𝘽𝙍𝙐𝙏𝘼𝙇 • 𝘾. 𝙂𝘼𝙇𝙇𝘼𝙂𝙃𝙀𝙍

𝑷 𝑹 𝑶 𝑳 𝑶 𝑮 𝑼 𝑬

[ 𝐁 𝐑 𝐔 𝐓 𝐀 𝐋 ! ]
"holy shit I missed you, Vlad!"

˖*°࿐

The sky was in shades of orange and purple as the red "old but taken care of" Ford truck finally arrived in front of the new Castro home. The sweltering heat was giving warning of the approaching summer. Valentina Castro was all too giddy to finally get out of the car and stretch. She barely gave her older brother enough time to park behind the stylish blue Toyota that looked immensely out of place before she was opening the door.

"Jesus Christ Val, be careful!" Vincent Castro shouts after her as she climbs out and he cuts the ignition, the truck grumbling into silence. Vincent slid out of the truck after her. He was considerably larger than his sister, standing at 5'11" and weighing a solid, muscular 160 pounds. While he was certainly intimidating, especially with his tattoos, shaved head, and brown eyes, he was more concerned with looking after his younger sister than being a gangster, as many people assumed he was upon seeing him.

The brunette girl was too busy stretching to respond. Her bones ache from sleeping and sitting in the cramped space of the truck for too many hours. The pair of siblings had traveled from New Jersey down to Chicago for the past day, having to sleep in their car at a rest stop when Vincent got tired and eating whatever they could afford at gas stations.

The older sibling getting a job offer on the Southside of Chicago was a blessing in their eyes, though, to finally be free from their lives in New Jersey. She glances at the woman standing on the front steps of the house in front of them, dressed in formal wear and holding a set of keys and a clipboard.

As Vincent rounded the vehicle to stand next to his sister, the retail woman approached them with a polite smile.

"The Castros I presume?"

Vincent answered for them with his charming smile and, "yes ma'am," for good measure.

Valentina could sense the uneasiness of the older woman, though it was unclear to her if it was because of her brother or the neighborhood, one of which she was sure the woman wasn't from and used to.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Mrs. Parker. My husband, who you talked with, couldn't make it today, so I came in his stead" The woman explains with her same polite smile and her tone of business, making it difficult to tell if she was truly being friendly or if this was just her work face. "I just need you to sign these last few papers, and the house is all yours!" As she hands the clipboard and pen to Vincent, as he does so, Valentina grows impatient, her gaze jumping around, ignoring the home seller, who was talking about the crimes around the neighborhood. Her brother notices her impatience and, just to irritate her, signs the last pages extra slowly before handing them to Mrs. Parker.

"Great, these are yours then." She hands off the set of keys after glancing over all the signatures. "First month's rent is in July. You know where to send it, yes?"