𝓑𝓮 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓯𝓾𝓵 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓲𝓼𝓱 𝓯𝓸𝓻- 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓶𝓪𝔂 𝓰𝓮𝓽 𝓲𝓽.

"Tell me what?" I hear Riona ask from behind. My heart, which was just going miles per minute a couple of seconds ago, stops and drops to my stomach as I freeze.

I spin around on my heels and come face to face with Riona. A soft, confused smile is playing on her lips as she searches for answers in our eyes. Her brown hair blows around her face from the chilly wind and she tilts her head to get a clearer view of Albert, raising her eyebrows.

I too turn around to look at him, biting my lip a little as I stuff my hands into the fluffy faux fur pockets of my white coat. What now? He ignores me, looking straight at his sibling.

"We'll tell you when we get up there," he says, pointing to the top floor of the building. I turn my head towards Riona and try to study her facial expression so I can decipher what she's going to ask next.

Thankfully, she just narrows her eyes at me, to which I nod vigorously, showing that I agree with what Albert said. She looks at us for a couple of seconds before walking inside, towards the elevator.

Albert and I walk behind her, purposefully. I think.

"What are you going to do?" I whisper furiously as I look at him. I look at Riona after that, just to make sure that she didn't hear me. Her pale hands twitch a little, but other than that she just walks ahead normally, not paying much attention to her surroundings.

"Just walk for now, you'll see," he whispers. My eyes catch his lips twitching, his eyes twinkling with mischief. The rest of his face is relaxed, an emotionless mask on.

"I don't like the look on your face," I whisper.

"Well, if you keep whispering like this, you won't like when she hears you and demands you say what it is right away," he whispers back.

"Just don't do something idiotic," I say. He shrugs, his blue eyes still on Riona. I let out a soft sigh as we enter the elevator. I stand beside Riona and Albert stands in front of us.

The elevator soon dings and announces that we have reached the topmost floor. Albert steps out and strolls past the silent corridors to the black door, and we follow him.

"What now?" Riona asks, her hands propped on her waist as she puts most of her weight on her right leg. Her eyes narrow as she assesses the lazy smirk on Albert's face.

"I'll be living in this house for a few days, since mine is being renovated," Albert says, plopping down on the couch. My eyes widen as I look at Albert. He doesn't even acknowledge me as he looks at Riona's blank expression.

Sure, it's a good idea to distract Riona, but that was an extremely spontaneous decision. I'm not sure if he made this decision earlier, or if he's just blabbing at this point.

"Yeah, no," Riona says, drawing out the words, "Not going to happen."

"Come on Ri, you're my sister and I need your help," he says, leaning forward.

"Yeah, you need help," she says, "I'll book the doctor for tomorrow, be ready." She grabs my hand and starts pulling me with her towards her room. I turn my head a little and give Albert a questioning look with my eyebrows knotted and eyes wide for exaggeration. He just gives me a brief nod as if to reassure me before turning to Riona again.

"That was so rude," I say softly to Riona. But somehow my voice reaches Albert's ears, and he speaks up again.

"Yeah, that was so rude. I already have a room here, why don't you want me to live with you guys? I'll only come by when dinner is ready, and after that I'll retire to my room. You won't even know that I'm here," he says. Riona lets go of my hand and whirls around to look at Albert. I fold my arms and look at him too.

"He's right though, he could live here," I mumble. Hearing me, Riona sighs and massages her temples with her index and middle finger. She then opens her eyes to look at Albert with a furious intensity shining in her eyes.

"Okay, but no funny business in this house. Make sure you don't trouble Rhea," she says, referring to the maid that usually comes in to take care of the place.

"You got it," he says, typing something on his phone. Not a minute later, the doorbell rings. I raise one of my eyebrows as Albert shrugs and takes long strides to complete the distance between himself and the door. He opens it and Albert's driver comes into my view with a couple bags. Looking at it, Riona just shakes her head and walks away into the kitchen.

"You had this planned?" I ask him.

