Never Judge

Al frowned as he watched his cousin and best friend march out of the room and slam the bedroom door on them.

He had not meant to offend his cousin, he just wanted to get his advice and go around the city with his cousins.

"I\'ll talk to him." Al said as he chased after Emilio knocking on the door.

Christina and Christopher gave each other a look, but nodded at Emilio\'s words before talking between themselves.

Al suspected that they were gossiping about what they had learned about their older brother. Christopher was probably more aware than Christina, who was quite innocent.

"Emilio!" Al called again as he knocked harder on the door.

"Go home with my siblings Al!" Emilio shouted back, refusing to open the door for his cousin.

Al was furious that Emilio was acting so childish over a girl. He understood that he was not happy that the three of them barged into his apartment, but it was just a girl.

He was sure that if the woman really loved his cousin, she would be back even if Al and the twins had seen her leaving the apartment.

"Emilio, I know what we did was wrong, but are you seriously mad at me because of a fucking girl?!" Al shouted. "If she really liked you, she wouldn\'t care about us seeing her."

There was no response from the other side of the door.

"Emilio." Al groaned as he placed his head on the door, annoyed that his cousin was ignoring him. "We need to talk this out, we are family. Us against the world, remember, that\'s what you used to tell us when we were kids."

Al heard the door unlock and shifted his weight in time as Emilio opened the door.

"You really think I\'m pissed because of a girl?" Emilio said, rolling his eyes at his cousin.

From the dining table, Christopher and Christina looked at Emilio and Al who were now arguing by the bedroom door.

The apartment was quite small so they could hear everything.

"Well, aren\'t you?" Al asked, confused by what his cousin had said.

Emilio shook his head and dragged Al to the dining table.

"Sit." He said as he pointed at an empty seat.

Al frowned but did as his older cousin asked. He wasn\'t happy about being dragged around, but Emilio always had a reason for everything.

Emilio sighed as he looked at his cousin and siblings. He shook his head as he frowned at them.

"I\'m not mad because you basically cockblocked me for morning sex, no." Emilio\'s words made Al and Christoper grin while Christina giggled when she heard what he had said.

Unamused by their reaction, Emilio kept a straight face, showing no reaction to them. He gave off a menacing aura that would normally intimidate people, but not his cousin or siblings.

"Anyway, as I was saying, " Emilio said as he cleared his throat. "You put not only Christopher and Christina in danger by bringing them here but you also endangered yourself and the family!"

Al looked at Emilio, stunned by his cousin\'s words. The truth was so far from what Al assumed that he was in shock.

Emilio wasn\'t pissed because his chances with a girl was ruined, he was pissed because he was thinking of the family.

"What if someone recognized the twins?" Emilio asked Al. "They would have immediately reported them visiting an unknown man with a friend with the last name Reyes. There are two missing members of the Reyes family, you and I. It doesn\'t take a genius to do the math."

Al looked down, guilty that they had done something impulsive.

"But dad knew and he let us go!" Christina argued back, surprising her brothers and her cousin. "You act like we didn\'t think of the consequences but dad knew. He even sent extra security adn told us to go around the mall like normal people."

Emilio looked confused and torn.

Everyone was aware that Cedric Reyes would never put his family in harm\'s way, but at the same time, he stood by what he told Al, it was dangerous to take the twins to his apartment.

"It\'s fine." Al sighed as he placed a hand on Christina\'s shoulder.

She looked at him, confused that he wouldn\'t fight back when Emilio had scolded him for being irresponsible when he truly wasn\'t.

"My brother should realize there are more sides to a story than what he sees." Christina insisted as she glared at her brother, not looking away as she accused him. "If he will be the head of our family, he should not be quick to judge."

Emilio sighed and nodded.

"Christina is right." He said, accepting that he was wrong. "I should have listened."

"Okay, now that we\'re all sorry and made up, can you listen to Al\'s problem so we can go around?" Christopher asked, rushing them.

Christopher always believed that no fight within the family could last long and wanted to move on.

Al, Emilio, and Christina all laughed at his words as Emilio nodded and gestured for Al to speak.

Al stood up and paced across the room, clearly anxious over his current dilemma.

"Cara\'s father is being used and manipulated, should I tell my dad?" Al asked as he looked at his older cousin.

"Of course you should, but I don\'t think that\'s what is bothering you." Emilio said as he smiled at Christina.

His younger sister smiled back and giggled, they seemed to know something that Al didn\'t.

"What?" Al asked as he glared at the sibling.

Christina laughed and shook her head as soon as she saw the confused look on Al\'s face.

"You\'re worried Cara will hate you when she finds out that you used her to get to her father and that she was merely a mission to you." Christina said with a grin on her face.

Al cringed when he saw how intimidating his cousin looked, it reminded him of his mother when she wanted to get the job done. It was probably a Reyes family trait.

"That\'s not true. I don\'t get attached to the target." Al hissed at his cousin.

"Oh, I can just imagine how furious Uncle Ray will be when he finds out you joined the Mafia and that the Dean family let a minor go on a mission." Christopher added, making Al turn pale.

He had forgotten that the biggest issue was his father actually finding out.