Rules

POV: Elena

To say that I managed to sleep would be a lie. Eloisa's words and the upcoming conversation with my brothers in the office made me anxious.

The fact that on the first day I'm here I already have problems is almost comical. Eloisa knew that I have a smoking habit, she was smart enough to connect the dots and tell one of the boys.

And now she's probably laughing at me while sleeping soundly in her room.

I've always wondered why she hates me so much? My parents were never abusive to her and I appreciate that, but she didn't need to hate me, after all I was the one who suffered both from her and from my punishments.

I remember one time when she broke a glass and our father was furious, but she quickly blamed me. My father hit me right there while she watched smiling.

From that moment on I never trusted her again, because I know she was just like them. After all, they were the same family.

I push those thoughts away and get up to start the day. I'll have to face them one way or another.

In the bathroom, I take off my clothes and assess my wounds. Eloisa has opened the cut on my shoulder a little wider that I got from not making dinner on time. My other wounds are marks from burns or belts that are slowly healing.

A little blood trickles out when I poke at one of the wounds and wipe it away quickly. I look at the blood on the paper and wrinkle my nose. I have a problem with blood, not my own, but other people's.

I see that all the other wounds are healing well and I get ready to go downstairs.

"Good morning Elena," Lorenzo greets me as soon as I enter the kitchen.

Only he and Sandro are here, I realize that I came down too early for breakfast.

"Good morning," I reply and go to the refrigerator, but stop before opening it. "Can I eat something?"

I still don't know what the rules are here, whether the punishments include not eating or beatings. So I decided to ask.

Bad idea.

Lorenzo looks at me as if he wants to kill someone while Sandro has a dark but no less murderous look.

"Why do you ask?" Sandro's voice is very calm.

"Because it's not my house" I simply answer "So what?"

"This is your house Elena, like it or not" Leonardo says entering the kitchen and taking Lorenzo away from the assessment he is making of me.

"You don't have to ask when you want to take something, like Leonardo said, this is your house too" Lorenzo says reading every expression and gesture of mine.

I don't know who is more dangerous, him or Vicente. And speaking of the devil.

I notice Vicente standing at the entrance to the kitchen with his arms crossed watching everything. He stops at me while I try to act normal.

The tension breaks when Luca and Eloisa enter the kitchen excitedly. She laughs exaggeratedly at something Luca says.

I see Leonardo make a face at her laughter and it almost makes me laugh. Well, at least one of them knows who she really is.

I sit down with a sandwich and a glass of juice. Eloisa convinces Sandro, who was making his own breakfast, to make pancakes for her and Luca.

The others are silent as they eat, and I'm grateful for that, because my head is starting to hurt.

"Elena, how did you sleep?" Eloisa's voice could be mistaken for a bell, it's so annoying.

"Perfectly fine, not that you really care," I say, taking a bite of the last piece of my sandwich.

"Calm down, I was just trying to be nice," she says, pretending to be hurt.

"You didn't have to be so rude, Elena," Luca says and comforts Eloisa, who is faking it perfectly.

I roll my eyes and stand up, fed up with standing there watching this.

"Elena, let's talk," Lorenzo says, also standing up, "I'll send for you, Eloisa, when I'm done talking to her."

He doesn't wait for an answer before he leaves.

We go up to the second floor and enter a wing I had missed while exploring.

He opens the door to his office and tells me to sit in the chair facing his desk. I do as he says and watch as he unbuttons two buttons of his suit before finally sitting down.

He takes my joints out of the drawer and places them on the desk and then looks at me, waiting for an explanation.

"If you're expecting me to apologize, that's not going to happen," I say calmly and lean back in my chair.

"I want an explanation of where you got this," his voice is deep and angry.

I smile at him as if to show him that this tone of voice doesn't work on me.

"It doesn't matter how I got it, since I obviously won't have it anymore," I reply, he looks at me angrily and then takes a deep breath to calm himself.

"Is that the only drug you do?" he asks and I can't help but laugh, "I'm not kidding, Elena."

I wipe away a tear that falls and nod at him.

"Words, I want you to answer me with words" he says still irritated.

"Yes, Lorenzo is the only drug I use" I say smiling and he sighs.

My smile fades as I observe my brother more closely. He looks tired and almost always irritated, but in his eyes I see something like relief and guilt.

"You're grounded, I want your electronics on my desk before lunch and your bedtime is now 10pm" he says and I'm shocked.

"Is that it?" I ask really confused.

He looks at me and then his eyes darken.

"What else did you expect? We're not monsters, Elena," he says deadly, and this time I shiver.

"I can recognize monsters, Lorenzo," I admit darkly. He stares at me, trying to see something I'm not telling him. "Are we done?"

"I want to talk to you separately from Eloisa," he says, and I'm on alert. "Since it's clear that you two have very different behaviors, the rules will be different for both of you."

I smile at him wryly.

"Rules, are you serious?" I ask.

"You've shown me by your behavior that they are very necessary here," he says and takes a piece of paper from his desk drawer.

I read each of the rules carefully:

Elena's Rules:

1. No drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes.

2. Bedtime 10 p.m.

3. High grades in school, a tutor if needed, let them know.

4. Always listen to your older siblings and obey them.

5. Give direct verbal answers.

6. Never lie.

7. If you have a problem, let your siblings know.

8. Do not go into the basement without permission.

9. Disrespect and bad behavior will not be tolerated.

10. No boys.

11. Whenever you want to leave, ask permission and tell them where you are going.

"I can't guarantee that I will be able to do all of them, but I will try," I say, looking at the sheet of paper with disinterest.

Lorenzo sighs and runs a hand through his hair, fed up.

"We just want you to feel comfortable here," he says, not bothering to control his anger this time.

"I didn't ask to be here, Lorenzo. I didn't ask any of you to take me in," I reply in the same tone.

"You didn't ask, but we are your family," he yells and I

laugh bitterly.

"That word means nothing to me," I say and get up to leave. "Maybe you should have thought better of it before taking us in."