The only room in the house that contained a TV is the kitchen. And the only channel is ever on is the news. While Danielle made breakfast, she doesn't even glance at it. She still isn't good on her French. Katherine took French while she was in school. Best in the class. She would even practise it in her past time. She never thought it would be useful till she met the Grays. Luke often fucks her in French. Speaks dirty to her in French too. That's where she often wishes she didn't understand French, so he would sound more sexy and mysterious.
Since the two sisters arrived in Paris, the Grays have been hooked to the only TV sitting on the kitchen counter. Danielle didn't take much notice to what they were all interested about. Katy on the other hand became very intrigued when Luke told her all about the famous Joe Carroll. He is dead anyway. But the Grays thought otherwise. Lily wanted to know all about this Joe Carroll, and that's exactly what she's been doing in her spare time.
It has been one month since the serial killer died. Perished in a fire they say. The Grays kept their eyes glued to the news as they revealed that the tests are correct, that the body is in fact Joe Carroll.
"Why do people even like this guy? He doesn't look interesting at all" Danielle mutters, placing a fork full of pancake in her mouth.
"He had a cult. Huge. Loads of people joined and killed for him" Mark said back, proving the point.
"Kinda like us. Or just me" Katherine quietly said, glancing at her younger sister from the corner of her eye. Danielle doesn't notice or hear, she's too busy finishing the over due homework set out on the kitchen table.
"Are you telling me the girl who studied Jack the Ripper for months isn't interested in this killer? How he did all this? Not interested at all?" Luke snaps back at Danielle's earlier comment.
Danielle looks up at the lingering Luke as he places the syrup covered pancake in his mouth, smirking and winking at her.
"You went through my suitcase and I will forever hate you for that Luke"
"Hey, they were just sitting there. I was just trying to help you out. And your intense research and theories were very interesting" Luke snickers under his breath before continuing "Has Mark read through them yet? Huh Mark? You'll be interested. It's a great read"
Luke stopped talking when a raspberry hit his nose. Katherine immediately starts laughing before saying "bull's eye"
Mark sits in silence, not saying anything to Luke's comment.
"Oh you wanna play that game, huh?" Luke says, picking up a strawberry from the bowl in front of him.
Lily puts her arms forcefully in front of Danielle and Luke before the fight could begin "Children please. Not at breakfast"
"I've got to go anyway" Danielle quickly gathers her homework together, placing it in her backpack. School. Danielle's own personal prison.
Mark looks up then at her before she exits the room. "Bye" he just says with a smile.
Danielle smiles back, hooking her backpack in her shoulder, smiling back at his young face "Bye Mark"
Luke snickers again after Danielle has left the house, her purple pony tail swaying behind her as she left. "Bye? Is that all you can come up with Mark? Bye?"
Their mother is gathering up their empty plates. She may be a billionaire but she's still their mother and every once in a while she'll do the washing up.
"Yeah. Bye. She was leaving so I said bye" Mark said in response, standing up from the kitchen table.
His brother rolled his eyes, standing up with him and walks out of the large kitchen following him up the stairs. Katy stays behind to help her new mother. She knew when to be helpful and when to give the brothers their personal space.
"Bro, you've gotta say something better then bye. She won't know you like her if you just say bye" Luke walks behind Mark as he enters his bedroom.
"Okay. Next time I'll say goodbye" Luke didn't even laugh at Mark's clear joke.
"Brother, next time she leaves for school, I want you to say 'Danielle, when you come home, we should hang out', yeah? Spend some time with her" Luke is right. He pats his younger brother's shoulder as he nods, looking down. They haven't spent any time together, and alone, since when they were in Atlanta. He has missed her company.
"Mark, I trust her. I do I'm not just saying that. She's nice. Just your type"
Mark scoffed at him.
"I don't want a girlfriend"
"Sure you do. We all need a little love once in a while bro" Luke looks to Mark's doorway. A shadow appears to the right. Giselle.
"I've gotta go but Mark, I'm begging you, give her a chance" Luke fake begs, his palms pressed together. "I don't want my little brother lonely" Luke disappears out of Mark's room, leaving him to think.
