4 Brothers and a Secret Life

|IV||Francesco|

"If you want something done right, do it yourself."-Charles-Guillaume Étienne

~

The tire was flat. 

F*ck.

F*ckitty F*ck F*ck.

The front right wheel of my car is flat. I'm so screwed. I'm gonna be late. I'm gonna get so beat up over this. How the f*ck did someone find out I park my car here?! It's almost a mile away from school! And who in the world wants to spend their time poking a d*mn hole in my tire? I grab my beat-up phone from my pocket and try calling Triple A. 

My phone's dead. Of course.  It dies on me the one day I need it. I take one last look at my car and run to the nearest store available, which happens to be a convenience store, 'Coop'. I rush in, praying the employees there will take pity and let me use a phone. 

"Hi, uh..." I look at his name tag. Mark. "Mark! My car, over at the old parking lot in that direction-" I point somewhere in the direction of my car. "Broke down just now, and...I was wondering...uhm...maybe I could use a phone to call Triple A..?" I nervously adjust my weight from one foot to another. Left, right, left, right. 

He replies, after a moment or so. "Uh, sure...the phone's over here." Mark motions me to follow him as he walks towards an empty check-out line. "Right here." He lazily points at the phone. 

"Ah, thank you very much sir!" I nervously smile and dial Triple A. As it rings, I see the weird look Mark's giving me and suddenly feeling stupid for calling him sir. As soon as they pick up, I gratefully drag my attention to the phone, explaining the situation. It's so much easier to talk to someone who I can't see... 

-One tow truck later-

We're-No, I am at a small, middle-of-nowhere tire store. A bulky lady, seeming to be in her 60's with small spots of greying hair is fixing the car. Or the tire. I guess I overreacted a little, apparently flat tires aren't so much of a great big deal the movies make it to be. I check my, (now charging) phone. 20 percent and five missed calls. And 10 missed texts. I sigh and open my messages. 

Two are spam messages, one from school, three from Dante, and four f*cking messages from Antonio. From our friendly neighborhood Antonio: 'Where the f*ck are you? Scared? ', then 'You f*cking p*ssy, come on!'. I don't even bother to read the rest since it's all going to say the same thing. I check Dante's texts, a bit more scared. Dante follows through with his threats, something Antonio lacks. Mostly because Antonio is brain-dead. (You didn't hear it from me.)

'Where are you? You have not completed the assignment yet. Hurry up.' How typical. He worries for the assignment before me. I frown. I should be used to this, yet it hurts every time. How...odd. I don't bother to check the calls. I don't even try to type out a reply to them. Too much screen time is bad for you. I turn back to my car. The lady looks done. Replacing flat tires are also surprisingly cheap. I hand her the due amount (A.K.A all my savings because I'm broke) and awkwardly get in my car. I really don't want to go back. I'll just finish the assignment first, then head back. They might not be so mad then. Maybe if I do a good job, they might overlook it. 

-One successful assignment later- 

I nervously drive back home. I did well on the assignment...I...killed the guy, and secured the information. It'll be fine. It'll be perfectly fine. "Phew...Ok, we're here..." I park in one of the lower spaces. Once I made the mistake of parking on a higher level, and I got messed up pretty bad by Antonio. 'I don't want to f*cking park next to you, or even see you! It's bad enough you live with me!' I get to the mansion and lightly trek around the living room, where they were probably waiting for me. I almost make it past the doorway, but I'm interrupted by Dante's deep voice. 

"I know you're there Francesco. Come in." Oh sh*t. I reluctantly walk in. "Hello, brother. How are you doing? I'm very sor-" I get cut off almost immediately. "Oh shut up, we all know you were just scared to come home 'cause you were gonna get your *ss beat by me." Its Antonio talking this time, a smug grin on his face. Partially he was right, but it wasn't the only reason...

"I had a flat tire and had to call to get it fixed. It didn't take too much of the assignment's time, and I completed the assignment as well. And turned in the data. It wasn't on time, but I finished it as quickly as possible, with no loose ends." Please, let that be enough to appease Dante. Antonio's scowling, but he's always in some kind of odd mood, so I should be fine...

"Francesco. I know you finished the assignment, but it was late. And tardiness is unacceptable. When I ask you to do something, it's because I need it done now." Dante glares at me before calling for a servant. "Take his car. He will be walking to school for a week. And don't serve him dinner or breakfast." He waves dismissively and walks away. Antonio grins at my punishment and follows Dante out like a puppy.

 I trudge to my room. It's big and spacious, but empty. The walls are a boring, basic white, and the room hasn't been personalized at all. I fall onto my bed, all the energy leaving me. 

I'm fine. This is fine. It could've been worse, and it's hardly two meals I'm losing. And walking is good for the body. I'll be so healthy after the week, and...and...I'll be fine...So why am I crying? Why is it that everytime this happens to me, it hurts inside? I feel so much like this room-empty and undecorated. I feel lonely. I am lonely. It hurts so much to admit it. 

Author's Note

Hello readers! I was really putting this chapter off, but today I felt the Goddess of Writing in my hands. So here is your new chapter! Let me know if the ending of this chapter was good or not-I was really trying to capture the feeling Francesco would've had! As always, thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading! (P.S, in the next chapter, I will be trying out a narrator-type writing style. Please let me know if you enjoy it, or if you don't, let me know how to fix it!)

~

Questions!

If you guys have any questions about the characters, please feel free to let me know- I will gladly answer them!

*A little bit about Francesco*

Hi, I feel the need to delve a bit deeper into Francesco's complex personality. If you would like to figure this out on your own, please, please, avert your eyes.

Here goes: Francesco has a serous exterior but a childish, naive interior. So if the way he perceives and describes the world should reflect on that. I really tried to capture the fact that he's just a sheep in a wolf's outfit. (I know, the saying is the other way around-)

Yours truly,

Sunshine H.