ARABELLA'S POV
For the moment when I woke up, my mind was clouded with confusion. It took a few more seconds for my brain to adjust to my surroundings as I remembered this place that I now get to label as my room.
Instead of getting out of bed, I chose to wrap myself in the warmth of my comforters as I nest back into the heavenly tranquilly for a little while longer.
Finally mustering up enough self courage to get out of my comfortable bed, my eyes glanced around my room, instilling a sense of comfort that engulfed me.
The safety of being in my room was a concept still new to me but this place has grown to become my sanctuary, a place where my privacy remains valued, giving me my own exclusive space.
It's been a few weeks since our trip to the hospital, and I have been here for over a month now, and I feel like I was never away.
I'm still adjusting to my life here, especially after moving from a house that was even smaller than the bathroom that I now own, to a lifestyle that I'd never in my life would have imagined.
But I'm glad to finally be surrounded by people that I can call my family, something I'd value more than any wealth privileges, because that's what I had always been denied, even when it was the only thing I had yearned for.
My brothers, however, are being really, how do I put it nicely, pain in my ass.
Ever since they discovered my past, they've been treating me like a delicate little doll that could even break with a single touch.
I do like the fact that I finally have someone who cares about me, but the looks of pity and sympathy they give me, combined with their annoyingly over attentiveness, was making me queasy.
I still get nightmares nearly every night.
I didn't tell them at first but one night, I woke them up screaming in the middle of the night and almost choked myself in sleep.
So, Dad made sure to make me go to a therapist, which I had earlier successfully managed to avoid.
This time, nothing worked so I threw an ugly tantrum about not going.
But Kyson talked me into agreeing to it.
He told me he was seeing the same therapist as me, and going to a therapist doesn't imply I was crazy.
He also mentioned that the therapy had really helped him with his nightmares so I reluctantly agreed.
I'm only going to give it a shot because he asked nicely
I still don't know anything about Kyson's past and I don't think he's ready to tell me.
I wasn't going to put any pressure on him either.
Anyways, I have two appointments in a week.
I've already attended one session, but didn't say a single thing and sat there ignoring everything.
My therapist, despite me behaving like a bitch, seems really nice and didn't force me to talk at all.
But by the end, I'm not sure how she did it, but we ended up talking about a lot of random things and girly stuff.
Living in a house full of testosterone, you sometimes need to surround yourself with estrogen or you'll start to feel like a man yourself, no kidding.
I'm still weirded out about having to tell a complete stranger about my past. But I'm willing to give it another shot because I desperately want to move on from my past.
And if sessions are the only way to go, so be it.
After the session, dad took me to an ice cream shop. We got our ice creams and went on a long drive, talking about anything and everything.
We then finished the day, with him taking me to his favourite restaurant which was a cute little diner,
contrastingly economical for a man who owns billions.
I never expected Dad or any of my brothers to eat anywhere other than a lavish place.
But I could see why that diner was his favourite, they had the best cheeseburger I've ever had.
Dad and Kyson are the only ones who still treat me like a normal person.
Of course, they're more concerned now, but they're also considerate of my feelings and aren't buzzing around my head like a swarm of bees all day-night long.
Right now, I'm getting ready to visit my new school, which I'll be attending from next week.
All of them were concerned about letting me go, I didn't want to go either, but Max said it was perfectly fine and safe for me to join from next week.
Of course, I objected, but Alexander had the last word.
Hence, I am going next week.
I think that guy doesn't like me.
My bruises are healing much faster, I guess the medicines and my new diet are helping.
I'm much hungrier now, I still eat less, but a lot more than I could eat before. My face appears to be fuller now, and even the bruises on my face and neck have almost faded.
The burn on my stomach is no longer infected, and the skin has grown back, but still has left behind a permanent reminder in the form of a big ass mark.
The sprain in my shoulder has completely healed, but my ribs are still a work in progress. The pain from them still left me gasping for air, but my breathing is no longer painful, which is a huge relief, greater than no other.
