"Fight like your life depends on it, even if you can't, you have to."
Yeah... so me explaining my feelings never happened.
Why?
Because as soon as I stepped out of the car, I realized how ridiculous I was being. Crying over Alexei, really? I know I'm better than that, I have to be better than that.
I had to let myself doubt my abilities before I could come to my senses and realize that I can do this. I quickly realized that whatever Alexei has in store, I can handle. He practically raised me to be another version of himself. That was his first mistake. If he had the intentions of beating me, he shouldn't have made me a better him.
I'm still worried about my brothers, that'll never change. I know they're skilled in combat, especially Ares, but they can be easily shaken up. A lot of things can throw them off their game, despite their best efforts to not let anything get to them. I just hope they can start to overcome that. I'd prefer their hearts were still beating after Alexei and his men are dead.
Atlas and I got home a few minutes ago. We were both laying in my bed. He's refused to leave my room until I told him what made me so upset. I'm about to just give in and tell him, though I hate discussing my feelings. I'm still a little too drunk to be awake right now, and he won't let me go to sleep.
"Atlas just shut the fuck up!" I whisper shout, opening my heavy eyes to meet his gaze.
"Then tell me what's wrong so I can help you." He pleaded.
"I don't need your help, just back off."
"You don't have to be so mean about it." He says after a few painful moments of silence.
"You should know by now that being mean is a big part of my personality."
"That doesn't mean you yell at me when all I'm doing is trying to care for you."
"Then stop trying."
"Why are you being like this?" He grabs my hand, rubbing circles on it.
"... I don't know." I muttered weakly.
"Yes you do. Stop lying to me."
"You know I don't like to talk about my feelings so why do you feel the need to pester me about what's going on with me?"
"Because I care about your well being."
"You shouldn't." I whisper to myself. It wasn't intended for him to hear, but I knew he heard it by the way the circling of his thumb on my hand ceased.
"What is it with you and not wanting people to care about you? You're my sister, of course I'm going to care about your well-being. Stop trying to push me away."
"I'm not."
"Bullshit. For some odd reason you don't want people to care about you. Why is that?" He asks, but I keep quiet. "Is it because you think you don't deserve to be cared about?"
I don't speak and he takes my silence as his answer. I didn't say anything because he was right. I mean why should I be cared about? I'm a mean person, I've killed thousands of people. I'm a murderer. Why do I deserve to be cared about when I've done so many horrible things?
"You are worthy of being cared about." He says, bringing me into his chest. I tried to push myself away from him but he had an iron grip and refused to let go. "Now, tell me why you were crying so we can go to sleep, I'm tired."
"When are you not tired? You hardly sleep. None of you do."
"Don't change the subject." Damn. I was sure that would derail us talking about me for at least a few minutes.
"Fine.... I was scared. Thoughts of Alexei hurting you guys and taking away Niki were starting to psyche me out. I'm scared you guys will get hurt or worse. But then I realized that I'm a bad bitch and Alexei's literal clone, so whatever he's planning I'll know the right moves to make based on how well I know him. I'm still scared about you guys not coming back to me, but that just means I'll have to train you." I rambled trying to stop discussing my emotions as fast as possible.
"We can handle ourselves, there's no need to be scared. We'll be okay. As for Alexei, He won't win. I'd rather kill myself than see the day that he wins and gets more power."
"Don't talk like that." I scold. Whether he was joking or being completely truthful, he shouldn't joke about killing himself.
"Sorry." He mumbled, but I had this feeling that he was anything but. "Anyways, there's no point in you training us. We know everything you know."
"No you don't." Before he could counter, I continued. "We'll be training tomorrow afternoon, you're not getting out of it, so don't even think about it." He grumbles a 'whatever' before shutting his eyes.
I was going to say something about him sleeping in my bed, but I was too tired to care. I shut my eyes letting the darkness takeover. My last thought before all the light went out was how fast Atlas changed the subject before I could ask him to explain what he meant. He wasn't sorry about the comment he made, in fact, he said it like it was a thought he had all the time. That scared me even more.
ᛰ ᛰ ᛰ
By the time I woke up Atlas was gone and it was half past by noon. Surprisingly, my head didn't hurt like it should've after my night of drinking. I got up and did my morning routine, putting on some active wear to prepare for our afternoon of training.
I ran downstairs hearing the ruckus that is my brothers.
"Why would you take the last one? I called dibs!" I hear Percys voice shout as I walk into the kitchen.
