CHAPTER 10

"So I bet Bobby and Robinho are going to be best buds, huh?"

My brother was snoring loudly in the back seat and I laughed quietly so he wouldn't wake up. "Only if Robinho would just admit that he is the shortest."

Angelo whipped his head around like I'd just slapped him on the face. "You didn't mean that, did you?"

"I only say what I mean."

Either Angelo was an actor void of an Oscar or he was genuinely mystified by what I said- but I would put money on the first.

"You need glasses," he said kissing his teeth.

Now he was just asking for it. "The only reason why your brother thinks he's taller it's 'cos of his mohawk which gives him an unfair advantage."

That re-started another heated argument between me and the ButtBag which had first begun at his house when Bobby and Robinho first met. The two had hit it off quite quickly, starting with an introductory staring match. Angelo had to break it off or someone was going to end up with a stiff face by the end of the night.

Apparently, Robinho's method of 'getting to know' someone was to challenge Bobby to some video game to judge if he was worth his time. My brother never the one to step down from a challenge, stepped up to the bait.

Angelo had become uncomfortable and quiet when his mum and I eventually exchanged pleasantries and she introduced herself as Sara. That only happened because I got caught by her for sitting on the stairs staring at her and she had made sure to point out that fact loudly to her son.

Sara had to call the intense debate between Bobby and Robinho a night, seeing that both boys were getting more and more frustrated with each other's refusal to accept defeat.

"You know what I think?"

"Please let me know," he said in his little sarcastic way as he eased his car outside my house.

"I think it's time for me to get inside so I'm just going to agree to disagree but we both know that they're the same height."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night", he said with a mischievous smile dancing on his lips, "make sure you're at my house by ten tomorrow."

"Yeah, whatever."

"You know how many people would kill just to gain entrance to see this handsome papi?"

Ignoring his usual conceited remarks, I asked a question I had meant to ask him earlier regarding his standoffish attitude earlier on. "Are you-- are you embarrassed of your mother?"

Even though he looked chill laying back in his seat, he was downright tense. "Have you seen her face?"

There was silence in the car because I wasn't silly enough to answer that question. He looked out the window onto the dark road ahead that was only illuminated by the street lights whilst I fervently berated myself mentally for even prying.

It took him a while to answer. "I used to be."

"Why?"

"Let's just say kids can be mean."

"Tell me about it."

"You've been bullied?"

I looked like a deer caught in the headlights, anyone could see the answer on my face but I looked away before he read too much in to it. "We're talking about you, not me."

"I'm going to take that as a yes."

"Take it how you want."

Clearly, by the playful glint in his eye he took it the wrong way, "Oh, I can take it how I want?"

"Alright, I definitely have to go now", I said swinging the car door open with Angelo cackling to himself evidently enjoying the position of making me feel awkward.

With my bag around my shoulders I hoisted my brother up from his seat and he immediately coiled his arms and legs around me, with his mass of curls tickling the sides of my neck as he laid his sleepy head on my shoulders.

The temptation to just walk away and enter my house without another word said was hard to resist, but I resisted. With a stiff lip I thanked him for the ride and was just about to take a step towards the front door when he called out my name.

"Yes?"

"Tomorrow. My house."

And just like The Flash he drove off in an instant.

Yawning, I forced myself out of bed despite my tiredness because I had to wake up earlier to get Bobby up for his school trip, thankfully Ryan's mum had come round to pick him up.

I was basically dragging my feet across the floor like I had a tonne of rocks strapped to my legs. It should be a crime to wake up before midday and to think that I had to go through this because I was short of a little patience when driving- sigh.

For a moment I just stood in the hallway taking in the silence. Christmas was a week away but the house certainly did not look festive; since Christmas was a pagan event, in my house we never did the whole decorating thing and I wasn't too fussed either so I didn't really feel I was missing out on anything.

From where I stood I could hear the beeping of my phone notifying me of an incoming text so I went back to my room and grabbed my phone and saw it was a message from Angelo:

'I'm gonna need you to pick up some things from the grocery store before you head over to my house.

1) Toilet paper x2

2) Laundry Detergent x1

3) White bread x2

4) Bag of doughnuts x1

5) Cookies x3

6) 2 litre Coke x2

7) Six-pack Red Bull x1

8) Shaving cream x3

9) Razor blades x3

10) Toothpaste x2

11) Frozen Pizza x10 (NO PINEAPPLES)

I put the money inside your bag when I asked you to go make my bed, which I realised you didn't even do. I'm going to have words with you on that later on. Call a taxi from the grocery store and I'll pay for the ride when you get to my house. I expect you to be at my house by half one.

I grumbled to myself as I realised my mum had taken the car so that meant I'd to have to go out in the freezing cold. Damn him.

The mass amount of junk food that lay in the shopping trolley was making me increasingly hungry. I greedily looked on as I wheeled it through the frozen food aisle to get the pizza. I'd admit that more than once I had found myself tempted to open a packet of the cookies and just have a teeny, weeny bite of it, but thought of better of it. Considering my recent weight gain, I could not afford to add on the extra pounds. A shot of envy went through me as I thought how unfair it was that Angelo could eat as much as he wanted whilst I had to deprive myself from one of the few joys of life known as chocolate.

Lost in my thoughts, my shopping trolley managed to accidentally bump into someone's backside.

"Oh I'm so sor-"

My apologies were cut off short when I was met up with a pair of warm brown eyes that belonged to Sara.

She looked at me as if surprised to see me and then laughed whole-heartedly as if getting smacked on her butt with a shopping trolley was a usual occurrence, "It's alright Luciana. It is Luciana, right?"

"Yes it is."

I couldn't help but stare at her face and with being up-close with her, I took it as my advantage to study the deep long scars that had damaged her once beautiful face. I could imagine a younger Angelo getting taunted by kids as his mum came to pick him up from school.

"Luciana? Luciana are you okay?"

"Yes I am," I replied coming to a slow realisation that my staring was coming off as borderline creepy.

"I see you have a lot of shopping there, too much junk and no healthy foods. Not good, Luciana," she said in a motherly tone, glancing inside my shopping trolley.

But little did she know.

Smiling I said, "Actually they are not for me they are for your son Angelo."

To say Sara looked shocked was an understatement, peering inside the trolley again and taking a step back she said, "I hope you're not talking about Angelo Henriquez."

"One and only."

"And why does he need you to do his personal shopping, why couldn't he do it himself?"

Sara looked very much scary as her lips twisted into a questioning pout. There was no way that I could lie to this woman, with the way she looked at me- and damn would it feel so good to get Angelo in trouble. "I'm Angelo's maid and he asked me I pick up some things for him at the grocery store."

Gasping, she asked, "You're his what?!"

Not even two seconds later, she whipped up her phone from her hand bag and not caring that she was making a scene at the supermarket and gaining attention from fellow shoppers, she shouted down the phone to Angelo. "Why do you, a twenty one year old hombre need a maid to do your dirty laundry or do your own shopping?!"

I didn't hear the response from the other end of the phone, but I knew whatever Angelo had said seemed to irritate her more. "You know what I don't want to hear it, all I know is that you need to bring your culo here right now!"

Ha ha, Angelo was in trouble.