As I walk back into the house, I run into my eldest brother. He must have been waiting for father. "Congratulations." He says, the smirk on his face means he knew what this was about the whole time.

"Thank you." I say. He's just trying to get under my skin and rile me up.

Vincent crosses his arms. "So when is dad pulling you from school?" He sounds so full of himself.

I try to brush past him, but he stops me by holding out his arm. "He's not. He's agreed to let me graduate." I look up at him, trying my best not to glare at him.

My words seem to shock him, but he still doesn't let me pass. "Stay here." Yeah right, like I'm going to stand here and wait for him to go convince father to just marry me off and get rid of me.

"Don't." I say quickly, turning to face him as he brushes past me. "Tullio is the one that agreed to let me stay in school first. If you go out there to object, you may insult him." Please don't go out there.

Vincent looks at the door, then at me. "You're one lucky girl, I hope you know that." He says that with a pointed look, then he leaves me. Thankfully he doesn't go outside, and just continues down the hallway. 

If I was truly lucky, then I wouldn't have been born into this family. I walk to my room, and lay down on my bed to stare at my ceiling. My cell phone, which I barely use, buzzes beside me. 

???: Do you by chance have any notes for Algebra?

Me: Um, who is this?

???: Just answer the question.

Only one person would be this difficult.

Me: Why do you need notes for Algebra? Have you not been paying attention?

???: No, I was just wondering, to make sure you're studying.

Me: I don't even have an Algebra class this semester. You're SOL.

???: You're no help at all. Thanks for nothing.

I dig through some of my old notebooks and find my notes from the Algebra class I took last year and take some pictures of them.

Me: Are these what you were hoping for?

???: Possibly, I'll let you know tomorrow.

I chuckle at his shitty response. "Not even a thank you." I sit down at my desk and start to study.

Not even ten minutes later, my phone buzzes again.

???: So what do you do around here on a Friday night?

What is he doing? Is he really so bored that he's trying to talk to me?

Me: As if I would know. I sit at home all of the time.

???: You have no friends that you hang out with? A boyfriend?

Me: My father almost sent people to beat you up for just being around me. What makes you think I have friends, let alone a boyfriend?

My phone starts ringing, and I pick it up.

"Yes?" I ask, knowing who's going to speak up on the other end.

Alex sighs on the other end of the line. "You're telling me you've never had one rebellious teenage moment?"

"Nope." I say with all confidence, and I start to copy down notes as I study.

"You've never done anything to piss off your dad?" He asks, sounding shocked. "That's a little unbelievable. You tend to have the ability to piss me off for doing almost nothing." 

I let out a chuckle. "Like what?" He's making it hard to study.

He hums in thought. "I don't know, how about threatening to listen to you? Or the fact that you tend to draw a lot of attention when I'd rather disappear."

I can tell he's doing something, because there is a lot of background sound. "I don't draw attention to myself. People just stare at me because I'm the school's weirdo. My brothers make sure no one talks to me, unless they're as dense as Claire."

"You apparently have no idea what people think." Alex says, still making a lot of noise. 

This is just keeping me from studying. "Yeah?" I ask, getting up and going to lay back down on my bed. "And how would you know? Have you asked them?"

"A few of them, yes." He says, and then he sends a request to video chat.

I accept it, and his face shows up. I vaguely notice some things that belong in a car shop. "Are you at work or something? I thought you just moved here, how do you already have a job?"

He puts the phone on something, pointed at him. He doesn't talk, and starts working on something. I watch him for a bit, and realize he isn't going to talk. 

I move back to my desk, and prop my phone up, just in case he does start talking. I work on my homework, and look through my notes from the day.

We sit in silence for a while, and both just mindlessly work. I glance at him every now and again and he's still tinkering with whatever is in his hands.

Eventually, I finish my homework. He's still working on whatever that thing is. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" We've sat in silence long enough.

"Not particularly." He says, not even looking up. "Just figured you'd be free." He puts down what is in his hands and looks at me. "Want me to sneak you out?" My eyes open in shock and I open my mouth, too surprised to speak. "Just kidding, you're too much of a good kid for that."

I don't know if it is a moment of weakness, or if it's the fact that I know I won't have another chance to do this ever again, but I swallow my nervousness. "I do. I want to sneak out." The words sound so foreign coming out of my mouth, and he looks just as surprised as I feel. 

Alex stands and picks up his phone, looking straight at me he says, "Send me your address."

He looks dead serious, and there isn't a hint of humor in his voice, nor any sign of having bad intentions. I regret saying yes. "No, you don't have to, I just, I had a moment of weakness. I'm fine."

Alex grabs his jacket off of a chair nearby, and he walks outside. "If you don't send it to me, I'll just have to ask everyone around here if they know where the Viticello family lives." Alex means business. I can't just back out now. 

"Okay." I say, and he hangs up. I go ahead and send him the address of the house, and I put a coat on. 

What am I even doing? We're both going to get into trouble, and he's probably going to get shot. I can't let him risk it just for me. We aren't even friends. He just feels bad for me. 

As I walk outside, I feel nervous. Luckily, no one gives me a second look. Of course, who would suspect me of doing anything like this? No one. Not even my brothers would, which is why Alex is risking so much. My father will say he is corrupting me, and use that as an excuse to teach him a lesson.

I get to the gazebo and then stop. Where do I even go now? 

My phone buzzes against my leg, and I pull it out of my pocket. I answer the phone call. "This is stupid. You're going to get caught, and I'm going to feel guilty because my dad is going to ruin your life."

Alex groans. "Just shut up and let me worry about that. Where should I go?" I look around. The garden has a back exit that leads to the servant houses.

"There's a group of buildings outside of the main fenceline. Those are the servant houses. I could meet you back there. No one would really be able to see me if you met me at the fenceline." I say quietly, making sure there's no one around to hear me.

He scoffs. "Yeah, fenceline. This is more like a castle wall." He mumbles. I go to the iron bar door that leads out of the fence. He's right. This is not a fence, but what else am I supposed to call it? I wait patiently, and eventually he shows up. He hangs up and puts his phone in his pocket. "So were you just going to stand there and wait for someone to catch you looking longingly out the metal bars like some kind of prisoner?" His mouth quirks up into a smirk, and I roll my eyes at him. I unlock the door from the inside, and step out, making sure to lock it back before shutting it.

"I'm just trying to figure out why I said yes to this. I feel sick to my stomach." My hand is covering my stomach, and I really do feel nauseous.

Alex lets out a quiet laugh. "It's your first time sneaking out. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

I shake my head. "No way, my nerves are so shot. I will never do this again." He laughs then sighs. 

"Come on, before we get caught just standing here and this ends up being a waste of time." I follow after him, glancing back occasionally. I'm so paranoid.