Woah did Victoria secret- scratch that... did the angels call you yet? So ethereal in your hoodie and leggings

It's Emilia's bday!! (In the book)

🚣‍♀️on 🦐with🔪the 🍤 chapter 🤌🏻...

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✨Emilia's POV

Two days. Just two days until I turn fourteen and maybe I can earn more respect and maturity appreciation from my brothers.

Something inside me couldn't help but feel a little bitter about my birthday; it's that time of year where my mum would celebrate it with me but she isn't here to do that. Sure it'll be tough but I think I'll just treat it like another ordinary day.

Maybe Romeo would let me spend it with Felix and Rain because that's all I really want if I'm honest. No presents, just my friends.

Speaking of Rain, sometimes I feel like she hates me for no reason. We really need to hang out more but her parents are just like a tough stain so the only time I can see her is in school and that doesn't start for another two weeks.

Sitting at the dining table with my brothers whilst eating lunch was quiet but it set the perfect atmosphere for me to think.

"What you thinking about?" Alessandro who was sat a few feet away from me asks, showing a mouth full of chicken salad.

"Felix."

"Whipped," Blade coughs into his hand trying to recover what he said said but a smug smirk plays on the corner of his lips. Diego even made a whipping sounds whilst moving his hand as though he was actually using a whip.

"I'm not whipped," I mumble pushing a cherry tomato around my plate and flick it to Blade where it bounces off of his cheek and onto the floor where Neon is quick to shovel it down his throat then spits it back out in mush.

"Yeah okay," he scoffs under his humorous tone.

"I thought I said no boys?" Romeo ruins the fun again.

"I thought I said you weren't my dad. You're my father. Learn the difference." I roll my eyes and stab my fork into the lettuce. Tastes like grass.

Moo. Moo.

"Yeah? And what's is the difference, darling?" He gives me a pointed look as he looks between me and his large salad.

"You aren't exactly the guy I can go to when I need help. A dad is accepting and a father like yourself is a snobby arrogant bîtch who lost his balls," I fail to look at him and push the salad in front of myself before resting my chin on the table.

"How did your mum cope with you? Gosh," he huffs lazily before returning to his meal.

I just stare in awe. He thought I was bad to my mum but really I loved her too much to even think about hurting her with words.

"With respect. At least she had some for me. Whereas you, you treat her like a rag doll-

"ENOUGH!" Alessandro silences us all stopping me from regretting what I was going to say to him. Mia chuckles under her breath whilst exchanging lips with Axel.

My eyes drift to the girl lounging in Axel's clothes with her head rested in the crevice of his shoulder.

"Something wrong?" I juxtapose my aggression with my sweeter tone when really my fists were clenched. I needed to sort my anger problems out.

"Nothing," Axel speaks for Mia.

Relentlessly, I tap my fingers on the table with my eyes closed tight as I pick at the chicken stuck in my teeth with my tongue.

"Gosh you all have bad taste in women. Add some flavour that isn't the season 'bitchiness,'" purposefully I look at Mia in the midst of speaking.

"But I don't like girls, I like Tyrone," Luca states dumbfoundedly making me smile at him. He just fails to see the meaning behind what I say sometimes but he's cute. He's clumsy and dopy.

That's what makes Luca, Luca though. Especially the part where he loves his food to death. He loves it more than he does me.

"Lulu, be quiet," Tyrone pressed a hand on his. Suddenly, I see Romeo shift uncomfortably that's when Tyrone removes his hand from Luca's.

Swinging my leg back, I aim for Romeo's leg under the table and whack him three times until he winces. Why is he just unnecessarily nasty and not accepting? There's no need to be a meany weeny bean about it is there?

Tyrone hadn't stayed here for the past few nights but he still comes to see us daily like we're his second family.

"When are you next seeing April?" Elijah who was crippled in a seat with crutches by his side asked but grunted when he fixated his posture to stare at Alessandro.

"Not sure yet. Maybe tomorrow or the day after I think we have a date," he announces flatly.

On my birthday. That's fine.

Stop, Emilia. Let him have him fun and don't be selfish not everything has to include you.

"Well... I hope you have fun but I'm gonna go now," I give them all a quick glance before pushing my chair away from the table but it's pushed back under whilst I'm still in it.

