I stared at Alessandro for what felt like forever.

I'm confused, angry and million other emotions I can't describe. Why is he saying that? He can't just promise me things like that.

I'm not a part of their family. I'll never be. It's just impossible. I'm an outcast, a messed up girl with too many problems.

So what the hell is he doing? Promising me they'll protect me?

I call bullshit.

The only ones who stuck by my side are those who are equally fucked. This family looks like they're doing fine, so why would they want me?

I'll only drag them down, and once they'll realize that I'm only a burden- they'll just push me away like every other foster family did. I promised myself I'll never get hurt because of that again.

You can't be rejected if you have no one, right?

But what if they are what they claim to be? I mean, these four days have been pretty nice. What if--

God, I'm so fucking naive.

I'm sure the storm that was raging inside me was evident on my face and body. I was tense, and I was searching Alessandro's face for anything that would convince me he's lying.

He just smiled sadly and leaned towards me. "I hope that one day you'll be able to believe me, sorellina." (little sister)

I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked away. Why do I feel like I'm going to cry?

Blinking the tears away, I focused on the big ball of fur that made his way to me. "Hey Duke." I rubbed his head gently, and he licked my hand in response.

As expected, Riccardo was the next one to go down the stairs. He sported some black joggers and a shirt with a 'Fuck off' print on its back. Sounds about right.

He didn't notice us, going towards the back of the house. "Look, great!" Alessandro called, rising from his seat.

It caught both me and Riccardo by surprise. He visibly froze, one foot still in the air.

"Riccardo could take you wherever you wanted to go, he is just on his way out." Alessandro grinned, grabbing his brother by the shoulder.

"I am?" Riccardo raised his eyebrows in confusion, turning around to look at the front door. It was clearly the opposite direction of where he was going.

Alessandro squeezed his hand on Riccardo's shoulder, making him squirm under his grip. "Yes, you are."

"Fine, I am!" he yanked the hand off in a swift motion and rubbed his shoulder. "God, such a violent man."

I'm not sure how I feel about going out with Riccardo.

Sure, he's the most unlikely one to say anything about my destination to Alessandro, but I know nothing about him. Santo literally used the words 'a bit off' to describe him.

Oh well, aren't we all?

"Bike or car?" Riccardo asked, searching something in his pants.

"Hmm?" I hummed, too lost in thoughts to form an actual answer.

"Well, I'd offer an helicopter but I don't really have one." he smiled sheepishly and fished out two sets of keys from his pockets. "So," he held them in front of me. "Bike or car?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Uh, bike, I think."

He smiled victoriously. "Great choice."

The devilish look on his face made me think that it was, in fact, not a great choice.

I glanced unsure at Alessandro, but he just smiled and gestured his head towards the door.

That is so not how I thought things will go.

°°°

"I'm sorry that he's making you take me, I can--" I started, feeling very awkward. I haven't talked to Riccardo in days, and now he's supposed to be my ride. We were walking in silent to the garage, but I felt the need to say something.

"It's fine, I'm kinda glad he did." he sighed and ruffled his hair, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"What do you mean?" I scrunched my face in confusion.

"I wanted to say sorry for... you know, the other day." He stumbled over his words, but I understood perfectly. He's talking about the day he got drunk.

I did freak out over that fight, but that was entirely my mind's fault, not his. I kicked a rock on the ground as far as I could before answering. "It was just hard hearing you fight because of me. I didn't want that to happen, and I definitely didn't want to get in between all of you."

He snorted. "You thought we fought because of you? No, it was absolutely because of me."

I looked up from the ground to meet his eyes. He looks like he just heard the funniest joke ever.

"Well, yeah," he continued after a second of thoughts. "Alessandro is a giant prick, but I was the one drinking in nine AM."

I chuckled, and he looked down with a smile.

"I, too, enjoy drinking in the mornings sometimes." I confessed, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

I know, telling those stuff to your older brother is risky, but Riccardo seems like the type of man to give me a bottle of vodka just to spite Alessandro.

