“You’re seeking death.”
“What? What does that mean?” Lance must’ve sensed danger, or maybe it was the cannoli he’d stolen that brought him out here, but whatever it was, he arrived just in time to hear my threat and came walking over. He looked from me to the idiot in the doorway and back. “What’s he doing here?” This guy wasn’t Emory, but Lancelot seems to have a hate for all these New York dandies who are always trying to get the twins’ attention when we’re here.
“Oh, hi, I’m looking for Gianna.”
“Say her name again; I dare you. I already told you and your friends to you she’s Gia, and you can have no reason to want to see her.”
“Chill, bro, I just wanted to see if she wanted to do something….”
“Dude, read the room.” Lance admonished as he stepped in between us when I made a move for the idiot’s neck. “Look, look, look, I’m wearing new kicks; they have this badass suede design on the sides.” I think Lancelot had too much sugar. What the hell was he saying? “It’s a bitch getting blood out of suede, so why don’t you just run along home, kid, and live to die another day.” Shit, now he’s James Bond.
The idiot kid looked lost, which is probably the only thing that kept him from an ass-whooping. I can’t blame him for having an interest in her; the damn girl is gorgeous after all. Add that natural innocence of hers and those eyes, her lips… shit. “Get the hell outta here and forget you ever met her.”
“My bad, the twins didn’t say… I didn’t mean anything by it, I swear. I just thought she was nice, ya know.” The kid started backing up down the steps, and Lancelot was laughing his ass off.
“Bruh, those kill lights in your eyes don’t match your denial. Come on, let’s go get ready.”
I slammed the door shut and followed him up the stairs to my room, still pissed with no idea why. I wanted to go yell at her that no one was allowed to come looking for her, but what kind of sense does that make? I was out of sorts with no direction, something I had no way of knowing how to deal with.
I’ve never done anything without reason; my every move is planned before execution. It’s the way I’ve trained myself to be. So why…? No point in asking myself the obvious. I know why. I knew why when I was sparring with my dad at hell o'clock this morning. I knew why when I couldn’t get to sleep without seeing her behind my closed lids when I couldn’t shut her out the way I’ve always been able to do with everything else.
“I’ll be right back; I forgot something in my room.” I waved him off, still preoccupied with my errant reaction. I’ve been doing that a lot lately, acting out of character, and it all started with her. And I was about to do even more. Even knowing that I couldn’t stop myself from making the moves I’d already made up my mind to make.
LANCE
“How did it go?” Anna pounced as soon as I entered the room. I ignored her and went straight to the mini-fridge for a bottle of water. “How’d it go? You two better not ever pull a stunt like that again.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Your brother was not his usual calm and collected self, is what happened. I have a feeling had I not been there; he’d have thrown that fool off the top step. It’s a long way down.”
I chugged water like my life depended on it. “We set it up before he told us off last night and totally forgot until this morning. If we knew he would react this strongly, we wouldn’t have suggested it. But he’s so hardheaded, and Ma’s worried about him.”
“Yeah, don’t be mad at us okay, we’re just trying to help our brother.”
“Well, you’re about to help his ass into a jail cell if you pull a stunt like this again.”
“We won’t do it again, pinky swear. And if we do, you can spank us.” I bolted for the door after Rosa’s little offer. They’re getting bolder by the day.
“What was that all about?”
“Yikes! Unc, what the hey, where did you come from?” Why is this family always lurking around somewhere? At this rate, I'll be lucky to make it to twenty.
“Who set that kid up to die? Are you people really that green? How are you watching over him…?”
“It was the girls. They didn’t tell me what they were up to. They probably thought it was an innocent prank like all the others they pull.”
“Shit, I thought he was going to kill that idiot.”
“You and me both. Hey, how did you know?” His only answer was what I guess he considers a smile. If he weren’t my uncle, that crap would make me crap myself.