A Loaded Gun

Chapter 43

Brooke POV

Christmas morning came, and I was close to bursting from anticipation. I couldn't wait for my brothers to see what I had gotten for them, and I was a tiny bit excited to get a present for the first time in 5 years.

I was not, however, as excited as Lucas, who burst into my room at 7 AM, disturbing a bizarre dream I was having involving cruise ships, runaway criminals, and Nintendo DS game cartridges.

"Starfish!" I yelped, sitting up in surprise. He frowned at me. "Starfish?"

"I was calling the police–what are you doing in my room at, God does that say 7:02? Are you insane?"

"Never mind that, it's Christmas!" he beamed at me as if it being a major holiday would make up for the awful time at which he had woken me up.

I groaned, knowing he wouldn't go away until I got up. "Fine, give me a second. Go wake up Daniel or something."

Secretly I was hoping Daniel would murder him so I could get a few more hours of sleep, but I'm not that lucky.

He grinned. "Oh no, that privilege is reserved for my Brookie. He's less likely to shoot you."

I grumbled as I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom, wishing I could take back the gift I had gotten for my most annoying brother.

I did get the satisfaction of listening to him wake up Michael, hearing a thump and a yelp that sounded remarkably like Lucas getting hit by a book.

Egged on by Lucas and Michael, I slowly snuck into Daniel's room, tiptoeing carefully to his bedside. I was about to start tickling him when I heard a low growl.

"Don't even think about it if you want to keep your hands." I smirked, waiting for him to open his eyes.

When he eventually blinked them open, he was met with tears and trembling lips. "Daniel...I just wanted to say Merry Christmas. You didn't have to threaten me..."

He huffed and slapped my hands away playfully. "You're a terrible actor, Brooke. But I'm up now, so get out so I can get ready."

Honestly I was expecting much worse, so Michael, Lucas, and I breathed a collective sigh of relief and ran.

"Now, who's waking up Marcus?" said Lucas cheerfully. Michael and I stared at him in horror before bolting downstairs, yelling, "you are!" over our shoulders.

He whined but eventually stomped towards Marcus's room. Michael and I froze on the stairs, spying as he entered the dragon's den.

"GOOOOOOOD MORNING, VIETNAM!" Lucas yelled like he was a morning show announcer, and Daniel stuck his head out of his room in curiosity.

"LUCAS YOU LITTLE MOTHERF*CKER GET THE HELL BACK HERE YOU–" Marcus let out the most creative string of curses I've ever heard as Lucas tore out of his room, mouthing RUN to us as he passed.

Giggling, we waited in the kitchen as Marcus stormed down the stairs. "Where the HELL is that little–"

"Ah, ah brother! You wouldn't want to make a scene in front of our little sister, would you?"

Lucas smirked, knowing that if he played the "Brooke" card, he could get out of anything. For the sake of his life, I played along, clutching his hand and staring at Marcus with huge eyes.

Literally fuming, Marcus glared but eventually relaxed into a smile. "I'm up now, do you want to do presents or breakfast first?"

Lucas scoffed. "That's not even a question, presents!" We followed him to the living room, grinning as he skipped like a little kid.