Chapter Two - Sister
adrian
The day of the funeral starts off as any other day. The air is crisp from fall starting to settle in yet the sun is still bright. I've been awake for yours dreading the day ahead.
I've been through this once already. I understand how the process goes. Wake up, surround yourself with people who never actually cared about the dead person, accept every "I'm sorry for your loss" and "They were a good person", then everyone leaves. You're there to pick up the pieces of your life that feel like they'll never fit again because now someone who you thought would be around forever is just gone and you don't know what to do with yourself.
For mom's funeral, I had dad by my side. He was an anchor, a shoulder to cry on and someone that was there helping me pick up the pieces. This time around, I have no one. No one that feels like they could do what dad did for me.
A knock sounds at more door and I simply stare, willing whoever it is on the other side to leave me alone.
"Adrian?"
Darius.
The second Luciano and Darius touched down in New York, they dived straight into business. They planned the entire funeral from the tux, to the coffin, to the church service and everything else. I don't mind, I didn't want to be apart of the plans anyway. Better for someone else to decide how my dad will be laid to rest.
Truth be told, I don't even want to go to the funeral. I don't want to have to see the coffin knowing the last remaining person who ever felt like my family was being to put to rest inside it. I don't think I can take it.
I haven't voiced these thoughts to anyone, not that there's really anyone to listen. For the most part, Darius and Luciano have left to my self isolation in my bedroom. The only time we've interacted is when they try to persuade me to eat, or shower or do anything really.
Doing anything other than laying in bed has become very taxing. My mind whirls and my body feels to heavy to move so I just don't do it.
"Adrian?" Darius and his knocking persist.
The door handle starts moving, but it's locked. It has been since last night.
"Adrian?" I'm no reader of people, but he sounds worried know.
The jiggling of the door handle starts becoming frantic movements. Something in the back of my mind tells me that Darius isn't above breaking my door down and that I should tell him I'm awake, so I do.
"I'm awake," I croak, my voice hoarse from disuse.
All movements stop on the other side of the door. It's quiet for a second and then Darius asks, "Can you unlock the door, please?"
Yes, I can but no, I don't want to. But I find it in me to do so anyway because I don't want my door broken down and destroying the sanctuary of my bedroom.
I drag myself out of the bed and it's even more of task to get to the door. The lock licks and the door is pushed open from the other side. I act fast with a side-step, avoiding being hit by the door by just an inch.
Darius' brows are furrowed as he looks me up and down, "You're not ready yet."
What an astounding observation.
I clear my throat before saying, "I don't want to go."
Confusion colours his eyes, "You don't want to go?"
I nod.
He seems at a loss of what to say. Then he asks, "Are you sure?"
I nod again.
"Okay, are you done packing?"
I lie by nodding again.
Another thing, dad has a will and with it, a custodial agreement. If anything were to happen to him, custody is to be granted to Darius as it already has been. This means that I will no longer be staying in New York.
I don't mind, it's not like there's much of anything left for me here. My parents are both dead and they're the only thing that really mattered. This apartment has just been a constant reminder that my dad isn't in it anymore, hence the self isolation.
"We're leaving in two hours," and he swiftly turns around.
Huh, guess it doesn't matter if he broke the door down or not. This room will only be my sanctuary for another two hours.
As soon as Darius has left my sight, I close the door again. I have no choice but to pack now, so I do exactly that. I was told essential items only, everything else could be replaced.
***
I'm done packing and showering by the time Luciano comes to tell me that it's time to leave. We do exactly that, abandon the funeral and embark on a six hour plane ride from New York to Los Angeles.
I spend the entire plane ride with my AirPods playing music to the loudest volume it can go, sitting as far away from Luciano and Darius.
A car is there to pick us up from the airport. The ride to the house is a blur and as quickly as we left the airport, we're stopping at a large black gate. The driver, Samuel, enters the code and we're rolling down a long driveway.
The house cannot be classified as a house. It's a castle. It's large, and black, intimidating in it's old money, yet gothic nature. Two large black pillars stand on either side of the door, acting as guards.
I take my que to exit the car as the other three door. I round to the trunk to grab my bag before Samuel can, "I got it."
I feel Luciano's eyes on my back as he stands about to enter the house. Samuel looks from me to Luciano and then back to me. With a nod and a small smile, he let's me take my bag out of the trunk.
I follow Darius into the house and Luciano comes in behind me.
The inside is livelier than the outside. White and shiny decorated in gold accents like the bannisters on both the staircases that lead upstairs.
"Violet," Darius summons a girl dressed in a grey-blue blue collared dress dress layered with a white apron on top of it, "take Adrian up to her room."
