Her Mafia Brothers

Fighting

Nick's workout wore me out completely. By the time I'd showered and dressed in comfy leggings and a t-shirt, I was exhausted. I think my constant worrying and fear wasn't helping my energy levels. So when all my brothers came into the cinema room and stretched out on the couches, I couldn't think of anything better than curling up in between them and relaxing.

I have no idea what movie we watched, I fell asleep pretty fast. I was snuggled up securely between Nick and Rocco, cushioned between my protective big brothers, and I fell asleep smiling.

I woke up to a CRASH! I sat bolt upright, my heart pounding. Where was I? What was going on? It took a moment for me to get my bearings - I was on the couch with a blanket over me and I was alone. The lights were on dim, though, and the movie was on pause, which suggested my brothers weren't too far away. I had no idea what time it was. How long had I slept for?

At first, I couldn't hear anything at all, the blood pounding in my ears was too loud and it blocked out all other sound. But as I sat up and calmed down slightly, I could hear the sounds of a scuffle. Angry voices. Logan yelling. What was going on? Part of me wanted to know, but part of me didn't. Part of me was too afraid. But another crash, slightly smaller, had my curiosity winning out over my fear and I crept slowly from the room to investigate.

"No!" I cry out, my hands flying to my mouth in fear. Rocco and Nick are trying to kill each other! Right here in the house! They're not down in the gym. They're not just sparring. They're legit fighting, fists and feet flying, snarling threats at each other like they're actually trying to kill each other.

Logan is yelling at them to break it up but they ignore him completely. Behind them, a bookshelf has been knocked over. Books, magazines, ornaments and goodness knows what else are strewn all over the floor. That must have been the crash I heard, the one that woke me up.

"No!" I scream, terrified. Nobody even looks at me. I doubt they've even noticed me, Nick and Rocco are too intent on hurting each other to realize I'm there, and Logan is doing his best to break up the scuffle, but without getting in the way.

"No! Don't hurt each other!" I scream again, but again, nobody hears.

I stand there in the corner, tears of fear and panic streaming down my face. What do I do? If Damon was here he would have the boys sorted out in no time, but he's not here and Nick and Rocco are in charge and they're trying to kill each other. They're fairly evenly matched and they could be fighting for a long time: they're not showing any signs of slowing down, and neither one of them is losing at this stage. There's no way me and Logan can break up the fight, and if we don't somehow make them stop they're going to seriously hurt each other and damage the house in the process.

Eventually, Logan realizes his yelling is futile, and he pulls his phone out of his pocket instead. What is he going to do? Call Damon and hope his voice on speaker is enough to stop our brothers from fighting? With his phone to his ear, he comes and stands next to me. I think he knows I'm afraid and his presence helps.

"I'm getting Paul," he says. "He'll know what to do."

He does.

It takes only seconds, and Paul is inside, getting between my brothers, using his bulk and his firm voice to break them up. My brothers stand there glaring at each other angrily, Paul between them, blood spurting from their noses and dripping from cuts on their faces. Neither can stand up straight. Rocco lunges at Nick again and Nick attacks him back, but Paul gets them back under control after a few seconds. He's literally manhandling them, a hand on the back of each of their necks, and he's hissing at them furiously. I can't make out what he's saying, but he's angry. And my brothers are copping it. Nick even looks slightly sheepish, as though he knows he shouldn't have been fighting Rocco in the house, when he's the one in charge. Rocco just looks angry. I wouldn't want to get in his way right now.