"Oh well." Ares rolls his eyes taking another bite of his pop tart.
"That was my food!"
"I don't see your name on it."
"You are such an ass. Give it to me!" Percy lunges towards Ares, who immediately starts running around the kitchen like a madman.
"No!"
I watch as Percy jumps onto Ares back and tackles him to the ground. Sometimes I have a hard time believing that we're related. The pop tart slides across the floor out of Ares grasp. Now they're both rushing to get to it.
What I don't understand is why Ares would want it after it's been on the ground or why Percy would want Ares half eaten pop tart that's now covered in floor germs.
I clear my throat gaining the attention of the two idiots on the floor. "What are you doing?" They hop up from the floor and dust themselves off.
"This asshole stole my pop tart!" He whines and points his finger towards Ares.
"Your the one that tackled me to the ground!"
"I wouldn't have had to do that if-"
"Shut up, the both of you!" I yelled, making them turn their faces up to look at my angry expression.
"But-"
"Zip it." I tell them. "Now come over here and sit." They roll their eyes but take the two seats at the island counter right in front of me.
"You guys are ridiculous. Stop fighting over a fucking pop tart when there's two more boxes in the cabinet."
"There is?" Percy perked up.
"Yes. So the both of you go get your own and stop arguing. And Ares throw the one on the floor in the garbage." I say, knowing very well that Ares would eat it off the floor if I didn't say anything.
Percy runs over the the cabinet grabbing a pop tart for himself and one for Ares. I watch as they giddily run out of the kitchen.
I walk over to the counter to make my breakfast. I make three slices of toast with peanut butter and place cut up bananas on top. I made one for Niki though I know he's already eaten breakfast, but he can never turn down my special toast.
"Niki!" I call out for him. It only takes a few seconds for him to pop into the kitchen.
"Yes mama?"
"Here, you can eat in the living room." I hand him a small plate with one of the pieces of toast on it.
"Thank you!" He squeals, running away.
"Be careful!"
I sit at the island in the kitchen and eat my food. I actually didn't know what bananas tasted like until I was thirteen. We never got any good food back in Russia, so when we got out, we made sure to try a lot of foods. It was sad that we didn't know how many kinds of food were out in the world.
"Hey." Ocean whispers, entering the room.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Atlas just told us that we're training with you today. Is that true?" His voice is very low as he speaks.
"Yes. I want you guys to know everything that I know."
"We were all taught the same." He walks closer and sits in front of me.
"No, we weren't."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying that I was taught more than you guys." I admit, taking another bite of my toast.
"How-"
"Enough with the questions... please. Just be ready to train." I sigh.
"Okay."
"Do you want some of my toast." I gesture to the last piece. Ocean stares at it for a second before shaking his head.
"It looks good but my stomach isn't feeling up to it."
"Okay." I say and eat the last piece.
After I finish my breakfast I put my dishes in the sink then head to the gym. Walking in I see all of my brothers talking amongst themselves. I was a bit nervous to start training them, but I didn't let it show. My brothers and I had never fought each other unless it was playful.
Anytime Alexei told us to fight each other, I always told him no, not caring about the pain that would be inflicted upon me for denying him. I didn't want him to put us against each other.
Now, I'm worried that I'll easily beat them. Because If I can beat them, Alexei and his men surely can. I realized it when Ocean and I were attacked. I had taken down two men, yet he was struggling to do the same. I couldn't stop myself from asking myself 'what if I wasn't there?' Would he have been killed? That was a scary thought.
"So... Who wants to go first?" They stopped talking and turned in my direction. I would've assumed Ares would be the first one to come on to the mat with me since he was a bit impulsive, but to my surprise it was Cristiano who joined me first. He had a cocky little smirk on his face, like he knew he was going to beat me.
"You think you can beat me?" I asked genuinely. I hope that he can beat me. I want him to.
"I think I can. Do you not believe in me?" He raised his brow with a smile on his face.
"I've never seen you fight, so I can't say I don't believe in you. You could very well kick my ass, Mr.Street-fighter."
"How do you know that?"
"Background checks." I shrugged my shoulders. "Now, are you going to hit me or are you going to keep asking me pointless questions?" I raise my brows. He let my words ring in his ears for a second before striking me.
His punch was aimed at my face, it was controlled and had good speed, but he was still too slow. I could tell he had the intention of catching me off guard with the punch, but he didn't. Getting to know him these past few days, I learned how to read him. Certain things he did were always predictable.
