My eyes fluttered open when I feel someone shaking my shoulder.
"Of course it's you," I groaned when I saw Ethan grinning down at me.
I turned away from him and put my head under my pillow. It was way too early to interact with people.
"Come on sleeping beauty, we have school today remember?"
Right, it was my first day of school, how could I forget.
"You have twenty minutes to get ready, I will wait downstairs in the kitchen," Ethan almost sang.
How can a person be this cheerful in the morning?
I quickly took a shower and decided to let my hair down because I was to lazy to do something with it.
Fortunately, this school did not require us to wear uniforms, so I wore some baggy black jeans and a band T-shirt.
I decided to put on some natural makeup, and the earrings Isaac bought me as a welcome home present to finish the look.
When I stumbled into the kitchen, I was surprised to see all my brothers sitting together at the table.
"Don't you guys have to work?" I asked them confusingly.
Normally Isaac, Cole and Kayden were already at work, the only exception was Sunday, but even then they worked in the afternoon.
Didn't they mind they were always working?
"Yeah, but we wanted to wish you luck on your first day," Kayden explained.
They had postponed their work just so they could wish me luck.
"You guys are too cute," I joked.
All my brothers were glaring at me, they hated being called cute, and I knew that.
Cole cleared his throat and gave me a little bag.
"What this?" I asked confusingly.
"Painkillers for when your ankle is hurting you. If the pain is too overwhelming, get the twins or call us, so we can take you home." Cole stated.
His thoughtfulness is really sweet, but he was exaggerating the situation.
"Thanks, but I think I can handle," I said while rolling my eyes.
"I'm serious Luna, your health comes first," Cole countered.
In Cole's eyes was it as if I could die from my ankle.
Before I could argue him Ethan checked his watch and practically jumped up.
"It's time to leave, come on guys."
Aiden and I shared a look, both trying to figure out how he can have this much energy in the morning.
We said our goodbyes and headed to the garage.
Aiden put his arm around my shoulder and grinned at me.
"Ready for hell monkey?"
"I guess," I sighed.
°°°°°°°°°°
It was now 10am, and it had already been a busy day.
Ethan and Aiden had brought me to the secretary when we arrived at school. I got a few strange looks from people when they saw me walking with the twins.
Aiden explained to me that all my brothers went to this school, and had made a particular reputation.
I guess people were curious about why I arrived with them, nobody knew that I was their long-lost sister.
Isaac had apparently pulled some strings so that my assigned locker was close to the twins.
When someone from the secretariat suggested giving me a guided tour, Aiden and Ethan left for their first class and said they would see me during lunch.
The first period was already halfway through when I made my way to the classroom.
I knocked on the door and waited for it to be opened.
"You must be our new student, welcome. I'm Mr. Brown, I will be teaching your course English this year," the older man explained.
Even though it was the beginning of the school year, everyone already knew each other from previous years.
I just nodded and smiled.
"There is a free seat next to Jasmine," he pointed toward the back of the room.
"Hey, I'm Jasmine," the girl greeted.
She had this warm smile and bright eyes, immediately showing me her kindness. Her eyes had varying shades of black-brown which complimented her light-brown skin tone.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Luna," I smiled shyly.
We talked and got to know each other for the remainder of the class.
Jasmine was a really nice person who had no bad bone in her body, I knew for sure.
I found out she also enjoyed reading, I gave her some recommendations as did she.
"Do you have chemistry now?" I asked her.
"Yes, you too?"
I nodded.
"Good, I can introduce you to Cora and Jay, they also take the class," she smiled brightly.
How lucky was I to meet such a nice person. She knew me for less than an hour and was already suggesting introducing me to her friend group.
"I would love that," I answered her.
While walking to the lab, where we will follow chemistry, I learned that Jay is Jasmine's boyfriend.
Jasmine also explained me there was one person left in their friend group, who I will meet during lunch. She had asked me if I wanted to join them, and I happily accepted her invitation.
We had five more minutes till the class would start, so Jasmine pulled me toward the back of the class, where two people were talking.
When they noticed Jasmine and me, they stopped talking.
"Cora, Jay, this is Luna. Luna, this is Cora and Jay."
The girl, Cora, looked like a model. Her copper coloured hair contrasted her paler skin beautifully. Inconspicuous freckles are spread over her nose and cheeks, you can only see them if you pay attention to them.
Her lips form a grin when she locks her eyes with mine.
Her light-green eyes, which are surrounded by a dark circle, are so different from the green eyes I learned to fear.
Nick's eyes were a different shade of green, but they terrified me because you could see his cruelness in them.
Cora's eyes showed me playfulness and joy.
"So are you the infamous Luna they have been talking about?" she questioned.
"People have been talking about me?"
"Yeah, people are curious about the new girl who entered the school with the Romano brothers," Cora winked.
"I'm Cora, nice to meet you Luna," she continued.
The boy standing next to her, Jay, cleared his throat, pulling my attention toward him.
Jay had golden-blond hair, a tanned skin and greyish eyes. He didn't smile, but he still radiated friendliness.
"I'm Jay," was all he said.
The teacher clapped two times to let us know the class was starting.
Cora grabbed my hand and dragged me toward a table.
"Thank god you're here. Now I don't have to be the third wheel anymore," Cora chuckled.
"Hey, sorry for what I said earlier. I just talk and then think, I didn't mean to be rude," she added.
"You have nothing to apologize for, I'm not offended," I reassured her.
We talked about so many things and laughed every now and then, which gave us an occasional angry look from the teacher.
Cora was the opposite of Jasmine. She had a fierce attitude and always had something to say, but I liked that about her.