"Yup, I had the bags ready. I was going to move in tonight, sometime around dinner. But I thought this would be the right time to drop the bomb. Just kinda to distract her," he says and motions the man to come in and keep the bags.

"And you were sure that she would agree?" I ask. He shrugs.

"The crucial point was that if you agreed, she would have no problem. She was holding back because she knew how jumpy and uncomfortable you are around new people, and she wanted to make your stay here comfortable for you. You agreed, so here I am, moving into the house!" I nod at him as he finishes.

"I'm here!" I hear Jade's enthusiastic voice at the door. A wide smile appears on my face, hearing his voice. I turn on my heels and walk over to him, my arms naturally falling around his neck as I embrace him. His arms snake around my waist as he hugs me back.

"You didn't come back," I whisper slowly.

He pulls back and so do I, my hands still in his.

"I know and I'm sorry, I really wanted to, but it was all a mess with Clarisse and my exams. And if you don't know, spring break is starting, and she is so fucking excited. Stella, too. They think I'm coming back and leaving NYU."

A small dejected 'oh' leaves my lips as I look down at the marbled floor.

"Hey," he says, looking into my eyes when I raise my head to look at him, "It's not like I'm actually going to stay there."

"I just, I don't know what I was thinking. With Cass and Lee gone, it feels like everybody is going to leave at some point."

"Don't worry, I won't," he says and pulls me back into a hug.

"Don't you think if you're cutting ties with Clarrise, you shouldn't stay with me, in the middle of this mess?" I ask him, pulling away.

"Ari, I was born into this, the middle is exactly where I'm supposed to be," he says.

"Come inside," Riona shouts from the kitchen, making both of us chuckle at her impatience. Jade takes my small hand into his big one as he pulls me to the kitchen. I look around the living room to see Albert gone. I can only assume that he's in his room.

"What are you making?" He asks Riona as soon as he steps inside the kitchen.

"Nothing special," she says as she hands him a transparent sealed plastic bag of mozzarella and cheddar cheese blend. "Open this for me."

He looks around the kitchen, probably to find the scissors, but a crestfallen look on his face tells me he's unsuccessful. He walks back to the counter beside Riona and opens his mouth to say something before his eyes fall on something.

His lips turn up in a smirk as he eyes the wooden knife stand. He stretches his hand and his fingers wrap around the black hilt of the nearest knife to him and pulls it out. My eyes widen as he looks at the metal part of the knife which reflects a segment of his face.

"Don't use that to open it, you idiot," I shout.

"She's right, you'll end up hurting yourself," Riona says, her eyes wide.

"I've been doing this for years," he says, not even looking at it, "It's almost as if I could do it with closed eyes."

"Don't-" I shout, but it's already too late.

"Fuck," he curses as the sharp knife cuts right through his pale skin. Instantly a scarlet color rises and clots around the vertical cut on his finger. A drop peeks out of his finger as Riona snatches the bag from him.

"Not in my cheese! I'm not a great fan of the metallic taste, but what kind of idiot are you?" Riona snaps, taking his hand in hers. Ripping a couple of kitchen towels from the roll, she bunches one up and presses to the wound so the blood stops flowing and gives one to Jade, telling him to hold it under his hand.

"I'll get the first aid kit," I say and run to my room. Reaching it, I realize I don't know where the box is so naturally, I decide to go to Riona. But the constant bickering sound and the faint whimpers of Jade tell me I shouldn't be there without the box. So I turn to the closed black door beside Riona's room. I carefully knock and wait for Albert to open it.

"Um, hey," I say awkwardly as soon as he opens the door, "Can you give me a first aid box?"

His eyebrows raise and his eyes widen. His gigantic hands land on my arms as his eyes take me in from head to toe as he examines me. "Why? What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He rambles about how I should take care of myself and should have been more careful, but I cut him off.

"Hey, I'm fine, okay?" I say, taking his hands in mine with a small smile on my face to assure him. "It's just that Jade cut himself."

"Oh, ok," he says, pulling back, "I'll get it for you, wait here."

