Heirs, 14
(POV: Renata)
"I used to train secret with a friend. She taught me so I could defend myself from the males in that place," I correct myself, but I sense Nicollas's suspicious gaze on me. Damn, I need to be careful with him.
Nicollas doesn't say anything, only stares at me for a few more seconds and then goes back to eating. The silence is broken by Lucca.
"Are you really going to the town, Mom?" Lucca asks.
"Yes, Lena needs some clothes," she replies to her son while sipping her coffee.
"Can you get me a black leather glove? I lost mine," he says with a shrug.
"You're so weird," Raphael teases his brother.
"Leave me alone," Lucca sighs, not in the mood for an argument, and Rapha laughs.
Breakfast is soon over, and Nicollas is the first to leave the table, giving Lina a quick peck. The boys follow suit after kissing their mother's forehead. I get a kiss on the cheek from both of them, feeling a bit embarrassed by this free display of affection. Now, it's only me and her at the table.
"Well, if you're done, must we go shopping?" she asks with a playful smile.
"I'm done, let's go!" I respond with excitement, never having been out to buy anything.
We get up and leave the house, heading to the garage where there's a beautiful car. I don't know the make, but it's black and very nice. I take the passenger seat, and Lina starts the car. The trip is quiet with a comfortable silence. And I spend the entire journey admiring the landscape. A few minutes later, we stop in front of a clothing store. We get out of the car and enter the shop.
"Good morning," a staff member greets us.
"Good morning, we're here to buy clothes for this young lady," Lina says, pointing to me.
"Please follow me," the woman says, walking ahead of us. "Any preferences?"
"We'd like to see pants, T-shirts, dresses, and underwear," Lina politely requests.
"Do you have any preferences, Lena?" Lina me asks.
"I don't want to be a bother," I reply timid, looking at the pile of clothes the attendant is sorting at Lina's direction.
"You can speak up, dear," she encourages.
"I'd like a pair of black leather pants," I say, feeling shy.
"Did you hear that?" Lina turns to the attendant.
We spend a few hours in the store, and I try on all the clothes, each one more beautiful than the last. In the end, I'm very tired. Lina bought a bit more than expected: five dresses, three denim skirts, four black leather pants. Two brown leather pants, five jumpsuits in various colors and patterns, along with other items like leggings, tank tops. Long-sleeved blouses, underwear, denim shorts, and soft fabric shorts.
We move on to the footwear section, and Lina helps me pick three pairs of boots, four sneakers, two heels, and two pairs of flip-flops. I'm not sure why she's being so generous, but I'm enjoying it all. We take longer than we thought, and when we realize it, it's already past three in the afternoon.
"We still need to buy a bag," Lina says as we leave the store with bags in hand. We put everything in the car's trunk and head to another store on the same street.
We don't take long in this store. I choose a black backpack and a nude side bag. Lina picks up a black rolling suitcase for me, saying it's for when we travel, something I high doubt, but I don't voice my skepticism.
We leave the bag store and head to a shop selling combat gear. My eyes light up as I see the vast array of hand-to-hand combat instruments. I don't dare ask for anything more; she's already done so much for me, even if she's a bit of a shrew.
"You said you know how to fight, right?" she asks, and I nod in confirmation.
"What kind of weapon do you like to use? Lucca is into archery, Rapha loves boxing, and you?" she inquires.
"If you don't mind, I'd like brass knuckles," I say, feeling embarrassed. She looks surprised for a moment and then turns away. She grabs two pairs of leather gloves for Lucca and three pairs of boxing gloves, one pink, one blue, and one red, and the brass knuckles.
"For you and the boys," she says, pointing to the gloves. She pays for everything and thanks the cashier. We head back to the car, load everything into the trunk, and then each of us takes our seat.
I'm pretty sure she spent a small fortune on these clothes, and I sense embarrassed for accepting it all. But then again, I shouldn't feel sorry; she did terrible things with my mother!
We return to Lina's house. After parking the car, we take all the bags to the laundry room.
"Tomorrow you can go to the academy with the boys," she informs me. "I'll talk to the director today."
"Thank you," I express my gratitude, and then I head to the bedroom. Shopping can be quite exhausting. Tomorrow, I'll have something to occupy my time: beating on some punching bags. I miss training.
