"Oh no," I groggily murmured as I arose from my three hour nap.

Somehow, my wrist looked worse than it had before. The bruise was now dark and inflamed, and anyone close enough could see the fingernail indents engraved into my skin. I tenderly poked the injury, though quickly regretted it once I felt scathing pain.

My hazel eyes flickered over to the alarm clock on my bedside table. I was supposed to arrive at the diner about half an hour ago, though how could I possibly face my friends and risk them noticing my wrist?

I thoughtfully bit my lip and glanced at the beige, oversized hoodie hung up in my closet. Perhaps I could use that to conceal the horrendous bruise? The plan seemed foolproof enough, so I threw on the hoodie and ran downstairs.

"Where are you going?" Jo asked from the living room. She paused the housewives reality show she'd been watching to hear my response.

"Papa's Diner," I hollered while slipping on the first pair of sneakers I saw. "Try not to miss me!"

I was already out of the door before she could reply. By the time I'd reached the diner, another fifteen minutes had gone by. Nonetheless, I instantly noticed my friends seated in the corner of the retro restaurant.

I walked past the checkered walls, narrowly missing a waiter who roller skated past me.

"Sorry!" I squealed.

My friends recognized the sound of my voice and simultaneously looked up. Excited greetings were thrown my way.

"Ro!"

"Hey, Rose!"

"Flower."

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," I scooched into the red booth to sit next to Romano, while tucking my wild hair behind my ears.

"Is that my hoodie?" Romano peered at me with suspicion.

"Maybe," I shrugged. "Must be why it's so big."

He laughed and nudged my shoulder. From across the table, Antonio stared at us with a small frown.

"I already ordered your favorite," Lily pulled me out of my thoughts. "Strawberry milkshake with–"

"A double cheeseburger," Tabitha finished, "which Benny took a bite out of."

I gave Benny an accusatory stare, to which he merely shrugged. "Sorry. I thought you weren't coming."

"You don't look sorry."

"Because I'm not," he said.

I gaped at him while the rest of the group laughed.

"You know what? It's fine," I grinned. "You are my brother, after all."

Benny immediately scowled. "Step-brother. And they're not married yet."

"Who's not married?" Romano nosily inquired.

"Jo and Bob," I said.

"They're dating?"

"Mhm."

"What?" He was absolutely baffled. "How come you didn't tell us?"

"She did. Just not you," Antonio snorted at his cousin's misfortune.

I kicked Antonio in the shin and he winced before glaring at me.

"Sorry, it just never got brought up." I sheepishly glanced at Romano while sipping on my milkshake.

He pouted. "Alright, but I expect front row seats at the wedding."

"Who says you'll be invited?" Antonio asked.

Again, I kicked him under the table. He glowered at me and we engaged in a petty stare off. The other four looked at each other with inconspicuous grins, as if they knew something we didn't.

"That stare would be a lot more intimidating if you didn't have ketchup all over your mouth," Antonio sneered.

"And your hands," Benny added.

"My own brother," I gasped in mock betrayal.

"Ro, you're getting stains all over your–my–sweatshirt!" Romano laughed with a fond shake of his head.

I set down my burger and stared at my stained hands.

"I'm gonna head to the washroom and clean this up," I grimaced.

Antonio cackled at my disheveled appearance, so I purposely stomped on his foot on the way out. The smile instantly left his face and he gave me a dirty look, which I ignored. Meanwhile, the others resumed their idle chatter.

The noise of the diner faded once I entered the empty washroom. Glancing at myself in the mirror, I couldn't resist laughing at my appearance. Red ketchup was smeared around my mouth and nose from the burger that I'd so neatly devoured.

I tenderly rolled up the sleeves of my—or rather, Romano's—beige hoodie and thoroughly washed my hands, before dousing my face in water. I briefly dried myself off with some paper towel before heading out. When I made my way back to the table, I resumed my position next to Romano.

"All better," I grinned.

Each one laughed except Benny and Antonio.

"What happened to your wrist?" Antonio demanded.

I froze and quickly took my hand off of the table, cursing Antonio's observational skills. After washing my hands in the washroom, I'd forgotten to pull my sleeves back down. It was too late. They'd all seen the colossal mark on my wrist.

"Nothing," I looked down at my lap.

I could feel their skeptical eyes trained on me, wondering if the bruise was cause for concern. After all, they'd only caught a brief glimpse. Of course, that was until Romano lifted my arm back up for another look.

"Yikes!" he yelped.

A few people in the diner glanced our way. I wrenched my hand away from him, but by now, they'd all seen my swollen, red mess of a wrist. Concern danced along each of their faces in varying forms. Lily looked worried, Romano protective, Tabita inquisitive, and Antonio purely enraged. Benny's mouth dropped open and a piece of his burger fell out of it.

"That doesn't look like nothing," Antonio seethed, knitting his brows. I looked away from him.

Lily stared at me with wide blue eyes. "Where'd that come from?"

"I tripped over my shoelaces," I blandly stated. "Into a bush," I added.

"A bush," Tabitha doubtfully repeated.

"Your wrist has fingernail imprints. Last I checked, a bush doesn't have hands," Benny crossed his brawny arms.

"Who did that to you?" Antonio demanded one last time, staring at me with a fixated look.

"Alright," I flailed my arms. "I'll tell you, only if you promise not to do anything."

They waited in baited silence.

"Specifically you," I pointed at Antonio.

He pursed his lips. "I won't do anything."

I should've know that was a lie. Had the day at the movie theatre taught me nothing?

"Alright. Finn–"

"I'll kill him!" Antonio's jaw clenched as he swiftly stood up.

"You said you wouldn't do anything!" I incredulously stared at his fuming figure.

It was to no avail. He shrugged on his leather jacket and stalked out of the diner. I faced the others in horror.

"Don't worry about him, he's just gonna blow off some steam," Romano dismissed his cousin.

Tabitha and Benny nodded in agreement. After all, they'd known Antonio the longest. Though, Lily and I shared skeptical looks. They didn't see what we saw. The lethal look behind his eyes.

I'll kill him, Antonio's words echoed in my head. I shivered. For a moment there, he actually seemed serious.

"Now, about your wrist..." Romano sternly began.

I sighed, knowing there was no getting out of this.

"As I was saying—after school, I ran into Finn, Buzz, and Lance..." I launched off into explanation, watching as their faces slowly contorted into anger.

Though, no one looked nearly as furious as Antonio had seemed. I sincerely hoped he wasn't going to get himself into any trouble. Though, knowing him, that was highly unlikely.

• • •