Gemma's POV:
SIX MONTHS LATER
What was it about sad endings that made me smile? Was it the idea that people were their most honest, their most pure and brutal selves when they saw their world crumbling around them? Perhaps the appeal lay in the conclusion, permanent and irreversible. I would sooner have the answers to the question of whether humans invented math or discovered it.
Maybe whatever fate, whatever god ruling over us with a steady hand and impervious heart decided to leave such inquiries unanswered and unsolved, allow longing hearts to search fruitlessly for an explanation.
When I woke up, groaning from pain and blubbering to my fretting brothers about how much I loved them and how I didn't want to die, I was left with question after question. What happened to Daniel? What happened to our mother? How were we to continue with such a setback, one that had nearly killed me?
I'd been reassured swiftly, my brother's easy descriptions of that day putting me at ease. Daniel had received a bullet to the head in a fit of rage, Sinclair's aim tried and true. My mother was still alive, being treated to the finest luxuries Damian could afford. Of course, in my brother's vocabulary, that meant she was being tortured until they got tired of listening to her scream and cry.
I won't lie. I laughed.
I'd visited her once, under the careful watch of Tobias. He'd rarely left my side since the incident, much like Zion. She'd begged for her release, promising she'd leave and never return and pleading, hopeful that I had a sliver of mercy in my heart dedicated to her.
I smiled at her before slapping her across the face. I walked out, leaving her sobbing behind me. That was the last I heard of her until Damian came up from the basement one day with bloodied hands, a grin on his face that spoke volumes on how exactly she died, and told us all her screams would no longer echo through the halls of our home.
Zion and Tobias babied me after I was released from the hospital, turning into complete mother hens whenever I so much as made a noise of discomfort, which, with a stitched up hole in my shoulder, was never ending. Damian had taken it upon himself to turn any and every threat to me, to ash. He hadn't been in the hospital room when I woke up, much to my chagrin, and he'd been missing for two weeks before he suddenly reappeared in the kitchen one morning, making omelets as if nothing had happened.
Zion told me that Damian had checked in on me almost every hour on the dot, but was consumed by guilt and unable to face me. I kicked Damian in the shin when I saw him, then hugged him and demanded he never leave me again if he really wanted to make up for it. He promised and hadn't left me since.
Sinclair, my teddy-bear of a brother, went completely feral while I was in the hospital. Rumor had it he'd taken over three gangs, helped Damian finish off the Ukrainian mafia, and destroyed the Mexican cartel Daniel had run. Since waking up, he'd acted like nothing had changed. He'd been the only one to treat me normally and it was refreshing, not that I had any complaints about how the other three treated me.
I'd started school and promptly dropped out. Thirteen year olds were possibly the most immature people in the world, even worse than kindergartners. And that was saying something.
I'd decided to take a break from school, not that my schooling career had lasted very long. And that wasn't the only change.
Not long after I'd recovered from the gunshot wound and starting physical therapy, Tobias had taken me clothes shopping to restock my wardrobe. While shopping wasn't my favorite thing to do, having an unlimited supply of money certainly made it a lot more fun. The first place I'd gone was the dress store where Juno worked. I'd told her that I'd been in an accident shortly after the ball and that my gorgeous dress hadn't survived.
She helped me find another dozen dresses to make up for it. When Tobias saw how wonderful she and I got along, he asked her to help me shop for the rest of the day. She'd agreed instantly. She took the rest of the day off and helped me to spend more money than I wanted to think about.
Tobias and her got along so amazingly I started plotting. I'd asked if she could work for us, preferably in house, and he'd agreed. She was technically my babysitter, but everyone knew she was more my personal assistant than anything else. With her chaos addled mind, I was more her babysitter than she mine.
It didn't take long until Tobias found himself asking her out on a date. I pat myself on the back for their sickeningly adorable relationship.
"Gemma, you coming?" Damian asked, rapping a knuckle against my door. I put my pencil down and nodded, smiling happily as I bounced out of my seat. He laughed at my enthusiastic reaction but I didn't say anything, too busy slipping my sneakers on.
Ice cream was life.
Juno and Tobias were in quiet conversation when we made it downstairs. Zion was on the phone, speaking rapidly in what sounded to be Swahilian and Sinclair was leaning against the wall, arms crossed lazily. I skipped down the steps, Damian not far behind.
"I'm ready! Let's go!" I shouted, jumping the last few steps. Sinclair and Tobias surged forward, ready to catch me should I stumble. Juno laughed at their protectiveness and I joined her, grabbing at both Sinclair and Zion's hands with Damian right behind me.
Tobias and Juno were in front of us. She was holding onto his elbow, poking fun at how he acted like a mother bear around me. I couldn't help but silently agree with her.
The idea to go for ice cream came suddenly and unexpectedly. Juno had poised the question at breakfast and Tobias had nodded far too quickly for me to not be suspicious. It's not like he was a health nut or anything, but he didn't typically approve of ice cream at breakfast.
The parlor was cute, all polka dotted pinks and purples and pastel yellow. Let's just say my brothers stood out. Juno and I raced each other to the front door, but I'm pretty sure she let me win. I got cookie-dough on top of a scoop of cotton candy in a waffle cone because I'm not a monster.
*cough* Zion, mint chocolate chip in a bowl*cough*
"So what's the occasion?" I asked, licking at ice cream that had melted and made its way onto my hand. Sinclair handed me a napkin, smiling fondly when I frowned.