It's strange to think making friends could be this easy. A year ago I was all alone, and now I had a family and potential friends.
The rest of the morning passed quickly, before I knew it was lunchtime. I had to search for the twins, so I could get something to eat.
"I will be back in a few, I need to find my brothers," I told no one in particular while leaving the table we were sitting at.
After looking around for a few minutes I noticed them standing on the other side of the cafeteria.
When I was walking toward them, I accidentally bumped into someone.
"Watch where..." the guy said, but stopped in the middle of his sentence when I looked up at him.
My eyes locked with his beautiful brown ones, they reminded me of melted chocolate.
It was as if the time passed by in slow-motion.
I snapped out of it when I remembered I was staring at him and looked away from his eyes.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," I quickly apologized.
He stared at my face for a few more seconds, and shook his head lightly.
"No, it's alright. It's my fault," he stated.
"I need to get going, sorry again," I said while leaving.
I finally reached my brothers who gave me a questionable look.
"Who was that?" Ethan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No idea, I bumped into him on my way. Do you guys have some lunch money for me?"
"We will go with you, we also have to buy lunch," Aiden said.
"How is your day going?" Ethan questions.
"Really well, I have made some friends," I answer while nodding in the direction of the table they were sitting at.
"I knew you would," Aiden smiled.
We talked a bit while getting lunch and Ethan told me they would wait by the car after school.
When I reached the table, I sat in between Cora and Jasmine.
"Ooh you're back. Luna this is Samuel, my cousin," Cora introduced me.
My heart skipped a beat when I saw who Samuel was, he was the guy I had bumped into.
I started to blush from embarrassment.
"Samuel, meet Luna, my new best friend," Cora laughed while putting her arm on my shoulders.
I gave him a little smile because words seemed to fail me.
This was the most beautiful guy I had ever seen.
He had a tanned skin which was almost glowing from the incident sun rays. His face had sharp edges making him look like a god. His hair was black with some sepia locks and was slightly curling.
Again I looked into his eyes, I could drown into them and wouldn't mind.
His eyes did not release his secrets, causing me to be more intrigued by him.
"Please just call me Sam, Cora is the only who says Samuel," He said with his hoarse voice.
"Hey Luna, how come we have never seen you before if you are the sister of the Romano's," Jasmine curiously asked.
My eyes widened at her question, some memories with Nick flashed before my eyes.
I shook my head trying to get rid of them.
"It's none of our business Jasmine," Sam sighed.
I gave him a grateful look.
"I'm sorry it was not my intention to upset you," Jasmine apologized.
"No, it's fine," I muttered.
I took another deep breath before continuing.
"My parents split up and I moved away with my mom. She died, so I returned to my brothers," I told them.
I didn't lie, just vaguely explained the situation. Maybe one day I will be comfortable enough to tell them my story.
"Oh, sorry for your loss," Cora said while giving my shoulder a light squeeze.
I felt uncomfortable when I saw their sorrowful look, so I decided to change the topic.
"Has anyone math after lunch?"
Everyone shook their head except Sam.
"Yeah I have, do you also take an extra two hours of math a week?"
"Yes, I quite like it, so I decided to add a few hours," I stated.
"Oh my god, there are two of them," Cora gasped dramatically.
We all started laughed after her remark.
The bell signalled that class was about to start within ten minutes.
"I need to get my books from my locker," I said to Sam who was now standing next to me.
"I will walk with you."
Every time he said something my breath hitched, how can a person have this much influence on me?
When I opened my locker, a book fell on the ground. I wanted to pick it up, but he's already done it.
Our fingers brushed for a moment, I could swear I felt a spark ignite.
"Thank you," I said while tucking a strand behind my ear.
"Ready to go?"
"Yes."
°°°°°°°°°°
I was sitting on the grass against the tree, silently watching the sun set.
My mind was replaying today's events.
Within a day I had made some friends, who seemed to be amazing. I connected with them even if I didn't know them very well.
My thoughts kept returning to Sam.
I don't know what it is, but something is pulling me toward him. He makes me nervous, yet I'm at ease around him.
It doesn't make any sense.
I couldn't feel like this.
Because I don't think I will ever be ready to love in that way.
Nick had broken that part in me, it was beyond repair.
Suddenly a blanket is wrapped around my shoulders, and when I look up I see Cole standing next to me.
"I thought I could find you here," he smiled.
I opened one arm, inviting him to come sit next to me and share the blanket.
"How was your day?" he asked.
"Great, I met some amazing people," I said timidly.
"I hope it excludes guys."
I looked at him, ready to fight this injustice.
"I'm joking sorellina, I'm not as unreasonable as the others." he winked.
"Fortunately. I also met two guys, but that doesn't matter," I sighed while laying my head on Cole's shoulder.
"Are you alright, you seem a little off. Does your ankle hurt?" he asked in a voice thick with concern.
"No, it doesn't hurt," I lied. "I was just thinking."
"You know you can always talk to me right?"
"It's just, I don't think I will be able to be in love, not after what happened," I silently confessed.
I don't know where this was coming from.
Cole hugged me when he saw a tear rolling down my cheek.
"I understand your concern Luna, I really do. Everything is going to be alright. Baby steps remember?"
We sat there in silence till the sun had fully set.
Cole gently grabbed my chin, so I was looking at him.
"One day, you will meet the right person, someone who will make you happy and understand your fears. You will know when you meet him or her because something deep inside you will click into place."
"What if I'm not ready?"
"Then he or she will wait till you are."
I hugged him tighter because my mouth didn't seem to function anymore.
"You deserve to be happy Luna," Cole mumbled.
°°°°°°°°°°