Together again ✔

5I Joke

Yesterday had been amazing for me and, when I woke up in my bed the next morning, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. But nope. I had indeed been reunited with my brothers and dad, and I had escaped David finally (I hoped).

As I glanced around my room, a large grin overtook my face at the sight of my childhood home. No more rats chewing my mattress. No more blood staining the walls. No more cupboard- sized attic to sleep in. No more cigarette studs on the floor.

For one of the first times in my life, I was safe. And I owed it all to my brothers.

I glanced over at the alarm clock sat on the bedside table next to me, seeing that it was only 5:30 despite my late night the previous day and the events that had happened. I guessed that living with David had changed some of my customs drastically.

It was still dark outside, but, since it was about the middle of August, there was some light despite how early it was. I decided to get up anyway. David had definitely influenced me to become a morning person, and now it was like I was set on auto pilot whenever I woke up.

I felt unproductive and just generally bored if I lay in my bed on my phone in the mornings, especially since it was extremely rare for me to feel tired enough to fall back asleep again, so I pulled back my covers and slipped off the mattress, my feet hitting the soft carpet as I stood up. I felt cosy and comfy in my pyjamas which made sense since according to Luca they were really expensive. I'd grown used to wearing tatty, worn- out clothes so this was definitely a privilege.

Finding myself subconsciously pulling down the sleeves of my top slightly to fiddle with with my fingers, I slid my feet into a pair of peach slippers that were sat beside me. They were fluffy and super cute and were one of those things that you just never wanted to take off.

Grinning at my comfortable attire, I happily walked out of my room with a slight spring in my step. As cheesy and cringy as it sounded, it was just something that I didn't even mean to do but happened anyway because of just how pleased I was.

I'd been reunited with my brothers for fricks sake!

I bounded down the stairs, taking two at a time, my excitement that seemed to course through me for no particular reason showing as I jumped down the last three steps like I had yesterday. This type of childish act just always seemed to make me giggle for some reason. What could I say? I was a strange child.

Still with a happy smile on my face, I walked into the kitchen, seeing Luca already stood by the microwave with a mug of coffee in his hand, and my dad stood next to the window, looking outside with his phone pressed to his ear and wearing a suit. It wasn't uncommon to be greeted with this sight, but it was uncommon to be greeted with this sight at 5:30am. Mind you, my dad had always been a hard working business man, and, with all the money he seemed to be piling in, it was probably necessary to start working this early.

"Hey, Luca," I said in a hushed voice as I walked over to him, not wanting to interrupt my dad's call. He seemed too engrossed in it to acknowledge the fact that I had appeared anyway, foreign words escaping his mouth in a quick, easy flow. It sounded Italian maybe Spanish.

My third oldest brother turned to me with a smile on his face, placing his coffee down on the side next to him. "Hey Bella," Luca grinned in response, opening his arms for some reason. What did he wa-

Oh. A hug. I wasn't used to getting these random acts of love, so I was more than happy to oblige to my brother's wishes, practically springing towards him and diving forwards so that my small figure crashed into his large chest. This didn't even cause Luca to stumble slightly, which I had to admit wasn't surprising considering how strong and broad his frame was. Or maybe it was just because I was so small?