Halloween was scary this year.

Aside from all the problems with some weird Russian mob man chasing me, other horrors occurred.

Firstly, Delilah Scott lost her voice. My music club was in charge of the music at the annual Halloween party at our school. We would mostly play from a disk but we had planned one live performance. Delilah was our singer but she lost her voice and couldn't sing.

August being the stupid bitch that he was, told Mrs Hall that I could fall in for Delilah. I was only supposed to play the keyboard but now I also had to sing. It's not like I have stage fright or anything but it was a party for all grades, meaning my stupid brothers were going to come and see me.

The last couple of weeks went by normally. I got closer to Victor and the twins were trying hard to act like actual brothers. I think that they were genuine with their apologies but I couldn't forget.

I became excellent at avoiding Silas. Though, today I couldn't avoid it. Not when Hector called us down to the dining room. Silas, Theo, and Hector sat together at the head of the table with five envelopes.

Report cards.

Normally, they mean nothing. Diana, my old mom, really didn't give a fuck and only signed them because of school policies. So it made me not care much for them but I could tell that they took them seriously in this house.

"If I see any bad grades, you little punks, you can say goodbye to your cars and use public transportation for two months." Silas warned the twins.

"We did our best this time!" Nicolas protested.

Hector opened theirs first and simply nodded. But that nod made Nicolas jump up with joy. Leonardo rolled his eyes at his twin. I guess they love their car.

"You did excellent as usual, buddy."

The only time I've ever seen Hector act soft was towards Victor. No one was rude or mean to Victor. They all treated him with care and so much love.

Which he fully deserves.

"Thank you." His cheeks were red.

Amelia was next and I was last. I didn't mind because Amelia clearly looked more stressed than me. She studies a lot, like until midnight every day and even on the weekends. I think that it's good that she takes school seriously, but this is just too extreme.

If you have to study every single day of the week, then you were doing something wrong.

Not to mention how draining that must be.

"Your math grades aren't improving." Hector commented.

She paled and grabbed the card from his hand. I felt bad for her. She tried really hard. I'd get frustrated as well. But then again, she didn't even have bad grades.

Her average was an A and lowest a B.

"You're failing PE?" Silas mocked me when Hector opened my card.

Honestly, it made me laugh. I've been failing at PE since the very beginning. I just don't have one athletic bone in my body.

"How can you even fail PE?" Nicolas laughed.

"You can when you can't even run one single lap." Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Running is for losers." I spread my hands out.

It was the truth. You cannot tell me that people who are running don't look like the biggest idiots ever.

"Come on, tesoro! You only have A+'s. It would be good if you turned that one F into an A+ as well. Don't you think?" Theo smiled encouragingly.

"You can't want the impossible. Me getting an A+ at PE is as likely as Nicolas saying that he isn't hungry." I pointed out.

Nicolas threw me an indignant look but it was the truth. The guy was always hungry, he was even eating ice cream right now.

"Get the grade up, Elena," Hector spoke.

"I just said-"

"I want all straight A's from you." He cut me off.

I scoffed and leaned back in my seat.

"Why don't you ask the same of the others?"

I've asked him this question before. He'd told me that he only expects this from me. That was just unfair!

"Get the grade up." He repeated.

"Did you just not hear me ask you a question?" I demanded annoyed.

He ignored me. So I decided to bully him.

Hehe.

Karma, bitch.

"Do we need to go visit the doctor, cause your hearing is getting bad, old man?"

The twins held back their laughter while Hector gave me a stern look.

"Since you clearly need to work on your stamina, I asked Silas to train you."

"Watch it, old man." I warned him.

His cold eyes bored into mine.

"Tesoro, this is for your good. It's important to take good care of your body. Silas can help you with that." Theo cupped my cheek.

I glared at my muscular older brother. He was grinning like a devil and it made me even madder. How was I supposed to survive lessons with him?

"We're going to have a lot of fun, brat."

Newsflash.

We didn't.

The next morning, this asshole woke me up at the crack of dawn. He forced me into some clothes for exercising which weren't mine. I didn't own any because I never exercised. So he burrowed those from Amelia.

Now he was watching me lay on the ground completely out of breath. He had forced me on the treadmill and I could only keep it up for a minute.

"That was pathetic." He commented.

I was so out of breath that I couldn't even respond. So I just flipped him off. He grabbed my middle finger and yanked me off the ground with a dark glare.

We stood too close. I flinched when he raised his other hand. He had me alone now. He was going to get revenge for making Victor upset. I've managed to avoid him successfully but now I was stuck with him.

