Their Broken Angel

Chapter Fourteen

What the actual hell am I doing?  I scream mentally. It's bad enough that they all know, but now I'm foolishly allowing them to bandage my wounds? This is why you can't have nice things. It's going to happen now, they're gonna pity me and treat me like I'm some wimp. Hell, I've already got some of that treatment.

I can practically feel the cogs in my brain whirring away, trying to think up every single thing that could possibly go wrong. What if they decide I'm too much work than I'm worth? I know I'm planning on moving out soon anyways, but it would really hurt to get kicked out of the only home I've known in so long... No. They wouldn't kick me out. They're good people. But they might just silently hate me. What if they secretly already do and are just too polite to say something? Ugh. Fuck my life. 

"Piccina?" Roman's gentle, rumbly voice draws me out of my pitiful mind. 

"Hmm?" I question, looking up at him with mildly unfocused eyes.

"We kinda lost you for a minute there, what's got your pretty head so worried?" Enzo asks with a small smile, looking amused at my lack of attention.

They hate you. You're a burden.

Ignoring the voice in my head, I force a smile in return, shaking my head with a sigh. "It's nothing. Also, you promised. No questions."

"I apologize, I forgot, principessa." Enzo replies guiltily.

"I'm still not a princess."

"Oh but you are, you just don't know it yet." Roman butts in. 

I groan in frustration, "Can we just get this over with so you two boneheads can leave me alone? I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't need you. I'm perfectly capable of doing this myself so if this is just you stalling so you don't have to see my disgust-" 

A large hand covers my mouth, effectively cutting me off as two sets of angry eyes glare at me. "You're not doing this alone ever again. That's what we're quite literally here for. To help and protect you." Roman growls.

"And you're not disgusting, so don't you dare ever say that about yourself again." Enzo insists. I huff in response, not willing to let them see how much their words mean to me. I think I might actually die happy if I hear one more compliment. Or I'll die of embarrassment from blushing like a tomato. Either way, I die.

With a nod of acceptance, I reach for the hem of my shirt before hesitating. "Do you think, well I mean, I only ask cause I was wondering if I could maybe borrow a pair of shorts or something? I don't really want to sit here in my underwear in front of you guys..." Damn girl, that was an awkward way of saying it. Couldn't just straight up ask for it could ya?

Enzo's entire face turns redder than a boiled lobster as he stammers to find words before just giving up and leaving. I almost laugh, but stop when I remember that I'm not alone and that I'm currently still slightly unhappy with my brother. Who am I kidding, I can't hold a grudge. I'm just scared that they'll leave.

Enzo returns almost as quickly as he left, bringing a pair of basketball shorts that I could probably fit two of me in. 

"It's the best I could find. They have a drawstring though, so you should be fine." He mumbles, avoiding eye contact and rubbing a hand over his face, presumably to hide the blush. I'm sorry babes, but there's no hiding that. I grab the shorts and my sleep tank from my bag and head to the bathroom. 

"Damn huge ass brothers!" I curse under my breath as I pull the drawstring for the tenth time. I don't think it's going to work as well as I want it to. I end up giving up on the lousy strings altogether and pull the hair tie from my ponytail. Grabbing all the excess fabric, I pull the tie around it until I'm sure it's secure enough before assessing myself in the mirror. Yup. Just as pathetic as always.