"It hurts like a bitch," I hear Jade snap and release a string of curses as soon as I enter the kitchen and set the box on the counter.

"Stop being dramatic," I say, fumbling through the box.

"Dramatic? I'm not even close," he says, widening his eyes and pointing at the finger. "Can you see how much blood is coming out of that minor cut. I swear, the platelets in my body are decreasing. I could die from this."

"Oh my God," I sigh, exasperated as I start with the entire cleaning process, "Every month I bleed five times more than this and news flash, I'm still alive. Also, the blood has stopped flowing so you can stop planning your funeral for a moment. I'm afraid that'll have to be done some other time." Finally finishing, I put all the supplies back in and snap the box shut. Walking over to the sink in the kitchen, I turn on the water and keep my hand under the cold, flowing liquid.

"You can't actually blame me-" I cut him off.

"Actually, I can. So shut up and start studying. That's what you came here for. Stop wasting your time," I say as I wash my hands.

***

"I have some news," Jade says, entering my room. It's been a while since we started studying. The sun has finally set and the New York skyline is gleaming. The view from my room gives us a delightful view of the busy New York City and the shining skyline. It would have made me believe that this room isn't ideal for studying because of the many distractions it provides, but with this amazing view, I'm definitely not complaining.

"What happened?" I ask, moving my books aside. He had gone out to the living room to receive a call so that he wouldn't disturb us.

"Lee and Cass just called." My heart aches hearing their names, and all the horrible words I said to them appear in my mind.

"Tell me it's not what I think it is," Riona says, moving her books aside as well.

"I think it's what you think it is," Jade says, his expression matching Riona's shocked one.

"How do you know what I'm thinking matches the news you have?" Riona asks. I frown, glancing between the two of them. Their constant bickering is annoying me.

"Cut the crap, both of you," I say, cutting them off, "What happened, Jade?"

"Cass and Lee called, I just got off the phone. They said that this will probably be the last time we'll hear from them, so they just wanted me to warn you. They think Jessica and Clarrise know where you are."

"I think we already established that. With Tony after me, I think they know where I am," I say as if stating the obvious.

"Actually, one more thing. Before they came here, to Manhattan, they did some research, hoping to help you. So let me just pass on the information. If you don't remember, Tony was the one in charge of keeping you in check when you escaped from under his nose. They didn't like that and basically banished him from their gang, mafia, don't know, don't care. Tony, being as impulsive and pea-brained as he is, he concluded that everything he lost was because of you.

"He attacked you, and that was on his own. So, we can safely say that even if Tony knows who you are and exactly where you are, Jessica and Clarrise are far from getting near to you," he finishes.

"Don't you think Tony will tell them about her, where she is and who she is?" Riona asks, looking between both of us.

"No, knowing who I am and where I am is his leverage. He would never tell that to anyone. He would show off that knowledge, but because they didn't help him and sort of banished him, he would rather die than give them the information," I say. Slowly, standing up from the bed, I walk over to the door, closing it.

"So, that means you're safe for now. Till they find out where you are and who you are with the changes in your appearances," Riona says.

"Well, if I'm getting a second chance, I might as well lie low and let them pass over," I say, nodding. This could be a chance to do things normally with Albert, and a chance to keep the friends I had with me. A chance for new beginnings.

Two chapters in one day! Wooo!!

I initially planned to publish this chapter later in the week, around Thursday or Friday but I published it now, hopefully, to make up for being gone for almost a week! So, I hope you forgive me and enjoy the chapter!

Also, I would love to hear you guys' theories on what shit is about to go down in the future. What do you think of the two suspicious ladies mentioned in the chapter? Do you think Ari will ever get a chance with Albert?

If you liked the little hints that were dropped in the chapter and that you got an insight on some of Ari's past then please vote and leave me some comments telling me what your favourite part was! And if you feel like it, then give me a follow. I have a very interesting project coming up!

Stay safe and see you with the next chapter.

Edited by the wonderful Sarah Baker!