sofia +

it's been a day since i moved in with my dad and half brother.

so far it doesn't feel any different to how life was with my mom - she was in and out the house all week, hardly communicated with me and left me to eat the scraps in the fridge or fund food for myself.

even though jordan is a complete dick, a part of me hoped that i'd finally feel less lonely with new brother around but he's never really here and just tries his best to ignore me.

i walked out of my room, feeling as though i'd reached my maximum state of boredom today. i hardly had any true friends back home so texting was out of the question for something to do.

my dad was doing his usual of taking control of the tv with a takeaway sat on top of his beer belly, so i decided to get some fresh air out on the porch.

i was surprised to see jordan sat on the steps, but he noticed my presence and glared at me taking a seat.

"can i have one?" i interrupted the silence, gesturing to his packet of cigarettes.

he frowned at my hand held out to the box, then gave in and let me take one. i sparked up the cigarette with my own lighter and released the smoke.

"this doesn't mean that i like you or that i'm going to start playing that big brother role and drive you places and be over protective" jordan assured.

irritated by his assumption, i narrowed my eyes, "i never asked for a big brother anyways, especially not an asshole one".

we continued to sit in silence on the porch as i noticed that the sun was finally close to setting and another day in this nightmare has finally gone by.

from across the street, i watched the same guys that were smoking with jordan yesterday, herd towards us before one of them began calling out for him.

"wow kai, prison let you out then?" my brother cackled once they reached us.

"overcrowding" the hench and overly-tattooed boy proudly responded. "anyways, you coming with?".

"to the underground?" jordan recalled. "nah, not tonight. still busted up from last week".

"ah, come on. i heard that gilinsky kid is fighting today against one of the peravich brothers, he won't last a second. it'll be iconic".

jordan let out a laugh as i sat completely oblivious to their references until kai's eyes wondered to me.

"who's this?" he questioned, nodding his head in my direction.

my brother carelessly shrugged, "apparently it's my sister".

"hey" kai rested his arms against the low gate of the house.

"hey" i blunted responded, but my resistance only caused him to lick his lips slowly.

"dude, she's seventeen" jordan mentioned, but his friend carelessly shrugged it off.

"how about you come over to my place some time? got a lot of weed" kai asked.

i chuckled and stood up, dusting off my bare legs in my shorts, "i'm good, thanks".

"uh, where are you going?" my brother questioned.

"to the trash place that you and dad apparently call my room" i shot back.

"no you're not, you're coming with us" he threw away the remains of his cigarette and jogged down the steps.

"to where?".

"the underground".

"oh, so now you want a sister" i scoffed. "i don't need a babysitter".

jordan began to walk away, "if you want to see what the southside is really like, you're coming".

i watched him and his friends go ahead as i contemplated whether to just go with them because of boredom or be stubborn and stay sitting here.

giving in, i walked down the steps with a huff and followed the boys at a fair distance.

i grimaced at the heated air that hit me as we entered the building - it was an abandoned warehouse that stunk of sweat and blood, and echoed with a small crowd of people cheering over the fight that was happening in front of them.

i followed jordan's lead and squeezed through the many bodies to get a closer look at what everyone was yelling about.

two guys - one brunette and one who had a much larger build in comparison, fought one another with nothing but their fists.

the large boy knocked down the other with an impact that even made me wince at the punch.

the brunette wiped the blood off his nose with the back of his hand as if it would make a difference to the blood already dripping from his brow, and mouth.

after continuously watching the brunette get closer and closer to loosing, i lost interest and snuck away from jordan and his friends who were too busy roaring over the fight.

i leant against the wall outside and lit a spare cigarette that i stole from jordan earlier. blowing the smoke from between my lips, i kept myself entertained by the people entering and leaving the warehouse, and the sun disappearing.

"hey, you got a lighter?" a girl with jet black hair in short cut asked.

she pulled the sleeves of her jacket over her hands as i shuffled in my pocket to hand it to her. she thanked me before releasing the flame then started to walk away.

"you from around here?" she turned back to me.