"What the fuck?" He demanded.

I kept my eyes shut tightly.

His two hands came up to my face and he cupped it so I would look up at him. His eyebrows were furrowed with frustration.

"Why did you flinch? Did you think that I would hit you?"

"I made Victor cry-"

"Fuck, kid, I'm not angry with you. I was just worried for Vic and that makes me grumpier than usual."

He looked sincere. He'd looked so angry and I really thought that he was going to hurt me.

"Listen. I'm mean to you but that doesn't mean that I would ever hurt you. I'd rather shoot myself than ever hurt you. You're my baby sister, whether you like it or not."

Sheesh, why did I prefer his grumpy attitude over this one?

I was just too awkward to know how to deal with it. He was being extremely nice but that just confused me.

"I'm not a baby, you muscle man." I snapped.

That made him grin.

"You are. But I suppose babies are faster than you." He commented.

"Running is for losers," I commented.

He rolled his eyes and pointed at the treadmill again. I groaned out loud but I soon learned that Silas was a no-bullshit trainer. By the end of our session, I was sweating and exhausted.

How was I going to survive a full day of school?

//////////////////

"Tesoro, you'll suffocate while wearing that?" Theo commented when I showed him my Halloween costume.

It was an inflatable dinosaur suit. This was one of the options I'd picked out with Cecelia and Eunha. We were going to match our costumes but on the contrary to me, they did not have to get their costumes approved first. I wasn't allowed to wear anything too sexy or showing.

So I thought that this would be a good choice. Apparently not.

"How are you going to perform wearing that?!" Nicolas laughed.

"What? I'll look fucking awesome!" I pointed out.

A girl in an inflatable dinosaur costume singing a ballad?

Fucking iconic.

"Language," Hector warned me.

We sat around the dining table. I was showing Theo all my options while eating the delicious casserole Greta made for us. Hector was working on his iPad while eating and occasionally scolding me for cursing.

"You need to look pretty on stage, Elle," Victor told me.

"You'll look like an idiot either way," Amelia commented.

She was in an awful mood because Theo didn't approve of her cat woman costume. It was a true fight that was quite amusing to see. She was pulling all the tricks out of her sleeve, including the puppy eyes, pouting and crying. But Theo was like a brick wall. He's a sweetheart until it comes to his little siblings dressing up too sexy.

"Sheesh, who peed in your cereal this morning?" I muttered.

Amelia didn't even eat cereal. She was one of those people who believed carbs were her biggest enemy. They weren't. Food is fuel and cutting one nutrient out entirely is not healthy.

"Girls." Theo interrupted before another one of our fights could erupt.

Amelia and I were like cat and mouse. We couldn't stay in a room without fighting. Last night, we argued over math homework. I did it late at night because I like to procrastinate, but she was still working on it. She came into my room and demanded to see my answers.

I'm usually the one to show my answers but I don't like her, so I didn't. Which resulted in her grabbing my homework and ripping it apart.

That really wasn't going to be a believable excuse for my teacher.

So I slapped her and then we were fighting. I'm very sad to confess that she was stronger than me. She was an experienced fighter and I just modelled what I saw on tv or those self-defence videos.

Silas heard the commotion and came in to pull us apart. Then we were sent up to Hector's office.

He had a new MacBook.

I was tempted to destroy that one as well but maybe another time.

"This one is cute." Theo had scrolled down the page on my phone.

He ended up at a picture of a sheep costume. It was the same one so many babies wear but only this one was for adults.

"No, I'll look like a baby!" I protested.

"You are a baby." He kissed my cheek.

I scoffed loudly and grabbed my phone back. I went back to my list and smiled at my next option.

"What about Shrek?"

I would be Shrek, Cecelia would be Fiona, and Eunha would be baby Felicia. Eunha truly is our child, so this really would work out well.

"No! You're not going to embarrass me!" Amelia whined loudly.

"You have no trouble doing that yourself already." I snapped back.

Her ears turned red but before she could start screaming at me, Hector spoke up.

"You're not going as an ogre."

I was surprised that he knew what Shrek was. I couldn't even imagine Hector as a child. Did he also wear suits then?

I'm going to say yes.

He grabbed my phone while I protested. All the options that I've given weren't sexy, exactly what they wanted.

"This one."

Angel. An angel costume. I frowned slightly but there was no room for discussion.

It wasn't the worst thing ever, but after that night, I'll never think of angels the same way.

////////////////////

When I came on stage, I felt nervous. I've never sung before a crowd. This was my first time. My eyes scanned the crowd and I spotted my friends. They were cheering me on and I felt a rush of confidence run through me.