She turns her eyes to me, a smile equivalent to a ray of sunshine adorning her face, "Follow me."
I follow her up to the second floor and she leads me to the end of the hall. The bedroom is gorgeous, full of muted and neutral tones that make it seem minimalistic but still lively. I hardly doubt it's the kind of decorating that a group of boys and men are able to pull off.
"Here we are," Violet gestures to the room before me.
"Thank you," I mutter as she takes her leave. I close the door behind her and drop my bag onto the floor, making a bee-line to the bed.
It's soft, practically a cloud. The sun is bright as it shines in through the open curtains. I bask in the sunlight on the cloud-like bed, content on not moving for the rest of the day
Brothers and funerals and just everything be damned I think as I close my eyes.
***
They leave me to sleep until Violet comes knocking on my room door again with a tray of lunch. I don't have much of an appetite but I can't starve myself either so I eat half the bowl of pasta and drink the entire glass of juice.
I try to go back to sleep but my body refuses to let me. Instead, I decide to start unpacking. This is now my room and home for the foreseeable future, so I may as well make myself comfortable. Keeping myself busy is the perfect distraction to the fact that I'm probably missing my dad's burial right now, or the wake or whatever the hell was happening right now at his funeral.
It doesn't take me long to unpack, I didn't bring a whole lot. A few articles of clothes, keepsakes that belonged to my mom and dad and the photo album, the very one that lead to the discovery of my brothers. I hide that particular memorabilia in the deepest part of my closet underneath a folded stack of t-shirts.
I'm still restless afterwards and suddenly feeling careless at the prospect of running into one of my brothers. I can't hide from them in my room forever and my desire to keep myself busy leads me to wanting to explore this castle they call a home.
I proceed with caution as I leave my room. The amount of doors on this floor leads me to believe most, if not all, of my brothers rooms are on this floor. I tread lightly as I come across the stairs jog up to the third floor.
I'm stopped in my tracks at the sight that greets me, a door with a keypad. Obviously I don't know the code and it makes me wonder what the hell is up there that they have an entire locked floor.
I don't have a long while to deliberate because the door is opening from the other side and I'm frozen in place. He's blonde-haired, blue-eyed and definitely not one of my brothers.
He registers I'm standing there when he's seconds away from bumping into me. He squints, eyeing me up and down, "Who are you?"
"Who are you?" I retort, mimicking his exact expression.
He eyes for a second and I see the flash of recognition cross his eyes just as he lips quirk up into a smirk, "You must be the sister," he clicks his tongue, "Adrian, is it?"
He knows who I am. How does he know who I am?
"Nope, never heard that name before," I deny, backing down the stairs, "My names Sophia."
My middle name. Not the truth but not a lie either.
He laughs and he steps down the stairs in time with my own movements, "Relax, princess, I'm not a threat."
"That sounds exactly like what a threat would say."
He rolls his eyes, "I'm a friend. Name's Elliot."
Elliot. I know that name. How do I know that name?
"Okay, Elliot," I spin on my heel so I'm no longer walking backwards down the stairs and he quickly falls into step, "can you tell me what's behind that door?"
"Unicorns," he shoots a sarcastic smile at me, "and sunshine and rainbows, all things teenage girls hate."
I scoff, "Funny."
"I've been told," he sounds so smug.
"Not actually funny."
"Ouch," he feigns hurt, "I'm offended."
I ignore him in favour of wracking my brain trying to figure out where the hell I've seen that name before.
Le gasp.
Instagram, specifically Xander's story. Huh, so he is a friend.
"You don't know me well enough to be offended by what I say."
I see him look at me through my peripheral, "Fair enough," he shrugs. "So what exactly were you doing up there anyway?"
"Exploring," I shrug back, "I was restless."
"Right," he nods.
"And then I saw the door and you popped out of it and now here we are."
He chuckles, "You make it sound like a magic portal."
"It may as well be. What kind of people need to lock up an entire floor of their house?"
"You've been here, what, half a day," he has that smirk back on his face, "and you're already trying to dig up your brother's secrets? They should watch out for you."
That piques my curiosity. Secrets, huh?
"What kind of secrets?"
He raises an eyebrow at me, "Have you never heard the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'?"
"I think you're forgetting one very crucial detail."
"Oh, what's that?"
"I'm not a cat," I shoot him a pointed look.
"You sure are feisty like one," humour coats every one of his words like a glaze, "Also do you realise you have walked me all the way to your front door?"
I look at him then to the door, and wonder how. Our conversation wasn't even that interesting.