"Shit, we really are related." he nudged me playfully by the shoulder, and I laughed some more.

Soon enough, we reached our destination. The garage looked enormous, so I could only assume how insane the inside is.

As he typed the entrance code, the gate began to slowly rise.

Wow.

There are so many cars. Every possible color and model. "Holy shit." I breathed out while gawking.

"I have a few bikes, but this right here is my baby." Riccardo made his way over to one of the them. It was black with a silver outline. Shit, it looks so badass.

I want a bike.

"Take this." he handed me a black helmet. He put another one on and climbed the bike, signaling for me to do the same. "That's so cool!" I wore it excitedly and joined him.

"Yeah, safety is cool." he agreed while starting the engine. "God," he grinned happily. "I'm so glad they managed to fix it! I haven't ridden this baby since I crashed it into a car."

"What?" I screamed in horror, but it was too late. He pressed the pedals and began driving fast. Too fast.

"Slow down, Riccardo! We're not even on the road yet!" I yelled as loudly as I could, hugging his chest tightly.

We are very much inside the mansion's land, and we're driving towards the fence in immense speed. The guards noticed us, and were trying desperately to get out of the way and open the gates.

"Shhh, it's fun." he yelled back, not even slightly concerned about this situation.

"Fun? We're going to crash, which apparently you already did!" I shot angrily, and when he put even more weight on the pedal, I lost it.

I closed my eyes and embraced for impact. So that's how I die. Crashing into a gate with my psychopathic brother.

But when nothing happened, I hesitantly opened them.

We're driving on the open road, not a car in sight. I snapped my head back and watched as the gates of our house began to close.

"What the hell." I muttered harshly, still shaking.

"It's a game I call 'fly or die', did you like it?" he tilted his head to the side, looking at me for a second.

I'm sorry, is this conversation actually happening right now?

"You are absolutely crazy!" I uttered, not knowing what to say. My eyes are wide and my hold on him only tightened.

"So they say." he laughed loudly. "Come on, look around."

After I took a few moments to gather myself, I did as he said. Everything around me became a blur and the wind smacked against my skin, but it was the best feeling ever. "It's amazing." I whispered to myself. It makes me feel free.

"Tell me which way to go." Riccardo called, and I did just that. It was only a few minutes until we reached Jace's neighborhood.

Riccardo drives like the devil.

"Why are we here?" he asked, slowing down. We both looked around the houses, and I cursed. It's too big. How can I find him?

"My friend's brother lives here, he's supposed to move in with him soon together with another friend." I mumbled.

I felt devastated. What was I thinking? Finding him with no address is impossible.

"Oh, well, where to?" he nodded towards the fork road. I groaned. "I have no idea."

He stopped the bike completely and turned to face me, ignoring the fact that we're in the middle of the road. "What do you mean?" he raised the dark face shield of his helmet, looking at me confused.

I sighed and raised mine as well. "I don't have his specific address, which is quite a bummer."

I widened my eyes in excitement. "Wait, maybe we could ask people, you know? Like... There!" I pointed towards a guy who was walking on the sidewalk besides us. "Hey!" I called. "Do you know by any chance where Jace Levine lives?"

The man stared at me confused before he simply shrugged and kept going. Great, what a marvelous plan, Olive.

"Well, that was a complete fail--" I started and turned my head back to Riccardo, only to find him already looking at me with a weird look on his face.

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"Did you just say Jace Levine? I know this guy."

"No way!" I exclaimed happily. "Let's go!"

He kept his eyes on me for a few more seconds before turning around and starting to drive.

Finally, something is going right.

Chapter 18 guys<3

Real question: do you like long chapters? This was the longest one so far, and I want to know if it's too much. What do you think?

Ngl, I missed writing about my baby Ricci. I feel like a mom who has to pretend she doesn't have a favorite child lol.

Make sure you vote and comment! It helps my book grow and gives me so much motivation:)

Love u with all my heart!