Damian cocked his head at me, licking his fork clean of his gelato. And, yes, I said fork. He ate his strawberry gelato on a fork and I wasn't sure why. I wasn't brave enough to ask, either.
"You can tell me pi to the thousandth decimal point from memory but you don't remember your own birthday?" He asked, pulling out a pretty velvet, black box with red and gold trimmings. I gasped, choking on my bite of cone. Zion patted me on the back, pulling the water he'd bought forward so I could take a sip.
"Yeah, I forgot. Happy thirteenth to me, I guess?" I chuckled sheepishly, shrugging as I continued to eat my ice cream. I finished it quickly, wiped my sticky fingers, and started to unlock the expensive looking case.
Inside was a beautiful necklace, a oval sort of blue diamond set between two clear cut diamonds. I'd mentioned in passing to Damian that I wanted a really pretty necklace to wear so I felt elegant and sophisticated around my brother's employees and associates. It made me feel all warm and mushy inside that he'd remembered something I'd said months ago.
I looked at the thick card attached. Huh. The Oppenheimer Blue Diamond.
I'd have to look it up later. Looked expensive.
Zion slid me a much larger present, wrapped in paper covered in chemical equations. I looked over a couple of the equations, pleased to find they were correct. I tore open the paper, grinning excitedly when I realized he'd gifted me a computer.
"Made it myself. It's more secure than any government out there and has all four of our cards information programmed so you don't have to ask if you want anything now." He explained with a smug smile.
I knew his gift had a deeper meaning. He was giving me freedom without expectations. He was telling me I was free to do as I wished with my brother's full support from now on and I teared up at the thought.
Sinclair tapped my shoulder, causing me to turn to him before I could thank either brother. He shoved a box under my nose and I took it with gentle fingers. Something in my gut told me this was a fragile gift that I needed to be careful with. It wasn't wrapped, just shoved in a random cardboard box. I opened the flaps and gasped so hard my throat burned.
The Codex Leicester by Leonardo da Vinci!
Holy mother of everything sweet and spicy.
I could feel myself going into shock as I cuddled the book close to my chest. I was never letting this go. Ever. Like, never. Oh my God. I wasn't moving because if I moved, there was a possibility of damaging it and I would never do that and oh my God-
Sinclair taking the box from me broke me from my thoughts. I almost hissed at him, only letting it go so I didn't damage it.
"I'll give it back, sweetheart, but you need to open Tobias's present." He jerked his chin towards Tobias who looked put out that I'd forgotten about his gift.
He handed me an envelope. The shock was wearing off and my curiosity hit me like a train. I carefully opened the envelope and slid out a couple of pieces of printer paper. On them were names of schools, from Harvard to Oxford to Tsinghua University in Beijing and more. I looked at my eldest brother, hoping for clarification.
"Those are all of the best colleges in the world. Whenever you want to go, you just hand me the card and then pack a bag." He said, nodding to the papers in my hand. It felt like my heart dropped into my stomach when I looked down at the M.I.T card.
All of a sudden, this gift was far more precious, far more expensive, far more thoughtful than it'd been a couple of minutes ago.
I think I squeaked.
"And my lame gift gets to go last," Juno shot my brother's an impressive side-eye look. "Here you go, babes." She handed me a gift bag stuffed with tissue paper. I tore the paper from the bag, completely content with just that part, but frowned when all I pulled out was a blue and grey collar.
I jumped in my seat as the realization hit me. I whipped my head up so fast to look at Juno that my neck popped.
"Are you serious?" I whispered. I could hear Zion muttering curses under his breath but I paid him absolutely no attention as Juno nodded.
"My cousin runs a non-killing shelter for protection dogs, the breeds that no one wants because they're too big or too scary looking. He also offers protection training courses. I figured me and you could go one day and pick someone out." She said with a half smile.
And to think, all I got for my birthday was a death threat and a beating.
I jumped excitedly in my seat, tears welling up in my eyes as I hugged the collar to my chest. I was more than excited to get a fuzzy friend, someone I could cuddle who would also protect me. My brother's always pushed me off and complained when I cuddled them.
"Thank you so much! All of you." I sobbed, rubbing at my eyes with the ends of my sweatshirt.
Everyone started to coo at me, telling me that it was less than I deserved and that they were happy to do something so meaningful for me. That only made me cry harder.
For the first birthday I ever celebrated, it blew all of my expectations out of the water. That night, once we got home, just before I drifted off to sleep, I thanked whatever God was out there that I was able to live this life. While the beginning was horrific, filled with pain and terror and loss, the middle of my story, the part where I was brought into a family that loved me more than life itself, made it okay.
But just as like other story, the time to end this story has come.
I suppose it's a little sad to think about the ending. But, as we all know, stories are never really over. They live forever in our hearts and our minds, breathing joy and sadness into our lives just like good friends. I guess some people are wondering what the point of this story was. I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm not sure, but it's my story. My story with my four brothers. And, boy, has it been a crazy one. But, in the end, it's all been worth it.
GEMMA'S BIRTHDAY PRESENTS:
The Oppenheimer Blue Diamond: $57.5 million
The Codex Leicester by Leonardo da Vinci: $54.4 million
Fully Trained Protection Dog: $35,000