Lesson Three - If You're Going To Start A War, Make Sure You Win.
My dads head looked like it was going to explode. Normally at this point he would be screaming his head off at us but nope. He was looking around the house with a refusal to believe what he was looking at. He couldn't believe what he had walked into and I didn't blame him. I still couldn't believe the amount of damage there was and I watched it happen.
Me and Damon tried to tidy at least the cups that were lying around the house but there was no point. Our main maid came into the house at around ten and took one look around and walked out with the rest.
All the while me and Damon just lied on the floor in denial. We didn't blame them either, after all I would've done the same. Plus I had already placed my bets yesterday that they would do that. Damon now owed me money from that said bet but I didn't think right now was the moment to ask for it.
"He hasn't said anything in a hour." Whispered Damon as we watched our dad walk around the house. We were standing in the hallway against the wall like two little children waiting to be told off. We didn't dare move a inch. In fact this was the first time either of us had said anything to each other from our dad had walked in.
"That's how I know we are so dead. He's probably planning our murder right now. I don't even really think he's looking at the damage anymore." I whispered back. I made sure never to take my eyes of our dad. God knows what he would do in the one spilt second you're not paying attention.
Our father was a man of many words so he was rarely caught off guard or speechless. It was something I was proud to have gotten from him. With NORTH SIDE written on our walls throughout our home I knew he was adding everything together.
He was probably trying to work out which one of us was to blame more. Personally I thought it was Damon, it was his party after all. Though I was the one that had been picking a fight with Riker but I wasn't going to tell him that.
I would rather lose everything for a month than lose my life forever.
"I helped pay to combine those two schools and for what?" Me and Damon flinched as our dad spoke for the first time, an edge in his voice. A edge that was cutting through the two of us like a knife would with butter "For my house to get trashed by those fucking North Side scum."
A smile creeped onto my face at my fathers annoyance but quickly I covered it up not wanting to set his attention on me. If we could just get him to blame the North side we might actually get away with this. This was our only chance to get out of this with the life I value so much.
Maybe them going completely overboard with trashing our house was in our favour.
Our dad then turned to face us for the first time. Making us stand up straight with our backs against the wall waiting for what ever might happen. North side or not we were the only ones here in this moment that he could yell at.
We all know parents yell at the closest ones to them when they find out something they don't like.
"You have 30 seconds to explain." His voice told us that he wasn't messing, he really was only giving us that long.
Me and Damon gave each other a pointed look trying to make the other one speak first. There was no way in hell I was taking the blame for this one. It was Damon's party to start with so it was his job to take the blame.
Well that's the way I seen it as we were siblings after all. If it was my party I probably would've just pulled the younger sister card to make him save my ass. So in the end Damon was the one to give a glare before in spoke in defeat.
"We threw a party with some of our friends invited."
A scoff left my lips when he said 'some' but kept quiet as he kept speaking. If I made to much noise my father's attention would probably snap to me and that was the last thing I wanted.
"Then before I even noticed them the North side ones were in the house and they just trashed the place."
Our dad raised his eyebrows like he was trying to make sure what we were saying was the truth. Our dad was the one person in this world that could read us like a book. Thanks to Damon's explanation it was pretty close to the truth.
We might just get away with this yet.
"So you're telling me they did this without reason?" He looked at the two of us like he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. His eyes though landed on me in the end and I knew his attention was fully on me.
This wasn't good.
"Yep." I said with confidence. Our father knew that I was harder to read compared to Damon. So with a cold hard look in my direction he turned his attention back to Damon.
Sometimes it was good to know how to mask your emotions. More so when you had the man that could kill you with just a look standing right in front of you. I loved my dad but he could be a scary man when he wanted to be.
"Well I find that funny because your school has been telling me about all the fights between the two sides. So I am going to ask you one question. Are you sure it's nothing to do with that?"
He was daring us to lie to him. He was testing us to see how deep of a hole we would dig ourselves. The man clearly knew everything already. He wanted to see what lengths we would go to to try and stay out of trouble.
It was Damon who was brave enough to speak up about that. Would I fuck answer that question. I wasn't going to have anything to do with this anymore. When my dad started to play mind tricks like this you knew you didn't want to be in the middle of it.
This was why the man had built our family company into a Empire. He knew everything about everyone and everything.