"Yeah, why are we at the front door?" I quirk questioning eyebrows.
"I'm leaving," he draws out the word as if I wouldn't be able to grasp it, "You know, it's what guests do when they've stayed their welcome."
"Right," I mutter.
"Right," he nods as he pulls the door open. "I'll see you around, Adrian," with a final nod and smirk aimed my way, he's gone and the door is closed behind him.
Huh, so that's one interaction done but with someone who isn't related to me.
Well now I'm on the first, miraculously I haven't encountered anyone blood-related to me, I still desire to keep busy and I have this whole house left to explore.
My luck doesn't last long. I round a corner and bump into someone with the force of my entire body. I shut eyes tightly as I brace for the impact of the tiled floor.
It never comes. I blink my eyes open to the hand gripping my bicep and come face to face with one of my brothers. My eyes meet grey, so grey it looks like a storm brewing inside them. Actually it could actually be a storm given the amount of emotions I see crossing his eyes.
As soon as I regain my balance, I shrug his arm off me.
"Adrian," he says it more to himself than me, but the surprise is clear.
I stay quiet. What do I say? What do I do? Do I tell him that I know who he is and save us both the awkwardness of introduction? Will an introduction even be awkward?
"Are you okay?" Elijah pulls me out of my thoughts with the question.
Right, he almost bulldozed me.
"I'm okay."
"I came-" he cuts himself off with a breath and then a small smile adorns his face, "I wanted to check on you earlier but you were asleep. How are you feeling?"
He seems genuinely curious but I can't find it within myself to give a genuine answer. In order to to that I would have to allow myself to feel everything I've been putting off since I arrived in LA so instead I give the most generic answer I can muster, "I'm fine."
"Do you know who I am?"
"You're Elijah, my brother?" I have no idea why it comes out like a question when obviously I know that he is.
However, it does bring out a small laugh in him, "You don't sound so sure about that."
"Yeah, sorry, it's been a...wild few days."
"Yeah, it must've been," his voice takes on a sympathetic tone which is the last thing I want. I'm about to say something, something stupid probably, when Elijah carries on, "Have you eaten lunch yet?"
I'm reminded of the half-eaten bowl of pasta probably still in my room, "I did."
"So you're just wandering around?" Elijah's eyes roam over the area were currently in and then they're back on me.
"I was exploring, actually. This house is huge."
"That it is," he nods in a agreement, "What do you like, music, books, swimming? I'm sure we have a room in the house for every one of those."
I shrug, "I like books."
He smiles broader, "Follow me."
Elijah leads me to the library on the second floor. It's beautiful. Intricate paintings decorate the entirety of the walls and roof, ornate gold accents everywhere. Then the star of the show, the rows and rows of books. He takes me to the back of the room to show me the reading spot. An array of white, fluffy beanbag chairs and light brown, wooden table in the centre.
He leaves me alone soon after to the perfect distractions, books. I skim over all the books and find one that I know enough about to know that it's a promising read, The Atlas Six.
I don't know how long I'm in the library. My phone is still in my room, probably dead now. I take the book and make my way to the stairs to go back to my room. Again, Violet is sent up with a tray of dinner for me. It seems my brothers are keen on leaving me alone until I don't want to be left alone anymore.
***
I blink my eyes open and check my phone. 01 : 13 glares back at me. My throat is dry and I would die for a glass of water.
I find my way to the stairs, in pure darkness, with minimal stumbling. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, it gets easier to find my way around.
I locate the kitchen easily enough and then it's another task to find the glasses. I know nothing about this house except where the library is, and now the kitchen which is what leads me to venturing out further than the kitchen.
I stop my stroll abruptly when I hear voices in one of the rooms. Who the hell?
My curiosity gets the better of me and I tread lightly while making my way towards the noise. It's coming from what I assume is the living room. The TV is on and an unmistakable smell wafts through the open doorway.
Weed.
Weed?
My brothers are stoners. That in itself is a revelation worthy for the press. Now I have to know which of them it is.
Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised when I'm able to make out Hayes' face with the help of the light from the TV. It's less surprising to see three other figures with him and it doesn't take a genius to know it's probably Avery, Blake and Kaden.
Wow.
Does anyone know that the underage teenagers are smoking weed in the house? More interesting question, do they know and allow it?
I gasp lightly when Hayes' head turns and I duck behind the wall. Okay, that's enough late-night exploration. If no one knows, I don't want to be caught seeing it happen and even worse, I don't want to give them any ammunition to start an argument about me "spying" on them.
As quickly and quietly as my feet allow, I hurry back up the stairs all the way to my bedroom.
That's...wow.