𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐇

XXVII

— RORI —

At two pm, my siblings and i begin the one and a half hour journey to the rehabilitation centre Teddy is staying in. We take two separate town cars and, unusually, the eldest five insist on travelling together, leaving me to be stuck with my twins and Uvaldo.

I assumed the nine of us would be meeting first before visiting Teddy in the afternoon, though that was not the case. Luckily, the centre has made an exception by allowing me to bring Zephaniah's cake with me so that the ten of us can celebrate his birthday together.

Though, i have to say, the last thing i feel like doing right now is celebrating.

The air is tense throughout the whole drive, though Uvaldo does his best to cheer the three of us up with his awful sense of humour, in the form of dad jokes. As much as he loves to bully his younger siblings when his older brothers aren't around, he does his best to look out for us in situations like this, and it is greatly appreciated.

It's only when i step out of the car and catch sight of the eldest two for the first time today that i realise how off things are.

For Yakov stands next to Zephaniah, a cigarette in his hand, just like the night he revealed to me that our brother is in rehab, and, a rare scene plays out in front of me as his older brother begins to scold him.

"Sei pazzo?" Zephaniah snarls, and i watch in astonishment as he removes the cigarette from Yakov's hand, tosses it on the ground, and stamps on it with his designer shoes. "Who do you think you are to smoke outside of a clinic like this?"

Yakov doesn't answer him, opting to glare at his brother through his peripheral vision instead.

"Rispondimi quando ti parlo, Maniaco," Zephaniah demands, after Yakov ignores him.

"L'unico maniaco qui sei tu, Stronzo," Yakov instantly retorts.

I can hardly believe the words coming out of my second eldest brother's mouth right now. It is as if he woke up and decided to act like one of us teenagers.

Everybody knows that when Zephaniah appears more responsible than Yakov, something is up.

I can't remember the last time it happened, but it is rare, simply because Yakov does not normally act in a way that is so ignorant or selfish.

The ironic thing is, Zephaniah conducts himself in such a way on a regular basis and expects the rest of us to turn a blind eye to it.

But God forbid if his perfect little brother has an off day.

"Happy birthday," i tell my eldest brother, as i approach the two of them.

Zephaniah regards me with a cold look, not even acknowledging the cake i am holding in my hands.

"Some birthday," he says with a scoff, before walking away from the two of us.

Oh.

"Yakov?" i turn to my second eldest brother in the hopes that he will greet me without the hostility that Zephaniah did, only he is playing with the lighter in his hands now.

Finally, he glances in my direction. He doesn't seem embarrassed by the fact i just witnessed him being scolded by our brother, but, rather, indifferent.