He does like Danielle. But he can't tell her that. She wouldn't understand. No girl ever does. How could he be in a relationship when he won't let the girl touch him? Mark touches Danielle all the time. She never touches him back though.
Mark remembers the girl during Freshman year. Pretty thing. A nice movie, then she went to make the first move when Mark didn't look like he was going to. He freaked out. Rubbed his hands against his neck, mumbling to her not to touch him. She didn't take that too well. She ended up telling the whole school he was 'a freak'. Luke did enjoy letting the knife stab through her perfectly smooth neck.
At least someone enjoys remembering that memory.
Giselle had never owned a proper couch before she met the Grays. The one she and Luke are currently sitting on was expensive. It looks expensive and feels just as expensive. Giselle's legs are perched on either side of Luke's muscular thighs. Before today, the two of them hooked up outside, behind the tool shed in the corner of the yard. But Luke couldn't resist when he saw Giselle spread out on the couch when he left his brother to search her room. He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her lips. One hand is resting on her hip, the other around her neck.
It normally lasts 15 minutes before Luke pulls away, huffing he has to be somewhere or that they might get caught.
After a sloppy 10 minutes, Giselle starts pulling at the material on Luke's shirt. Giselle tries to lift it over his head when Luke stopped her, his hands pulling the shirt back down.
Giselle sighs "What now? Luke no one will catch us" Giselle kisses at the flesh on Luke's jaw.
"It's not that" Luke says.
Giselle straightens herself to look at him "Then what is it? Do you not think I'm pretty"
Luke pats Giselle's thigh, chuckling quietly "You're very pretty Giselle. Gorgeous even"
"Then what is it?" Giselle looks down at the shirt she's wearing. Her small fingers glide through the buttons as she lets the material fall out of place. She's wearing a black bra underneath. Tight enough to squash her breasts together.
This should send Luke over the edge. It normally does with any female. But instead of taking the moment to fuck the small Giselle, he pushes her to the side, sitting her on the couch. She huffs, her legs falling away from Luke as he stands up.
"I can't do this" Luke says, running his fingers through his slicked back hair.
"Why not, Luke? I thought you liked me. Is this about Katherine?"
Luke glares at Giselle then. He made it very clear not to say his lovers name when they were together.
"She's my girlfriend. And this is cheating" Luke hurries to Giselle's door, expecting to leave when Giselle spoke yet again.
"It's already cheating, Luke. You've already committed the crime, why don't we get into more trouble?"
Luke stops in the doorway. Luke is impulsive. He will often do something without thinking over what he's actually going and what the consequences are.
Luke's head turns slightly and in the corner of his eye, he can see Giselle stripping out of her shirt, her bra straps falling down her arms.
Before Luke could see anymore, he storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Giselle doesn't run after him.
Mark's eyes dart across the doorway when Luke rushes past his room, but he doesn't run after him either.
Instead, Luke walks back into the kitchen. Katherine is still at the sink, the TV still on the news channel. She has a mug in her hands, drying it slowly with the towel. All her attention is on the TV.
That is until Luke creeps up behind her and spins her around, knocking the mug out of her delicate hands. It smashes on the floor but all of Katy's attention was on the hot and heavy Luke in front of her.
"Luke, wha-" was all Kat could say before Luke presses his lips to hers.
"I love you, Katherine"
She smiles up her boyfriend and wraps her arms around his strong body.
The taste on Luke's lips wasn't syrup from his breakfast. But cherry lip balm. One lip balm Kat doesn't own. But she was present last week when Danielle went shopping and brought cherry lip balm.
Shit.
Danielle is happy to be home. 6 hours of school and judging. She still didn't fully understand the language which made it worse. She dropped her backpack on the floor and fell back first onto her neat bed. She closes her eyes and forgets about the world. Forgets about the snickers she hears from the three girls in her class. Forgets about the pile of homework in her bag.
"Danielle?" The soft voice came from her doorway.
"Mark, I'm relaxing"
Mark shifts in the doorway, not sure whether to leave Danielle alone or pour her a bath or do something helpful. Instead, he walks quietly into the room and sits on the bed next to the baby of the family.