"What, Axel?" It comes out as a harsh groan of annoyance.

"Eat."

Rolling my eyes, I take my chicken salad and tip it over onto Axel's plate before furiously pushing my chair away leaving him stunned and concerned.

Opening the heavy door, I slam it shut with all my strength but it hardly made a noise. Just as I was ascending the tiresome stairs, three harsh knocks ring through my ears.

"EMILIA GET THE DOOR!" I hear Alessandro shout at me just as I began to trudge over over to the door feeling enraged with my blood boiling over the too.

Neon kept pushing his head through the tiny gap as I open it just so I can peep a cautious eye through the crack.

"Who is it," the dining room door opens with a cringing creek making my ears shake and quiver with lack of comfort.

"Felix?!" A smile soon crept to my face a tugged on the muscle in my cheeks forming a dimple.

"Hey!" He pushes his way through and drowns me in a loving hug lifting me off the ground and squeezing me until the oxygen is whipped from my lungs.

"What are you-

I was beyond shocked. Though it was sweet of him to come and see me because he made my day so much better. He's literally the one thing that can put a smile in my face. This is the best birthday present one could ever wish for!

"So I know it's your birthday in two days and we couldn't spend my birthday together so it's your birthday. Oh I also brought birthday cupcakes with candles in the middle and maybe we can watch mean girls again-

"Felix," I pause him to get him to breath as he hunts rapidly through his back pack not taking a second to look at me.

"We have chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, orange, red velvet. OHHH we even have some cupcakes that say 'fourteenth' on them in royal icing," he laughs to himself pulling the box of cupcakes out of his bag and displaying them to me.

"Felix! Take a breath," I place a worrying hand on his shoulder which came to my eye level.

He closes his eyes gently and breaths in through his nose tunnels and then exhales out of his mouth slowly before fluttering his batted eyelashes open to glance over my facial features swiftly.

"Shît. Em, dad ain't gonna like this he needs to go take him upstairs," Alessandro rushed over to us in a split second and gathered Felix's bag and pushed it into his arms and scurried him to the steps.

"I ain't gonna like what?" He comes out of the dining room with an empty salad plate resting in the palm of his hands and looks up Felix who audibly and physically gulped allowing Romeo to intimidate him.

"Is this Fabio?"

"Who's Fabio? I'm Felix, ya dummy," Felix cackles a nervous tickle from his throat. This is where I become scared for Felix. Despite him being much taller than me, I try my best to protect him by engulfing him in my arms as much as I can.

Felix just made a wrong move. Never speak up to him unless you're confident with what you're saying. I could see Romeo's vein popping on his forehead and travel down the side of his temple with a clenched jaw that was picked in place.

I wish I could say Romeo would never hurt me but he's tried before so I already know he wouldn't hesitate to rip me from Felix and beat me with a stick. His fist rather. He would use a stick when he could use his hands.

"I fûcking told you-

In the corner of my eye I see Alessandro try to stop a furious and growling Romeo who was expeditiously charging towards me.

"You gonna hit your own daughter?" Felix asks stunned, but I noticed he'd dropped his bag with the cupcakes inside safely and returned the favour of protecting me by volunteering to wrap his warm arms around me. This was my time to shine! I wanted to protect him!

His bitter sweet words tweaked something inside Romeo and his fists were then balled and clenched. His breaths were pacing intensely and he stopped just half a foot away from me where my eyes wrench closed waiting for impact.

"Felix-

"Wow. You were really going to hit your daughter. You know? The one you never saw until a month ago?"

"You know how sick that is? Don't have children if you're only going to hurt them," I feel a reassuring movement in his thumb stroking my shoulder. Damn it, I really wanted to protect him from Romeo but how it's vice versa.

Alessandro tries to speak but he's cut off. Felix needed to stop irking my brothers, he forgets we live in a house filled to the brim like a pool with weapons. No doubt they carry guns everywhere with them.

I feel a presence zoom closer. Romeo tears me from Felix's embrace harshly dragging me to the cool, tiled ground and securing the far distance between us with a kick before pinning Felix up by his fluffy jumper against the back wall next to the steps.

