Trouble Times Two

Chapter Eight

Saturday

I woke up, groggy, but I felt better.

Donovan's bed was comfortable.

The sun seeps through the open blind and I'm sure that it was closed when I got back last night.

I go to my balcony and see a sight that makes me scream.

My house is filled with teenagers. There was a party in my house.

I get my phone and call Maisie and Carter.

"Maisie, Carter, I don't know what happened but there was a party at my house! There are people everywhere! I've been at the Shepherd's the whole time.

"What the hell? We're coming now. Dacre's in the house, get him to come with you." Maisie's tone is urgent.

I check every room and finally find Dacre sitting at his desk.

"Dacre I'm so sorry but there are people in my house! Someone threw a party there!" I shout and he follows after me.

I put my shoes and so does he and we run over there.

The door is ajar and there are people still kissing on the wall.

I make my way through the house, the whole downstairs is trashed. Luckily I lock all the bedrooms, including my own which is just self locking when I'm not here.

The bathroom is clean as well.

What the fuck.

I check my parents room and see that it's safely untouched and I lock it all back up.

I wake up someone on my couch.

"Hey, who threw this party?" Courtney's a quiet girl and she'll tell me.

"You know that really mean guy in our English class?"

"Shepherd." She shakes her head.

"For once, not him. The one who's really mean." My nose flares and I try to keep my calm.

"You mean Arthur Rosling? Don't you?" She nods.

"Hey, Court, I recommend you leave. This party is about to get busted." I'm so angry.

Dacre comes up to me with Maisie and Carter.

"Your brother is out of line. Get everyone out of here but Arthur." I sit on the kitchen counter.

I'm so lucky every bedroom and the study was locked. I never leave my study open though so I was super pissed when I had to change the lock that Donovan picked when he broke in.

Everyone eventually leaves and Dacre and and Maisie check the whole house, even down to the basement which Arthur would've known how to get into.

Carter drags Arthur in and Maisie and Dacre enter as well.

"Arthur, I don't even need to express how fucking angry I am." Carter says as he looks at his younger brother, trying all he can do not to strangle him.

"I just threw a little party. What's the big deal?" Arthur is so unsorry that it's making me sorry for what he's going to have to do.

"You know what, leave it be. Arthur you're not leaving till my house is spotless? We'll be here to make sure that you don't run because if you do, I will drag your sorry ass from your house and tell Maisie and Carter to tell your mother. So you can find the cleaning products and the hoover and make sure that you don't leave anything dirty because I cleaned this place from the top down two days ago so if ANYTHING Is dirty or out of place, you're coming back." I am not as annoyed as I was before.

"Arthur, I seriously consider you thinking about what you are going to say before you open your big mouth." Maisie is angry. It's very rare to see her angry. The weird thing is, is that she's a lot angrier than she would be.

Dacre squeezes her shoulder. She gives him a very intimate look that I shouldn't be seeing.

"Look, I'm sorry about doing it. I thought you'd be fine with it because you used to throw them all the time." Arthur is starting to realise how stupid he was. "Oh my goodness, you'd have gotten into trouble if your probation officer saw, she doesn't like you, does she?"

I tilt my head. "We're getting there but in this situation, she wouldn't wait because she can't really. She'd have to take me to the police station and then Dacre and Carter would have to bust me out and that's long and embarrassing for me especially considering I did nothing wrong and was ill."

"You were ill? I just thought you weren't home or holed up in your room." He's starting to waffle.

"Get to work, I'm still pissed off." He scurries off when I say it.

"You know Dacre, I really thought Donovan was involved in this. When that girl said it was a mean guy in our English class, my mind instantly thought him." I'm questioning myself now.

"Oh Donnie isn't innocent at all, he came rolling into my old room because you were sleeping in his, at three am. I was working at my desk. Mom told him to come home at seven. He went to the party and he knew he shouldn't have and he should've told me immediately, especially because it's your house and he knew you weren't there to defend your home. Man that kid stresses me out." He looks guilt-stricken.

"Hey, no offence but full offence Gia, but that's how Maisie and I felt the minute she stepped out of military school. We knew she was 'reformed' but we can't help but stress. We took on the role of guardians to help our mom out and we felt that strain, it's no different for how we feel about Arthur and the rest of them. You feel that stress no matter how old your siblings are, you'll feel it when you two have kids." Dacre nods, he's starting to understand but he also seems a lot more flustered than usual at the mention of children.

"Yeah, I felt the same way about Carter when he was sneaking around when he was younger. It's a phase that we'll have to face one day babe." Maisie says and I almost gag.

"Maisie, can I talk to you in private?" I ask and she nods but her hands grip the tables.

"Never mind. Arthur, come here!" She shouts the last bit.

Arthur comes in and we all motion for him to sit down.

"So we have an announcement and this, MUST NOT, leave this room." She's very firm.

"What, you're pregnant? I know." Arthur is very matter-of-face with it. "You left the pregnancy test on the counter after you were done using the bathroom so I took the liberty of putting in the bin, zipping my mouth and keeping it to myself. I think everyone in this room is intelligent enough to deduce that you're pregnant." Arthur looks around.

"Oh no, I knew, I found another one of your tests in another bathroom and hid it for you. It's still at the back of the cabinet if you want it?" Carter says and Maisie starts to laugh.

"I could just tell, you got very angry, very quickly and you guys were super flustered at the mention of kids, even more so than usual. Call it a silly little hunch." Maisie's full on laughing sobbing now.

"Okay, tomorrow, we're going over to mine and planning the announcement. All five of us but Arthur, clean this house." Maisie says and we all nod.