His eyes were green as moss in a forest, cold and frightening. He aimed his gun, finger lingering near the trigger; I wanted to say well, shoot me already. "Don't make me repeat myself," the man snarled.

"Maybe I should be asking who you are," I snapped back. I heard the door slam shut and footsteps.

"Shit, Jules," Soren hissed, stepping into the man's line of fire, "put the damn gun down."

"Tell me who this girl is in my garden." The way he said it meant he was very protective over the damn garden.

"It's Alina, you shithead. You can't just go pointing your gun at everyone you see."

"You mean the Alina?" The man, Jules, said in disbelief. He slowly lowered his gun. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Soren ran a hand through his hair. "Did you not figure it out? How would someone get past the guards, idiot?" He muttered, turning to me. "Are you okay, Lina?"

I nodded. "I'm okay."

Soren let out a relieved breath, gesturing to the man in black. "This is Julian, Angelo's boyfriend." I studied Julian, his sharp jawline and the tattoos on his hands. I had no idea Angelo had a boyfriend, no idea he was gay. Not that I cared, either way.

Julian looked at me, smiling. He tucked away his gun and stepped around Soren. "Hello, Alina," he murmured as I shook his hand. "I am sorry about that, I've been travelling the last week, and I'm exhausted."

"Those are shitty excuses," Luca said, and Julian glared at him. "Wait until Angelo hears you almost shot his little sister. You'll be in the dog house for sure." My brother snickered at the last part.

"Why do you have a gun, anyway?" I asked, glaring at my brother's boyfriend. Julian tucked the gun into his waistband and flattened his shirt.

"I need it for protection."

I smirked. "From who? People lurking in your garden?"

Julian chuckled. "You got me there. I'm protective of my garden, so what?" He huffed and I couldn't help but laugh.

Soren reached out his hand for me to take. "Come on, let's get you inside and get something to eat."

+++

Killian and I were the first ones down for dinner that evening. "Did you enjoy your day? What did you do?" He asked, sitting at the table as Carlotta, the family's housekeeper set a silver platter on the table. I smiled at her, and she smiled back before quickly disappearing into the kitchen.

"I had a good day, I guess," I mumbled, shrugging a shoulder. "I met Julian today."

His eyes widened. "Oh, how did that go?"

"He pointed a gun at my head."

He swore in Italian. "That fucking idiot," Killian hissed.

"He seems very particular about his garden."

Killian paused for a moment and then laughed. "He's something else, that's for sure," he said and I couldn't help but agree. "Angelo will be home later tonight."

"He works long hours," I commented, sitting down beside him.

Killian nodded his head. "What else did you do today?"

"I read."

"Your - our - mother's funeral is tomorrow. Would you like to go?"

"I ..." I trailed off, not knowing if I would or not. I didn't like my mom much, but I loved her. And I think she loved me, despite what she said and did. "Yeah, I'd like to go."

My brother hummed, sipping his water. "Angelo will find out details then."

I didn't want to go to his funeral. No way did I want to show up there but my mom, I wanted to be there for her. I wanted to show up for her. She loved me, right? I mean, I loved her in a way.

"How are you doing with all of this? I know the move was sudden - all of this so sudden," Killian said, his voice gentle. "Do you like it here?"

"I mean, I've only been here two days so far but yeah."

Killian huffed out a laugh. "Fair enough."

Julian and Soren entered the kitchen, shoving each other like children would. Killian rolled his eyes and I smirked. "Enough. Sit down so we can eat."

Julian and Soren took their seat across from me at the table. Carlotta brought in a bowl of chicken caesar salad, saying "Bon appetite," before disappearing again.

"Merci, Carlotta," Killian called, and we shared the bowls around the table and ate peacefully. How many languages did my brothers speak? French, Italian, what else didn't I know about my brothers?

"Anything you like to do, Alina?" Julian asked, taking a bite of steak.

I shrugged. "I like to read, I like the outdoors. I am also a competitive swimmer."

"Really? Like competitions and medals and stuff, you mean?" I nodded. "Will you try out when you attend school again?"

"Yes, maybe."

"Do you want to?"

"Yes."

"We'll go shopping for swimsuits then. And whatever else you need," Killian said and I smiled, appreciating everything they have done for me. Then he leveled a menacing glare on Julian. "Julian, care to fucking explain why you pointed a gun at my sister?"

+++

I heard a knock on my bedroom door. "Come in," I called and it opened to reveal Angelo. His hair was wet, likely from showering, and dressed in a plain t-shirt and grey sweatpants.

"Hey bambina," he murmured, pointing to the book I read. Something Real by Heather Demetrios. "What are you reading?"

"A book," I said, smirking.

Angelo rolled his eyes, striding forward before sitting on the end of my bed. "Killian said you wanted to go to mother's funeral?"

I nodded, setting my book down. "Yeah."

"I'll get ahold of whoever is arranging the funeral," he said, nodding. "Do you mind if all three of us come with you?"

"No, I don't mind at all."

"Did you have a good day? I heard you met Julian," he said, sighing. "I am truly sorry about him."

I laughed a little, shrugging it off. "Does he live here too?"

Angelo nodded. "He does, but his work takes him away at times. Don't worry, he might look intimidating but he's a teddy bear. I promise."

"Good to know."

"Are you doing okay? Do you need anything?"

"I'm okay," I lied, not sure how to tell him the truth when I had bottled it up for so many years. "Thank you."

+++

- Charlie 🧡