I dodged his punch and swept his foot out from under him with my leg. He fell onto his back with a grunt. He didn't have a plan and left himself wide open after his attempted strike, leaving him vulnerable. I beat him in one move. If this was a real fight and he was my enemy, a bullet would've been put through his head the minute his back hit the ground.
"Again."
He pushed himself off of the ground. His face held a more determined look on his face. I knew he was getting angry. "Spread your feet more... hold your arms up higher." I repositioned his body. He took in the corrections I made. All of our brothers watched us practice, not saying a word.
This time I'm the one to attack first. I aim a punch towards his face which he blocks with his arms. He anticipated that I would go for a headshot, what he didn't realize was that my other fist wash heading towards his stomach. He coughed at the hard blow and let his arms falter slightly.
"Keep your arms up!" I yell, as I go to kick him. His body jerks to the side as my foot hits his ribs.
"Fuck."
"Defend yourself, fight back." I won't go easy on him. I won't go easy on any of them. Alexei won't, neither will his men.
He throws two fast punches to my face. I move out of the way, missing both of them. Though I already told him twice about his arms, he still keeps letting them down. Before his next punch, I grab him by the arm pulling his large frame close to mind. I turn his body around, pinning his arm to his back. I swept his leg out from the front, letting him fall on his stomach, down on the mat.
My knee was now hardly pressed against his back and I still had his arm pinned against his back. I knew a million different ways to get out of this position, but he didn't, he wasn't thinking.
"You're hurting him." Nic says worried about his twin. He was about to walk over before Percy grabbed his wrist, holding him back.
"I can't breathe." Cris strangles out, tapping his other hand down on the mat. I get off immediately, taking a few steps back. He rolls his body over so his front is now facing up as he coughs.
"I'm teaching him. If he doesn't want to be in pain, then he needs to fight back and take my corrections into count." I cross my arms over my chest, giving Nic a pointed look.
"What did we learn?" I ask Cris, facing my head down to meet his eyes.
"To keep my arms up."
"Good. Now get off my mat."
He groans before getting up and walking over to where our other brothers were loitered.
"Because of your comment, Your next." I grab Nic's arm pulling him into the mat in the middle of the room. He looked tensed, stressed, and maybe a little scared? "Relax, don't be afraid. I won't do anything to seriously injure you, this is just practice, and don't be afraid to hit me."
"Okay." He nods his head.
"Go!" I yell, earning a slight wince from Atlas. Not my intention.
Nic throws a quick and controlled punch, much better than Cris. I blocked, but he kept firing them at me one after another. He was very fast and quick on his feet which was good. It was really good. He managed to catch me off guard and struck me across the face. Blood dripped from my lip and I got a metallic taste in my mouth.
"Oh my god! I am so sorry." Nic tried to come over to me when I punched him in the same spot he did to me, drawing blood from his lip.
"What did I say before?"
"To not be afraid to hit you." He muttered as he held his now bloody lip.
"I'm fine. Don't hold back, I can take it." I reassure him. It's not any compared to what I've had to deal with in the past. "Put your arms up." I said throwing another punch to his face.
That's how all of us spent the rest of the afternoon, into the late evening, training. I had beat all of them... twice. I hated it. I knew that if I could beat them Alexei's men could.
Nic and Ares were by far the best of my brothers. Nic had almost managed to beat me, though in the end I had him in a chokehold, I couldn't have been more happy that he was so close. Ares and I were the best fighters out of our quintuplet clan so it was no surprise that he had come close to beating me. He's always been exceptional in combat. If I hadn't been trained by Alexei there would be no doubt in my mind that Ares would be better than me; than all of us.
I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard insane yelling coming from downstairs. Even being on the third floor I could still hear the loud voices. I threw on a lace underwear set, before throwing on shorts and a random hoodie. I immediately ran downstairs and came face to face with everyone in the foyer.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"You shouldn't be here!" I hear Cristiano's voice boom.
"I am your father. I have every god given right to be here!" I rolled my eyes. Of fucking course Francisco was here.
Percy is seething with anger as he stares in disgust. Ocean looks utterly annoyed. I can see Ares clenching his fist repeatedly while grinding his teeth together. And it was no surprise to see Atlas with his hands over his ears and silent tears streaming down his face. Niki and Pedro, thank god, had been put to sleep about an hour ago. I'm surprised they hadn't woken up and come running down the stairs at all the commotion. I would've.