I can do this.

My hands moved to the piano and I started the song. As soon as people noticed that it was a ballad, they grabbed someone to dance with. The dance floor started to fill with couples. One of those couples was Amelia and Chase Graham. He was a junior and captain of the hockey team.

Basically Mr Popular.

I don't like Amelia, I truly don't, but I don't like the way he holds her. Amelia was dressed as a fairy and looked absolutely stunning. She was probably the most beautiful girl in our school. Chase knew that, he knew that very well.

His hands were on her hips, but they kept coming down.

She kept pulling them up. That's where you get me fucked up. If a girl is uncomfortable, read the fucking room, you asshole! Some guys truly and purposefully ignore those signs of discomfort only to say later on that they didn't know.

Biggest bullshit that I've ever heard.

Leonardo was here with Nicolas. They stood at the side while drinking. They were looking at me with grins and Nicolas was filming the whole thing. At first, I wanted to choke him when he mentioned it but then he explained that it was for Victor, so I let him do it.

Victor has social anxiety. He gets scared and anxious in big crowds and it often leads to him having panic attacks. So he didn't come to the school party.

My eyes caught Leonardo's and I pointed at Amelia with my chin.

Come on, let the overprotective brother side come out.

He followed my gaze and his grin immediately dropped. I watched him storm over and pull Amelia in his arms before snapping something at Chase. I couldn't really focus all too well because I was still singing but when the song was done and I received cheers, I noticed how serious the situation got.

Leonardo flew on Chase and started to beat the shit out of him. I stood back and watched because in no way would I ever help Chase or get myself involved in a fight.

I'm not a pick me girl.

If boys fight, you walk the other way.

Believe me, it's just natural selection.

Nicolas hurried over, only to take Amelia away. I walked off stage to be greeted by my friends. They cheered me on but we were all watching Leonardo beat Chase to pulp. Some of his friends tried to get Leonardo to stop, but he was a beast.

Whatever Chase said or did, he pissed off the wrong person.

"Your brother is hot," August told me.

I scrunched my nose in disgust.

"How can you find that attractive?" Eunha muttered in shock while gaping at Leonardo throwing punches.

August just shrugged his shoulders and grinned. I rolled my eyes and noticed that Nicolas was coming over with Amelia. She looked so pale that I thought she would faint any second.

"Let's go, Elena. We have to go." He insisted.

I sighed. The teachers were already getting involved, so that meant Leonardo was going to get kicked out of the party. I wasn't allowed to attend the party alone, so I'll have to go home with them.

"I'll see you guys Monday!" I waved at my friends.

I wanted to dance more with them but I had to go home. I followed my older brother outside. Ian was there leaning against his car. He'd been driving me ever since the day he got employed as my bodyguard. I trusted the twins more but I enjoyed Ian's driving over theirs. And I also got to pick up Eunha and August every morning, so that was fun!

"Take them home immediately," Nicolas ordered Ian who nodded.

Nicolas handed me Amelia and told me that he was going to get Leonardo. I helped Amelia in the car but she suddenly grabbed my arm so hard that it would bruise.

"I'm going to throw up." She muttered.

I made her lean forward and held her hair back. She threw up on the ground and Ian hurried to the back of the car for tissues and a bottle of water. I don't know why she was throwing up but I had a feeling it had something to do with Chase.

Maybe I should go beat him up too.

Ugh, men.

"Here have some water." Ian handed her the bottle after she stopped throwing up.

Her hands were shaking, so I took the bottle and opened it for her. I held it up against her lips and made her drink small sips. She still looked so pale and we had to quickly get home.

But then the night truly became terrifying.

I heard a gunshot and it sent shivers down my spine. A body fell and when I looked down to the floor, I gasped. Amelia's vomit was mixed up with a dark red colour, blood.

Ian laid next to the car with a gunshot to his leg. A scream escaped my mouth. He was groaning in pain and I tried to help him but he shook his head.

"Get in the car and lock the door. Now!"

I followed his instructions. I closed the door on Amelia and sprinted to the front seat so that I could take the keys, but someone stopped me. I was rammed against the car as a body fully pressed upon me. The man was big and muscular.

My biggest nightmare.

He had dark brown hair and eyes and wore a psychotic grin. His large, calloused hand came up to my face as he grabbed my chin tightly.

"There you are, my little angel. Do you know how long I've been waiting for you?"

I immediately knew who this was. The man I was supposed to get married to next year.

Ronan.