Enzo

When Papa didn't hit me for a whole month, it felt strange. For a split second, I thought about purposely getting lower marks on a test just to see how Papa would react. Then I remembered Ava. I needed to defeat her. I pulled out my books to do homework. I used to have a homework-free life. But because of Ava, I had to do all the homework and school projects now, which wasn't fun at all. I even stopped messing with Nick, my tutor. Nick was so happy about my change. He tried to be friendly with me, and honestly, he was a pretty nice guy. So, I decided not to be mean to him. He was better than my school teachers, after all.

Papa was sitting on the couch, reading something, while I worked on my homework. After finishing my math assignment, I felt too lazy to start the rest. So, I grabbed a cushion, placed it on Papa's lap, and lay down on the couch, resting my head on it.

"Why don't you sleep in bed?" he asked, gently stroking my hair.

"Let's watch a movie," I suggested, and I picked one to play. As the film started, I felt myself drifting off to sleep.

The next day, the gardener was furious about the missing roses. To me, they were just roses. What's the big deal? Still, I was called to the principal's office.

"Lorenzo, do you know why I asked you to come to my office?" he asked.

"I can't read your mind," I retorted. The principal's expression shifted.

"You still don't know how to respect," he snapped.

"I'm serious. I can't read your stupid mind," I insisted.

"Sit down," he ordered, his voice rising. I complied.

"Why did you pluck all the roses?" he demanded.

"I didn't," I denied.

"Well, it's on the CCTV. Looks like I have to inform your brother," he stated.

"That can't be me. How can you be sure it's me?" I challenged.

"Are you kidding me, Lorenzo?" he asked, growing more frustrated.

"I'm pretty sure it's not me. You're trying to frame me for something I didn't do," I insisted.

He looked at me with surprise. "Look at this, then, you spoiled brat," he growled angrily, turning his laptop toward me. I saw the CCTV footage—there I was, plucking all the roses from the rose bushes and stuffing them into my bag. It was undeniable—that was me.

"I think you edited it," I said, trying to deflect. The principal's mouth opened in disbelief.

Then I burst out laughing. "I was joking. You should see how funny your face looks right now," I said, enjoying the moment as his face flushed with anger.

"Lorenzo!" he yelled, his frustration evident as I dashed out of his office.

"LORENZOOOO, COME BACK. I'M NOT DONE," I heard him scream, but I didn't stop. I was done with him.

After a few minutes, I got a call while hanging out in the school garden with my friends. I checked who it was—it turned out to be Pedro.

"Why are you bothering me?" I answered the phone, feeling annoyed.

"Bothering you? You're the one bothering me, you little shit. The principal talked to me," he said sharply, and suddenly, I understood why he was calling.

"Oh, okay," I replied, trying to sound indifferent.

"Why the hell did you pluck all the roses? Are you planning to make soup with them? And why did you talk to the principal like that? What's wrong with you? I'm in the middle of work, and you're acting like a brat at school. Your principal keeps bothering me. Why the hell can't you act like a normal 17-year-old? Now go to that old man's office and apologize before he asks me to come to your school. I have work to do, Enzo. I don't have time to babysit you like a toddler," Pedro scolded.

"So don't. No one asked you to, remember?" I retorted angrily.

"Really? I'll catch you in the evening. Just wait. JUST WAIT," he threatened before hanging up.

"We heard your brother's sweet voice," Diego remarked.

"Good," I replied.

"I wish I had a brother like that," Noah said.

"Don't you have, like, six brothers?" Elijah asked.

"They don't blame me for stuff. It's kind of boring, though," Noah explained. He was the youngest in his family and had six brothers. Six brothers. Who the hell wants six brothers? Anyway, none of them were like my crazy brothers.

After the interval, the math teacher surprised us with a test, and guess what? I got 100, and Ava got 99. Her frown showed her frustration when I showed her my marks.

"Hey, Ava, look at this. I got a hundred," I said, laughing with my friends.

Some looked at Ava with concern, and Mia shot me an angry look. She doesn't like it when I mess with Ava. She always tells me not to. Well, I don't have a choice, baby. This is me. This is who I am.

As soon as the school bell rang, I left class with Mia because she was mad at me, and I needed to get her on my side again.

"What you did was wrong..." she started to say, but I kissed her.

"Enzo..." she protested, but I kept kissing her until she finally gave up on talking and started kissing me back. I kissed her until she asked me to calm down.

