The Shadows

Chapter Four

Armani De Luca was the exact opposite of Annabella.

He had the loving family she craved and wished for.

He had the brothers she had dreamed about, the mother's love she would die for, and the father she wished for.

He was living a life Annabella had only heard about from others.

The day that changed his life started out as any other. His alarm went off at its usual time, and his older brother Angelo came knocking on his door.

"Wake up Armani! We have things to do today." He yelled through the door. Armani groaned, already dreading the business he would have to deal with that day. His family introduced him into the mafia a year beforehand and he had been dealing with things non-stop since. He loved it, but he sometimes wished he never had to be a part of it.

"I'm getting up. Leave me alone now!" Armani yelled back when the knocking did not stop. He was very close with Angelo, but he could be very persistent. Ever since he had found out his twin had been kidnapped, Angelo and him had been very close. Sometimes, Armani wonders if he would even be alive if it wasn't for him.

Armani had been through some things since finding out about his sister. Oftentimes, his parents would find him in what would have been his sister's room just thinking about the things they would've done together. He sometimes thinks about whether or not they would pull pranks on their family, or if she would know of the mafia. He knew all those questions would never have an answer unless he found her.

It was mid November at that point, meaning they had been in school for two months. It also meant that there was less than a month till their birthday. Every year on December 15th, their family would skip school if they had it, even though they never celebrated the twins birthday. Armani felt that it was wrong to do so without her. They wanted to, but he refused unless she was beside him to celebrate also. It was always a somber day for everyone, including him.

He shook his thoughts away and headed downstairs to grab breakfast before he had to head out to school. The breakfast was a tense one. Ever since their mother had passed away the year before, the family meals had been stressful and awkward for everyone.

Armani did not want to stay in the kitchen any longer, so he quickly finished his meal and went to his car. His brothers had gotten the memo and followed him out to their cars. They all left their house and began the 15 minute journey to school.

When they arrived, they had gotten the usual stares they would get everyday. The De Luca name was a notorious one that brought fear onto anyone who had wronged them. The school was no exception. The boys ran the school. Anything that went on, the boys would know, so they were surprised when they saw a car in the spot where Armani parked his car everyday.

Armani was mad at whoever had decided to take his spot, but shook it off and went to find another spot. Getting out of the car, anyone could have seen the visible anger on Armani's face. He was not one to get anger that often, but when he did it was sure to bring some destruction.

Walking into the school, everyone parted for them. They could feel the fear radiating off of every student, except for one. There was a new girl who looked confused as to why everyone had pressed themselves up against the walls to try and make themselves invisible. Of course, it was not working but the four De Luca boys relished in it.

The new girl was not looking their way yet, but when she did their breath was taken away. She looked exactly like Armani and it lit a match of hope in their hearts. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope that this was their Annabella.

They kept waking to where they met their friends each day, but each one of them seemed distracted by the thoughts that were plaguing their minds. If anyone noticed, they did not say anything to them about it, worried about the reaction it may cause.

They had talked to their friends well after the bell signaling that first period was beginning, before heading to class. Armani opened the door to the classroom and ignored the teacher telling him he needed to be on time. All he could see was the girl who looked exactly like him sitting in his seat.

This had to be her.

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The boy that walked in like he owned the place was staring at Annabella which was creeping her out. She had always been paranoid about someone finding out her identity and his staring was not helping her at that moment.

He began to walk back towards her, all while staring at her. Other people began to stare and whisper also. It took her a few seconds, but she finally realized that she was sitting in his seat. She didn't really care if it was his seat or not, so she continued to act like she did not have a care in the world. Once he reached her he stood beside the desk while staring down at her. When she had made no indication that she would be moving, he cleared his throat.

"Ahem."

"Yes?"

"You are sitting in my seat." He answered her.

"It didn't have your name on it, so that made it free for the taking." Annabella replies lazily. It was apparent he was beginning to become annoyed with her act of not caring.

"It's my seat and everyone here knows it. You may be new, but that doesn't mean you get to come in here and break up the normal flow of things. You better learn your place newbie." Armani replied back to her, huffing as his anger was rising. He knew that she may very well be his twin, but he wasn't thinking clearly. He didn't think about how his actions may affect their relationship if it was truly her.

Armani gave up trying to get her to move out of his seat and walked out of the classroom, tired of the day already. It's not like he needed much of the schooling if he was going to be in the mafia anyway.

Annabella was shocked that the boy had decided to leave her alone and walk out of the classroom. The teacher looked used to him walking out, sighing, and began to start the lesson.

Why would he act that way? What had she done to have him stare at her that way? Annabella's mind was downed by questions about the mysterious boy who looked like her. Her life had done a complete 180 in three days. She just wanted a peaceful new start and this wasn't looking like what she had hoped for.

The rest of the day was normal. There were no more boys telling Annabella that she was in her seat and she was enjoying her time in the school. It was finally time for lunch after 4 boring classes and Annabella could not be more ready.

Her and Isabella met up in the hallway and talked about the class they didn't have with each other while walking to the cafeteria. Once they entered, they saw that they were serving smoothie and decided to get the strawberry kiwi ones.

As they sat down, they heard the clicking of heels headed for their table. Looking up, Annabella spotted a girl whose clothes appeared to be too little for her and had bleach blonde hair.

"Hey, are you Annabella?" She asked while trying to appear nice.

"Yeah, why?" Annabella replied, already done with the fake Barbie.

"Well, you need to stay away from Armani. He is mine." She told her trying to sound threatening. It had no effect on Annabella, but she was confused about who Armani was.

"Am I supposed to know who Armani is?" Annabella questioned, sounding just as confused as she looked. Isabella was trying to hide her giggles at this point, knowing that the other girl had no idea what she was getting herself into.

The girl was starting to get an attitude thinking that Annabella was playing dumb. "I said Armani is mine and for you to stay away from him. He was the boy who was talking to you in first period. I probably don't have to worry though, you were so disgusting you scared him off."

Annabella was starting to get angry at the girl's blatant disrespect for her. How could someone she didn't even know act like that?

"I don't care and I don't want him. He can be yours. Now leave me alone." Annabella snapped out, wanting her to leave so she can enjoy her smoothie. Of course, the girl did not get the memo and continued to stand beside the table, not making any moves of leaving.

"You can't tell me to leave. Do you know who I am?" She screeched, offended by Annabella's dismissal of her.

"No and I don't care. No leave." Annabella replied back sounding angier than before, knowing whatever happened next was not her fault.