A/N: I apologize for how long this took. I'll try to get the next chapter out in the next week.
She kind of likes the Cathy character; she's got spunk and doesn't put up with her older brother's know-it-all attitude. She doesn't tell anyone this little tidbit, not even Harper, because then they'll start to think making her read is a good thing, and make her do it again, and she really doesn't want that.
There's a bond between the siblings, one she can see mirrored in her and her own Too Smart for His Own Good brother. It's all about secretes and the underlining knowledge that you're all the other's really got; and maybe it makes her get into the book a little more.
"You're going to have to pick it up." Long hair swishes around her mother's head as she looks towards Alex. "You've got to have your report done in just a few more weeks, and you're barely half-way." The young wizard let out a frustrated groan, falling sideways onto the brightly colored couch. The stern look on Theresa's face did not waver though, dark eyes watching her only daughter's display. She's determined Alex is going to pass this class, no matter what. "After dinner you're going to sit down a read some more." At Alex's indignant stare, she quickly adds, "No getting out of it. You have to pass this class."
Justin fidgets next to her and its becoming annoying. She stares at the way he bounces his knee, gritting her teeth and contemplates hitting his restless leg with the paperback before deciding it's not hard enough. He won't look at her, eyes trained on the coffee table and arms crossed. She's not sure why, but his blatant ignoring of her presence angers her more than his uneasy twitching.
"Justin!" she snaps, and his head jerks towards her, gray eyes flickering downward to the cover in her hands before landing on her face once more.
"You done?" She's only read two chapters and truthfully she's kind of curious as to what happens after the swim in the lake, but she doesn't see how she'll be able to concentrate with her big brother fiddling beside her.
She sighs "Yeah," before handing over the book and allowing him to jot down her measly progress before he jumps up, and nearly running up the spiral staircase.
The rustle of moving sheets and muffled breathy gasps fill the room. She can feel hands on her body, taste sweat on her tongue, and hear the stream of low mutter of curses issuing from the body above. There's something wonderfully forbidden hidden in each dirty word, every breath just brushing the shell of her ear, and a thrill at the thought that she was the reason behind them. Black locks are caught between her fingers and familiar eyes watch her shift and squirm, but she can't focus enough to put the features together in a way that make since. There's a name, on the tip of her tongue, just out of reach and her ears strain to catch the mumbled words issuing from her mouth in hope they hold a clue.
An annoying buzz rips the scene to shreds as Alex is thrown back into the world of the living. One hand shoots out to cease the insistent noise, the other to cover her eyes as a frustrated groan escapes her lips.
A/N: I forgot to mention in the last chapter that if you've read Flowers in the Attic you'll understand this fic a lot more. Although a basic knowledge of the plot should be fine, but I can't guarantee you'll get everything.
If you haven't read the book here's a few things that you might need to know:
Chris is Cathy's older brother; he loves to read, likes to follow the rules their mother gave them, and is super smart.
Cathy is more of the artistic type, she dreams of being a dancer and actress, and makes fun of Chris for knowing things.
They go skinny dipping in a lake and in the chapter before that, Chris walks in Cathy while she's naked and they stare at each other for a while before the sexual tension between them is broken by someone walking in.