"I'll admit we have been causing a bit of trouble in school but we haven't done anything to them on the outside. They came to our house and did this. We haven't done anything outside those four walls for them to come here and do this."
Our father watched us carefully for a moment to see if we were trying to lie but we weren't for once. We haven't done anything outside of school.
Yet that is.
After this I'm going to make sure they pay for this. If I was going down for something they did I was making sure they go down with me.
"For some reason I believe you."
A breath escaped my lips that I didn't know I was holding and my whole body seemed to relax at my dads words. I don't think I would come up against anyone in my life who could be scarier than him when he was pissed.
We watched as he walked closer to us. The specks of grey starting to come through were clear in the light, in his otherwise dark brown hair. His electric blue eyes that were the same as mine and Damon's watching us carefully. His eyes were the same as mine only wiser looking but there was something missing from them.
When I looked in the mirror I seen something that neither he or our mother had. I could never place my finger on it though.
Me and Damon flinched as our father placed his hands on our shoulders. He was looked between the two of us before he spoke. The words he spoke were words that he lived by, I would know it was something he had taught me a long time ago.
"If you're going to start a war make sure you win." With that my dad walked away. Nothing else needed to be said we both got the message loud and clear.
Disbelieve ran through me.
We actually got away with this. I didn't dare ask what dad was going to do about the house seeing as we got away with everything. I wasn't going to push our luck with the situation.
None of it was actually our fault in the first place, other than throwing the party. Our dad would probably just pay to get it all redone. It's what he done when I ruined the house with my party the last time.
"I feel like he's going to turn around any second and say. SIKE!!! And then kill us....."
Nodding at my twin brothers words I knew he was right.
It was almost too easy.
We still hadn't moved from our spots against the wall. To scared to leave and find out that he had planned something else for us. It wouldn't be the first time our father had let us think we got away with something but make our lives living hell after.
Then I remembered my dads words. He wanted us to start a war. He wanted us to make the next move. He was telling us to go for it and make sure that they pay for what they had done.
Fighting in school was one thing but bringing it out into the real world was something completely different and dad knew that better than anyone.
"What do you think dads playing at?"
"What?" Asked Damon clearly not catching on to what I was thinking as he stepped away from the wall. I wasn't surprised he didn't know what I was talking about, Damon was one to live in the moment, not to think ahead in life.
Shaking my head I told him to forget what I said. "I'm going to met Sky and Jake I'll see you later." And with that I waked towards the door wanting to get out of the house for a while.
There was a feeling that my dad was planing something.
There was no way my dad would've let us get away with that even if it wasn't our fault. There was something going on that I didn't know and I didn't like not knowing what it was.
****************
Driving my Lamborghini to the coffee shop that I had agreed to met Sky and Jake at I could tell by the excitement in Sky's eyes that she knew I got away with it. I still couldn't believe that I had either but she had looked even more shocked by the situation than I had.
"Your dad is definitely up to something there is no doubt about it." She nodded her head so quick I thought it was going to fly off at any moment. I didn't think the girl knew how to relax.
Taking a sip off my coffee I was deep in thought.
So it wasn't just me and my brother after all who couldn't believe what had happened. It only made me think even more about what my dad was planning. Cause he was planning something without doubt in my mind. I didn't like being a part in someone else's plan and not knowing what that plan was.
It was probably my dads punishment in a way. He knew I hated those situations. Maybe I didn't get away with it as much as I thought.
Mind games were a dangerous thing.
"What business would your dad have with letting you get revenge against the North side?" Asked Jake as he seemed to me eyeing up the dude cleaning the table beside us. He wasn't really paying attention to us at all but I didn't mind. The guy he was looking at was cute.
"God knows it probably has something to do with the Kennedy family again. They seem to be at each other's throats once more." I responded looking down at my drink in thought.
"Oh yea." Said Sky thoughtfully as she seemed to remember something. "I heard about that on the news they're both trying to buy some big high tec company or something."
Shrugging I acted like I didn't really caring about my dads work. Little did my best friends know though was that my dads billion dollar empire was going to become all mine.
My older brothers want nothing to do with it including Damon. I was the only one that ever wanted it. My dad couldn't be any happier about that situation either.
My oldest brother Alex was a big hot shot lawyer in New York. My second oldest brother Hayden was a professional footballer and Chase my third brother was in the Navy Seals. I don't know what Damon wanted to do but he made it clear he didn't want to take over our families empire.
