Luberto

Two Problems

Luca's POV

As we walked down the streets of Portorosso, Giulia kept a running commentary on the people and buildings we passed. When we reached the top of the mountain, Giulia started telling Bria about our Portorosso cup victory last summer. She pointed to the old shack at the top of the mountain.

"That's where Luca finally showed the town he was a sea monster." She pointed a little further down the path. "That's where he saved Alberto from-" she was cut off by a voice in the distance behind me.

"Bria?" Both Bria and Alberto tensed, turning around, their expressions grew furious as a figure approached the top of the hill. I recognized the voice. 

"Who's that?" Giulia whispered beside me.

"Bruno." Alberto said through gritted teeth. Giulia's eyes widened. Bruno was growing closer, but Bria and Alberto stood their ground. Once Bruno was about fifty feet away, I walked forward to stand next to Alberto, while Giulia stayed behind. Before Bruno could get much further Giulia hissed from behind me.

"Luca!" But my gaze was Locked on Bruno as he approached. "Luca!" I still didn't turn around. "Luca!" I finally turned to look at her and saw the panic in her eyes. She gestured behind her, and I saw another figure approaching, though I couldn't make out who it was as he was shrouded in shadow. I looked at Giulia, confused. she mouthed Ercole, and I froze, we had two problems, one in front, one behind. Which was worse? I wasn't sure. 

"Number one and Number two!" I heard Ercole call. "I see you've found a new friend. Is she a disgusting monster like you?" Bria and Alberto turned around, and Alberto's look of anger became mixed with one of disgust.

"Hey!" I turned around to see Bruno breaking into a sprint, his tall, lanky form reminding me of Alberto. "Leave them alone!" Bria turned back around.

"Hey! We can handle this. Like you said. We're old enough to take care of ourselves. Back off." Bruno slowed, then stopped. I could see in his eyes that the words stung. Bria turned back to Ercole, who was looking between Bruno and Alberto.

"Oh! Someone does care about you. There's a first time for everything I guess." Bria approached Ercole, stopping mere inches from him.

"Leave my brother alone!" Ercole looked Bria up and down, a cruel smile on his face.

"You are to pretty to be fish boy's sister." Bria didn't hesitate, she backhanded Ercole so hard that he fell to the stone path with a yelp.

"Don't talk about him like that! You disgusting little catfish!" That was a name Ercole wasn't unfamiliar with. A crowd began to gather as the younger girl stood over Ercole as he tried to scoot away from her.

"Now listen, and listen closely." She grabbed the collar of Ercole's shirt and pulled him up so that their faces were centimeters apart. "Leave Alberto, Giulia, and Luca alone. Or believe me, I will come find you. And it will be much, much worse than this." She threw Ercole back on the ground, and he scooted away, standing and trying to regain his composure, while he attempted to hide the red mark on his cheek. He walked off down the alley, only looking back once, with the expression of a wounded puppy. The crowd cheered as Ercole was enveloped by the shadows of the alley. And I saw one of the boys from the beach approach Bria.

"That was amazing."

"Thanks!" The boy held his hand out, and Bria shook it.

"I'm Enzo." Bria smiled

"Bria." The two of them started talking, but were drowned out by the chatter of the people around them. And eventually, Enzo was lost in the crowd of people who wanted to talk to Bria. For years, Ercole had terrorized the town, and Bria was the first person who had stood up to Ercole with such force. Giulia had butted heads with Ercole before, but now Ercole seemed to really heed Bria's warning. She had hit him pretty hard. Enzo was pushed to the back of the crowd, he began looking around, and saw Alberto. He walked over, and said to Alberto,

"Why didn't you tell us you had a sister?

"I didn't know until this morning."

"Really?"

"Yeah." I watched Bria as she attempted to escape the crowd, people moved out of her way as she approached Bruno. I couldn't hear their conversation over the chatter of the crowd, but based off their body language, this was a good fight. I heard Bria shout,

"WE DON'T NEED YOU!"  Bruno took a step back, stunned by her words and harsh tone. The crowd grew quiet, and I could make out what they were saying. "Bria, I really thought I was doing what was best for you. I'm sorry. But there's-"

"I don't really care what you thought. I just know that you need to leave. You chose to leave us. You made your choice. Now live with it." Bria turned around and headed back in our direction. Bruno just stood there, staring. Alberto looked at Bruno, anger still burning fiercely in his eyes. He turned away, and we walked down the hill. I gripped Alberto's hand tightly, and I could feel his anger begin to drain as he squeezed my hand. We got back to town square, and Bria ran to the water, she jumped in and resurfaced in her sea monster form. Her scales were a light shade of red. She gestured for us to follow, And Alberto ran to the water, while I stayed behind with Giulia.

"Come on Luca!"  I Looked at Giulia. She wasn't like us. She couldn't breathe under water. Giulia smiled.

"Go ahead."

"You sure?" She nodded. And I went to join Alberto and his sister. When I reached them, Bria asked,

"Giulia isn't coming?"

"She's human, she can't breathe underwater."

"Right. Well, I guess we'll see her when we get back." Bria turned, and swam off. I looked back at Giulia for a moment, and then followed Bria.