Ava

Enzo got a perfect score again on the math test. Then, he laughed at me in front of everyone. I was furious, and tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Try to ignore him, Ava," Tristan said, giving my shoulder a comforting squeeze. Even Kevin looked worried.

"I'm so tired of his behavior. Why does he always have to compete with me? It's so annoying," I said, tears streaming down my face.

"I just want to do well in school so I can go to a good university. What's wrong with that?" I asked, crying as I looked at Tristan and Kevin.

"You're right, Ava. There's nothing wrong with wanting to succeed. He's just a bully," Kevin said, sounding angry.

I hated Enzo. I wanted to hurt him the way he hurt me.

Enzo

When I got to my car after school, I saw Papa staring at me with anger. It seemed like Pedro had already spread the gossip to everyone. Stupid Pedro.

"How was school today?" Papa asked.

"Great!" I replied.

"I heard that from Pedro," Papa said, opening the door for me.

"I could tell by the look on your face," I said.

"Good," he responded.

He didn't talk to me on the way home. I hated it when he was angry and wouldn't speak. My stomach felt like it was burning because he didn't even look at me when we arrived home, and I got out of the car. I looked at him, but he didn't look back. It made me sad. Sometimes, he could be so rude.

"Papa," I said.

"Why?" he replied.

"Why are you mad at me?" I asked.

"You know why I'm mad," he said. And yes, I knew.

"But you don't have to be," I said.

He said nothing. I hoped he would talk to me later once his anger faded. I didn't understand why he was so rude sometimes over something small like that. He knew I felt really sad when he wouldn't talk to me. Now, I had to spend the rest of the day feeling uneasy, knowing he might stay mad and not speak to me. I didn't even feel like doing anything or eating now.

Pedro

After a long day, I came home, and now I had to deal with Enzo's misbehavior. I took custody of him to save him from Papa, and Enzo was a real pain in the ass. I called Enzo's mobile, but he didn't answer. I was stressed and tired, and now I was angry that he ignored my calls. So, I called Manuel and asked him to bring Enzo to my house. I wasn't going to crawl at Enzo's feet. He had to come to me. At least he could show some gratitude for me taking custody of him and saving him from Papa. He was worse than Louis.

After a few minutes, Manuel arrived with Enzo.

"You can go, Manuel. I want to talk to him alone," I said, and since he now trusted me, he didn't give me a suspicious look. He left.

I asked Enzo to come to my room.

"So, why didn't you answer my calls?" I asked as I removed my belt and watch.

"I didn't hear," he said, avoiding my eyes.

"Really? What's with the roses?" I asked firmly while removing my shoes.

"Nothing. It's just a lie," he said, showing no concern. He was lying without a care.

"I saw the footage, Enzo. Why the hell are you lying to my face?" I asked angrily, unable to believe him.

"If you saw I was doing it, why the hell do you keep asking if I did it or not?" he shot back at me, and I felt my fury rising.

Without thinking twice, I grabbed the belt that was on the bed and hit Enzo with all my strength, just like Papa used to beat me when I was his age and did something wrong. He fell to the ground, covering his face with his hands, shaking as he hugged his knees to his chest, pressing his body against the wall as tightly as he could. Then, I realized what a horrible thing I had done in my anger.

I quickly threw the belt away and squatted in front of him.

"Enzo, Enzo... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," I said, gently trying to remove his shaking hands from his face. His face was red, his lips trembling, and his eyes were filled with tears. He looked at me like I was a monster. I felt my heart sink to the bottom of my feet.

He pushed himself away from me and left the room. I knew I had messed up everything. He would never trust me again. Looks like I need therapy for my anger issues too.

"What happened, Pedro?" my wife entered the room, her face a mix of anger and worry.

"I... I..." I muttered, unable to find the words.

"Did you hit him?" she asked, her expression full of shock.

I nodded, looking down in shame.

"I beat him with my belt," I confessed, meeting her gaze.

"What the hell, Pedro? What's wrong with you? You said you wanted to help him. Is this how you help him? Hasn't he been through enough already?" Elena, who knew everything, blamed me, her face pained.

"I got angry because of the way he talked to me," I defended myself, weakly.

"So, you beat him just like your Papa used to beat you? Are you going to beat our kids like that if they make you mad?" Elena asked, her voice thick with concern.

"SHUT UP, ELENA!" I yelled, and she startled with fear. I had never spoken to her like that before. This was the first time she had seen me this way.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Shit," I muttered, storming into the bathroom and slamming the door. I needed to isolate myself before I made another mistake.