Her Mafia Brothers

In Trouble Again

I sat up and groaned. School was starting in two days. Two days! Just the thought of it put me in a bad mood. Normally, I'm not a grumpy person. I try to smile, no matter what. But the thought of going to school, and not being able to get out of it, filled me with dread.

Slowly, I swung my legs out of bed and headed downstairs in my soft, flannel pyjamas that I had bought with Nick.

"Pancakes?" Logan asked me, pointing to a stack on a plate with his fork. He had a pile in front of him, swimming in syrup, but he'd left plenty for me. I gave him a grateful smile and sat down beside him at the kitchen island, dropping a pancake onto my plate, spreading it with butter, and pouring maple syrup all over it. I was allowed to have as much maple syrup as I wanted here - nothing was rationed - so I tipped on a generous amount. The more the merrier, right?

I cut a piece off, the syrup dripping off the end, and brought it to my mouth.

"Ahhhh." I sighed happily. The pancakes were good. I devoured the first one in seconds, before grabbing another, giving that one the syrup treatment too.

"Have you taken your pills?" Logan asked me.

"I finished them yesterday," I told him, a little bit snarkily. He annoyed me, sometimes. Especially when he tried to act like he was so much bigger and better than me. I was perfectly capable of remembering to take some pills! "Idiot."

Logan raised his hands in a I surrender gesture with his palms out. "Fine," he said. "I was just checking. Brat." He grinned, and we traded banter back and forth for a while, most of it friendly, but then it started to get a bit out of control.

"Settle it down," Rocco told us, coming into the kitchen and heading straight for the coffee machine. Both of us ignored him though, carrying on with trading insults.

Just as Rocco turned around, I gave Logan the fingers.

"Watch it," Rocco growled at me, just as Logan leaned over and pushed me sideways. I fell off my stool, but I put my feet out, catching myself before I fell properly. Angry now, I jumped down and ran to Logan, punching him in the arm as hard as I could.

"Asshole," I snarled at him, but he just smirked and pushed me off him.

Before I could react, Rocco came over and grabbed me, pulling me away from Logan. He lifted me onto my stool and told me to sit there quietly and finish my breakfast. Then he turned to Logan and told him to leave me alone.

I should have just obeyed him, but I was too angry. Logan had riled me up and all I wanted to do now was attack him. Kill him, preferably. Well maybe not really kill him, but I definitely wanted to make him suffer. So, armed with my fork, I got down off my stool and approached him again but I wasn't quick enough. Before I could do any damage with my trusty fork, Rocco grabbed me and sat me heavily back down on my stool.

"I told you to sit there quietly and eat," he scolded.

Logan smirked at me, and I saw red.

"You aren't the boss of me!" I screamed at Rocco. "You can't tell me what to do!

He raised an eyebrow at me, a silent challenge. "I just did," he reminded me. "Now be quiet and sit still and eat your breakfast."

"No!" I yelled at him again, getting down off my stool.

Right at that moment, Alex walked into the kitchen. "What's going on?" he demanded, looking at me sternly, as if I was to blame for all of this.

Rocco started to explain, but...

"No!" I yelled at him, cutting him off. "That's not what happened! It was Logan! It...."

Quick as a flash, Alex was beside me and he put his hand over my mouth, effectively silencing me. "Quiet," he commanded. "I'm asking Rocco."