𝙒𝘼𝙄𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙍𝙊𝙊𝙈 ᵒˢᶜᵃʳ ᵈⁱᵃᶻ

001 | (don't fear) the reaper

ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜

Alessia's brother Antonio had never been the kind of guy to show a lot of feelings, especially positive ones. He'd always kept to himself, both about failings and accomplishments. Most importantly, he made sure their mother didn't know about any of it. Even more than his sister. Nevertheless, she was kind of upset about his reaction. Not necessarily because she wanted him to show excitement, but because him forgetting was prove that he did much more than drink with the people he called family in Freeridge.

But that was the reason Julez (Julia, but no one that called her that ever lived to tell the tale) tagged along everywhere Alessia's brother didn't approve of. It softened the blow, as he still kept some values regarding keeping up face. That was especially interesting because he'd gotten it from their mother and even though he'd never admit it, it showed he still cared for her.

Alessia put her phone away with a sigh and looked around. She had visited Freeridge before, once, and that visit had been enough to engrave some things in her brain. She wasn't stupid, no matter what Tonio might think. She knew Freeridge wasn't remotely the same as Phoenix. Ten miles made a huge difference when going along the Mexican border. And that was exactly why she was here.
„How'd he take it?", Julez asked while nervously bobbing from toe to heel. Alessia couldn't help but smile a little, then I put up a concerned expression.

„I'm afraid it won't go as you hoped", she said, watching Julez' face go blank, „Antonio will pick us up. We can't get a cab." Julez' face went from deeply concerned to ridiculously excited and she attempted to playfully slap Alessia across the face. Alessia only grinned and shook her head.
„When will he be here?", Julez asked after taking a deep breath. Alessia shrugged and pulled out her phone again.

"Any second", Alessia smiled, what made Julez giggle again.
Her crush on Antonio was so obvious, that Alessia often wondered how Julez herself could think no one knew. In that very moment, a red impala drove onto the parking lot, definitely faster than legal.
Alessia raised her eyebrows and then looked at Julez, who didn't even seem to notice the car when she spotted Antonio. As he got out, he scanned the parking lot with a calculating expression, like he was expecting someone to jump out of the non-existent bushes.
The girls grabbed their stuff and walked up to him.
Alessia gave him a hug that was received hastily, but with a warmth she recognized well. Then she put her and Julez' suitcases in the trunk.

Meanwhile, Julez put her arms around Antonio and definitely asked one or a couple too many questions, what caused him to look at his sister for help.
„So, since when do you drive... this?", Alessia asked to save him, but not to make him feel any less weird. He looked resigned and opened the car door, so Julez would get in. She tried to look unbothered but her eyes gave her away immediately. This was one of her many dream cars and Antonio driving it definitely didn't take away from the joy she was feeling right now.
„It's not mine, sadly. Belongs to a friend." Alessia nodded with a weirded-out look on her face, while she got into the passenger seat. She wasn't sure what kind of people had the luxury of driving cars like this in Freeridge, especially knowing who Antonio used to hang out with. He got in a second later and drove off the parking lot immediately.
„So, how's mom?", he asked after a while, to break the awkward silence. Alessia shrugged. „Fine, I guess. It's not like rehab made her any more talkative." Antonio sighed and nodded. He knew how complicated the situation at home and how hurt Alessia was because of it, but because he had lived so far away for almost six years, he hadn't really been in on the details lately. More importantly, he hadn't been able to help a lot, what had definitely planted some resentment in Alessia. Even though she'd never admit it.

„And where are you planning on staying? You know you can't crash at my place, right?" Now Alessia sighed, annoyed.

„Antonio, we didn't come here just for fun. This whole idea didn't come to my mind last night. Don't worry, we have a house." Antonio frowned in disbelief.
„You have a house? Where did you get the money?" Alessia shook her head, grinning, kinda disappointed in how he acted.

„In case you haven't noticed, living in Freeridge isn't exactly high class. Also, I've had a job for a long time and Julez saved up too." Alessia sighed. "In addition to that, we're renting."
Antonio nodded. „And where is it?"

Alessia looked at her phone. „GPS says if you take the next left and then drive another 800 meters, we'll see it." The second she said that Antonio abruptly stopped the car and pulled over to the side of the road.

„Are you crazy?!", Julez gasped in shock and looked at the cars honking in anger while driving by. Antonio ignored her, turned so he could look at both girls with a serious expression on his face.

„Alessia, are you sure? Look again!" He seemed honestly scared, on the brink of panicking.
„Yes, I am! What's wrong?!", Alessia responded loudly and confused, looking between her brother and her phone.

In pure frustration, Antonio hit the steering wheel and let out a short angry scream.
„This is literally the worst thing that could've happened! You wanna know why this house was so cheap? Because the estate agent knows that a house that's directly facing the main gang spot of the city won't fucking sale well!"

A quiet oh left Julez' lips while she and Alessia looked at each other.
„Alessia, Julez, please, please go home. This won't end well!"

Alessia looked down, still processing the whole situation. Of course that piece of information didn't make their situation much easier, but backing down now wasn't exactly a fit for her ego. Also, she liked forming her own opinions. And defying her brother.
„No. I won't go back because of this bullshit. If I want to move here, I will. We're not planning on starting anything with any gang, so we'll be fine."
Julez didn't seem as convinced as Alessia, but she still nodded with a small smile, when Antonio checked her reaction.

„You— I... Fuck, we are so gonna regret this. If anything happens to you both, I will fucking kill myself", Antonio said and started the car again. "Only after I kill you, though."

"That probably won't be necessary, across a gang hot spot and all", Alessia answered quietly. She was silenced by the deadly look Antonio sent her.