Lesson Four - Blood Makes You Related, Loyalty Makes You Family.
"If it isn't the Anderson Princess." That cocky smirk was all over his face as I walked over to him closing the distance between the two us. For some reason that look made me see red. He knew what he was doing when he went to my house with the North Side ones. He knew what game he was playing from the get go.
So without a second though I punched him straight in the face. It was probably the most satisfying thing I've ever done in my life. Pain throbbed as soon as my fist made contact with his face but I didn't care what I had done to my hand. It brought me so much joy to do that.
The best part of all of it though was that no one seen it coming.
"Lyra!!" I heard Sky shout in the background panicked at what might happen next.
"You go girl." Laughed Jake who sounded like he was loving life, fist bumping the air.
"What the fuck." Shouted Riker pissed off as he covered his probably broken nose. I'm pretty sure it was bleeding behind his hand. I couldn't help but be proud of that punch.
My brothers were to thank for that hit. Not because of them teaching me, no they never taught me how to hit. They were my punching bags all these years and Damon still was to this day. I guess it did come in handy after all. Who knew.
"That's for trashing my house you dick. Do you have any idea how dead I could've been with that stunt. You do understand who my dad is right?" Annoyance was clear from the get go. Some of his friends backed away clearly seeing the look in my eyes as I shot them warning glances. Daring them to get in the middle.
No one could be that stupid.
"Can't say I cared."
Riker seemed to gain back his composure now straightening his back but I could see the pain in his cloud grey eyes. He was going to feel that punch in the morning. There was a bit disappointment it wasn't broken.
Making a mental note to hit harder next time I watched at the crowed formed around us before my eyes snapped back to Riker.
What ever lawsuit he sent my way I didn't care.
"I should send you the bill for the damages." I seethed out as I watched Riker look around the shop to see who was here.
His eyes had landed on my friends but they were quick to snap back to me.
"Do you think I care princess. If you haven't noticed, money isn't really a problem with me."
It wasn't a problem with me either but it was principal at this point. I wouldn't let him get away with this. More like I couldn't let him get away with this. My pride wouldn't let someone get one up on me. There was no way I could let someone bet me.
He was going to regret it.
"I'm going to make you pay for what you've done."
He raised his eyebrows almost daring me to do what ever I was planning. "What punching me in the face wasn't enough?"
"I can do a lot worse than that."
Not sticking around to listen to his response I took the drink the woman that worked behind the tills made for him earlier.
Might as well get something free from the situation. I might have enough money to burn but I still had to love freebies where ever I went.
Who didn't love free stuff.
I sipped on the drink like the bitch I was as I walked out.
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RIKER'S POV
"Dude are you ok?" Asked Aaron as he glanced at me from the corner of his eye. We were watching Lyra walk out of the store not giving two fucks about anything.
"Yea I'll be fine." Touching my nose again I cringed at the memory. Never before did I think I'd get punched by a girl, never mind Lyra Anderson.
There was clearly more fight in her than I thought. There was always heard stories about her but I didn't think any of them were true.
"Here you go son." The middle aged woman sat down another drink on the table seeing as Lyra had took mine. The woman was giving me a concerned look as she looked at me nose. "Are you ok? That was some right hook she hit you with."
Nodding I paid the woman for the drink even though she said it was on the house. It wasn't her fault that my other one literally walked out the door.
Lyra was an interesting girl to pick a fight with. After all because of our family situation I knew we would be seeing a lot more of each other. It was only a matter of time before she found out her mom was dating my dad.
Nothing about it was out of love. Everything my dad and her mom did was for the show. It was strictly business nothing more and nothing less. My dad needed her to get closer to the Anderson empire and she needed money for her fashion business and her very high end life style.
Lyra's mom probably didn't know that my dad was using her just as much as she was using him.
At first I didn't like it but then my brother had talked me around to it. We could use the situation more to our advantage than Lyra's mom could.
This might be the perfect way to watch the Anderson empire crumble.
I couldn't wait to see the moment were she found out.
*****************
"I'm not going." Determination laced my voice to make sure my dad knew my thoughts on the situation. I always knew he was going to make me. He knew my weaknesses and of course the man wasn't scared to us them. In fact he lived for the days were he could use them against me and he was pulling out the big guns right now.