Alessandro was quick in motion to slice between Romeo and Felix to plot the hard tension between them.

Pounding, my heart was beating rapidly as I rub my elbow and inspect the damage. It was bright red and sore. So was my back from his previous kick with his foot.

My legs shake with fear as I struggle to crawl to my feet wobbly until I steady myself against the wall with the slight pressure of it burning a fire beneath my spine.

"Felix go upstairs with Em please," he presses a ringed and tatted hand to Romeo's chest giving Felix enough room for me to hook arms with and lace upstairs in a swift moment.

The cold blood pumped viciously through my frigid body as I was gasping for air with a pounding chest that vibrates an inconsistent rhythm through my body.

"I'm dead. I'm gonna die," I press my hands against my knees whilst hunched over feeling a shiver of fear charge across my body easing and raising the hairs on my tingling spine.

"You aren't going to die," he seemed so calm and serene, peaceful almost and unfazed if anything that just happened.

"Just wait."

"Why is he so tense?!" Felix stammers with rage lacing his voice with flaring hands after a few moments of spluttering silence.

"I don't know, Felix. Do you get why I fûcking hate it here now?! They're all fûck tarts," I swallow my fear

***************

"It's getting late," Felix huffs in annoyance whilst checking the late time on his phone. It was like eight in the evening so it's understandable.

"Please don't go home," I whine tugging on his arm in attempts to pull him back just as he swings his backpack over his back and aims for the door.

"Can't you stay here?" I stretch my arms above my head and let the dark credits of the movie roll through the background.

"Mums expecting me. Sorry, Em," he kisses my cheek as I follow his steadily down the steps slipping on the last one like I always used to before. Curse fluffy socks.

He stifles a humorous laugh but offers a friendly hand for me to clutch so I can pull myself up.

"Oops," I adjust my pants and pull them down a little bit being up too high.

"See you soon?" He opens the door but I pull him can just as he was about to step a booted foot into the darkness.

"Want me to ask Lijah to take you home? Scratch that he's crooked right now. How about Blade? He can take you home which means I can spend a few more minutes with you?" I tilt my head to the side pulling him back into the house as I squeal and skip along to the living room.

Sat on the sofa was Mia who wasn't actually on the sofa, rather in Axel's lap. April was sat next to them listening to Alessandro, who was sat on the opposite sofa against the back wall, rant about how rich he is. She didn't seem interested in that.

Not that she didn't seem interested in him because I could see her black, midnight, ebony eyes ogling at Alessandro rather than listening. Should I give him a useless tip?

Yeah I'll do that.

I slither over to Alessandro and whisper silently in his ear just so Blade who was sat next to him could hear, "stop talking about yourself and talk about common interests." With that I not so discreetly slide away from him seeing a nod of appreciation.

Then, I stare at Blade who seemed more interested in the movie Cinderella with a slumped head in his palm smushing his features to one side.

"Can you believe not one girl has the same size shoe as this bitch?" He groans loudly overtaking Alessandro's deep raspy voice.

"Sorry to bother you, can you take Felix home?" I practically beg with cold palms pressed together. So much for a nice warm summer near my birthday.

"Does he have legs?" His question catches me off guard.

"Well yeah-

"Then tell him to use them, I'm not wasting petrol on him," his eyes divert back to the television immediately becoming observed in the animation.

Now I'm mad.

"Please?!" It drew from my lips more like a command.

"No."

"Please?!?" I draw out more in a broad, rooted tone.

"No."

"BLADE!"

"Yeah?"

"PLEASE?!" I stomp my foot heaving in the ground hoping it would get me my spoilt way.

"Hmmm... no."

"It's my birthday though and this is the last time I can see him whilst Romeo is around, please, I want every last minute with him," my voice becomes more silent and soft. My fingers intertwined and laced behind my back whilst looking at the rustic, amber floors.

Taking a large breath of air, he rolls his eyes effortlessly and stands up brushing the long black hairs from Neon away from his pants.

"C'mon," he hauls me over to the door, a smiling face from Felix follows behind too.

Hooking my arm through the crevice of Felix's, I gallop irrationally tugging him along with me.

