Lesson Five - Thank The World For The Pain. Cause It Made You Raise Your Game.
"Enough!"
Looking at my dad I could see his pissed off face clear as day. In fact he looked more pissed now than he did when he found out the house was trashed. Though I knew he wasn't annoyed at us he was used to our shit when we were all together. The annoyance was directed at the family that stood in front of us and our mother.
My mother ran over to us in her six inch heels and grabbed my brother Alex into a big hug.
Rolling my eyes I climbed out of the car with the help of Hayden who kept his eyes on Riker and Ace.
Ace and Hayden has a complicated relationship, they once used to be best friends but that was long ago and it was clear he wasn't going to take any chances with Riker either.
I handed him the car keys that we had just be arguing over a few moments ago and he stood in front of me with Chase by his side. I had to roll my eyes one again, they were always so protective.
"What are they doing here?" Hayden eyed Ace with hate.
The two of them had been in the same year in school and from what I can remember a lot of shit had went down between the two of them. In fact they used to be close friends but as they got older it just all went down hill.
I couldn't help but admit Ace Kennedy was handsome at twenty-five years old with his dark eyes that almost looked black. His hair was ruffled at the top of his head in a stylish manner. I would be lying if I said I didn't have a crush on him when I was a kid when my brother and him used to hang out.
Ace had passed over the opportunity to own his fathers business and now owns his own chain of nightclubs. They were so successful they were some of the biggest in the world.
Riker though might be handsome but because I knew his personality so well it just ruined it all for me.
A shitty personality always ruined it for me.
Their father finally got out of the car he was a handsome middle aged man. You could see the clear resemblance between him and his two sons. Eyes that were calculating everything around him and wise like my own fathers. High cheek bones and a sharp jaw. He was also well built and looked like he could still hold his own if a fight came his way.
His name is Xavier Kennedy and the whole City knew that name. The reason him and my father didn't get on was because they used to be business partners but they seen things very differently.
Very, very different.
"Xavier." Said my dad as he walked down the steps to met him. They didn't shake hands or anything just a nod of the head.
"Blake." Xavier responded.
"I'm so happy to see my boys!" Squealed my mother snapping me out of my glaring match with Riker over Hayden's shoulder.
She all but grabbed Hayden by the neck to pull him down for a hug her bleach blonde hair getting his face. I almost laughed as he coughed trying to get her hair out of the way. It was clear Hayden was reluctant he didn't make a move to wrap his arms around her.
Mother seen me and cleared her throat and looked at me head on. The high energy that she had just a moment ago around my brother was long gone. The two of us always had a rocky relationship and it was clear nothing had changed.
Good I didn't want her to think we would be getting on anytime soon.
"Lyra." She greeted. Giving her sickly sweet smile was all that she was going to get from me.
There was also no attempt on her part to try and get closer to me. She knew better than to try and hug me from the last time.
I pushed her in the pool.
"Should we make our way in." Chase cleared his throat as he spoke clearly sensing the tension between me and our mother. He was always the one to try and keep the peace between the two of us. I don't know why, it wasn't like he got on with her any better than I did.
He was just able to hide it better than I was.
"Of course." Said our father and he walked ahead of us leading the way with Xavier.
As I made the way towards the door Alex stopped me by grabbing my arm. I looked at him curiously.
"Behave yourself. We can't have a repeat of the last time. Not in front of the Kennedy's anyway."
Rolling my eyes I gave him a pointed look. "I don't know what you're on about I always behave myself."
"I heard you punched Riker Kennedy the other day." He returned my own look for one of his own.
My oldest brother worked quick he always found out things. Even when he was hours away he still managed to find out everything. It was a skill of being a lawyer I guess.
You had to be in the know to win.
"How'd you find that out?"
"Doesn't matter how I know. Just be careful with them. More so the youngest of the two brothers, he seems to be smarter. He could've tried suing us." He glanced at where they were all walking into the building through the front doors.
Scoffing I then started to straighten out my clothes acting like I was brushing off dust. "Riker's pride wouldn't let him do that. I punched him in the face you really think he's going to tell a judge that in front of other people?"
Riker's pride wouldn't let him do such a thing. We might be close me and Riker but we did know a thing or two about each other.
"No but they are clearly up to something more so seeing as they are with our mother. We have to play this smart."
It wasn't until now that I realised he was right. I was so caught up in the fact that I was in front of my mother and the Kennedy's that I didn't take a moment to think why they were together.
What the hell do they all have to do with each other? My mom would know better than anyone that our dad and Xavier don't get on.
There was a end game here and I didn't know what it was.
Something wasn't right and I was going to make sure I knew what it was.
As we took our seats in the restaurant I'd admit it was a beautiful place but I was to caught up in what was going on in front of me to care.
Xavier and my mother sat side by side in front of me without a care in the world. I wasn't in the mood to deal with her shit at the moment.
"I'm so happy to see you all." Spoke up my mother for the thousandth time. It was clear she was trying to act like the perfect mother in front of the Kennedy's. Through Riker and Ace I'm sure Xavier knew how much we all didn't get on with her.
It wasn't what you would call a big secret.
"Let's cut the crap 'mom' why are you with them." My voice was blunt as I spoke not giving a shit anymore.
There was only so much of this I could take and I had reached my limit.
"Lyra." Scolded Alex but I didn't care he wasn't my dad. Every though sometimes he liked to act like he was.
"No I want to know what is going on as well." Commented my dad. I smirked at Alex knowing I had won this round. Temptation was almost to much to stick out my tongue at him. A normal girl wouldn't in this situation but it was me.
