CPOV
It felt nice having my son and daughter back from college, and I could tell Thomas appreciated them being home. With him being the only one living at home now, I'll admit Ana and I have been on his case a lot more, and it's starting to frustrate him. He seems to spend more time round his girlfriend's house, or round Elliot's with Alex, but when he goes to college later this year I don't know what my son will do.
"How's Emily then?" Phoebe asks Thomas, referring to his girlfriend. It was no shock to me or Ana when he brought home his childhood friend and introduced her as his girlfriend a few months ago, and apparently it wasn't a shock to his siblings either.
Thomas shrugs his shoulders, and gives her a thumbs up. I have to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing at him. Bless him.
"What's wrong with you? Why is it now I've left you've lost your annoying voice? I had to put up with your constant talk for fifteen years." She mocks him, and he rolls his eyes but says nothing.
Theo laughs out loud, and ruffles his brother's hair. "He doesn't want to talk because his voice is breaking," He informs his sister, and realisation dawns her face.
Thomas turned fifteen a few months ago, and now finally he has hit puberty. I thought I'd be glad when he hit it, because I was beginning to think he never would, but I wish he didn't. His mood swings are awful, and he won't talk much because his voice is constantly cracking in the middle of sentences. Although, when you look at him you can tell he's growing up, he's slowly losing his baby face and he's a bit taller, now reaching about 5'6.
"I've been there, dude. Don't worry, it will be fine soon. Although it sucks you got yours through high school." Alex tells him, with a soft smile. My now, 17 year old nephew, has done a lot of growing up over the past year and I can tell Elliot and Kate are very proud of him.
"Yeah you hit puberty really late, most boys' voices break through junior high, don't they Mom?" Phoebe asks Ana, probably thinking about Theo and Alex going through the same thing but much earlier than Thomas.
"No, boys can go through puberty from any age between 11 and 18, so Thomas is perfectly normal." Ana lectures, probably wanting Phoebe to change the subject because puberty is a touchy subject for our youngest son, who is very frustrated he hit it reasonably late.
"Well, buddy, just think you've hit puberty and you have a girlfriend, you know what you can do now?" Theo asks him with a wink, and everyone at the table knows what he is meaning. Thomas looks down at the table.
"Theo, do not encourage your brother to have underage sex." I scorn him, and he grins whilst shrugging his shoulders.
Although I'm not as protective over my son's having sex as I am Phoebe, it's still not something I'm entirely happy about. I mean sex is a big responsibility, and I don't want any of my children feeling pressured or getting hurt.
I gaze over to Theo, Phoebe and Ava. "Was there anything in particular you three wanted to do whilst you're back?"
They all share a look and a shrug. "We'll probably visit some friends who are back as well, then you can decide what else we do, Dad." Phoebe answers with a smile. I grin back at her.
"As always," Theo mumbles, glaring down at his plate. I narrow my eyes on my twenty year old son. I know my children didn't always appreciate my, urm, controlling nature but I figured they'd be used to it by now.
"Is there something you would like to say, Theodore?" I ask with a threatening tone. My son raises his gaze to stare me down across the table. His blue orbs burrowing into my grey ones. I can see his lips curl up slightly in a concealed smile, and he shakes his head.
"Not at all," He drawls, sending my youngest son a look across the table. They both smirk and roll their eyes. As my grip tightens on my cutlery in my hand, I remember one reason it has been nice to only have one child in the house; it means they can no longer team up against me. The little fuckers.
"Your Mother and I are attending a fundraiser tonight. You're welcome to join us." I offer, although it isn't really an offer. My youngest son will be attending whether he likes it or not, and I'll find a way off persuading my other children too.
"Is that the one for the children out in Albania?" My Mom asks me across the table.
I nod my head. "Yes, we attend every year." I inform her, but she probably already knows. The Albanian fundraiser is a personal favourite of ours. Even more so since Ana and me had children.
"I don't want to go. Can't I spend the night at Uncle Elliot's and Aunt Kate's?" Thomas asks hopefully, grinning over at Alex.
"No you will attend the event with us. Will you two be joining us?" I ask my older children with an expectant look. They both smirk at me, but nod obediently. I give them a satisfied grin and finish up my lunch.