"You are not my father. You never have been and you never will be." Cris seethes as he gives a deadly look to Francisco.
"You have no right to talk to me like that. I am to be treated with respect!"
"There is nothing about you that's worth respecting."
I listen to them go back and forth as I walk over to Atlas. I put my small hand on his tensed shoulder. He relaxes into my touch as he lets out deep breath that he had been holding. I pull one hand slightly away from his ear before whispering for him to go upstairs. He does as he's told and disappears upstairs.
"How did you even find us? How did you get inside?" Nic asks.
"I have my ways." He scoffed as he took a step closer.
He now stood a bit too close to Percy for my liking. I walk up behind him, grabbing his hand and pull him backwards so he's closer to me. Francisco rolls his eyes at this.
"You're pathetic, you know that."
"How am I pathetic?"
"Don't you dare talk to him like that!" Ales scolds glaring daggers at Francisco. His hand was on his gun, getting ready to use it if he needed. The other guards within the room already had theirs drawn, but it seems that Francisco didn't notice. Or maybe he just didn't care.
"He's my son, I'll talk to him however I like."
"You may be my father, but I will never be your son." Percy tightens his grip on my hand. I don't think he noticed, but I didn't say anything.
"You are pathetic." Francisco continues as he turns his gaze from Ales to meet Percys. He glances at our hands that are held tightly together before continuing. "You don't seem to be able to do anything yourself. From the small time you spent at my house, you have relied on her for everything." He points a finger towards me. "You can't do anything with out her. You can't do anything alone, you're too afraid to. That's what makes you pathetic. That's what makes you weak."
A silent tear fell down Percys cheek at his words. Subconsciously, he lets go of my hand as he continues to stare at Francisco. He opened his mouth to say something, trying to find something to retort back to him, but he closed his mouth instead.
"You have got some nerve coming into my house and talking to my son like that. You have ten seconds to get the hell out of my house before I let my men open fire where you stand." Ales now stands in front of me and Percy, blocking us from view. "You're lucky you've lasted this long."
Nic's body tensed at Alessandro's words, he loathed his father, but he didn't wish death upon him. Never the less, he didn't say anything. I knew he wouldn't interfere. Cris didn't seem to care all that much, but he was a person who hid his emotions well. Ocean and Ares hadn't said anything the whole time, not that I expected them to. They looked angry and beyond annoyed. They wanted him out.
"Please, just leave." I beg. I was never one to beg for things, especially from people like Francisco, but I was so tired of this. I just wanted for us to be left alone. If he kept speaking the way he was, I was going to get angry, and I didn't want to be angry.
"And the bitch speaks."
"Don't talk to my sister like that." Ares takes a step forward. I stuck my arm out in front of him so he didn't get any closer to Francisco.
Growing impatient, I move closer to Ales, grabbing his gun and holding it up to Francisco's head. "Leave or die. Your choice."
"You won't pull the trigger."
"Wanna bet?" I raise my brow as I click off the safety. I was beyond done with him. "Leave."
The guards guns followed him as he backed away with his arms up in mock surrender and left through the front door, slamming it shut on the way out.
I should've shot him. I would've shot him. The only thing that held me back was the pleading look on Nic's face. He didn't say anything, he didn't intervene just like I knew he wouldn't, but I also know that he loves his father just as much as he loathes him. Despite everything that man has put him and his brother through, he still loves him.
Nic told me that there was once a time where his father loved and cared for them deeply. He played with them and watched movies, and did normal father stuff with them. I knew from the moment he told me that, that he was holding on to the person his father used to be. Nic didn't want that father to die. He hoped that Francisco would one day be that man again.
"This is the second time. There will not be a third." I tell Nic seriously to which he nods his head.
He knew the day we left that I would've killed Francisco. I had admitted to him on the plane that I wouldn't hesitate. Now for his sake, yet again, I didn't shoot. This was my way of warning him that next time his silent pleas would not hold me back from lodging a bullet into Francisco's skull next time.
I walked over to the garage, ignoring their questions of where of I was going. I grabbed Atlas's car keys to his range rover and drove over to the one person I needed in this moment. My closest friend dare I say. The one person who had never judged me.
I knew who I'd be hurting by doing this, but I did it anyway. After all, hurting him is what I do best, and I knew it.
"Hey, pretty-girl."