"The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments. If you don't celebrate those, they can pass you by."

- Alek Wek

AS IRIS LEANED against the cold brick wall, the wind whipping her hair around her face, she wondered what her life would be like if her parents weren't rich.  A lot of the people she knew often took what they had for granted - loving parents, siblings that looked out for you. Money was commonly a prospect of desire, something that everyone mistakenly thought would be the pathway to happiness. Iris, however, was a walking example that money does not make you content - she knew that firsthand; she experienced it every day.

Iris didn't need money - not as much as her parents had, at least - what she needed was love. Affection. Some emotion from others to show that people cared for her. That she wasn't alone.

But of course, the members of The Sangue would never understand, because they had been brought up on the streets. They'd gone hungry for days. They'd been forced to steal to survive. Those that fight for a right to live would always feel that not having money is a limitation. That having it is the key.

Iris decided to avert her thoughts to something else. It was time to move on and accept that her life wasn't going to change - she had been upset for the whole week, anyway. After she was told the news of Davis' death, she had fallen into a pit of desolation, despair, and darkness. It was a feeling that she wanted to forget. 

The air felt cool on her face as she waited for Sniper to pick her up from the hospital. It was the first day that she had been out since the accident, and she didn't exactly feel any better. In fact, her wound was still painful: it was a constant ache to remind her of that fatal night, throbbing every few seconds like bursting waves from the ocean.

A couple walking into the hospital pretended not to have seen the blood marks on her shirt. The doctors had offered to give her a spare change of clothing, but she refused. To have someone give her them felt wrong. She had more than enough clothing at home - more than she wanted. Not to mention the fact that she'd have to throw them away, whatever the outcome. Having hospital clothes in her room would only serve as a reminder of her experience there, and that was something she never wanted to think about again.

When Sniper finally pulled up, her red lips - like a flower - parted into a toothy smile reaching her ears. It was good to see his face. It had been too long.

"What's up, boss?" He said as Iris opened the passenger door, ducking her head under the roof of the car.

Her smile grew wider. "So glad to get out of there. You wouldn't believe how boring it was."

"Well, you're here now." He replied. His hair seemed curlier than usual today, swept into a mess over his forehead. Sniper was a skinny boy: he had a fast metabolism, and he liked running often to exercise. Something about it clearing his head - Iris never really understood it.

Although he would call himself sporty, Sniper was more mentally fit. Anyone that knew him would argue that he was the most intelligent out of The Sangue; he could often steal without getting caught. In fact, Iris wasn't sure if he'd ever been caught, and Sniper stole a lot.

Her mind wandered to thoughts of Davis. "How's everyone coping? You know, since-"

"Yeah. Fine."

She watched him as eyes blazed like deep forests, hollows in a desolate sky. It was painful to watch anyone like this, let alone Sniper. He usually wore a crooked smile; his teeth peeping from his lips with a hint of mischief. But not today. It seemed not for a while. "But are you okay, Adam?"

Sniper flinched at the referral of his real name. Only his parents called him that. Everyone knew what it was, but nobody from The Sangue used it - he liked keeping the juxtaposition between ordinary life and the streets. But today Iris used it to show she cared, and that she understood, aware that Davis' death wasn't just part of their gang life; it now affected everything.

"I'm fine, Iris. Leave it out."

"Okay." She said softly. She didn't want to push him. Especially because he'd been the one to pick her up when she needed help, and now it was her time to give him a favour and let him revel in any other topic but Davis.

He cleared his throat. "So. You want any updates?"

"Please."

"Wrench has disappeared. Something about being in trouble with the police for dealing again, I don't know. Rex's sick because Leon gave him some uncooked chicken, and Scab got a girlfriend. Oh, and Rylan and I just got requested for a one-hundred quid deal."

"Scab got a girlfriend?" She asked, stuffing her hands into a skittles packet between the seats. Her stomach grumbled in gratitude. Hospital food was disgusting - she needed to savour the taste of delicious, unhealthy sugar before she was sent off to that stupid camp.

Sniper nodded. "Yeah. She's called Lulu, or something. Not sure if I like her yet, she's a bit uptight."

"And this deal you've got," Iris added, "You'll be safe, right?"

"Of course." He rolled his eyes as if talking to his mother. Sometimes Iris felt like she was their mother. "Revenant, you know me. When am I never safe?"

He made a point. By safety, Sniper meant staying hidden. And that was never an issue for Sniper. 

They finally lapsed into a comfortable silence, Iris watching the houses of her neighbourhood go by, enjoying the life outside thrive - something she hadn't been able to see in the hospital.