"Mom, please? If you're taking Theo and Phoebe, I don't need to be there. I hate these things." Thomas moans, looking at Ana with his best puppy dog eyes. He knows if anyone is going to allow him to get out of this it will be her.
"It's a fundraising event, we should attend as a family." Ana reasons smiling at him, "I know you don't like them sweetheart, but we'll only be there a few hours."
"But Mom," He groans, dropping his head in his hands. I cut him off as I clear my throat and glare.
"You will attend or spend the rest of the week grounded, it's your choice, Thomas." I tell him, knowing I've won this argument. He has plans this weekend with Emily he won't want to give up. Even if it means doing as he's told for once.
He exhales a long breath. "Fine," He snaps unhappily.
TPOV
Phoebe and I sit in the media room pretending to watch the movie that was playing out on the screen. I don't even know what it is – I think it's one of my sister's stupid romance movies.
"Is it complete hell living with Mom and Dad on your own?" She asks me with a knowing smile.
I exhale and nod. "You have no idea," I tell her, and she didn't. When Theo first left for college it was me and her so our parents could split their controlling tendencies between us. Well, actually I say my parents but it's more my Dad. But, now it's just me living at home everything they do is directed at me, I should probably appreciate being the centre of their attention for once but I liked it better when I could get away with stuff. I try to spend most of my time at Emily and Keegan's or my Uncle's, but if I spend too much time out of the house my parents just get suspicious.
"If it makes you feel any better, Dad has assigned three security guards to me at college. He thinks I don't know but I do, and Theo says he has two following him around as well." My sister informs me on a wry smile, and I grin, rolling my eyes. Classic Christian Grey.
Our conversation is interrupted by Theo walking in. He's wearing black shorts and a vest, there's a towel hanging around his shoulders and he looks sweaty.
"I missed that gym," He states, throwing himself on the couch next to me. I move away from his sweat covered body slightly.
"Why do none of you take a shower straight after you've finished working out?" Phoebe asks, wrinkling her nose as she looks at our brother.
"I will take a shower soon, but I need to give my body time to recover from my vigorous work out. At the moment I don't think I can stand without fainting." He responds, tipping his head back against the couch and arching an eyebrow in my sister's direction.
I laugh slightly. "That's because you haven't been working out whilst you're at college, you've turned into a pussy, dude." I tease. He looks at me with raised eyebrows and a smirk.
"I work out almost every day, you cheeky fucker. Anyway, you're not exactly looking massive yourself," He mocks, squeezing my bicep. I pull away from him on a grin. I try to work out every day but it doesn't seem to be paying off. My personal trainer, Claude, tells me it's increasing my stamina but that's not what I care about. I want more muscle.
"When you say you work out, do you mean you watch the fit girls in the gym whilst you sit at the bar watching the TV?" I ask on a grin. My brother must know I'm only joking because looking at him it's obvious he does weights. He took after our Father in his statue.
Theo doesn't reply but instead pulls me up off the couch and stands opposite me with a grin.
"Come on then, let's see who has really been working out." He challenges, and I raise an eyebrow at him.
Not only is my brother 5 years and a half years older than me, and about 50 pounds heavier, he's also got half a foot on me.
Phoebe sighs and stands up, bring her phone with her. "If you two are going to act like you're 8 years old I'm going to leave. I'll be upstairs if anyone needs me. Please don't break our little brother, Theo." She adds the last bit with a grin, as she ruffles my hair. We watch her walk out before directing our gaze back at each other.
"I am not going to fight you, Theo." I tell him laughing. He quirks an eyebrow at me.
"I'll go easy on you, little brother." He promises with a grin, and before I know what's happening he lunges at me, throwing me over his shoulder.
I punch him in the back and try to ease his grip on me. I push my face as far away from his lower back as possible. He's still all sweaty and he stinks.
"Theo, put me the fuck down!" I hiss, continuing to struggle in his hold. I kick him in an attempt to get him off and it seems to work because he places me on the floor and starts to rub his ribs.
