"Aurora?"

I turn, tilting my head when I see Nico on the couch. "I thought you were at work."

"I work night shifts," he explains. "Alex said you made a friend."

"Oh, yeah. Oliver. We're not really friends, we just met."

He nods and runs a hand through his hair. "Well, don't tell, but if you want, I can drop you off at his house."

"Won't he be at school?"

"It's Saturday," he reminds me.

"But the twins have school."

"Tutor," he tells me. "They need tutoring."

"Oh... Are you sure I can go?"

"Yeah." He stands. "It'll be good for you to make friends."

"How do you know where he lives?"

"So many questions," he teases. He wraps an arm around my shoulders when I pale. "I'm kidding, Ror. It's okay to ask questions. I've met his mom. She invited me over for coffee."

"Oh... Then... yes please."

"Good." He grabs a remote and pushes a button.

A minute later, a girl appears. "You buzzed, Mr. Rizzo?"

"Hannah, would you please bring some of Vivian's old clothes over?"

"Of course, Mr. Rizzo." She bows and rushes off.

"Vivian?" I ask.

Nico nods. "Her younger sister. She's around your size, and you can wear better fitting clothes."

Hannah returns a few minutes later with a pile of clothes in her arms. "Here you are, Miss Rizzo. You can have them, Vivian doesn't fit them anymore."

"Thank you." I smile and take them before heading up to my room to change. I notice amid the clothes, Hannah added some other items.

A hairbrush, shampoo, conditioner, shoes, and some accessories.

I brush my hair and put it in a simple braid before getting dressed.

I decide on jean shorts and a purple tank top with a white sweater. I put on the sandals she brought me too before I head back down.

Nico smiles at me and grabs his keys. "Come on." In the car, he hands me his phone. "You can put some music on, Rora."

I search through his Spotify for a minute before typing in the name of Annie's favorite artist.

"DPR Ian" brings up the profile. I click it and press play, turning the screen off when "Calico" begins to play.

"Hey, Aurora?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for telling us about your stepdad."

My smile falls and I look at my lap, not answering.

"We want to make you feel safe," he continues. "And knowing your past is part of that. But more than anything, we want our little sister, and to make up for lost time. I want you to know we will never harm you or touch you inappropriately, and if you are ever uncomfortable, tell us. We won't get angry, promise."

I look at him. "Annie told me I trust too easily and get attached too soon."

"She was your friend?"

"Yeah. I loved her. She said that I can spend five minutes with someone and get attached to them. It scares me how accurate that was, because I'm terrified, but being with you feels natural. I feel at home."

He smiles softly. "That's because we're your brothers. You can trust us."

I nod, deciding to not answer.

After a few minutes, Nico speaks again. "Who's singing this?"

"DPR Ian," I answer, brushing the hair out of my face. "Christian Yu is his real name. He's Australian-Korean."

He hums and nods. He pulls into a driveway and smiles. "Here we go. Stay with Oliver, and I'll be back to pick you up before lunch. If you need me, ask his mom to call."

"Okay. Thank you, Nico."

"Of course, tesoro."

I get out and wave as he pulls out and drives off.

I get to the door before I realize Oliver might not even be home. Maybe no one is. I bite back my nerves and knock.

The door swings open to reveal a young boy with Oliver's green eyes stares at me.

"Hi," I say softly. "I'm Aurora. Is Oliver home?"

"Oli!" the boy yells, turning. "Someone is here for you!"

"Coming!" Oliver's voice shouts back. Footsteps pound down stairs before he rounds the corner and freezes. "Aurora."

"Oliver."

He walks over to me and leans against the doorway. "Didn't think I'd ever see you again." He pushes off and gives me a lopsided grin. "I was about to head out, care to join me?"

"Uh... sure."

"Mom, I'm going to meet Stella!" He calls into the house.

"Okay!" a woman calls back.

"Bye, love you." He ruffles the boy's hair and shuts the door behind him. "How'd you get my address?"

"Nico drove me."

"Ah, yes. The Rizzos you somehow know." He grabs a skateboard. "You know how to skate?"

"No, but I can run."

He snorts. "Come on, I'll show you." He grabs a second board and hands it to me.

In between his teaching moments, we talk.

"So, what made you decide to drop by?" He asks as he shows me how to stay balanced.

"Um, Nico said I need to make friends, and Alex told him I had met you. So he dropped me off."

"I see. Well, my friend Stella was thrilled to hear I met someone. She said she can't be my only friend."

I give him a small grin. "If she's a good friend, you only need the one."

"Exactly!" We start to skate, and I wobble a bit. "Woah, careful. I'd say to tell me about you, but Stella will ask too and you'll have to repeat yourself, so I'll just talk."

I laugh at that. "Okay. Tell me about you."

"I'm sixteen and fucking awesome."

I laugh harder. "That's an introduction, but not a very good one."

"Fair enough. Well, there's not much to tell. I have a younger brother named Ethan. He's eight. I have a huge detention record, and a few stints in juvie. But I ain't a bad person." He pulls out a cigarette. "Crooked, but not bad."

I curse as I fall off the board. "It's chill, I have a record too."

"Shit, for real? I wouldn't have guessed."

I give him a grin as I skate perfectly past him. "Just in school. I've never gotten caught otherwise."

"You can skate!" He looks indignant.

"I can skate," I agree.

"You said you couldn't."

"In my defense, back at my old home, I had to pretend I didn't. Old habits die hard."

"Shit, I get that." He leads me down an alley to an abandoned building. "This is our hangout."

He hits the door and it swings open. He steps off the board and tosses it.

I follow his lead and follow him into the back of the building, looking up at the falling bricks and rotting wood as the building collapses slowly.

"Is it safe?"

He points to some wood. "Yeah, it's all secured. Just don't knock any of the support beams down and we'll be fine."

"Oliver!" A girl runs over, and I freeze.

She has light blue-gray eyes and long, golden blonde hair that falls in waves around her shoulders. She's wearing a pink sweater and light blue jeans, and her hair is tied back with a pink bow.

"Hi," she smiles at me.

"H-hi..." I blink, my heart rate picking up. She's gorgeous.

"Stell, this is Aurora Raine. Aurora, this is Stella Thompson."

"Oh!" She gives me a sympathetic look. "I saw your posters. We took them all down, don't worry."

"Thank you."

Oliver offers me a cigarette. "Cig?"

"Thanks." I take it and light it, inhaling before blowing out smoke. "What's the deal? With you two, I mean."

"Best friends," they answer at the same time.

"Purely platonic," Stella adds after. "We basically grew up together, so we're like siblings."

I nod. "Well, then, want to tell me about the city?"