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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"Invisible threads are the strongest ties."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
VISITING DAY. Visiting day, visiting day, visiting day. The words spiralled around her head, bouncing off the walls of her mind, repeating over and over again.
Iris had dreaded it for weeks, desperately hoping that by some miracle it would be cancelled, and that she wouldn't have to experience the pain of watching all the 'happy families'. She knew without a hesitation when the day was first announced that her parents would never show up to see her. They had private jets, helicopters, entire floors of hotels and various companies nearby, yet they wouldn't even think about showing up for one day to see their own daughter.
Who cares. Iris thought. I don't even want to see them anyway.
Most of the campmates were already buzzing in excitement for a connection with the outside world. A large group of them gathered by the gates after breakfast, waiting for the buses to arrive that had come from all over the world.
As soon as Iris woke up she made her way into the forest, wanting to distance herself from the chatter that was already beginning to increase. WELCOME, FAMILIES OF CAMP JUVY! Read a large sign above the reception tent. It was all too much too fast. One minute she was missing London, now she wanted nothing to do with it.
Her back was digging in uncomfortably into a rock behind her and her hair kept falling into her eyes. Today, as she'd known for weeks, was not going to be a good day.
"Why are you out here?"
Iris swivelled around to the sounds of Levi, who was stood behind her with a sad smile on his face. Perhaps he wasn't expecting anyone, either.
"There's no point me being around over there." She replied, ripping up a dry leaf in her hands and watching it flutter to the ground in shreds. "Nobody will turn up."
Levi nodded. He was enviously watching the parents embrace their children with tight squeezes, no doubt thinking of his own. "Pretty much the same for me, to be honest."
"You think Hunter will show?"
"And come all the way to the place he hates to see his only brother...that he hates?" Levi laughed, but it was humourless. "Nah."
Iris' stomach ached as her eyes fell on Ember, who was lucky enough to have her whole family show up, all of them kissing and hugging her as if she was their special gem. It wasn't fair that she treated people so badly but had those who respected her. Iris, though her past wasn't exactly incredible, had begun to stop being so rude, whereas Ember hadn't even tried.
The last few days before visiting day, Levi and Iris refused to acknowledge Ember. She was now fully occupied with Wrench, and, quite frankly, didn't seem to want to be friends with them now that she was "free of Chase". It was all strange, and they still suspected that Wrench was involved somehow, but at this point all they could do was watch and wait.
