7

Jessica's POV

After a few tense minutes of looking at the person who was the reason for the silence in the room. He made his way to the centre of the room and looked at each of them with a cold stare, which made me shiver in fear. I looked away, took a deep breath to calm my racing heart, and looked up at the ceiling to stop the tears from falling.

I can't cry in front of them; they'll think I'm weak and try to hurt me. After I calmed down, I looked at the unknown man and observed him while he was looking at everyone else. He looked to be in his late twenties with brunette hair that looked exactly like mine. It looked curly and soft at the same time. His eyes were the same green-blue colour. He had a light stubble and perfectly arched eyebrows. He's tall, like really tall; I'm guessing 6'7. He was extremely built too; his expensive Armani suit looked like it would tear at any sudden movements. Overall, this guy looked like a replica of me, and it's creeping me out. Could this be another brother of mine?

"Now I'm going to ask one more time, why does my baby sister look scared?" He said in a cold, angry voice. And wait, baby sister? I furrowed my eyebrows, looking between all of them. Sanchez did mention someone named Camron. Is this him?

Everyone looked at me apologetically with worry in their eyes. I saw Raul look at me in panic and a frown on my face. I paid them no mind and averted my eyes again to the male version of me, only to already find him looking at me with an unreadable expression.

My feet had a mind of their own as I unconsciously moved towards him as everyone watched me with curious gazes. I stood in front of him and craned my neck to look up at him only to find him looking down at me. "Who are you?" I asked, still looking at him up and down.

I furrowed my brows and looked at his face closely. I suspiciously narrowed my eyes, and he looked at me blankly with an eyebrow raised. I heard whispering behind me, but I was too engrossed by his face to care. I tilted my head more to look up at him. I then asked the question that was obviously bugging me. "And why do you look like me?"

His eyes then turned soft and then he bought his hands I unconsciously flinched. His eyes turned hard, and his expression turned cold. Oh no no no, I made him mad, and now he's going to hurt me. He must've seen my scared expression because he softened his expression, and then he again brought up his hands, and I thankfully didn't flinch.

He cupped my face gently and said, "I think you mean that you look like me." He then pressed his lips in a thin line, which made his dimples appear. We both even have dimples! I giggled and poked one dimple, and then there were gasps in the room. "We have the same dimples!!" I said with a small smile and looked at him.

He proceeded to look at me and then smiled. Huge gasps erupted in the silent room; I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion and looked at the man in front of me with a pout. "Wait, I-I don't know your name." He looked at me, brushed the baby hairs away from my face and said, "I'm Camron, little sister, and I'm your eldest brother." I looked at him with my mouth open and looked at Dad with wide eyes. I was about to say something when someone yelled.

"D-did Camron j-just smile?" Sanchez asked with his mouth open, "I-think I-h-have a fever." He then took Kenny's hand and put it on his forehead. Kenny then started to check his head and said, "No, brother, your head seems fine, but we'll get Al to check you anyway." Raul rolled his eyes, but then Gabriel continued, "You made him smile. Oh my god, Dad, our sister is a witch; she made Camron smile. Hell froze, oh my god." He pretended to faint and fall on Pedro. Pedro grumbled and slapped the back of Gabriel's head and muttered, 'fucking idiot'. To which Barry said, "Language." Pedro smiled at him sheepishly.

But then I remembered something which made me freeze. 9 brothers. 9 older brothers. Oh my god, how am I going to survive? I looked at Dad and said, "9 brothers?" He chuckled and replied, "Yes, Princess, 9 brothers." I looked at Camron and the rest of my brothers to find them looking at me pleadingly, almost like they were begging me to accept them. I then whispered, "You were busy." It was only meant for me to hear, but because of the silence in the room, everyone laughed and looked at me. I just looked down, blushing from embarrassment. Someone then said, "You're too cute." I pouted but didn't say anything.

Raul then said, "Why don't you go freshen up, princess, and then one of the boys will come get you for dinner, hmm?" I nodded, and Gabriel then came forward and slung his arm around my dislocated, injured shoulder. My eyes welled up with tears from the pain, but I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from hissing in pain.

I looked around to see if anyone noticed and saw Jonathan looking at me with confusion and concern in his eyes. I just smiled at him, hoping he would buy it. I didn't know if he did or not, but he smiled back and continued on with what he was doing.

I and Gabriel then started walking upstairs, and then he started leading me down a corridor. "Now this second floor is where the bedrooms are. So, we have dads at the end of the hall, then the rooms start with the oldest and end with the youngest. So first is Camron, and at the end is you because you're the baby." He said and then cooed at the end.

"I'm not a baby." I defended. I'm 17, for God's sake.

"Awwww of course you are not." He teased and then ruffled my hair, which I tried to fix.

"Now I hope you like your new room. "Me and Leo designed it, and if not, then we can change it to anything you like." He informed me.

"Okay," I said. I'm sure it's not bad.

We walked till we reached a door at the end with my name on it. He opened the door, and my jaw dropped to the floor. The room was absolutely amazing. It's everything I've wanted in a room.

He then opened another door, which led to the beautiful bathroom.

And then he opened another double set of doors which leads to the closet.

"It's empty now, but it will be filled when we go shopping." Squealed Gabriel. We then made our way outside to the bedroom door. "So do you like it?" He asked. He seemed nervous and scared. "Like it? I love it!! It's awesome." I replied, smiling wildly, and engulfed him in a hug. He replied instantly and hugged me back, squeezing tightly. We soon let go, and he said, "Alright, you go freshen up, and I will come get you for dinner, yeah?" I nodded my head, and then he kissed my forehead and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I put my bag on the bed and sat down. I took a deep breath and thought. Will this be my new start with my family? I want this work, but what if they're only doing this for show? What if they're doing this so I can trust them, and then they will break my trust? Is this all a part of their plan? I stopped myself from thinking too much and took out some clean clothes for a shower.

I went to the bathroom and stripped. I took a look at myself in the mirror, and I cringed at what I saw. My body had different colours from top to bottom. My ribs were poking out. Scars, burns, and words littered my whole body. It looks like a canvas. I stopped looking and went inside the shower and put it at the coldest temperature. I was used to it, as John never let me use hot water, and it numbs the pain. It helps me forget, forget the pain, and relax my sore and tense muscles.

I washed my hair and body carefully due to my injuries, and then I finished. I wrapped a white fluffy towel around myself loosely. I then put on my underwear and bandaged my injuries, being extra careful on my ribs, back, knee, and shoulder. Since my knee and shoulder are dislocated and my ribs are broken. My back is whipped, so it's most probably open.

I then put on some comfy clothes and covered my bruises that were visible with foundation.

I also put on some light perfume and sat on my bed waiting for Gabriel to come get me. I sat on my phone playing some games to pass the time. A few minutes later someone knocked on the door. Gabriel then popped his head inside and smiled at me. "Hey, come on, everyone is waiting for us." I nodded my head and followed him to the dining room. We took a lot of turns and twists to get there.

We reached a big set of double doors. Gabriel opened them, and everyone was sitting and talking. He then pulled me to sit between him and Jonathan. Raul looked up from his phone and smiled at me. I returned it and sat down. I smiled at Jonathan, and he returned it, his hair falling on top of his forehead. I took a deep breath and released it. Let's see how this goes.