5 too many brothers

~ Bits And Pieces ~ 𝟝

I could tell that I was treading on thin ice as he heavily sighs annoyed once again. Probably irritated that his intimidation tactics didn't quite scare me this time which might be a first for him.

"Arianna, I will find out one way or another. Stop testing my patience," he says convincingly determined to retrieve whatever information.

"Listen to me, if you don't follow my instructions then I can make it a whole lot harder for you to earn even the slightest of independence in this place. Trust me, I know you want it with 5 brothers in the house. Think about it, you tell me this and potentially you'd be able to have more freedom than anticipated. " He knew he placed me in a tempting ultimatum as a smirk covered his face.

I just stare into the distance as I try to calculate the best way to handle this. I can't believe he's trying to bribe me with POTENTIAL freedom and independence that I really want.

"Potential hm?"

"Yes, potential. I would take that as a good sign Arianna"

Our eyes narrowed on each other. He was clearly trying to figure out what I was thinking but my orphan friends called me the poker queen. Gifted with an amazing poker face.

"Fine but call me Aria" I compromise, raising my eyebrow.

He irked for the slightest second which made me angry. Just because I was originally called Arianna doesn't make it the only name that I can call myself.

"Sometimes."

A huge smile spreads over my face and I grin at the accomplishment I made. "Thank you."

"Now your turn" he edges, leaning carefully back into the mould of his black leather chair.

I get why he wants to know but honestly, it really wasn't bad, and nothing like those awful abuse stories you hear about every so often. But on the other hand, it wasn't the most pleasant experience.

"It was fine. I made an amazing best friend called Ryan who I want to see soon since I didn't get to properly say goodbye. Obviously bullying is a given, there was plenty of that over there but the majority didn't happen to me at all." I adjust my posture and look around the room to help me think, somehow that just helps.

"Hm, I'm not good at school so teachers were pretty rude about that, they were definitely lovers of corporal punishment. And uh, I had enough of my personal space to call it a room and to be honest, I loved the people who I called my family. They are my rocks."

The small smile that I had on my face was not a reflection of his at all. He returned to that cold stare and blank face but I couldn't help but sense anger.

"We are your family, Ariann-, I mean, Aria" he mutters quietly but loud enough for me to hear.

Is he jealous that I created a new family? Yes, indeed he is.

"Nobody else." I started to pick up a low growl seeping into his already low voice. He was clearly pissed that I completely replaced them like that but I don't care, they did it to me first.

"I've known them longer than I've known you though". As soon as that sentence slipped through my lips I immediately regretted it. He began to grit his teeth and narrow his eyes on me as they started to become slightly darker. His furrowed eyebrows and vexed expression caused butterflies in my stomach.

"We are your family, by blood Arianna. No one else is your family besides myself, Liam, Jakob, Lukas and Xavier. Understood?" He blatantly says, leaving no room for argument...and it's not like I wanted to when he was in this mood.

"Okay okay Eli, but these people are who I grew up with and I want to see them" I reply without the usual confidence but instead a more innocent and soft tone.

His face shifted to a more deadpanned look which was definitely better than the rage full face before. He simply nods irritatingly.

I take that as a sign to leave but as I do he coughs loudly to capture my attention. He gestures for me to sit back down so I just let him have it his way and return to my place.

"Only I dismiss you, Arianna, we aren't done yet."

My eyes roll involuntarily. He slams his fist down on the desk making me jump at the sudden sound.

"Don't roll your eyes at me".

"Sorry" I gulp, I hated getting in trouble at the orphanage, I always tried to avoid it but now I have him yelling at me on the second day. Wow, brothers are great.

"Thank you, now onto the next thing" he fixes his posture and brushes the top of his suit jacket.

Once again he tries to use his intimidating stare to force me into listening to his every word. "Now on to something just as important, I need to know about well...how you handled the Mafia element of it all. Liam reported to me that they were quite shocked when they figured Liam was there for you so I imagine tha-" as he recites his whole monologue, I interrupt, knowing exactly what he wants to hear so we don't need to beat around the bush.

I know he'd be annoyed that I interrupted but I simply don't have the energy to care right now.

"I told nobody so you don't have to worry about your stupid secret," I say, scoffing at how important it is to him that a 5-year-old kept her mouth shut all these years.

A small smile crossed over him as a way to say thank you I guess.

"Um uh...except one person...Ryan..we tell each other everything" I mumble out ashamed. Afraid of what Eli will do now that I broke a silent promise.

A silent promise. What's that? I found out about the mafia when I was really young, I was dubbed the Mafia Princess so when this all went down and they abandoned me, it's a given that you'd never spill the secret; my mafia family. To a soul, no matter what.

"Fuck"

I expected him to start throwing tables but all he did was bury his head in his hands and just mutter bullshit to himself as he sighs.

"I'm sorry" I whisper. Even though I didn't acknowledge them as my family at that time, that's still a secret that I should've taken to the grave.

"It's okay Aria, I'll deal with that". Immediately I tense up at the idea of Ryan getting killed by my brothers. I know that's how the Mafia operates and my brothers aren't any different.

"NO! Please you can't kill him!" I burst out trying to hold back tears.

Eli jolted back at my sudden outburst but soon composes himself yet again, "Jeez, I won't, I'm sure that if I send the twins, he'll not say a word after that" he calmly says with a chuckle.

Why the hell is he laughing?!

"He's my best friend Eli." I shoot him a nasty glare to which he silently scolds me with his eyes.

"Well well, I bet it'll turn into a very big conversation now" he smirks.