Chapter Thirteen
The Velton household woke up to singing. Loud, obnoxious singing echoing from downstairs. Lucian simply covered his head with his pillow, trying to ignore the horrid sound. Azryn groaned while he mumbled, "Not again," to himself.
Praxis sat up in his bed with an exhausted mixed with a look of irritation on his face. Riven, who had a pounding headache from his hangover, mumbled out profanities as he too covered his head with his pillow.
Verena, who was already awake, sat up and looked towards her door, disoriented.
Davian let out an annoyed growl as he shot up in his bed. "It's too early for this damn shit." He said to himself as he stormed out of his room to go downstairs.
"I'm going off the rails on a crazy train!" screeched from the kitchen equivalent of the sound of nails on a chalkboard.
Davian burst into the kitchen to find Cyprian being the source of the torturous sound. He was cooking something while he pretended to play the guitar with a bag of flour and yelling at the top of his lungs.
"CYPRIAN!" Davian shouted, immediately getting his brother's attention.
Cyprian simply smiled and continued his dancing while he approached his fuming brother. "Come on, you old fuck sing it with me!"
"Shut the fuck up its only seven in the damn morning!" Davian spat out angrily.
"That's not the lyrics." Cyprian frowned before turning back to what he was cooking.
"Will you shut up!" a new voice yelled into the kitchen. Cyprian turned and looked at his youngest brother with a smile. "Riven! I'm making waffles; you can have the burnt one." He pointed to the black waffle on a plate beside him on the counter.
Riven ignored him, "Why are you screaming Black Sabbath this fucking early?"
Cyprian whipped his head around to Riven with a disgusted look on his face. "It's just Ozzy, not the band, you uncultured swine."
"So much for sleeping in," Azryn mumbled, shuffling into the kitchen half awake. He flopped down in a chair, glaring at his older brother.
Lucian wasn't far behind, matching an irritated look like the rest of his brothers, excluding Cyprian.
"Twin! Come sing with me! It can be my nice welcome home party." Cyprian exclaimed.
Lucian shook his head with a tired smile on his face. "Cyprian, I love you, brother, but please stop torturing the entire house."
Cyprian snorted and watched Praxis walk in.
"What took you so long? You're missing out on the fun." Cyprian asked a frustrated Praxis.
"I was checking on Verena." He sighed.
"Ah, our suicidal baby sister. Will she be joining us? I've made more than enough." Cyprian put a plate full of waffles down next to the other one he had on the counter.
Davian pinched his nose while Praxis gave Cyprian an alarmed look. "Suicidal? What are you talking about?"
Davian opened his mouth to speak, but Cyprian beat him to it. "Caught our baby sister about to slit her wrists last night right here in this very kitchen."
"Shit," Azryn whispered more to himself.
Praxis looked as pale as a ghost while Riven scoffed. "You should have let her." He said with sheer venom in his voice.
Praxis was about to chastise Riven when Cyprian whipped out his hand holding the burning pot inches from Riven's face in his gloved hand. Everyone held their breath, including Riven, who looked at the simmering pot with wide eyes, feeling the heat creeping near his face.
Cyprian looked at Riven without a hint of emotion in his eyes. "Watch yourself, baby brother. Wouldn't want to ruin your pretty little face with third-degree burns."
Cyprian then put the pot back on the stove and went about as if nothing had just happened. All the brothers exhaled while giving Cyprian a weary look. Riven took steps away from him with his heart pounding in his chest.
"What the hell, dude?" Lucian asked in shock at his nonchalant twin.
"Just a gentle reminder of his place." Cyprian shrugged with his back facing his brothers. "Now, who wants my amazing waffles?"
Praxis knocked on his sister's door while holding a small plate with a single waffle and a few slices of strawberries. "It's me, Praxis," he called softly so as to not startle her. He was surprised to see the door slowly creak open, and her face slightly pop into view.
He was happy to see her and practically overjoyed that she opened the door for him. He couldn't stop the smile from forming on his face.