"Yes you are." He said for the thousandth time but he wasn't really listening to me. He was to busy working at his desk looking puzzled by something on his laptop.
Probably couldn't find the space bar or something.
"No I'm not." It had been a while since I lost count of how many times I had said this in the last five minutes.
Even I was getting annoyed of hearing myself say it. I was his child though, it was my job to be annoying when I needed something or to get out of something.
He sighed and properly looked up at me this time. His face told me everything, I was getting on his last nerve. Wouldn't be surprised if he got the guards to throw me out of the room.
He's also done that before but to be fair I would probably do that to my kids to if they were being annoying. "She is your mother Lyra no matter how much you hate her."
"I hate her more than you and you have every reason to hate her. The gold digging whore."
"Look, think about it this way. If we go she will leave us alone quicker and it will be another two years before you hear from her again. You know what the woman is like she will get bored again of happy families and leave in a day."
He was right and we both knew it the woman wouldn't stop until we all met her. The quicker I did it the quicker I could get rid of her again.
Didn't mean I was happy about it. I hated it when he was right. Which was a lot more often that I would like admit.
"Now, come here and help me. There's a problem with the business and I could use a fresh pair of eyes that I trust."
************
"There is the baby sis." Before I even got a chance to turn around to face the person I was lifted off my feet from behind and into a big hug.
Looking down at the Phoenix tattoo on the right arm I knew it was my third oldest brother Chase and I couldn't be anymore happier.
My hate this dinner might run deep because it was my mother hosting it but one good thing came from it. I got to see my brothers again. Frankly I was surprised that they were all able to come.
After all, they all had high profile jobs. What my mother wanted, she got. That was something I had grown up knowing about her from I was young.
"How did you get time off to come?" I was grinning ear to ear as I turned to face my brother.
He was handsome and he knew it of course. Sky used to have the biggest crush on him when we were younger. You could always find her trying to find any excuse to talk to him.
When he was in school though he was the biggest player known to man. He seemed to have died down now but still knows how to play the field at the end of the day.
His electric blue eyes were the most cunning looking out of us all with a dark shadow underneath. He looked like the kind of man that would be every woman's dream. It made me want to throw up every time I seen the looks woman gave him. I swear if they could eat him alive they would.
"Mom said it was important." He shrugged.
Chase was in the Navy Seals something that my father was proud off. It was something our dad wanted to do when he was young. He was an only child at the end of the day and his father was clear he had to take over the businesses. I could see our granddads point I guess.
"Getting a new haircut is important to her." I rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't have taken time away for something she said is important."
"Play nice." That was all my brothers seemed to say to me these days.
They acted like I was a disobedient child. Well I guess I was sometimes but that wasn't the point. They were meant to be my brothers. People who would encourage the shit that I would cause.
Maybe they had a point, even I had to sometimes tell myself to chill when I started to plan stuff out. I went overboard sometimes.
I had to admit though I was excited to have my brothers here. It was the one good thing to come from this situation.
Actually it was probably going to be the only good thing to come from this situation.
With the track record our family had with these little gatherings it wasn't going to turn out well.
"We should go it's near time we met your mother." I waved dad off as he walked down the stairs. He was wearing a shirt and suit jacket, I don't know why he was going so formal just to met our mother.
"Let her wait. She made us wait our whole lives before we realised she was a dead beat."
"Lyra." Scolded Alex my oldest brother. A frown covered his handsome features.
Alex was always mommy's boy and it seemed that fact was still true. He was ten years older than me and for some reason that always seemed to make him think he had a power over me. I was normally quick to put him back in his box though.
We normally had a war with words when there was a argument between to two of us. I won of course.
Lawyer or not I was a teenage girl and nothing could bet that.
Looking at my brother Hayden's car as we walked out of the house I was quick to run over to the car holding out my hand.
Hayden looked at me hand with a frown before his eyes went back to my face. Hayden was a quarterback and currently one of the best. Any team would kill to have him. He looked after himself and made sure to keep on top of his game. You could tell all this by just looking at him.
"What?" He asked but he knew fine rightly what I wanted. We always did this when he came home.
His cars were a dream to drive and I would take every chance I could to drive them. At moment he had his Lamborghini and it was the most beautiful of them all. I needed to drive it no matter what.
