Iris Giorgianni is no ordinary girl. She's living a double life: a neglected daughter at home, but a fighter on the streets. As the leader of The Sangue - one of the most wanted and well-known gangs in London - Iris has a reputation to uphold. Only...
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"It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone."
- John Steinbeck
SHE WAS thirteen.
Her birthday. Her day.
Iris was excited to spend it with Matteo, who had promised her that they would adventure around London, sightseeing and going to all the places she'd never been before.
At thirteen, Iris felt invincible. She still couldn't do the things that Matteo could, but she was a teenager, like him. She looked up to her brother – admired the way he stood up for himself, loved the way he stood up for her. Iris didn't trust her parents, but she would do what they told her to: she wore the clothes they made her wear, went to the events that they dragged her to. She did them because Matteo said it was better that way.
"If you do that, then you don't disobey them, and so they won't hurt you." He had said once, after she was hit by her father for refusing to wear lipstick. "Don't worry. When I'm eighteen I'll be able to protect you myself."
Matteo was now nineteen, and she felt that he really was her protector. He wasn't around as much as he usually was, but whenever he came home he made sure to spend every second with her, telling her of the stories he had when travelling, exciting her with the adventures he promised. She was lonely without him, but now that she was beginning to become older she would be able to do what he did.
She got out of bed, slipping into her slippers and dressing gown, expensive designer items that her mother made her wear. She didn't really like the bright pink – or the frilly bits that were around the sleeves, but they were comfy enough, and she didn't want to get on her mother's nerves again.
With a yawn, she headed downstairs excitedly. It was nine o'clock, and she couldn't resist seeing Matteo any longer.
I wonder what he's got planned for us today. She thought excitedly, skipping down the stairs two-at-a-time.
When she reached the kitchen, she was met with a deafening silence.
Iris frowned. Maybe he was still asleep?
No, Matteo always wakes up at six o'clock.
He had to be around. He had promised her, and Matteo wasn't one to break promises.
Wasn't he?
She sat at the table, waiting for his head to pop around the door and say, "Surprise!" Or a sudden burst of gifts that he had gotten.
So she waited. And waited, and waited.
An hour had passed and there still was absolutely no sign in the house of anybody. She hadn't expected her parents to be around anyway, but Matteo?
Maybe he was held back. Maybe he was going to make up for it. Maybe he was planning something right now.
Iris didn't even want gifts anymore. All she wanted was to see her brother.