Danielle didn't hear him enter, but she was aware he was there when the mattress sunk lower next to her. She opens her eyes to see him sitting next to her. He's not close, but close enough. She can only see his back. He's wearing a black hoodie and his hands are resting on his legs.
Danielle sits up then and Mark's head turns towards her.
"Another bad day?" He asks her in a gentle voice. In a voice that would suggest that he actually cares about the answer to his question.
"Yeah" Danielle sits, her feet on the bed, her pink converse sliding off with the duvet every so often.
"I'm just glad it's the weekend. No one more school for two days" Danielle smiles into her knees.
"I can talk to mother. She might let you be home-schooled"
Danielle pulls up her long grey socks. "No, it's too much hassle. But thanks Mark"
Mark gives her a reassuring smile, his hand on her shoulder. Mark opens his mouth to speak when he's interrupted by a female voice coming from the doorway.
"Oh, Mark" Katherine stands there, gawking at Mark. Not expecting him to be in her younger sister's bedroom. On her bed, with his hand on her shoulder. Mark removed his hand then, quickly.
"I should ask mother if she needs any help with dinner" Mark strides out of the bedroom, past Katy, not looking back.
"I need to ask you something" Katherine lands on the bed with a thump.
"What is it?"
"Where's your cherry Chapstick?"
"Bedside table"
"Can I see it?" Katy asked with a raised eyebrow.
Following her sister's orders, Danielle looks to her bedside table. Noticing the missing lip balm, she shuffles through the contents of her draw.
"It's not here"
Katherine turned towards her sister's direction, her eyebrows pinned together. She kicks Danielle's backpack on the floor. Without asking permission, she picks up the bag and searches through the several compartments.
Danielle doesn't notice Katherine's emergency as she slumps the bag back on the floor.
Books, pens, pencils, an unopened chocolate bar, Mark's old iPod, but no lip balm.
"Looking for this?"
The two sisters stared up at the female standing at the door. They don't talk to Giselle much. Only when it's needed and Lily tells them to make their new family member feel wanted. Katy doesn't even want to look at her.
Giselle stands in the doorway, Danielle's cherry Chapstick in her hand.
"Thanks" Danielle says as she walks towards the older Frenchwoman.
Katy didn't stay to hear anymore. She was already storming out of the room, pushing past Giselle, their shoulders bumping.
When she gets back to her and Luke's room, he's already there, laying across the bed they've shared many times before but not so much lately.
Luke sits up when he sees her. A smile crossed his face, happy to see it's actually her this time.
Katherine slams the door shut, the bang heard from most of the bedrooms on that floor.
"What's up, babe?"
"Don't 'what's up babe' me" Katy says in her best deep, male voice. "I know what you've been doing"
Luke shrugs "I've been laying here"
"Not that, you cheating scumbag" Katherine picks up the closest cushion and starts hitting his arm, to no effect to him.
"Babycakes, hey" With little effort, Luke snatches the cushion away "I haven't done anything"
"Then why did your lips taste like cherry when you kissed me this morning?"
Luke couldn't find a good excuse for that. Katherine taps her boot on the wooden floor.
When Luke's answer didn't come, she continued.
"I thought you were with Danielle this morning or something" Katherine sits on the edge of the bed, having no energy to stand up any longer. Her bottom lip quivering slightly.
"I thought you were with my little sister. Until Giselle gave Danielle's Chapstick back"
It all came together now. Why Kat was calling him a cheater and was so angry.
Luke rubs at her arm, not sure what else to do or say.
"Nothing happened. I promise. It's not going to happen again"
Katherine looks up then, tears in her green eyes. "You really mean that?"
Luke cups her face with his large hands, forcing her to look into his eyes.
"The only girl who I've ever wanted to be with is you. I've never thought of a future with anyone else. I see a future with you. I'm an idiot. It's what I do. But I promise you, on my mother's life, it won't happen again. Not with Giselle or any of woman. Hell, I won't even touch Danielle. She's safe"
She'd had heard enough. She tackles him to the bed, laying on top of him. She presses her lips to his before he got the chance.
"Good. Because you're mine"
Luke's lover giggled and Luke moaned into her lips as they made up.
It's going to be a long night.