Luke
"She's sleeping so peacefully." Jace stares at her sleeping face.
"Yeah, she's like a cat. All she does is eat and sleep." I join him, wondering how she slept for four out of a seven-hour drive.
"And her hair colour kind of adds to the cat vibe."
"Now that you mention it, actually..." She opens her eyes and stares straight into mine. "What in the world are you two doing?" We step back, looking at each other and waiting for the other to think up an excuse. "Um, well... We wanted to, uh..."
"We wanted to carry you inside since you were sleeping so peacefully, but we didn't know how you would react to that, and we didn't want you waking up, either." Jace says calmly.
She thinks. "At least one of you isn't so much of a barbarian that you'd carry a girl without her permission." She looks at me from the corner of her eye. "You would do something like that to Cupcake? Well, it isn't like I expected more." If I could hit him with my car, I would.
I sigh and take her bags inside the beach house. But if I'm to be honest, it's more of a forest house. The beach is at the end of the forest. Everything is exactly the same, the white and green double decker, the pool at the back, exotic flowers at the edges of the fence, and the treehouse on the big oak tree at the extreme where Jace and I used to compete for everything when we were kids. "I call dibs on the room upstairs!" Jace yells. I had forgotten that we always used to fight over that room. "Ah, screw you." I had completely forgotten how much we fight over the rooms.
"Tori gets the second room upstairs, so I'll stay in the guest room." We pack everything up and go to get settled. About 45 minutes later, I go upstairs to check on Tori. I halt in front of her door, realising that she's talking to someone. Maybe she's on the phone. I turn around to return later, but then I hear an unmistakable voice. I knock on the door (just for formality) and open it to see Jace sitting on the bean bag, and her on the bed.
"And then she found out that the body didn't belong to-Luke?" Tori stops.
"The body didn't belong to Luke?" Jace is confused before he realises that I'm standing here.
"Какого черта ты здесь делаешь?" I ask him in Russian, translating to "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Когда то, что я сделал, стало твоим делом?" He answers, translating to "When did what I did become any of your business?" "I have no idea what either of you just said, but you're about to start fighting again, the door is wide open."
"I came to see if you've settled in properly, but I can see that there's a disturbance in your way."
"Oh, well we were talking about true crime, and I guess I did get carried away." She replies. "просто прими тот факт, что ты слишком скучный, чтобы с тобой разговаривать." "Just accept that you're too boring to have a conversation with." Jace smiles like he just gave me a compliment.
Now this is just picking a fight. "You know, you should fall into a pit one of these days. Nobody would notice anyways." I fire at him. "Yes, but if I did that, I'd be joining you in the one you still haven't gotten out of."
"You have serious problems, do you realise that?"
"You've been on this boat long before me, you idiot."
"What did you just call me?"
"Should I spell it out for you? It seems you don't know English."
"Says someone who knows only four languages."
"Knowing one more than me doesn't make you a god." He rolls his eyes.
"And forcing yourself into my car doesn't make you welcome."
"I sent my car home, don't feel high and mighty on that dead horse of yours."
"At least I have a reason to be on a high horse." I reply.
"Did no one ever teach you to respect your elders?"
"Three days isn't what I'd call a long time."
"I don't know, there's a whole lot you can do in three days, like form an alliance with a crucial company." He brags.
"Now who's on a high horse?"
"YOU TWO GET OUT OF MY ROOM, NOW!!" Tori exclaims firmly, pulling us out of our argument.
Historiah
They walk out at my exclamation, and in the silence they left behind, I think I finally understand it. It's a rivalry. They're both trying to be better than the other. But five freaking languages? Company partnerships?! This isn't racing to the kitchen or playing rock paper scissors. What the heck is going on in this family?! But I'm pretty sure what they were speaking earlier was Russian. I think Luke did mention that that's where he's from. So then-
Hold on.
Wynknight, Wynknight. Where have I heard that name before? I pick up my phone and do a little digging. The Wynknights own Nighte inc. A billion-dollar oil and tech company that's been around for over a hundred years. Talk about old money. So why do they hate each other so much? No, why do they act like they do? But something is off. I know true hatred; all the different forms loathing can take. I've known it my entire life. But what they have doesn't tick any boxes, doesn't fit into any moulds. It's strange.