Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
I barely got any sleep last night. I waited until Neo went to bed, because there was no way I was going to let that little punk get away with hitting Tommy the way he did. Once I was sure my brother was asleep, I sneaked into his bathroom, poured a shit-ton of bleach into his shampoo bottle, and then squirted some hair removal cream into his bodywash.
It’s petty and might seem small, but to someone as vain as my brother, it’s hitting him where it hurts. When I hear his scream followed by the stomping of heavy footsteps rushing my way, I know it worked. It sounds like a herd of elephants stampeding through the house. All the soldiers rush upstairs to see what happened. I have no doubt guns are drawn too.
I smile to myself as I apply a shiny red gloss to my lips. Serves the idiot right. Maybe next time he’ll think twice before punching someone I like. I walk out of my room, calm as a cucumber. At the same time my father’s men exit my brother’s bedroom, laughing and shaking their heads.
“What happened?” I ask Neo.
“You happened,” he grunts.
I try and fail to not laugh at him. His hair is bleached blonde, but it’s patchy. Some spots are bright yellow while others are a dark brown. His arms are bald, which means the rest of his body is too.
Have fun with that in the showers after gym class.
“I’m going to kill you,” Neo seethes at me.
“You’re not touching your sister. Don’t ever threaten her like that,” Papa says, slapping the back of Neo’s head.
“Morning, Papa.” I walk up to my father and hug him before placing a kiss on his cheek.
“Morning, printessa.” Papa kisses the top of my head, then quickly turns back to my brother. “What the fuck did you do to your hair?”
“Your little princess did this.” Neo points in my direction.
“Why would you do that to your brother?” Papa asks me.
“No idea what he’s talking about,” I say and start making my way down the steps.
“This isn’t over, Mabilia,” Neo calls after me.
“Bring it, little brother,” I tell him, not bothering to look back.
“What’d you do?” my mom questions the moment my feet reach the bottom of the stairs.
“Why does everyone think it was me?” I throw my hands in the air dramatically.
She raises one perfectly manicured eyebrow at me.
“Fine,” I whisper. “But he deserved it. He punched someone I really like.”
“He’s your brother,” Mom says. “No one is more important than your brothers.”
“I didn’t shoot him. I just… made him less pretty.” I shrug.
The front door swings open and Aurora walks in. “Morning all,” she says cheerfully.
“Aurora, morning, sweetheart.” Mom hugs her. “Have you eaten?”
“Nope. I saved my appetite because you make the best pancakes, Zia Iz,” Aurora replies, sucking up.
“We don’t have time for breakfast. We’ll get something on the way,” I tell Aurora, grabbing hold of her arm.
“Whoa, what happened to your hair?” Aurora’s eyes widen, her gaze focusing behind me.
“Mabilia happened. Be thankful you don’t have sisters,” Neo groans. “I’m not going to school looking like this.”
“You’re going to school,” Papa says in his no-nonsense tone.
“You can’t be serious. Look at me.” Neo draws a circle around his face.
“I don’t care if your skin turned pink, Neo. You’re not skipping school,” Papa orders before turning his back and walking off. His way of saying he’s done with the conversation.
“We gotta run. Catch you later, Mom,” I call out over a shoulder while dragging Aurora behind me. As soon as we’re out of the gates, Aurora aims a glare in my direction.
“What did he do?” she asks.
“He hit someone I like,” I tell her. “Just because the men in our family think they have a say in who we date doesn’t mean we have to lie down and take their bullshit,” I seethe. “I am not letting them ruin this for me. I really, really like this guy.”
“Who is this guy?” Aurora asks, her eyes narrowed in on me.
“Tommy.” I smile.
“When do I get to meet this Tommy ?” she says, returning her focus to the road.
“When I’m ready for you to meet him,” I tell her.
“Okay, so this is why we’re shopping today?”
“I need to find the sluttiest clothes. Tommy hid my dress from me last night because he didn’t like how revealing it was. He’s going to regret that.”
“Oh my god, you found a guy just like all the others in our family.” Aurora laughs.
“Nope, he’s different. He’s not made,” I tell her.
“What’s he do then?”
“He’s in college. And he owns a bar.”
“A guy in college… who owns a bar and also drives a Ferrari?” She raises an inquisitive brow.
“How do you know what he drives?” I counter.
“I saw you get into his car the other day. Also, he might not be made, but he’s not aboveboard either. He’s into underground gambling and laundering money through his bar,” Aurora informs me.
My jaw drops. “How do you know that?”
“I have my ways of finding information.” She shrugs. “Did you know what he does?”
“I know. He told me.” Well, not about the laundering part, but he told me about the poker. Who am I to judge how he makes his money?
“Good, as long as you know. How serious is this thing?” Aurora prods.
“He asked me to be exclusive.” I smile. “And I said yes.”
“Exclusive? You sure you want to tie yourself down to one guy? We’re going to be in college next year. Think of all the parties, all the hotness we could have.” She shakes her head.
“I’m good, and I like Tommy.”
“Meet me here after first?” Aurora says as she pulls into our usual spot at school.
“I’ll be here,” I tell her. “What’s so important about first period that you have to be there anyway?”
“Math,” she says. “Math is always important, Mabilia.” Aurora laughs as we make our way into the building.