"What has that got to do with...... ohhhh Riker Kennedy." Said Jake like he just worked out the greatest mystery in the world as his attention snapped back to us. It was because the boy had went out the back of the coffee shop.
"I heard his family paid for half the school to be built just so they just wouldn't be shown up by Lyra's dad." responded Sky. She always knew the gossip that was happening around the City from the richest families to the normal people.
Just then my phone started to ring making me look down at it. Looking at the caller ID I noticed it was my mother who I hadn't heard from in a few weeks.
That wasn't a big thing, I was used to not hearing from her for months. Rolling my eyes I hit reject to ignore it. I didn't care to know what she wanted. It was probably something stupid anyway. Last time she rang me she wanted to brag about how her fashion line had made some magazine.
It rang again and I was thinking about turning my phone off just to make it stop. Knowing she would just keep calling until I answered. She had done it before and it wouldn't stop her from doing it again. No matter how much I shouted at her for it.
"Aren't you going to get that?" Asked Sky as she took a sip of her drink her light blue eyes focused on my phone. Her strawberry blonde hair falling out of her bun with every passing second.
"Nope it's the she devil." I responded as I hit reject once more.
"What would your mom want?" Asked Jake as he looked around probably trying to spot the next nicest thing to look at. Or stalk.
The boy had a problem.
Shrugging I acted like I didn't know. "God knows money, a heart, or maybe she's ringing to say she's slept with the president this time and they are going to run off into the sunset. With his money off course. Never forget the money part has something to do with what ever she's ringing about."
Jake scoffed in laughter as he turned to face me but Sky lifted my phone before I could stop her. I wanted to dive over the table at her but Jake held me back with a quick grip of the arms.
Traitor. All off them.
"Hello Mrs......" I almost laughed as Sky didn't seem to know what to call her. Hell even I didn't know what her surname was anymore. The woman had more husbands than I did siblings. In fact I might have more God knows what she gets up to when she doesn't call. Might loads more of us running about.
God love the world if there is.
"Yes of course she's here I'll get her now."
Refusing to take the phone I put my hands between me and the seat to prove a point.
There was a lot of silent arguing going about with me and Sky glaring at each other. That was until Sky kicked me under the table and I sighed in defeat.
Little bitch.
"What?" I asked harshly making sure she understood I didn't want to talk to her.
At all, or ever for that matter.
"Lyra!" She all but screamed down the phone at me. I pulled it away from my ear slightly in annoyance. I hated when she did that.
"What do you want?"
"I want to met up with you. I haven't seen my babies in so long we all need a catch up." Scoffing I knew there was no way my brothers would agree to that. Maybe Alex but he was always mommy's boy. It was probably something to do with being the oldest.
"I don't think so."
"To late dear your father has already planned for us all to met at the restaurant tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure you knew." There was noise in the background before she spoke again. "I have to go dear talk to your father for the details. Love you."
Hanging up on her before she had the chance to do it to me brought me a bit of satisfaction. I wouldn't let her have that satisfaction even if she didn't know what she was doing.
"There is no way in hell I am going to that dinner."
Texting my dad I let him know I wasn't going. He couldn't make me see the she devil anymore, I wasn't five. What I didn't understand was why my brothers were going. That clearly had something to do from my dads part.
"How long has it been since you actually seen your mom?" Asked Sky now curious about the whole situation.
Shrugging I actually thought about that for a moment. Not that it was that hard to think about. I knew rightly what the answer was going to be. "About two years I think."
Just then the one person in this whole world that I needed to kill, walked in through the door. His voice hit my face ears before I even spotted him and he was talking away with his friends not even noticing that I was here.
Riker Kennedy.
The dick that ruined my house. I had a bone to pick with him. I was already annoyed with my mom and taking it out on him seemed to be the best thing to do.
"I'll be back in a minute." I didn't give my friends a chance to reply as I stood up. Their eyes snapped over to what I had noticed and I could see the panic cross Sky's face.
Jake on the other hand looked like he wanted to grab the popcorn and watch the show that was about to go down in front of him.
He had front row seats that was for sure.
Riker turned and noticed me coming before I could even reached him. The confusion on his face was clear at what was going on.
He was completely caught of guard that I was even here. I wish I planned it but I really hadn't which made this so much better.
A smile creeped across my face. This was going to be fun.