Home is not a Place

53• Home is Not a Place

I couldn't believe her kindness and her friendliness toward it. She truly is an amazing person, I realized then. And smart. I wouldn't have thought of giving the dog my burrito. And if I had a say, I probably wouldn't have agreed to give away my burrito.

But it worked. Vanessa saved the dog's life, because, I mean, I was in the same boat as Ajax. I saw the best option as shooting it.

I smile at the thought of the dog now because as we were leaving the building, the dog whined like he didn't want us to leave.

The mission was a success. No blood on our hands because of Vanessa.

Speaking of Vanessa... She has just knocked on our door.

Since I'm the closest to the door, I get the opportunity to be the one to greet her, and as soon as I open the door, my breath is taken away. She has on a dark blue sweater that reaches past her butt. Her legs are covered by leggings, her hair down and a beautiful mess. She has on a pretty silver bracelet and a necklace of a silver bird to match it.

"Bienvenido!" I tell her, bringing her in for a hug. She laughs against me, her caramel eyes bright.

"Hey, guys." She says, entering. I shut the door behind her, following her into the living room. She goes right up to Ethan and embraces him in a warm hug, and when she backs away, she has everyone's eyes on her. "I'm sorry I'm late. I lost track of time."

"You look like you just woke up." Drake says shortly, moving into a more comfortable position on the couch.

Vanessa peers down at him and rolls her eyes. "No. Actually, I was doing laundry, dishes, and cleaning up a bit."

Ajax snickers from where he and Felix sit at the kitchen counter. "Adulting is fun isn't it?"

"You wouldn't know." Felix replies, shoving his brother's shoulder. "You never adult."

Vanessa chuckles, plopping on the vacant couch in our living room. "I'm guessing Felix does all the adulting?"

"No." I shake my head as Ethan sits down beside her. "Everyone helps except AJ."

"It's worked this far." Ajax claps his hands, grinning. "Keep up the good work, men."

Felix rolls his eyes, grabs a bag of chips and the file, and finds a spot on the couch beside Drake. He hands the file over to Drake, and he opens the file up. The air is light and easy as I lean against the armrest of the couch beside Drake. Ajax joins us after a minute of everyone getting situated.

Vanessa is the first person to speak. She says, "I can't believe the assessor is being assessed."

"I can. Serves you right anyways, always in our damn business." Drake says, but as Vanessa rolls her eyes, he laughs out loud.

It's crazy to see him smiling and laughing with Vanessa. I would never have thought that possible, like, last month.

"So, where should we start?" I lean forward, grinning at my brothers.

They all wear decisive expressions as if this is a life or death situation, and Vanessa groans, saying, "Get over yourselves and start this thing."

"Okay, okay." I flash a smirk her way. "Tell us about your childhood."

"Ummm... Well, I'm an open book. You guys have read my file." She shrugs, gazing at me.

"That's not enough information. You're going to have to elaborate." Ajax says, tilting her head.

"Fine." She shifts her weight, glaring AJ down. "I grew up with both my parents until around the end of middle school, when my father disappeared. After that, it was me and my mom. We... we've been through a lot, but we've done okay. She wants to go back to school when we get enough money. I want her to, too. She deserves to do something she loves... You know? She depended on my dad for everything until he left."