As they pulled up at her house, she turned to him with a look of anticipation in her eyes. "Sniper...I need you to cover for me."

"Cover what?"

"The Sangue." She replied. "While I'm gone."

Sudden surprise came like a full-blown rose, flushing his brow. "What? Gone where?"

"My parents visited me in hospital." She started quietly, resting her head back onto her chair. She didn't want to say it out loud. For if she did, it would mean that it was real. That it was actually going to happen. "They found out about everything, Sniper. They saw the wound. They know."

"So you're moving? They're allowed to just take you away like that?" A blast of hot air flew from his mouth in anger, his thin nose scrunching up on his face as a tendril of hair flew upwards.

"It's only temporary. Some camp for delinquents, or whatever." She sighed. "But yeah. They're allowed to do that."

Sniper groaned, punching the steering wheel. "That's bullshit, Iris, and you know it. Why don't you just...I don't know - poison them in their sleep?"

"You really think I could get away with that? Killing two of the richest people in the world without people finding out?"

"True." He shrugged. "But I could."

As they laughed, Iris began to turn around, opening her door to get out and return home. But just before she managed to move too far, Sniper grabbed her wrist with a flash of desperation.

She turned to him, meeting his fearful eyes. "Sniper? What's up?"

"Please come back." He said softly. An undefined sadness seemed to have fallen about him like a cloud. Strangely, Sniper seemed vulnerable at that moment, as small as a grain of sand, his mouth drooping in the corners as he stared back at her. "I need you to come back, Iris. I can't loose you too."

It was if her hug broke him down. As her arms wrapped around him, his whole soul wavered and shook like a wind-swept leaf, his body trembling in hers as she held him tightly.

She had never experienced anything like it, and that's what terrified her. She didn't want to leave him. Not like this.

"I miss him." He moaned, his tears beginning to wet her shirt. "I should have been there. I should have-"

She cut him off. "No. It's not your fault. We all could have done something, but none of us were the person holding that gun, okay? Listen to me. We weren't the one who pulled the trigger."

He nodded, but his face was still buried in her shirt. He felt fragile to her - a child in need of comfort, in need of somebody to let him know that he was going to be okay.

After a while, he seemed to calm down, his body beginning to become rigid and more stable again. When she let go, his face was still swollen and red from crying, but his expression was reserved and hostile.

"You good now?" She asked, reaching for the door again. Her feet found the ground and she breathed in the smell of freshly cut grass. Great. That meant her parents had cleaners today, and cleaners meant they were home.

Sniper sniffed. "Yeah."

"I'll call you!" She shouted, her voice clear and distinct in the open air, waving to him as he began to drive away.

But he was gone too fast, as unapproachable as a star far far away.

  ♥♥♥

The Giorgianni house was an epitome of a Hollywood mansion. It was unnecessarily large, had too many rooms, and was so overly decorated that Iris couldn't remember what it looked like underneath. Her mother loved a house that was extravagant - it was something to show off to any relatives or friends that visited. Alessandra Giorgianni was someone that liked competition, and someone that always won.

As the door shut behind Iris, she began to rush upstairs, hoping that her arrival was unnoticed.

Apparently not.

"You're home." Alessandra said, stepping out of the dining room and giving Iris a fright. She had her arms crossed, and her hair was pulled into such a tight ponytail that her face was lifted at the sides. She looked even more stern than Iris imagined, and that wasn't good.

Iris nodded, swivelling around slowly on her heels. "Yes. Well done. I'll be off then-"

"Off to pack your bags." Her mother replied, tilting her chin upwards in triumph. "You have an hour. We have scheduled a driver to drive you to the airport, and then you're on a plane to Florida to that camp."

Iris' heart sank, the hope beginning to fade in her eyes. A dull, irritated feeling began to spread in her chest, and she didn't like it. She scowled. "You're really going to send me there?"

Her mother sneered. "You're really going to argue? Go and pack your bags. Now."

Iris was too drained to fight back. All she wanted was to think about something other than her parents. Something to take her mind off them.

With a deep inhale to control her anger, she rushed upstairs to her room, grabbing a suitcase and stuffing in her possessions. She emptied her draws, her cupboards, and the bookshelves that held her beloved books. She took everything but the things that reminded her of home.

At the bottom of her wardrobe, a small rabbit toy came to her attention. It was fluffy, soft, and had big green eyes that stared back at her. She recognised it instantly; it was given to her by Matteo, who had walked all the way to the toy store just to buy it for her when she was six. She had loved it, just as she had once loved him.