"You little shit," He snarls, but his eyes are glistening with light and mischief. I grin back at him, narrowly avoiding the cushion he throws at me. I grab it and throw it back, only my aim is even worse than his and the cushion bounces off the piece of art on the wall, knocking it the ground on a loud clatter and smash.
Theo and I share a wide eyed look. "What the fuck did you do, Tommy?" He hisses, as we stare down at the smashed frame and arm on the floor. It was a piece my Dad had chosen years ago.
"You started it, don't try and blame this on me you fucking jerk," I spit, looking at him with accusing eyes.
"Language." A voice booms behind us and we turn quickly to find our Dad glaring down at us. His eyes are dark with simmering anger.
He tries to look around us both but we move with his gaze, making sure to stay in the way of his eye line. He growls and steps closer.
"What have you two done now?" He grinds through his teeth. When we don't reply he growls again.
"Go and stand over there," He orders, still trying to see what we are hiding behind us. Theo hesitates but steps aside. I stand my ground, sending my brother a sideways glance.
"Thomas, I'm not going to ask you again." He warns with raised eyebrows. I have a mental debate in my head and decide the longer I can keep him from seeing one of his pieces of art smashed the better. He glares at me as I continue standing, and grabs me around the legs, throwing me over his shoulder. What is it with people doing that?
I struggle in his hold, but his grip tightens. I can feel him tense from head to toe, so I assume he's now seen the smashed frame on the floor.
"What the hell were you two doing to smash this?" He asks with a raised voice, shoving me down on the floor next to my brother and glaring down at us with accusing eyes and folded arms.
We both look at the floor awkwardly. "We were just messing around," Theo answers quietly. I have to say I find it quite amusing that my 20 year old brother can seem like a 10 year old when it comes to being told off by our Dad.
"You were just messing around?" He repeats, snarling, "Do you know how much that art cost?"
I try to hide the smirk on my face as I look up at him. "With your exquisite taste I'm sure it is in the thousands, Dad." I mock, with only slight sarcasm in my tone.
His eyes harden. "Shut your cheeky mouth, Thomas. Are either of you hurt?" He questions, eyeing us both up and down.
We shake our heads, and he grunts in approval. "I'm going to get Mrs Jones to sort this out, you both go and get ready for tonight." He orders, and we leave the room quickly.
Once we are out earshot, Theo and I burst into laughter. "I thought he was actually going to strangle us," Theo says through laughter. I nod in agreement still laughing as I enter my favourite bathroom for a shower.
CPOV
I bundle my smartly dressed family into our SUV and drive the short distance to the Albania fundraiser. The soothing sound of John Legend fills the car as we drive.
When we pull up outside the large hall, I quickly get out of the car to open the door for Ana. She takes my hand gratefully and we lead our children away. I hand my keys over to the valet on the way, and hand him a $100 bill.
As soon as we enter the modestly decorated venue, I'm greeted by a handful of people. I respond politely before leading my family over to a table.
I glance down at the place names and grin approvingly when I see my family's all laid out on the table. However, I lose my grin as soon as I realize there isn't one for Thomas. I share a perplexed look with Ana, and when I see Nancy Mikael, the organiser of the event, I call her over. She excuses herself from the conversation she had been engaged in and makes her way over. Nancy is one of the few people from the business world Ana and I get along well with.
"Christian, Ana lovely to see you. Thank you for coming." She greets us, with a brief kiss on the cheek. She turns to our children and smiles.
"Theodore, Phoebe, I hope everything is going well at college. Thomas, I'm sure you're excelling at school," She praises and my kids grin.
I cut her off with a stern glare. "Nancy, why is there no place name for Thomas?" I ask shortly, and my son looks at me confused before looking down at the table and realising he has no seat.
"Oh sorry, we've got a kids table this time. I've put him on there, do you want him moving?" She asks. I glance at my son who is looking over at the kids table with a grin, I narrow my eyes when I realise a few of the boys sitting there are kids my son often gets into trouble with.
"No that's okay, Nancy. I'm happy sitting over there." Thomas responds quickly, and attempts to walk over but my grip on his shoulder stops him from going anywhere.
"No it is not okay. Can you have him moved to my table please, Nancy." I instruct and she obliges, walking off to sort it out.