"Cyprian made waffles if you can believe it." Praxis chuckled awkwardly. "I know you don't have a huge appetite, but I brought you some along with some strawberries. I remember you liked those when you were little."
Verena looked taken aback by this information. He remembered she liked strawberries? She never thought her brothers knew really anything about her.
She studied Praxis for a few seconds before slowly stepping back, but keeping her door open. It was her way of telling him he was invited into her room.
Praxis immediately caught on and felt like jumping for joy that she was actually giving him the invitation to enter her room. A place she was determined to stay isolated in.
He walked in and put the plate on her nightstand. Verena looked over the food as if she were looking for some sort of flaw.
"You don't have to eat it all, of course," Praxis stumbled out. "Just try to eat some. Please."
Verena looked up at Praxis and then back to her plate with suspicion. This could be an attempt to poison her. To poison her body into shutting down. She felt better dying on her own terms and not on those of her brothers.
Sure, the smoothie was okay, but her brothers weren't stupid. They wouldn't just kill her as soon as she walked through the door. They wanted her not to see it coming. There was one way she could see if this was the meal that would be her last.
Verena grabbed the fork and used it to cut a small piece off the waffle. Praxis seemed exuberant that shat she was eating until she held the piece out to him. He looked at the food on the fork with confusion and looked into Verena's hesitant eyes.
"Thanks, honey, but I just ate." He told her.
Verena shook her head, only making Praxis more unsettled. He didn't know what she was doing.
Verena retracted her arm and looked at him, waiting for it to click in his head. She held it to him again, and he finally figured it out.
"You think we did something to it." He murmured dejectedly.
Verena slightly shrugged as Praxis gently grabbed the fork from her grasp.
He pulled off a piece of waffle and ate it.
Proving to his little sister that they hadn't poisoned her food.
After giving him a small piece of a strawberry as well, she saw that Praxis was fine and she felt confident enough to eat.
Praxis let out a sigh of relief that she was actually eating.
She was hesitant and kept stealing quick glances at him, but she was eating nonetheless.
Praxis wanted to ask her about what happened last night, about what Cyprian said about slitting her wrists.
Davian seemed distressed when Cyprian said it, so Praxis knew he wasn't making it up.
He knew it would be fruitless to ask her, though.
She would only shut down, and he had just made progress with her.
All he could do for now was just keep an eye on her.
When the sun had set that evening, Cyprian stood on the back porch inhaling the nicotine that calmed his nerves for a short time.
He knew she shouldn't have threatened Riven, but that kid was so infuriating at times.
He was aware that he was no better than his brother, but it was easier to hold onto anger by looking at others rather than in the mirror.
He slightly turned his head when he heard the back door open, and someone step beside him. "What was that about this morning?" the voice of his youngest brother gruffly asked him.
"You annoyed me," Cyprian said matter-of-factly.
Riven just looked at his brother. "You weren't really going to burn me, were you?"
"I don't know. It didn't happen now, did it?" Cyprian antagonized.
Riven felt his frustration rising. "You would really hurt your own brother? Because of her?"
Cyprian clenched his jaw and tilted his head, causing joints to crack. "Just watch yourself when it comes to her little brother."
Riven let out a humorless laugh. "I can't believe this. You, of all people, now suddenly have a soft spot for her, too. After what she did!"
Cyprian sighed, noticing the cigarette had completely burned away. He turned to Riven with a chilling look in his eye. His brothers were used to Cyprian's unnerving looks and behavior, but it was very rarely ever directed at them.
"Why did she do it, Riven?" Cyprian asked coldly.
Riven looked at him, staggered. "How the hell should I know?"
Cyprian only let out a chuckle and shook his head. "Because the answer has been in front of you this entire time, brother."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Riven clenched his fists.
"You know I was going to get rid of him myself, but our sister beat me to it. She surprised me on that part." Cyprian continued as he retreated into the house, leaving Riven alone on the back porch in unnerving silence.