bends down to my height and begins to whisper.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell us? We're here for you, contact the school if you'd like to speak to us-

"You aren't gonna take me away are you?" I panic, I didn't want to leave London. They'd put me in a foster home and I'd be even more miserable than I already am.

"No, sweetheart. But if we need to protect you we will do our job," the man places a pseudo hand on my shoulder like he was mocking me. Intentional or unintentional, it made me squirm.

"So that's a yes? I'm perfectly fine here. With my family," I struggle to get some words out in full without wanting to swallow the lying words. I wasn't perfectly fine nor did I have a family, but my acting skill was on point and didn't convey a sense of nervousness.

"Don't stress about it too much. We've just been told some things from school and we have to investigate," the man opens the doors ready to walk out.

"Can you give me a number?" I squeak out making him and the woman stop.

"A number?" They say in unison.

"A statistic I mean. How many children have you taken away?" I wanted to have a rough idea on my chance of being taken away from London.

"Two. Not many but it does happen," they prepare themselves and to leave again.

"Do you think I'll leave?" My voice ends up cracking in different timbres. My eyes wanted to leak a tsunami of emotions but I contained them like a glass that was going to shatter.

I was like glass, fragile I guess. But once I'm broken I can't be fixed again. You can glue me together with love but I'm still shattered into a million pieces.

"Honestly?" The man asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes."

"No, but I think your brother needs to book his ideas up, with the looks of it his pride gets the better of him," he gives me a weak smile and pushes his glasses against his nose again. A large sigh escapes my throat in relief.

"We'll be in touch," the woman nods to me and I shut the door behind them. My body collapses against the door and I throw my head back against the metal frame in happiness.

"What did they say?" Alessandro growls.

"Nothing for you," I don't fret to open my eyes, I was trapped in a moment of relaxation and I wanted it to last.

My line of sight, I could see two pairs of feet descending the now black, velvet steps. Their shoes left behind a trail of solidified mud that popped out of the crevices of their shoes.

Eyes walk up to them and inspect the faces. Blade and Diego pause and look at me, then they exchange glances with Alessandro who still looked agitated.

"Long time no see. How's life?" I ask optimistically. The contrary actually, I'm the most pessimistic person I know, all always a Debby Downer in everything.

"Uhhhh," Diego scratches his arm and takes off his beanie and places it on again before walking away.

"Nice to see you again," Blade throws a pleasant nod toward me before following his brother's lead.

"Can't say the same for you."

"Can I use the bathroom please?" I ask Alessandro from afar. I didn't wait for his reply as I already started trudging up the steps, my hands slither up the cold, oak railings that had intricate designs of swirl patterns and flowers.

"Don't ask."

I finished using the loo and washing my hands with the soap and decide to take a non-adventurous trip to my bedroom which looked more like a museum.

Dust embedded itself on my books and desk. The white sheets were folded up nicely like they were waiting to be used. The windowsill was blanketed in a murky grey colour of dust; I drew a love heart in the dust leaving a signature of approval.

Maybe I could take a few clothes with me, I couldn't just keep using Rain's all the time. It's just rude and cheeky if I constantly ask her for clothes all the time.

All I had was Doc Martens and uniform. That's all I had. And a phone - the one my mum bought for me since the other phone I had broken a long, long time ago. We never got it fixed now that I think of it.

Opening the wardrobe, I swift through the racks and masses of clothes which were the basics essentials. Jeans and some shirts, maybe some hoodies too.

The clothes were folded over my arm but I drop them when aloud knock rumbles the silence, shattering it into space. I take a look at the figure looming over me whilst I gathered the cold fabrics into my arms again.

My legs extend at the joints, my knee cracks when I shake it to relieve it from the stiffness.

"Oh... Elijah."

"Yeah. Are you going somewhere?" A few steps forward.

"Hopefully away from here if that's what you meant," I scoff and take a few steps back to my dresser.

"You should stay for dinner," a few more steps closer.

"No thanks, unless you want me to die of poison then sure. You'd probably kill me," I laugh to myself. Then it comes to me, they've killed people. Many people. That's unforgivable, but I still could t grasp into the idea of how natural and unsurprised I was.

They're so violent nothing surprises me anymore, imagine if they told me they were undercover cops too... that's hilarious.

"The thought never crossed my mind," he takes many steps closer until he's in front of me, he takes the clothes from my hands and looks at them deeply.

He was going to say something, but he stops himself.

"I'll get you a bag," he dazzles with a not so charming smile. I tickle a laugh nervously.

"Thanks."

"How's Felix?" He deems it a joke.