"Keys. Now."
"You're not driving little sis." He laughed like he had a choice in the matter.
He didn't he never did and it was funny to think that he thought he would. He definitely wasn't the smartest out of us that was for sure.
"I have waited my whole life to drive your Lamborghini. So give me the keys."
He rolled his electric blue eyes at me like I was five years old still. In his head I probably still was. He had lost his shit when he found out I had a boyfriend at one point.
That was a funny day.
"Yes my Lamborghini. You're not driving it."
He left me no choice. Blackmailing was the only option.
It was always the option but you couldn't be mean right of the bat.
It was a game of good cop, bad cop. Only I was both, the bad cop though was always more fun to play.
"Ok." I shrugged and Hayden looked at me suspiciously and so he should. "Don't let me drive the car. But I think dad would be interested to know what you bought with that couple of a million you spent a few years ago."
I watched as Hayden's whole face dropped. He was trying to see if I was bluffing but we both knew I would do it. There was nothing I wouldn't do to get my way.
"You wouldn't dare." His voice said he was unsure though. I was known to go through with my threats and he knew that better than anyone.
Chase laughed as he put his arm around his older brothers shoulders. The both of them were about the same height at 6 foot 1.
None of my brothers had settled down yet. Saying they were two young. Chase was 24 now and Hayden was 25 I knew it wouldn't be long before some girl walked through those house doors and I didn't know how I felt about that.
Our family was rich and powerful. You needed to be careful with who you went out with. You never knew if they were just using you for something else.
"Looks like you're giving the keys to her brother." Laughed Chase knowing his brother was beaten.
Chase didn't know what the money was used for but he did know that his brother was the one that spent it. Dad and Alex were the only ones that didn't, even mom knew.
"She wouldn't tell dad that before me." Challenge Hayden with confidence.
"Want to bet? It's been four years I don't think you'll be telling dad anytime soon."
Hayden seemed to be having an inner battle before handing me the keys. I squealed in excitement as I grabbed the keys from him and ran over to the car.
Hayden could be heard shouting out a few curse words and Chase laughing but I didn't care. I was in heaven and I think even Hayden knew he wasn't getting the car back.
Handing me those keys was a big mistake brother.
**************
When we finally got to the restaurant I was reluctant to get out of the car. Not because I didn't want to see my mother, of course that was one of the reasons.
The real reason was because I never wanted to leave this beautiful car ever again.
Hayden got out of the passenger side with purpose and walked over to my door to open it when he seen I wasn't getting out.
There was not a chance I was leaving this car without a fight. I didn't care if I had to live in here.
I would.
"Get out." His voice was demanding but he was stupid if he thought I would do what he said.
"No."
He went to grab the keys but I took them and leaned over to the passenger side so he couldn't reach me.
"Go away you ape."
"Get out of the car." He all but growled but I stuck out my tongue as I pressed myself against the opposite side of the car. "Lyra!"
He was able to grab my ankle after a few kicks were sent from my way. He tried pulling me out but I held onto the door handle for dear life.
"Let me go!" I yelled holding onto the car even more.
"Get. Out. Of. The. Car."
Alex was pinching the bridge of his nose from the window and Chase was laughing his head off. I'm sure we looked a right sight right now.
I'm pretty sure the rich snobs in the restaurant were giving us some looks right about now but I didn't care.
I wasn't leaving this car.
"Chase help." I shouted trying to kick Hayden with my other leg seeing as he still had a grip on the left one.
Laughing Chase grabbed Hayden from behind and tried pulling him away from me.
Alex though had enough. He walked over and tried pulling Hayden's grip off my ankle.
We were all screaming at each other and our dad stood at the entrance to the restaurant shaking his head almost not believing what was going on.
Most of his children were in their twenty and all respected professionals in their field. Yet here they were tugging on my leg or each other.
Cars had pulled up beside us but we paid no attention as we just kept screaming at each other. That was until we heard a voice, a high pitched voice that made us all freeze.
"My babies!" The voice just went right through me and it made me cringe. It was like the phone call all over again.
Slowly we turned our heads to look at our mother but she wasn't alone. She was with the Kennedy's and Riker was looking at me highly amused.
What. The. Fuck.