Five's A Crowd

eighteen

I hear the distant screams, as my brothers rush up the final set of stairs, before touching the cinema room door handle.

Axel's shout of excitement is the first one to reach my ears and is followed by a few more sets of footsteps before another happy shout follows. 

Levi says something along the lines of 'yes! Suck on that loser.' Finally, there is a large bang, as someone else slams themselves against the door.

"I'm okay!"

That would have to be Charlie, meaning that the only person who has yet to touch the door, is Chase.

"But that's not fair," I hear him whine, from several floors upstairs, "Char pushed me down the stairs. I couldn't get up there, even if I wanted to."

"Sucks to suck," Axel's voice dominates, and I hear another crash, as Chase crumples down the stairs.

From beside me, Matteo chuckles, and I can't help but gape at him. He's usually so strict, so for him to be fine with his brother being pushed down the stairs, makes me feel shocked. 

I have a perfect view of the pool, from my place at the window, and I watch on with slight amusement, as Chase rolls out onto the deck. His twin, Charlie, Levi, and Axel aren't close behind him. 

Chase stands up on shaky legs, as his eyes widen. My brother looks steady on his feet, but with one light push from Axel, he has fallen backwards into the pool. 

A gasp leaves my mouth, as Chase slowly sinks into the water, and the rest of my brothers begin to cackle and punch each other lightly in the shoulders like they're congratulating each other. 

But 10 seconds pass, and Chase has yet to resurface in the water. I can see the shadow lump under the liquid, and he's not moving.

Charlie, Levi, and Axel seem to notice this as well, since Charlie dives into the pool without hesitation, trying to retrieve his twin. 

Matteo leans forward a little as if he's watching the scene like it's a painful movie. 

The second Charlie has hit the water, Chase reemerges, with a large smile on his face. He coughs once, but besides that, he seems absolutely fine. Why am I not surprised that he'd face drowning, to get attention? 

Charlie comes up and smacks his twin on the head as he climbs out of the pool in his soaking clothes.

Chase follows suit, and his clothes stick to him, like hot butter, showing off his lovely build, which he gets from exercise. His twin has an identical build. 

Suddenly, an alarm rings from inside the house, and Matteo freezes up for a second before springing into action. When I look out the window, all of the playfulness that filled my brothers' bodies has gone and been replaced by seriousness. 

They all make eye contact with Matteo, who nods once, and instantly, Levi, Axel, Charlie, and Chase sprint inside, pulling out black, metal objects. 

My oldest brother leans down to my height and looks at me stiffly. "Hazel, I'm going to take you to a room, that we call the safe room. I need you to stay in there until we come and get you. Do not, under any circumstances, open the door. Am I clear?" 

I nod my head in agreement but am confused by the loud alarm and the strictness in Matteo's voice. There's no hint of playfulness, or that he's joking around. 

"I need a verbal answer. Use your words, Hazel," Matteo demands from me.

"You are clear," I mutter, making eye contact with my scary older brother. 

He takes my hand and leads me up downstairs, where there's a door I never noticed before. I guess when there are so many rooms in this house, it's hard to keep track of all the doors.

Matteo opens it, and I'm faced with a bare room. There's not a lot inside of it. All of the walls are white, and there are no windows. What am I supposed to do?

My brother seems to read my thoughts because he answers them for me. "You can use your phone."

"Okay, mmm," I comment, kicking my feet against the ground.

"No matter what, I love you, Hazel. As do all of your brothers," Matteo says, kissing the top of my head, before stepping back. "Remember, don't open the door for anyone. And be patient, I don't know how long we'll be."

With one final stern look, Matteo shuts the door, and I hear a lock click from outside, making me assure that the lock only goes one way. 

I sigh, and sit in the corner of the room, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I have 80% left, so it should last me long enough.

How long does Matteo plan to leave me here, though? I have no access to food. No access to water. What if I die in here from dehydration or starvation? Is there enough air in here, because there are no windows? 

A loud shot rings out from somewhere in the house, and I cover my ears in fright. What the bloody hell was that? It sounded like a gunshot. 

What if it was a gunshot? After all, I did see my brothers holding black, metal objects... My mother was killed by a gunshot wound to the head. 

The aggressive sound is followed by many more of the same, and my breathing rapidly increases. I'm inside a crime zone, right now.

What will happen if I die? I haven't written a will yet. I mean, that doesn't even matter, because I have nothing in my name, besides some Taylor Swift merch. Oh, Lord, I wanted to go to Taylor's next concert, but if I'm dead, then I can't do that.

I press the back of my head against the wall, and shut my eyes, imagining that I'm in a safe place, with my brothers, mother, and father... Oh, and Taylor Swift.

And with that peaceful thought, I slowly drift off into darkness. A sleep that I deserve. 

A/N: Hey guys, thank you so much for reading. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE VOTE, COMMENT, AND READ WHEN I GET A CHAPTER OUT TOMORROW. I have a plan for where this book is going, I just need a little support. Also, thank you very much for over 2000 reads (I know that it's not a lot,) but to me, it means the world. Keep slaying in life, and I will see you tomorrow night- or day depending on where you live- when I update tomorrow. Bye <3