He starts the engine and puts the heaters in letting us warm up first before setting off. I didn't bring a coat but all I had was my blanket that I hadn't used in a long while - perfect for nights like this.

"Did you get another tattoo?" I question looking at his hand that was twisting the steering wheel as we ascended to shark corner. He didn't even bother to stop; he just drove right through and used the excuse of 'there's no traffic' but that was excuse you breaking a law. It's whatever. Not the first time he's done it and won't be the last.

"Uhhh yeah I did, you like it?" He takes one hand off of the wheel to show me it: a printed tattoo of a king's crown on his middle finger. Precisely on the proximal phalanges.

"I swear you get a new tattoo every week. But yeah, it looks nice. I wonder if I can do a stick and poke. Would you do it for me?" I begin by examining my fingers for a rough estimate of where I want my first tattoo.

"One: I've only been getting tattoos lately because I'm bored. Two: no you can't get a stick and poke because that's stupid. Three: why would I do that?"

I shrug not knowing any kind of witty response to feedback. Tattoos are so awesome I can't wait to cover my body like a canvas. Maybe not a lot of tattoos but like three maybe.

"Did it hurt?" Felix asks nonchalantly, failing to show any kind of emotion from the back seat. I look back and waver him a cheesy smile.

"Not really. For me at least," he looks to his left and right before skipping another red light. So dangerous. Kinda fun and exhilarating at the same time.

"Yeah but you punch your doors through and smash you windows-

He interrupts me, "the last I checked you broke two of my windows when throwing a tantrum," he chuckles to himself and I roll my eyes accepting he's right.

"So did it hurt at all?" Felix asks again.

"No. But you're a pussy so it's going to kill you," he smirks at his dickhead response that caused me to nudge him with my elbow.

"Don't hit the driver," he warns playfully.

"Didn't you pass two- oh count that as three red lights already? Wouldn't make a difference if she hit you or not," Felix remarks sarcastically but also humorously just as we pass through, yet again, another amber light that soon turned red.

"Meh. Rules are for geeks," he shrugs not letting it faze him. He slowly pulls over over to the side and pulls the handbrake then looks back to a prepared Felix.

I pull my door open sink can't give him a hug just before he leaves me.

"I'll see you soon? Love you?" He asks more like a question before wrapping his arms around me loosely and kisses my cheek before waving good bye from the door.

"Love you!" Blade shouts from the rolled down window in a mocking manner in a high pitched screech.

He begins to drive off again with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Stop!" I scream playfully hitting him with a failed fist because my thumb cracked from white caged in the hole of my fist.

"Ow!" I shake my hand to relieve the pain and stress from my muscles that was reading with burning fire.

"Just say you love him and move on with your life," he cackles to himself under his breath before speeding through the lights and past the few beeping cars.

Asshole.

"Of course I love him. He's my best friend why wouldn't I love him?" I shake my head in confusion as I look at him and he looks back with a smug grin forcing a dimple.

"Yeah okay," he snorts, "no reason. Other than the fact that you kiss each other," he whispers in a teasing tone.

"I kiss everyone. He's not special." But the fact is he is special to me. He's my family.

"Really? You say that yet beg everyone to see him-

"What is it you're suggesting?!" I cut him off sharply with furrowed brows in a straight line.

He breaks a low laugh but covers it with a caged palm over his mouth concealing his laughs.

"You know exactly what it is I'm suggesting, Mila," he doesn't speak but keeps his eyes on the road but makes a wrong turn in the opposite direction to where home is. Let's roll with it.

"No I don't," I grit out.

"It starts with a 'C'," he pulls the breaks outside a subway and that's when I realise he didn't even bother to keep himself safe with a seatbelt. He'd gone empty the entire time.

"I do NOT have a crush on Felix!" I push open the Jeep door in a scurry and kick it closed with my foot before charging hastily behind him trying to catch up.

"You said it, not me," he giggle deeply before pushing the door open to be overwhelmed by a sensation and aroma of goods.

I could already feel a sandwich growing in my tummy and begging for food. I rub my tummy and lick my lips as I inhale the smell of the variety of meats and fresh salads.

"But you were going to say 'crush' weren't you?" I lower my voice so the employees don't stare at me weirdly.