Darya lowered herself farther into the bathwater and she sighed. "Perfect," she mumbled. She leaned her head back over the edge of the bathtub, her neck perched on a folded up purple hand towel. She slid her hands from the edge of the tub into the warm water and smiled. The party had been fun and Dylan had been nice but it was good to be home. The apartment was quiet around her and the air was still and cool.
Darya stretched her toes out to rub against the end of the bathtub. The porcelain was smooth and felt nice on her feet. She shivered in delight and slid even deeper into the water. Closing her eyes she brought into her mind's eye the picture of a blank piece of paper. It was easy, since she did it so often. Any time before she drew a picture she always drew it in her head. There she did her erasing and her detailing and her refining, so then when she finally drew it on actual paper it was perfect.
Right now she was drawing a picture of herself at a piano, the book on the stand being one of a high level. She wasn't sure which level yet, since she knew nothing about playing the piano, but she was going to look it up after she got out of the bath.
She trailed her fingers across the surface of the water, sketching out the picture. The piano, large and elegant. Herself, simply clothed with hair tied up. Nothing too fancy, just a simple picture, just the way she'd look when she actually played.
Opening her eyes she realized that she'd have to ask Madam Luseer if they could buy a piano. To help with her argument, the others would probably play with it too. Well, everyone but Genevieve, who spent most of her time curled up on the couch with a thick leather-bound book or in her room doing who knows what.
That's where she probably was right now, curled up on the couch. Selene would probably be across the room reading one of her language books, sneaking glances at Genevieve every couple minutes. Asher would be in the kitchen cooking while Dimitri sat at the island and watched him. And when Darya got out of the bath, she'd go and sit next to her twin and draw. It was after eight, which was what Madam Luseer called 'family time'. If they were awake after eight it was a rule that they had to be in the open concept area that was used as their dining room, living room, and kitchen.
A knock on the door brought Darya out of her thoughts. "Who is it?" she asked.
"Who do you think?" Dimitri answered. Darya laughed. "What's up?" she called.
"Asher's making dinner and he wants to know if you're going to eat," Dimitri replied. Darya smiled; she had been right. "Tell him that I'll have a little of whatever he's making! I'll be down in a couple minutes!"
"Alright." Darya waited until she heard the door to her bedroom close before she took out the plug from the bathtub drain. She carefully stood up and grabbed her purple towel from the top of the toilet seat. As the water continued to whirlpool itself down the drain Darya stepped out onto the fuzzy bathmat and wrapped herself in her towel. Smiling she opened the bathroom door and let the steam spread out into her bedroom.
Looking around her smile fell. Someone had opened the window above her desk and now the hand drawn pictures that usually adorned her walls were scattered across the room. She bent down and picked up one that lay at her feet. It was a simple sketch of her and Dimitri. Nothing special, not drawn in her special pencil. She walked over to her bed and climbed up, where she stuck the picture back to the white wall. Climbing down she frowned as she walked over to her desk. With one hand she closed the window and then turned to face her room.
"Well that's one way to kill a good day," she muttered. It would take her forever to put all the pictures back up. When they were all up there wasn't a spot of white wall visible. Sighing she went to her bed and rummaged under her pillow for her pyjamas. Pulling them on she took another glance around the room. Besides the fact that all her pictures were on the floor, something else was wrong. As she dried her hair with the towel she paced around her room, counting. By the time she got back to the bathroom she was furious.
She threw her towel across the room and stormed out into the hall. She took the stairs two at a time and jumped over every landing. "Alright! Who took them!" she screamed, bursting into the open concept. Everyone looked up at her, their faces masks of confusion. "What are you talking about?" Dimitri asked, rising from his chair.
"Who was in my room?" Darya asked again. "Someone came in my room and left the window open. My pictures are everywhere and someone took some!" She noticed Selene shift in her seat and Darya's hands twitched at her sides.
"Take it easy Darya, it's only a couple pictures," Genevieve remarked. Darya switched her glare to her. Genevieve glanced up lazily from her book and smirked. "Calm down," she said. Darya ground her teeth together and stormed up to her. Before she could reach her Dimitri had her by the arms and was pulling her back. He shushed her quietly and Darya looked over at Selene. "Selene," she said. "Did you take them?" Selene flicked a single page back and forth, not meeting Darya's gaze. "Selene?" Darya asked, her voice becoming louder. Selene still didn't look up. Darya sighed and stared down at her bare feet, at the chipping red nail polish on her toes.
"I'm sorry." Selene's voice drifted across the room, quiet and soft. Darya looked up and even from the other side of the room she saw the tears in her eyes. Darya bit her lip and felt Dimitri's hands running up and down her arms, attempting to comfort her. Darya shrugged out of his arms and walked over to the island, where Asher was holding a spatula in one hand and a frying pan in the other. She slid onto a stool and crossed her arms on the table while the room around her remained silent.
"Darya?" Selene asked quietly. Darya heard her walk over and a handful of pictures appeared in view. "I'm sorry." Darya kicked her foot against the island and shrugged. Selene's cold hand brushed along her shoulder but didn't rest on it. "It's fine," Darya snapped. Selene withdrew and Darya looked over at her. "Just don't come in my room again, and don't you even dare think of taking my pictures again." Selene visibly started to tremble and her hands started to shake. A few stray tears rolled down her face and Darya looked away. She hated to see anyone upset, especially Selene, but what she had done was unforgivable. No one touched Darya's pictures, let alone dare take them from her walls.
"I... I just wanted to borrow... to borrow-" Selene stammered.
"You don't touch them without asking!" Darya yelled. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Selene stumble backwards and trip over her own feet. She landed on her backside, looking like a cornered animal. "That's enough." Everyone looked to the front door, where Madam Luseer stood with her arms crossed. Her murderous glare made them all flinch. "I thought that you were young adults, not children," she snapped.
Asher set down the frying pan and turned the stove off. The spatula he laid gently on the counter. When Madam Luseer was angry it wasn't wise to make quick moments. She would pick up on them and that would set her off even more. "Now what is going on here?" she asked. Asher looked over at Genevieve, who's evil smile had caught his attention. Dimitri cleared his throat and Asher looked at Madam Luseer, who was watching them all with calculating eyes. "Well?" she pressed.
"Nothing is going on Madam," Darya replied quietly.
"Well then why am I hearing yelling from down the hall?" she asked.
"We were having a debate," Darya said smoothly. "We didn't mean to be so loud."
"How come Selene is on the floor if you were just having a debate?"
"It-It was an accident," Selene replied quickly. She got up and took a step back in Darya's direction. "I tripped over myself."
Madam Luseer tapped her foot and the sound echoed around the high ceilinged, penthouse apartment. "Asher," she instructed. "Is this all true?" Darya and Selene both turned and looked at him. He nodded. "Yes Madam," he said. Madam Luseer pursed her lips. "Well then," she said. "Don't be so loud next time." With that she turned on her heel and stalked up the stairs.