I still had the rib belt on, which I'll be wearing for another two months so yay!! to me going to my new school wearing a damn belt on the first day
I was brought out of my thoughts as I heard a knock followed by Mason barging right in.
Why bother knocking?
Noah and Mason are the only two of my brothers who haven't learned the meaning of knocking.
I tried....I really did, I made them sit and gave them a full ten-minutes long lecture on the importance of knocking.
But did they learn anything?
What do you think—
"Why do you girls take forever to get ready?" He remarked annoyedly, causing me to roll my eyes at him.
I'm going to ignore that,
Idiot.
"Dad's waiting for you downstairs. Can you be a little more quick, we do call you princess, but the world isn't going to wait for your sorry ass, your highness." He mumbled, grunting in displeasure at me.
So what did I do?
I purposely slowed down my moments.
Which of course resulted in Mason, spewing a colourful mixture of shit, but he should have seen this coming.
Irritate me more and I'll teach you what irritability stands for.
"Finished!! I am about to go down, you coming?" I asked him, as I glanced at him glaring at me.
Oh yeah, I might have made him wait another fifteen minutes, but who's counting—
Making my way out of my room, Mason trailed behind. I was dressed in a black and white striped full-sleeve top, blue denim jeans, and nude boots.
"You look good." Mason said out of nowhere, and I looked at him grinning like a Cheshire cat, causing his face to quickly change to regret.
"Thank you, you look good too." I replied with a cheeky smile on my face, clearly teasing him because he was wearing his school uniform.
The guys had started school, right after their holidays were over.
"Shut up." He grunted, which made me laugh.
We descended the stairs and talked to each other.
My bond with Mason is different than others.
He still sometimes pretends that he doesn't like me or that I'm always bothering him with my presence, and would still instigate a verbal fight with me by talking nonsense.
But he's still my brother, and no matter how much of a jerk he appears to be on the outside, my heart knew he meant no harm.
"You look great, princess, all set to go visit your new school?" Dad asked enthusiastically, while I gave him a blank look.
"I'm so glad, I'm not going with this bowl of sunshine here." Mason muttered, causing me to chuckle while Dad gave him a look that immediately made him shut up.
It was more of a, "want to try that again–" sort of look.
Yes, my father can be a little frightening at times!
But during my one and a half month stay here, I learned one thing that has always worked to my advantage.
He can't see me cry–
*Hehehe...In my mind, that's an evil laugh*
To think about it, it works on all of my brothers except my 12 year older twin, who always knows when I'm faking tears.
Remember how I said, I managed to get out of therapy after my visit from the hospital?
Yeah it involved tears, and everyone tried to get me to stop crying except Alexander, who gave me a deadpan, 'I see right through it', look.
I'm telling you the guy doesn't like me.
"Thanks dad, we could have waited for another two weeks, but it's not like anyone's gonna listen to me." I replied to Dad's earlier question, which earned me an amused chuckle.
"If Dad blindly listens to anyone in this family, it's you, even Alexander comes after you." Noah said to me dismissing my attempt to persuade dad to let me miss school.
"Jealous are we?" I glared at Noah, fully aware of what he had done.
He just smirked right back at me.
He doesn't like me either.
"Oh come on, it won't be so bad, you'll have me and the twins with you." Noah said with a grin.
"How's that better at all?" I deadpanned, getting grunts of protest from both the twins while Noah just ignored me.
And our Dad simply laughed at us.
My three oldest brothers are all working, and Max is in college. So it's just the five of us.
After we finished our breakfast, dad told us it was time to leave, so we all exited the house.
Noah and the twins rode in separate cars because they had school to attend and would return together after football practise.
Dad and I drove in his car and, soon, we arrived at the school building, which resembled nothing less than a magnificent and elegant hotel.
Thankfully, only a few kids were outside.
After parking the car, Dad and I walked towards the large glass doors. Noah and the twins had already left to god knows where, as soon as they got out of their car, but not before blowing me a kiss.
Dad and I went to the principal's office, surprisingly the principal was already waiting for us outside his office.
He appeared nice, but a little scared of Dad.
