**POV: Enzo (Age 9)**
**EPILOGUE:
It was always about her.
From the moment they brought Juliet home, the whole world tilted on its axis, and I was the one who slipped off.
Before her, I was the baby. I was the one Riven would toss in the air, the one Elijah would sometimes pat on the head. Now, I was just... furniture.
I watched from the hallway as the morning circus began. Juliet, in her fancy high chair, was smearing yogurt on her face.
Riven was making dumb airplane noises, trying to get a spoonful of mush into her mouth. Elijah was watching from his seat at the head of the table, a tiny, almost invisible smile on his face. For her.
No one noticed I was there.
My plan was simple. I waited until naptime, when Maria was distracted by a phone call. I slipped into Juliet's room.
It was pink and full of stupid, fluffy things. And there he was, sitting propped against her pillow. Mr. Hoppington. Her favorite.
I snatched him. His one floppy ear felt stupid in my hand. I didn't want to hurt him. I just... I just wanted them to look for something of *mine* for once.
I ran back to my room and shoved him under my bed, my heart pounding. It wasn't a good feeling. It was a hot, shaky, guilty feeling.
An hour later, the bomb went off.
Juliet's scream was a sound that could shatter glass. My ear drums bled. I heard the thunder of footsteps—Elijah's quick, heavy stride, Riven's pounding run.
I sat on my bed, pretending to read a comic book, my stomach in knots.
"Bunny! GONE!" she shrieked from the other room.
I listened to the chaos. Riven grunting as he looked under furniture.
Leo's muttering about "probability distributions of lost toys." It was music to my ears. They were searching. For once, they weren't all just staring at *her*.
Then my door opened.
Elijah stood there. He wasn't holding a toy. He was holding Mr. Hoppington. His eyes, those cold, kingly eyes, were pinned on me. My whole plan crumbled to dust.
"Enzo," he said. His voice was quiet. That was the worst. When Elijah was quiet.
He made me explain. The words tumbled out, small and pathetic. "I just... I wanted you to look for *me* for once," I mumbled, staring at a thread on my blanket. "You all just look at her all the time. You forgot I was here."
Just then, Juliet wobbled in. She didn't even look at me. She just snatched her bunny from Elijah and gave it a big, sloppy kiss. *See?* I wanted to scream. *It's always her!*
Elijah knelt down. He didn't yell. He was worse than yelling.
"She is the baby, Enzo. That is why," he said, his voice like final judgment. "Hiding her things is not how a big brother acts. A big brother protects."
The words were like stones hitting me. *Big brother.* It wasn't a title; it was a job I never asked for. I felt my face get hot.
I frowned and crossed my arms, squeezing my eyes shut so the stupid tears wouldn't fall in front of him. He would just think I was a baby. A jealous, forgotten baby.
Then the bed dipped. Riven sat next to me. He didn't say anything about being a big brother. He just slung a heavy, warm arm around my shoulders.
"Hey, kid. Don't sweat it," he said, his voice a low rumble. "We'll grab milkshakes later. The super-chocolate kind. Just you and me."
It was the "just you and me" that almost broke me. It was a tiny life raft in the ocean of being ignored. I managed a small nod.
That's when Riven looked up at Elijah. "Alright, let's get the little boss to the hospital for that vaccination."
Juliet, the idiot, was babbling happily on her toy phone, having no idea what was coming. Riven scooped her up.
"Who's ready for ice cream, little boss?" he boomed.
She cheered. "Ice cweam! Yay!"
As Riven carried her out, he glanced back at me over his shoulder and gave me a quick wink. A secret signal. *Our plan is still on.*
Elijah stood up. He gave me one last, long look. It wasn't mean, but it was... disappointed. Then he turned and followed the noise, following his precious princess.
The house was quiet again. I was alone. Riven's promise was a small, warm ember in my chest. But Elijah's silence was a cold wall.
I was just the older brother. The one who was supposed to protect. The one who was supposed to understand. Whatever that means...
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THE CAR RIDE
The car ride to this supposed "ice cream palace" was a rolling cage of noise.
My tablet was my only escape, my window into a world where the good guys always won with a cool explosion and a one-liner.
I had my headphones on, watching Star Force, trying to ignore the little tyrant strapped in the seat next to me.
It didn't work.
I saw her out of the corner of my eye.
Juliet, her face scrunched up in frustration, yanking on the fancy door handle. Click. Click. Click. It didn't budge. Good. The child locks were on. A small, bitter part of me was glad.
She gave up on the door and her eyes, like two little laser beams, landed on my tablet.
Not her pink, babyish one with the dumb singing animals. No. She wanted mine.
Her bottom lip started to tremble. She pointed a chubby finger. "My tabby! WANT!"
I pretended I couldn't hear her over my headphones.
"Enzo."
Elijah's voice cut through the cartoon gunfire from the front seat. I didn't even have to look up to see his expression in the rearview mirror. It was the one that didn't allow for arguments.
"Give her the tablet," he said, his tone flat and final.
My whole body went hot with injustice. This was mine. Riven got it for me. But I knew better than to say no.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, ripped my headphones off, and silently handed over my only piece of peace.
Juliet snatched it with a triumphant gurgle.
She held it for about three seconds, poking at the screen where there was a the mothership was being attacked. Then, her face crumpled again. This wasn't the ice cream she'd been promised.
With a sudden, furious shriek, she threw the tablet onto the floor of the car. CRACK.
The screen didn't just crack; it spider-webbed into a hundred pieces.
"No! ICE CWEAM NOW!" she screamed, her face turning a terrifying shade of purple.
I stared at the shattered screen.
My escape. My thing. Gone. Just like that. I didn't say anything. I just looked out the window, my vision blurry, biting the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted blood.
Riven, who was driving, let out a low whistle. "Tough break, kid."
Elijah just sighed, a sound of pure exhaustion. "We are almost there."
The car pulled up to a big, white building with a huge, glowing red sign that read: FERNANDEZ PRIVATE HOSPITAL - PEDIATRIC WING. I knew we owned it, but it didn't make the place look any less scary.
Riven killed the engine and put on a smile that looked like it hurt his face. "Alright, little boss! Ice cream palace!" he announced, his voice way too loud and cheerful.
He got out, opened her door, and unbuckled her with practiced ease. Juliet, however, had stopped crying.
She was now suspicious, her big eyes scanning the automatic doors and the people in white coats. She clung to Riven's neck, burying her face.
We walked inside. It was busy. A long line of parents and sniffling kids snaked through the waiting area. We walked past them, heading straight for the private check-in desk.
That's when it happened.
A big man with a red face and a loud voice stepped in front of us, holding his own whiny son's hand.
"Hey! The line's back there," he said, jerking his thumb toward a dozen weary-looking families waiting by the reception desk.
"We've all been waiting. You don't just get to march straight through."
A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd. A woman nodded. "Yeah, we've been here for forty minutes."
Riven, whose nerves were already shot from holding down a screaming toddler, just stared at the man, too tired to even form a threat.
Elijah didn't even look at the man.
He was looking at the head nurse behind the desk, who had gone pale and was already reaching for a phone.
The man becoming more bold by the crowd's support, puffed out his chest. "See? Everyone agrees. Take your kid and wait in line like the rest of us."
For a second, I forgot about my broken tablet. I forgot about being jealous. The air got sharp, like right before a thunderstorm.
These people were looking at my brothers like they were just some guys who needed to be put in their place.
They had no idea they were poking a bear. A bear with a very cranky, need to be vaccinated baby sister.