So of course I did it.
My mother cleared her throat and lifted her hand onto the table. It only took me 0.2 seconds to put it together when I seen the engagement ring on her finger.
She actually better be fucking kidding me right now.
Silence filled the table.
"You have got to me fucking with me." Growled out Hayden. He was hot headed so I'm not surprised he reacted first out of all of us.
At least someone said something the rest of us were speechless.
Just then Damon showed up at the table. He look like he ran a marathon to get here. I looked at my twin curiously wanting to know where he was this whole time but something else was on my mind. I wanted his reaction and I couldn't wait to see it.
So I prompted it myself.
"Mother here, has some news to tell us." Damon look at me curiously from the corner of his eyes until he pieced everything together with one look at the ring.
"You're engaged to this bastard?"
My mother sucked in a breath almost not believing what she had just heard. Me on the other hand had a large grin on my face as she tried to scold him.
"Language Damon."
Damon laughed slightly but there was no humour in it as he gave her a sidewards glance. "Like you have any right to tell me what I can and can't do."
Damon stood behind my chair and placing both his hands on the back of it. I knew he was trying to stop himself from hitting something.
Damon hated our mother even more than I did. She wouldn't dare try to annoy him like she did me with her thousand phone calls. Damon's hate was on another level from mine all together.
Mine was annoyance, his was hate.
"I am still your mother and why are you late looking like that." I'd admit Damon looked a bit worse for wear but he didn't look as bad as she was making out.
She was probably just worried on how our appearances came across to Xavier but I didn't give a fuck and I'm sure my brothers were the same.
"A mother that was never around enough for me to care what you think. If you must know I was at the gym just to get my anger out. Wanted to make sure I didn't punch you in the face by accident and end up in prison."
Our mother looked shocked at Damon's words but I couldn't help but laugh slightly once more. Even Riker and Ace looked down at the table trying to hide their amusement.
How my mother thought this would go any different was beyond me.
My mother's face started to turn red. It wasn't out of embarrassment it was out of anger.
Anger at the fact that she had no control over us. She then turned to look at my dad, looking at him like he was the problem.
Wrong move on her part.
"You've spoilt them. They have no respect at all."
Something in her voice didn't sit right with me. She was blaming our dad for the damage she had caused all on her own. No one made her walk away from our family she did that because she got too greedy.
"We have respect." I was the one to speak up before my dad. "I just don't have any for you. For example I might hate the Kennedy's but I have respect for them. They work hard to get what they have. You on the other hand haven't lifted a finger in your life other than to get your nails done with the money of what ever man you've tricked."
My mom might have her own company but that didn't mean she did any of the work. The work was done my the people on her payroll. Money that she had gotten from her ex husbands.
Looking at Xavier Kennedy before I spoke up again I noticed something. His eyes had been on me this whole time, watching me carefully.
He was trying to work something but I didn't know what and I didn't think I had it in me to care.
"If I was you I'd run while you can. Take it from a family that knows her to well. She'll ruin your life and take everything in the process. She might be my mother but she isn't my mom. I don't have one."
With that I stood up and walked off not even leaving time for my mother to call out to me. It wasn't long before I felt the presence of my other brothers.
All but Alex.
He wouldn't leave our dad with them alone. For that I was grateful. If any of us could stay in a room with that woman for longer than 2 minutes anyway it was him.
***************
It had been two hours since I seen my mother and I was sitting in my room with Sky and Jake. I had been venting out my annoyance about everything to do with my mother.
They were probably sick of hearing about her at this point. They would listen anyway and that's what I loved about them.
They were my closest friends for a reason.
"Is she really that bad?"
Sighing again I spoke up. "The woman is a con-artist everything she does is with a reason. So if she's being nice I'm more worried than if she was screaming her head off."
"I just can't see why she's back in town and engaged to Xavier Kennedy of all people." Commented Jake as he flicked through the TV channels. The boy was a master at multi tasking that was for sure.
"She's back for a reason and I'm going to find out what it is." I was determined that was for sure.
There was always a reason behind everything my mother did.
A comfortable silence fell between us for a few moments before Sky spoke up.
"Can we just talk about the fact that your brothers are back in town." She said dreamily and I could practically see the love heart in her eyes. I was wrong Sky was the one with the problem not Jake.
"I know Chase has gotten hotter I swear." Said Jake as he fanned himself and I just laughed at my two best friends. They were always like this when my brothers came back home.
"That's gross."
"Only too you babe." Response Sky with a wiggling of her eyebrows. I swear if she wasn't so used to Damon being around she would be like that with him to.
I would probably lose my shit if I ever found they were doing stuff.
"Ok then why don't you go talk to them." There was a grin on my face knowing she wouldn't do such a thing.
Her whole facial expression fell into a panic.
"No thank you, I'm good. Plus I'm 17 come back to me when I'm 20." All I did was roll my eyes at her. Even then I knew she would still be to scared to even talk to them.
It was good to have my brothers back but I knew it wouldn't last forever and before soon I would be left with my mother in town.
It wasn't worry about me being left alone with her that made me think. It was her being left alone with me.
My brothers were the reason I held back every time when it came to our mother. I didn't know her like they did when we were kids. Me and Damon were young when she left but my older brothers were a good bit older and they would have more memories with her.
Though they never really talked about those moments I knew they were there. As much as they tried to push them to back of their heads. There was something always there when they interacted with her that showed that they still cared.
They just didn't like how she acted.
Alex seemed to be the only one that would make a effort with her.
"We should go to sleep we have school tomorrow it's Monday." I groaned at the thought but nodded.
Another day of hell.