I mean who wouldn't, the way Dad looks and carries himself in public screams authority and power, and I'm still surprised that he's the same person who tried to boil a damn egg but didn't even know how to use the burner.
And he got so frustrated that he brought a blow torch to burn the burner, which I still don't know what, how or why.
I mean I saw it all, with my own damn eyes and I still can't understand what went wrong.
Anyway the principal went on about the school's rules and expectations.
Then he showed me around the school and gave me my schedule as well as my locker number which just so happens to be next to my brothers.
I know it wasn't coincidental.
But if they don't mind then, I don't mind at all.
After the school tour was over, I had excused myself to go to the girls restroom, but somehow ended up getting lost in the damn school.
I was frantically walking around, searching for Dad, and to make matters worse, I had left my phone in the car.
The more I wandered around in the unfamiliar corridors, with curious eyes staring at me, the more anxious I started to become.
I was nearing the end of the corridor, and just when I took a swift turn, I unexpectedly collided with someone.
I lost my balance as a shriek of surprise left my mouth, and I was about to fall down when a pair of arms clasped around my waist, securing me from the fall.
I unconsciously bit my lower lip, in an attempt to calm down.
I hadn't even realised that I had my eyes tightly shut and my one hand was on that person's chest, clutching onto their shirt for dear life, that's when I heard the most captivating voice.
I became more aware of the grip around my waist.
"Are you okay?"
I heard a husky, boyish voice and gulped as I slowly opened my eyes.
The moment the light fell onto my eyes, my gaze locked with enchanting grey eyes looking at me in concern.
He was absolutely stunning–
His dark brown hair was messy, yet they looked so good and I had this sudden urge to run my hand through it.
As my eyes widened in embarrassment, I became acutely aware of my staring, more like gwanking.
I quickly pulled myself away from the guy and blushed, unconsciously looking away to anywhere but him
"Yeah-h I am fine-e. Thanks for helping me." I stuttered in reply.
Why the hell did I stutter?
"I'm so sorry for bumping into you, I'm glad I didn't hurt you, not that I could, I mean look at our sizes, there's no way I could've hurt you, oh shit!! By no means I'm calling you fat, I just meant that okay crap!" I cut my rambling short, when I saw him giving me an amused look.
Please Earth open a damn hole, and swallow me asap.
"No it was my fault, I apologise, I should have been more careful." He said with a small chuckle at the end, looking really cute.
Cute?
I just embarrassed myself in front of this guy and all I can think about is how cute he is?
I definitely need help–
"Hello, are you still there?" I heard the guy in front of me say, as he snapped his fingers in front of my face.
I believe I am testing myself to see how much more I can embarrass myself.
"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" I asked, as I tried to act like I was normal.
"No nothing, do you mind if I walk you to wherever you are going?" He asked politely, while running a hand on the back of his head, as he gave me a sheepish smile and that's when it hit me again.
Oh shit shit shit!!
I'm fucking Lost!!
"Umm..I think I'm going to go that way." I said pointing towards my left without looking and the guy in front of me raised an eyebrow at me.
"Are you lost?" He asked, giving me a somewhat of a knowing look.
"Psst! No, where'd you get that idea?" I asked, a nervous chuckle left my lips, and I wanted nothing more than to run away from him.
How'd he know?
"Just the fact that you pointed towards the wall, sort of, gave me the idea." He said with a smirk, his index finger pointing in the direction I told him I was going.
I slowly turned around, and blinked twice hoping that the wall in front of me would open up and swallow me entirely, and the urge to smack my face just grew stronger.
"I'm new here and I might be lost." I sighed, as I turned to face a highly amused guy in front of me, who chuckled at my admission.
I mean there was no point lying.
I should just run away.
"Don't worry, I'll help you find your way around, the school is pretty big, and even the old comers get lost from time to time." He said with a small smile on his face and I nodded my head.
Still embarrassed.
"I don't know you, why should I go with you?" I inquired, cautiously, pretty boy or not, safety first.
He chuckled in response as he shook his head while extending his hand towards me with a beautiful bright smile on his handsome face.
"I'm Aaron Marino."
✏️Word Count: 2745
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