Trusting My Brothers

Chapter 20

Waking up at 6:30am, I realize that this is my first time actually sleeping in, even if it was only for thirty minutes. Since I woke up a little later than I usually do, I didn't have time to lounge around so I put my school uniform on. Deciding to put some effort in for the hell of it, I put some lipgloss on and put my hair in a half up, half down style. Sliding on some ankle boots, I make my way downstairs to the kitchen. There, I see only Nico, making some breakfast.

"Good Morning, fratello(Brother)" I say.

He turns to look in my direction, smiling. "Good morning to you too, Sorellina. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Sure. What are you making?" 

"Blueberry pancakes." He says.

We converse a little while waiting for the pancakes to finish cooking. About five minutes later, they were done. Taking a bite of it, I immediately couldn't wait to take another bite.

"This is amazing, Nic." I praise.

"Well, I'm glad you like it. And Nic?" he asked.

"It is your nickname. Instead of Nico, I will call you Nic."

"I like it. Am I allowed to call you Lil?"

I pretended to think about it and actually saw him start to get nervous. "Of course. It is kind of ironic since I am pretty small for my age."

"I guess, but I still like the name."

We finished eating and he told me that he would take me to school since the boys had an earlier practice they had to go too. The car ride shouldn't be too bad, probably because he was the only person in the house I could tolerate other than Fabiano. He did ask me about Cole, which I told him that there was nothing going on; we weren't even friends.

"Why do you guys have a big thing against him?" I ask.

He hesitates before responding. "I shouldn't tell you. Lorenzo will probably kill me."

I get a little sad and I am pretty sure it shows on my face. He brings out a side of me I have never shown anyone, the vulnerable one.

"Fine, I will tell you, only because I trust you." Trust. He trust me yet I can't fully reciprocate that back to him.

"Cole is a part of our rival gang. He is actually the Capo's son, which makes him next in line to take over. I don't know if he knows who you are or not, which is part of the reason why I want you to stay away from him." He says.

"Well, he is really good friends with Liam, so that might be hard." I admit. His head turns my way so fast, I'm surprised it didn't fall off.

"What?! Are you serious?"

"Yeah, I found out at lunch on Monday. I told you guys multiple times that my friendship with Liam is nonnegotiable, but I don't know what to do." 

He thinks for a moment. "Okay, how about this? I know you can take care of yourself, so you can be friends with Liam and acquaintances with Cole. If you are hanging out with Liam and Cole comes along as well, that is fine, but you can't go anywhere with him by yourself."

"Thank you. That could actually work. Besides, I don't want to be friends with him. His ego is the size of a watermelon." He laughs at that.

"Your welcome, and your brothers can't find out about this. Honestly, we both might be in trouble if they do."

"Don't worry. I can keep a secret." I say a little grimly.

"I know you can. I can too." He says in a whisper.