"just moved".

"figured. i know every face in this neighbourhood and i've never seen yours" she explained. "i'm kenzie, gilinsky".

"sofia sanchez".

she furrowed her brows, "sanchez? related to jordan sanchez?".

"unfortunately" i sighed. "he's my half brother".

"right" kenzie nodded. "so, dave sanchez is your dad?".

i agreed to her question, causing her to hold in a laugh and cover her mouth slightly.

"i am so sorry" she apologised, which only made me laugh along too. "anyways, what are you doing here if you've spent the whole fight outside?".

"jordan forced me, he wants me to understand what southside life is really like" i mimicked.

in that moment, the brunette boy from the fight started to walk over to us whilst wiping his face with an old rag.

i observed the forming bruises along his toned and tanned arms in that white tank he was wearing, and the obvious pain he was in from his neck and back.

"mom is going to kill you" kenzie winced, turning his chin to check out the damage all over his face.

"it doesn't look that bad, does it?" he asked and i chuckled lightly at the question.

"so i'm guessing you lost?" i inquired, squinting my eye a little.

"of course he did" kenzie replied.

"you're pretty stupid if you ask me" i added, staring up at his larger height.

the tanned boy creased his dark brows in confusion and exchanged looks with kenzie, "excuse me?".

"why go against that incredibly muscular guy when you clearly can't fight?".

"okay, who the fuck are you again?" he scoffed, raising the corner of his lips in a small smirk.

it was as if he knew that that was all he had to do to make me take in how hot he actually is.

"she's sanchez's sister" kenzie told.

"half sister" i then added.

he looked me up and down with surprise, "damn, never knew jordan had a sister".

kenzie nudged him, "it's weird, huh?".

"yeah who knew that dave could produce something like this? i mean, have you seen that man? your mom must be hot".

on the outside, i frowned at the boy's choice of words towards someone he just met but blushed on the inside at the slight compliment.

grabbing my attention, i noticed jordan and his friends finally leaving the warehouse.

"hey!" he yelled for my attention. "you, let's go".

"that's my cue" i pushed my weight off the wall. "hope the cuts and bruises teach you a lesson".

"yeah, that next time i'll be prepared" the bloodied teen said as i began to leaving, making me turn to walk away backwards.

"that there won't even be a next time" i corrected.

he bit down on his lip and nodded, "it's jack, by the way".

"sofia" i replied then followed after jordan since i knew very well i wouldn't find my way back home once the sky was dark.

jordan and i came back home to our father predictably sitting lazily on the couch and getting through numerous beer cans and a pizza box sat beside him.

"pizza! yes, i'm starving" i seated myself down next to it and instantly grabbed a pepperoni slice from the box.

i took a haste bite then grimaced immediately.

"ew, what the fuck? it's stale and cold. how old is this?" i inquired in disgust.

they both ignored my words as jordan picked up his own slice to eat carelessly and moan with awe.

"what?" dad frowned at my impatient look. "do i look like the burning man? go heat it up, that's what the fucking microwave is for".

dropping the half-eaten pizza back in the box, i rolled my eyes and tightened my arms together.

"oh, here" dad handed me several forms that were crumpled up on the floor beside him.

i scanned through them trying to figure out what it said from the creases and dirt that covered it, "what is this?".

"gotta go to school tomorrow" my father sipped his beer then belched loudly with eyes glued to the small tv screen.

i laughed and held out the papers for him to take back, "yeah, right".

"you start school or they take you somewhere else" he glanced at me. "your choice".

jordan found the whole situation amusing and annoyed our father by stretching over him to snatch the paper work from me.

"fucking gatewood high" he read aloud with a mouthful of old pizza, then threw them back to me. "good luck".

my social worker clearly mentioned school before she left me here, but i just didn't think that i'd have to start so soon.

i didn't even bother to ask either of them for a pen since they were clearly too invested in the old game show they were watching in complete silence.

leaving them to it, i went to my room and started to fill out the lengthy application.

-

i have so many ideas for this book holy shizzz

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