The Lawyer (Book 1 of the New York Brotherhood Series)

Chapter 11

Vanessa

            Neither of them move, I internally roll my eyes. Uncle Kevin taught me don't show any signs of weakness and well I did with Mateo and I won't be doing that again. They're still not moving, I groan. "I said sit down!" They both look at me again both with a look of shock. They both hesitate slightly and then they both sit at the dining table. I sit across from them.

            Overhearing their conversation makes me realize how much kissing Mateo was a bad idea. They are best friends and practically brothers, which makes Mateo forbidden in an indirect sense. I needed to go outside on the balcony to get away from making a mistake and I still ended up doing it. The people in school were right, I am a little bitch and a whore. In high school there were rumors about how I slept with everyone which I didn't. In college I made out with a football player and he claimed I slept with him. Every football player and almost every other student athlete thought of me as a piece of ass they could touch. Daily there would be teasing, side comments, and laughing from everyone, even some of the younger coaches would make jokes about it. I still don't know why they said it. I'm pretty sure someone I went to high school with planted the seed in college.

So I avoided everyone like the plague after my freshman year, that's why I quit the cross country team. I did get injured but I could have come back. Since I knew the schedule of athletes, I avoided them made sure to schedule classes around their practices, didn't attend a single athletic event, I just watched them on tv. They took the joy out of something I loved with sports.

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lucy pressed me why I didn't want to go back to the team. I just lied and said that the injury was too severe to return. I think they both knew I was lying but didn't go any further. After that incident I made sure to never be in situations where I could be vulnerable and possibly have another lie spread about me. That's why when Gino started yelling at Mateo, I had to do something I couldn't have my brother accuse me or him of something that didn't happen.

I stare at the two of them waiting to see if either of them will start talking. But neither do, so I do. "Gino its nearly midnight what the hell are you doing here?"

"Like I said neither of you were answering your phones, so I drove here."

"You could of called Kevin to come by."

"Well, I decided to do it myself since you are my responsibility," he grits out and points at me.

"First of all I am an adult and second of all you have Mateo staying with me not you so clearly you wanted to pass of the responsibility to someone else."

"No that isn't what I was doing."

"But then why when you do get here, you're quiet it's almost like you were asking for a fight." Where the hell is this confidence coming from.

"I wasn't, I just didn't know what was going on, someone could have been in here to hurt you."

"So you get into a fight the second you hear someone?"

"He put me in a chokehold first." He says pointing at Mateo.

"I don't care what he did, I was asking you." I grit out of my teeth.

"It was instinct, I guess."

"Did dad teach you that?"

"Yeah." Well at least he taught you something unlike me. "Now for you." I look at Mateo, his nose is starting to swell more, he's going to have some bruises on his perfectly tan face. No stop it, remember forbidden. "Why did you fight him you could have turned on a light."

He snickers and I raise an eyebrow. "Have you ever heard of the element of surprise? That's what you're supposed to do when you see someone sneaking around."