Thomas grunts in annoyance but sits down on a chair at the table. I smirk at him, and he narrows his electric blues on me.
Ana turns to me on a smile. "Phoebe and I are going to the bar to get some drinks, what are you having?"
I glance behind my wife when I notice Phoebe eyeing up the bottles of Vodka behind the bar. "You're only eighteen, Phoebe. You will not get served here." I remind her sternly, and she looks at me quickly with wide, innocent eyes.
"Christian, she's getting a lemonade, calm down. What do you want?"
I smile at Ana. "I'll just have a water please, baby." I say. I'm driving so alcohol isn't an option. Ana turns to our sons with an expectant look, waiting for their requests.
"Mom, can you get me a beer? I'm going to be 21 in a few months." Theo asks with hopefully eyes. Ana shoots me a glance, he was right, it's his birthday in a few months and it's not like one beer would do much. But, then again I don't want to encourage drinking.
"No. You can have a non-alcoholic drink, Theodore." I respond evenly, much to my oldest son's annoyance.
"I'll just have a lemonade too," Theo mutters, and Thomas asks for the same.
My wife and Daughter make their way over to the bar under my watchful eye, as I sit at the table with my son's. The table which now has a place name for all of my family.
I look down at my children in their navy blue suits, which look almost identical except Thomas has taken off his blazer so he's only got the navy blue tight pants, white shirt, tie and waistcoat on.
"Do you two want to go and socialise for a bit?" I ask them, knowing I should probably talk to some guests here.
They both share a look of displeasure, and nod their heads. I narrow my eyes on them in warning. "Alright. I'm going to go and find your Mom. Phoebe will bring back your drinks. Stay at this event, do not go outside without telling either of us." I caution, ignoring the smug grin on my youngest son's face. "Behave, Thomas." I add, squeezing his shoulder and getting up.
TPOV
"Two lemonades for my two favourite brothers," Phoebe says as she hands us our drinks. I take mine gratefully, revelling in the sour taste as it slides down my throat.
"We're your only brothers," Theo reminds her, as she sits down next to us.
Phoebe raises an eyebrow on a grin. "Well even if you weren't you'd still be my favourite." She informs us, and we grin shaking our heads.
After a few moments of silence, Theo pulls out his wallet from his pocket. I give him an enquiring eye. Why did he bring his wallet with him?
All is revealed though as I watch him pull out his driving licence, but on a closer look I realise it's not his proper one.
"What's that?" Phoebe asks curiously, we both share a look as we eye up the offending item.
My brother grins. "This is my fake ID. I figured Dad wouldn't let me have a drink so I brought this with me." He explains, and when we see my parents go down a corridor with massive grins on their faces, I don't want to think about what for, my brother smirks. "And now is the perfect time to use it,"
Phoebe looks at him with wide eyes. "Theo! Dad will kill you if he finds out you have that!" She exclaims.
My Brother eyes us both. "Yes, but he's not going to find out is he?"
I smirk mischievously. Now, this is something I can play to my advantage. I turn my eyes on my brother and stroke my chin mockingly. "I have an idea. I won't tell Dad if you get me a beer."
My Brother and Sister share a look. Phoebe shakes her head furiously. "Tommy, you've not long turned fifteen, I'm not buying you alcohol." Theo responds.
I stand up on a grin. "Well then, I best go and find our dear Father," Just like I knew he would, as soon as I start to walk away my arm is grabbed by my Brother.
I turn to find him glaring at me disapprovingly. "You're a little fucker, Tommy. I will buy you one drink. That is it." He compromises grudgingly, and I nod in agreement.
Phoebe stands up next to us, even in her heels she's shorter than my Brother. "Theodore! You can't buy him a drink! He's just a little kid!"
I roll my eyes. "I'm not a little kid! I'm fifteen!" I protest, looking up at them both with wide eyes. They can't say no to my puppy dog face.
My Brother turns to Phoebe and rubs her arm reassuringly. "It's just one drink, he'll be fine. I'll get you one too if you want?" He offers, and my sister perks up.
We make our way over to the bar. Phoebe and I stand off to the side as our Brother gets the drinks, it's an open bar so we can have as many as we want. We watch him show his fake ID, not even batting an eyelid when the bartender asks him to recite his date of birth.
