If We Were Villains

5

"Alina - Soren, your soon-to-be favourite brother."

I smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Nice to meet you, Soren."

He chuckled, moving to welcome Angelo and me into the house. I studied the interior, which was just as magnificent as the exterior. The house was welcoming from the open door to the wide hallway. Upon the walls were the photographs of children, so obviously so loved. I felt my heart squeeze as I studied them, most of them my brothers, smiling and laughing in their eyes.

The floor was wooden and shiny, with a staircase with the bend of a railing as it swirled to the second floor. The walls were the blues of ocean waves meeting a bold white baseboard. It was homey and comforting. Angelo dropped my backpack at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll show you to your room," Soren announced, "you must be exhausted."

I nodded, a small yawn escaping as he mentioned exhaustion. "That would be great, thank you." My brother picked up my backpack, heaving it over his shoulder with ease.

"This is all you have?" He asked, making his way up the stairs with a glance at me over his shoulder.

"Everything else burned in the fire," I mumbled, feeling an ache near my heart.

His eyes saddened, and his lips twisted in a frown. "Right, I'm sorry about that."

"Don't apologize, and it's not your fault."

"We'll take you shopping," Angelo called from behind me. "Once you have some sleep, of course. Don't need you to literally shop until you drop." He chuckled at his own humour.

Soren hummed. "I'll come with you."

My brother led the way up the stairs. "So, at the end of the hall, that's Killian's room," he said, pointing to the last room on the right. "Next is your room. Then there's Angelo and me right here." He gestured to our oldest brother's bedroom as we passed before reaching my bedroom. The white wooden door was open ajar before Luca pushed it open to reveal a bedroom much larger than the one I had back home.

The walls were painted light grey with a white baseboard, a king-sized bed in the center of the room, with matching nightstands. On the nightstands were two lamps. The arched windows let in most of the light, with blinds halfway down, illuminating the rest of the bedroom; a white desk on the far left, another overhead lamp with a white antique-looking chair with a fluffy cushion. "Over here is your walk-in closet," Soren said, dropping my backpack on the bed before walking to the right, flicking on the light in the closet to reveal lots of space to hang clothes and drawers for pants and other things. "Past this is your en suite bathroom. You're the only one, by the way, with a bathroom in their room, so feel lucky."

The bathroom held a toilet, sink, and tub, all white and pristine. "We'll make sure we get you all the amenities you need when we go shopping later, okay?" Soren stated, and I smiled at him, silently showing my appreciation. "So, what do you think?"

"I love it," I said, amazed. "Thank you."

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Soren peaked his head through the small opening, knocking slightly. "Hey, are you ready to go shopping?"

It was quarter after seven. I had about an hour of sleep before I woke up and couldn't sleep anymore. Nightmares plagued my sleep, and instead of suffering through those, I forced myself to stay awake.

I hoisted myself onto my elbows, stifling a yawn with my fist. "It's nighttime, though. Aren't the malls closing?"

He grinned. "We thought it'd be easier to shop without so many crowds ... Angelo owns the security company that works for the mall. He asked for the staff to stay for some extra hours. Don't worry, unless you don't want to go -"

"No, no, it's fine. I'm good to go," I said, impressed my brother held that much power.

"You sound uncertain. What's going on, hmm?" Soren murmured, his eyes softening. "Alina, you can tell me anything."

"I ... I don't have any money."

Soren chuckled. "You don't need to worry about that, bambina," he said, shaking his head. "Angelo plans on spoiling you rotten. You don't need money."

"Oh."

"Besides, it's his responsibility to buy and provide you with whatever you need now," he said, smiling. "Anything you need or want, we'll get it for you."

"But ..."

Soren shook his head. "No buts. Now, c'mon, Angelo is downstairs waiting, and he gets bored easily." I smiled at him and followed him downstairs. I realized how much stuff I would need and felt awful about it.

"Let's take my car," he said, picking up some keys from the bowl on the desk in the front hallway.

"Let's not and say we did," Angelo snatched them back and chucked them back in the bowl. He snagged another set of keys and twirled them around his ring finger. "We'll take my Ranger, and it has more room anyway. You good, bambina?"

"I am good," I lied.

Angelo noticed the hesitancy in my voice, narrowing his eyes, but he must have decided not to say anything. "C'mon then, we've got lots of shopping to do."

Soren held out his hand for me to take. I took it, my heart calming just a bit. We went into the garage, which was off the kitchen, moving through a door into what looked like a showroom for expensive cars. "Wow, you guys like cars, huh?"

Sore  smirked, wrapping his tattooed arm around my shoulder and hugged me close. "You have no idea. That car right there," he pointed to a sleek black Toyota 86, "is my baby."

"It's gorgeous," I said, in awe. I loved cars, and it looked like I shared that with my brothers. I wondered what else we shared.

We reached Angelo's Range Rover, Soren opening the door for me. "Buckle up," he reminded, as if I was a small child, though I thought it was sweet. I did as he said, sliding into the seat behind the passenger seat. Soren shut the door and got up front beside our oldest brother.

In the mall, I felt hesitant to put much in the cart. I didn't want to spend their money. I picked up a Nike hoodie, unsure, especially when I noticed the price. I hated fretting over something as silly as a hoodie. Angelo came up behind me and snatched it from my grip. "Do you like it?" He asked, and I nodded. "Then we get it, simple as that.

"Angelo?"

"Yes, bambina?"

"Thank you. For this, for everything," I mumbled, embarrassed. "You didn't have to take me in, you know. It's -"

"No," my older brother said, his voice gentle. He reached up and brushed a strand of hair from my eyes. "You never need to thank me for taking you in, Alina. You're my little sister, I would never have let you stay in the system. I won't let anything happen to you."

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- Charlie 🧡