Loneliness struck her like a blow, and a tear slipped out of her eye, dribbling down her cheek. She wiped it angrily off her face, throwing the rabbit across the room. Why did they make her feel this way?

Why was she was the one getting the consequences?

  ♥♥♥

The journey to the airport was long and dull. Harold, her family's driver, made frequent attempts to cheer her up, but it was no use. Iris was in a foul mood, and nothing could change that.

Especially not the fact that she was on her way to quite possibly one of the worst ordeals that she would ever have to go through. To her, the idea of it was so terrible that she would have preferred to be at the hospital.

Anything over some stupid camp that will attempt to 'rehabilitate' me. She thought to herself.
Wait. Wait! Is that was this is? I'm going to rehab? My parents are forcing me to go to rehab? 

"Harold?" She called. "Am I going to rehab?"

He chuckled. "No. I can't imagine it being that gruelling. It's just a camp for troubled teens. I wouldn't worry about it."

But Iris was worrying about it. She worried about it for the rest of the car journey, even after Harold tried to console her when they arrived at her plane's boarding gate. "They'll pick you up at the airport. You know in the movies where there are those people holding signs with your name on? That will be them. You'll be fine."

She even worried on the plane, sat next to a large man that kept snoring every five minutes. She worried as the plane set off, as it landed, and when she finally stepped out onto American grounds, eyes squinting at the strong rays of sun.

Oh, man. I really don't want to do this. She kept walking, keeping her eyes low on the ground. Maybe the camp people will have forgotten and I can go home. I can call Harold, and they'll schedule a plane to pick me up, and they'll apologise so much that they'll never neglect me again. Maybe it's a test - maybe my parents have just set this up to see if I'd actually go there without running away? Maybe-

Her eyes fell upon a woman that held a sign saying: IRIS GIORGIANNI! WELCOME TO CAMP JUVY, FLORIDA!

She wanted to throw up.

Somehow, the woman seemed to recognise that Iris was the girl she was looking for. Perhaps it was because Iris looked about as interested as a sloth - which was not very interested at all.

Iris guessed that most of the children who had previously arrived at Camp Juvy could probably relate to her feelings right now: depressed and drained. In all honesty, she doubted anyone had ever looked excited to go to a rehab camp. Who would? They'd have to be an idiot.

The woman was waving her hands frantically in the air, grinning at Iris. She had big, flowing curly brown hair and a freckled face. Her wonky teeth and disproportionate facial features also drew Iris' attention as she searched for flaws. She immediately didn't like this woman, therefore she wanted to scrutinise her. She wasn't in the mood to socialise, and apparently this woman was.

"Hiya! Are you Iris?" The woman said as Iris drew to a stop in front of her. She smiled again. "I'm Lisa, your guide to Camp Juvy for today! Are you excited?"

Iris' face remained about as expressionless as a rock. "Not really, no."

"You will be!" The woman laughed as if she had made a joke. "Come on, follow me. We're off to the best experience of your life!"

Iris groaned.

This was going to be a long day.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
AUTHORS NOTE: Heyaaaa!

Can I just say that I feel so honoured to have so much love from the readers of this book. It's amazing being able to share my work to people across the world that actually care. So thank you, truly.

So here is a little thanks from me :)

♡Shoutouts♡

❥ @nusika_ for loving this book already from the very start! You are amazingggg!

❥ @TitaniumPrime for being so kind and making me smile! Thank you thank you thank you! It means a lot!

❥ And finally, my Liberian gal, the one and only @BookMyThoughts !! You are incredible! Thank you for supporting me sooo much - this shoutout really doesn't give you justice seeing as the book doesn't have that many reads but I can't even begin to say how much everything you've said and done means to me. Not to mention how much of an amazing author you are!

Please please please if you're reading this follow them, read their books, vote for their books, do your thang! Give them the love back that they deserve!

♥ ♡ ♥ ♡

So, back onto the note!

I keep updating really late but that's because I think find I write better at night? Not really sure why.... maybe it's because there's no distractions?

Also, I realised that I always sound so enthusiastic on wattpad. I keep using exclamation marks like, ALL THE TIME. What is wrong with me?

Anyways! How do you like it so far? I'm super excited to get into the whole "Camp Juvy" experience- sorry it's taking so long for y'all to meet our boy Levi!

He's on his way m'dears! I.e. THE NEXT CHAPTER!

Also there will be an update tomorrow! (Hopefully)!

Love always,