Before I know it, he's on his way back over and carrying a tray of drinks. We go back to our table and he hands me my glass of beer, and Phoebe her glass of red wine.
I pull a face at the beer as I drink it. I don't understand how so many people can drink this, it tastes disgusting. My Brother seems to be enjoying his though so I put on a brave face and gulp it down.
"You're the best brother, Theo." I tell him on a grin, and he turns to me rolling his eyes.
He looks at the glass of beer in my hand and them at my face. "I'm really not. I shouldn't have got you that beer, Tommy. You're too young."
I scoff, and take another gulp. It really is disgusting. "I've got ages until I can drink legally, you're only helping me out. Don't feel guilty, Theo. It's not like anyone is going to find out."
"What the fuck are you three doing?" My body stills at the roar behind us. This really is just my luck. I can feel my Brother and Sister turn around, and I slowly follow their lead. Although, I regret it as soon as I do.
I'm faced with dark, simmering eyes belonging my Dad. His jaw is ticking and his fists are clenched. My Mom is next to him, she narrows her eyes on us with a shake of the head.
"I'll ask again, what the fuck are you three doing?" He shouts. If the music wasn't so loud in here everybody would be starring but luckily his yelling is drowned out by Katy Perry.
Theo glances at me quickly. "It's just one drink, Dad." He mumbles, and my Dad growls.
"Need I remind you none of you are old enough to drink? Where the hell did you get it from?" He asks on a shout. I lift my glass up to my mouth but before I can drink any it's ripped away from me.
"Stop fucking drinking it!" He snaps. My Dad grabs me by the shoulder and pulls me to stand up, placing both his hands on my shoulders as I stand in front him.
"Where. Did. You. Get. It?" He asks again, pronouncing each word on a spit. His hands are so strong on my shoulders they dig in.
Phoebe looks at me through worried eyes before shoving her head in her heads. "Theo has a fake ID! We're so sorry, Daddy!" She practically screeches. Theo shoots her a menacing look, and My Mom moves next to my sister to try and comfort her. She's such a dramatic.
"You brought alcohol for your underage sister and brother?" My Dad asks eerily quiet. He releases his grip on my shoulders and glares down at Theo, who is looking straight at the floor.
My Brother looks up, and suddenly he's like a little boy again. "It was just one drink, I'm sorry Dad."
A growl escapes my Father's mouth and he grasps my Brother by the arm, pulling him up so they were almost equal in height. "Hand over the fake ID right now," He snarls, and Theo quickly obeys, pulling out the card and shoving it in our Dad's hand.
"That was an extremely irresponsible thing of you to do, Theodore. Your sister is only eighteen, and not to mention, Thomas is fifteen. You're their older brother, you should protect them not put them in danger." My Dad lectures, and Theo nods along looking apologetic. I try to hide my smirk as I watch my twenty year old brother getting told off.
CPOV
Anger is simmering inside me as I look down at my oldest son. I should have known he would become more rebellious after going to college, but I never expected him to risk his sibling's safety, he's normally such a good brother.
"I'm really sorry, Dad." He repeats, and I grudgingly nod. He's a good kid really, and I know it will never happen again. I squeeze his shoulder affectionately, before turning to my remaining children with a glare.
"You two are in serious trouble as well. You know you're not old enough to drink. If I ever catch either of you drinking underage again there will be serious consequences." I caution my son and daughter who nod in understanding.
I rake a hand through my hair as I look down at my kids. Jesus, I thought parenting was going to get easier as they got older.
"Right, I think it's time we all got something to eat." I inform my family, and raise an eyebrow when my youngest grunts in protest.
"What is the problem, Thomas?" I ask, looking at him expectantly. The boy is never satisfied.
He shoots me a cheeky grin, and I try to withhold mine. "I don't want food. Can't we go and dance or something?"
I shake my head on a smirk. My son was quite the dancer and he always got a lot of attention from the girls, and some boys.
"We will have something to eat, and then you can go and impress on the dance floor." I tell him, as I place an arm around his shoulder, guiding him to the buffet.