Untouchable [ on going ]

[13 | Death by Flattery ]

Gavin snickered when I threw the phone on the bed, walking towards me and handing me the mug of steaming coffee. "Come down for breakfast," he insisted, kissing my forehead and laughing when he heard my stomach growl. "There's pancakes and we can talk afterwards."

Gavin and I had breakfast with his parents, which was pleasant. They asked how school going and what were our plans for the winter holidays. Gavin and I answered their questions politely and I wondered if they knew what kinds of things Gavin and I were up to. If they did, they never protested or voiced their opinion on my staying over often. They seemed like a perfect couple-the perfect family, like the things Maddy told me about their divorce and the rehab never actually happened.

When we finished breakfast, Gavin and I left, with him saying that we have errands to run. His parents bade goodbye warmly and insisted that I was always welcome at their home. Gavin hastily pulled me out of the house, muttering, "God, they're so embarrassing."

"Your parents are perfect," I told him once we were in his car, driving down the road.

"Perfectly annoying," he retorted, shaking his head. "Don't let that act fool you, love. We're just as dysfunctional as the next family." He didn't explain any further but I already knew part of the story. I just never got what he felt about it since he never really said anything about it.

"So where are we going?" I asked, changing the subject as we turned to an unfamiliar street.

"You sent me the files of the book, right?" he asked, glancing at me for a second I nodded and he turned his attention back to the road. A familiar smirk made its presence on his lips. "We've delayed the plan long enough. It's time to take action again."

I nodded, feeling a smile come as I understood what he meant.

We kept driving for another twenty minutes until we pulled into a normal house. It wasn't like the mansions Gavin and the others at Ashcroft lived at, but it was a normal, white-picked fence house in a homey neighbourhood. It was odd seeing this scenery again.

"Come on," Gavin said after he opened the passenger door for me and held out a hand to take. Looking around the cozy home, I felt an uneasy feeling of nostalgia, remembering the earlier part of my childhood when my family used to live in a modest home and Lily and I would play in the yard with the neighbourhood kids.

We entered the house without ringing the doorbell or knocking and Gavin made our presence known by shouting "Oi! We're here!" rather loudly. There were two little boys running around that greeted Gavin a quick hi before continuing their chase. Seeing Gavin smile warmly at them made me question who he really was.

I knew that his tough guy act was all an act and he could be quite nice and sweet sometimes but it made me wonder if a lot of people really know that. I thought that it was just me, that I was kind of special for knowing this side of him. Seeing him making himself at home in a stranger's home was rather odd.

It shouldn't have taken me by surprise to see a girl around our age descend from the stairs and give Gavin a hard punch in the arm. She was wearing a blank tank and sweatpants and her hair was a mess, as if a bird made a nest out of it. She probably just woke up, I assumed, watching her rub her brown eyes under her glasses.

"This is Penelope," Gavin introduced, taking my hand in his as he pulled us up the stairs, passing the girl, "My girlfriend. Love, this is Chloe, a friend of mine. She's here to help us."

Chloe greeted me with a yawn and followed us up the stairs into, what I assumed was, her room. It was pink and the epitome of girly. The walls were white and there were flower and butterfly wall stickers everywhere. One side of the wall had several bulletin boards. In some were photos pinned-some of which, I recognize Gavin in, and in others were tables and sketches and words. It was mostly tables though with random words though.