Jealousy
The days passed quickly, my family is treating me normally.
Since I almost died in the bathroom, I've had a serious conversation with Lorenzo, my father, my uncles, and my grandparents.
They scolded me, but they also comforted me and made me understand that being part of a family means trusting each other.
I'm getting closer to them every day and learning to deal with all the situations that have happened.
Each of them is making an effort in their own way to include me in conversations and not keep me locked in the basement solving problems.
But, in the last few days, Leonardo's absence has started to bother me. I see him always coming home exhausted, at school he seems distant, and occasionally I notice him looking at me.
My family doesn't interfere in our relationship, but I see Grandma's worried look, and that's making me uncomfortable.
Now I'm sitting at the cafeteria table, leaning against Angelo. We're listening to Breanna complain about the tryouts for the mandatory clubs.
“Elena, which club are you going to sign up for?” Anabela asks.
“I don’t know yet, I was thinking about track and field,” I reply, and Angelo nudges me.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, sis,” he says, and I glare at him sarcastically.
“Would you prefer I sign up for the cheerleading team, brother?” I ask, and he shakes his head negatively.
“Obviously not, none of us would allow that, it’s just that there are some people on the track and field team and we didn’t want you to have contact with them,” Angelo explains calmly.
I know he’s talking about Chris; since I came back to school, the boys have been keeping an eye on the two of us.
Although Chris hasn’t been mean to me, I prefer to keep my distance from any Sinclair for now.
“I’m not going to stop practicing my lessons and making decisions,” I say irritably, getting up from the table. “If any of you interfere, I’ll talk to Grandpa.”
I walk away from him, annoyed. The bell rings as I walk through the cafeteria doors towards the classroom.
I decide to stop by the office to sign up for the club before my brothers turn my life into a living hell.
The lady at the office hands me the form and I sit in the nearest chair to fill it out. After putting in all the information I can remember, I take a picture of the form and hand it to the woman.
“Great choice, dear,” Chris’s voice behind me makes me jump.
I turn to him and he’s smiling as always.
My mind desperately wants to believe that smile, but Silas has smiled like that at me too, and look what he did to me.
“I just needed to fill out my schedule; this was the least boring option available,” I say with a nervous smile on my face.
“I can say this is the best club we have,” he says, laughing.
“That’s good,” I say, grabbing my backpack. “I need to go, Chris.”
I wave goodbye, but he grabs my wrist before I leave.
“Elena, I just wanted to understand why you’re avoiding me,” he says softly, as if hurt.
I twist my wrist in his hand and he lets go.
“Ask Silas, he’ll explain the story,” I say and walk away from him.
I don’t look back to see his reaction, I just walk to my classroom.
I end up bumping into someone as I turn the corner, I feel something hot burning my back and I have to bite my lip to keep from screaming.
“This is hot,” I say as I try to wipe the liquid I recognize as coffee off my shirt.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you, angel,” says the boy who bumped into me.
I look at him and I know I would recognize those brown eyes anywhere.
He was the one who saved me at the party.
"You?", I ask softly, and I see recognition in his eyes as well.
“We need to stop meeting in these situations, angel,” he says, and I notice an accent in his voice.
“You’re right,” I say, smiling, and then I look at my ruined shirt.
“Are you okay? The coffee was hot,” he asks, worried.
“It’ll be red, but I can change my shirt,” I say, feeling a kind of anxiety, but a good anxiety, almost like butterflies in my stomach.
“I’m so sorry,” he says again, sadly.
“It’s okay, it was just coffee,” I say calmly to show that it really wasn’t anything. Even with my chest burning.
“I hurt you and I didn’t even have a chance to introduce myself,” he says with a smile. “My name is Dominic Movinsk.”
“I’m Elena, but I have the impression you already know,” I say, smiling back. “I need to go.”
He apologizes again, and I run to the locker room.
I rip off my shirt as soon as I enter and splash cold water on my red skin. I'll have to ask Matteo for some ointment to ease the pain.
I keep splashing water on my skin for a few minutes until the bell rings, signaling that I missed class.
I'll have to explain this to Lorenzo as soon as I get there; I just hope he doesn't freak out.
I put on my spare shirt, which I keep for after gym class, and head to my next class.
On the way, I run into Anabela, who seems to be arguing heatedly with Chris.
I approach them, and they give me furious looks. I immediately raise my hands in surrender.
"I didn't do anything," I say in my defense.
"Where were you?" Chris asks, surprising me.
"I don't see why that would be any of your business," I reply, disliking his tone or his question.
"Do you understand that we're in conflict? And even if Silas is on my father's side, I'm not, and I care about you," Chris yells at me, and I have to take a step back.
"If you haven't noticed, I have siblings at school who can protect me, and I don't care which side you're on. Your family has only done harm to mine, so I don't care if you're good or bad, I just want distance," I say angrily.
I grab Anabela's hand and pull her to leave with me, but Chris's hand closes around my wrist for the second time that day.
"Let go of me," I order, and he tightens his grip even more.
"Elena, I'm not like them," he says, almost begging me to believe him.
I look at my wrist and then at him.
"You're proving me wrong," I say coldly, pulling my wrist away.
"Let her go," Dominic's voice is authoritative and cold.
I see Chris's face darken and he pulls me close, making me let go of Anabela.
"She's not bothered, is she, Elena?" Chris's voice is almost coercive. Almost.
"She doesn't seem comfortable," Dominic says, without giving me time to answer.
I'm annoyed because I don't need protection, being near Chris makes me nauseous, and I don't want to be caught in the middle of a fight between the two of them.
"Chris, let me go now!" I say angrily, grumbling.
"But we haven't finished our conversation yet," he says quietly, with a dark calm.
"We'll talk another day, but I have class now," I say, pulling his hand back.
I get rid of him, and when I think I can relax, I hear Sandro's voice.
Great, it can't get any worse.
"Sister, is everything alright here?" he asks, approaching.
I quickly hide my red wrist behind my back and approach Anabela.
"Yes, brother, the boys are arguing about who has the bigger penis, and Anabela and I are going to class." My tone is harsh and irritated.
I pull Anabela into the classroom with me, and she doesn't say a word.