Cerberus

10. Opportunity

The phone rang without answer and Lydia found herself becoming nervous. Maybe this was a mistake. Josh hadn't reached out again since last week when she'd deleted all social medias. If it was important, surely he would have called her himself. Before she could decide to hang up or not, he answered the phone.
"Hey, Lyd, are you all right?" He sounded genuinely concerned.
"Hey, yeah I'm ok." She replied, trying her best to sound careless.
"Where are you? You dropped off the map, I asked Alaina but she said she didn't know."
    That was true. She'd told Alaina she was going away for a bit but hadn't told her where, mostly because she'd been livid at the time and didn't want to talk about it. Now, she didn't care if anyone knew where she was.
    "I'm at the house in Vegas. I needed a getaway for a while." Was all she said.
    "No way, that's perfect! I was planning to go out to LA for a few weeks, I'm actually about to board but I can have the pilot reroute to Vegas. We need to talk and I'd rather do it face to face."
    "What? Josh, no. Absolutely not."
    "Come on, Lydia, don't be so stubborn. Your dad's house is in the MacDonald Highlands, my family has a place in that neighborhood too. Don't tell me you couldn't use some company." He said conspiratorially.
    She paused before saying, "I guess, but just brace yourself, the security dad sent with me is no joke. It's like a prison here."
    Josh laughed on the other end of the line. "Like security has ever stopped us before? Come on Lyd, don't get soft on me now."
    Lydia rolled her eyes, "Just text me when you land."
    "Of course, see you soon." Was all he said before hanging up.
    Somehow, Lydia felt uneasy after the conversation. Her and Josh had a complicated history of dating on and off. The majority of their breakups had to do with his twin brother, Scott, causing some kind of rift between them. They currently were not together, but she wouldn't mind if he wanted to stay in Vegas and keep her company for a bit. They would just have to get over what happened on the yacht between her and Scott... that was undoubtedly what he wanted to talk about.
    Josh was impulsive, his decision to fly here instead of LA wasn't out of character for him. She just needed to be careful with Isaac and Kassidy. Technically, her father hadn't said no visitors. But he'd also sent her here with intent to "self-reflect" in isolation. Surely, one guest wouldn't be a problem. She'd deal with Kassidy later, but for now, he wasn't here. He likely wouldn't be back again until late that night, per usual. It was a two and half hour flight from Seattle to Vegas and a short drive from the airport to the house, Josh would have plenty of time to get here if he really was just boarding.
    She stood hurriedly from what had become her regular spot planted to rot on the couch and made her way upstairs to get ready.

~

Three hours passed and Lydia was showered and dressed. She pulled her hair up into a butterfly clip and wore a casual pair of ripped, loose fitting jeans and an olive green knitted tank top that showed her midriff. It had a low, square neckline that accentuated her cleavage. Perfect, Josh was a sucker for her chest, and she wasn't sure how pissed he'd still be after what happened. She paired it with white sneakers and made her way downstairs.
Josh had text her five minutes ago saying he'd landed so she knew he'd be there soon and wanted to beat the security guards to the door when he got there. She attempted to be casual as she took a seat in the main kitchen closest to the front doors.
It wasn't long before he text her that he was there and she almost jumped out of her chair before remembering to collect herself and go let him in without drawing attention.
She took a breath and collected her nerves. They had always been able to piece things back together in the past, but Josh was impulsive and sometimes, petty. He hadn't sounded upset on the phone, but sometimes his mood could swing at the drop of a pin. He'd never been outright cruel to her, but he could say things that hurt.
She got to the door without being stopped and swung it open to find Josh already standing there, smiling. And he wasn't alone.

~

Josh and Scott were twins, but they weren't identical. They had a lot of similarities, but they each had unique physical attributes that set them apart.
Josh was lean and fit, skin tanned from time spent out on sea vessels. He had light brown eyes and wavy, light brunette hair that he kept shoulder length and tied up in a bun. He had an easy way about him that seemed to draw people in. He wore a sky blue button down polo shirt tucked into khaki shorts with tan loafers. However, where he was an average height, his brother was taller.
Scott was broad and built like he spent many hours lifting heavy weights in the gym. He had darker hair than his brother, and he kept it cut short on the sides and longer on top, swept up to the side and back. It always looked a little off to her, like he used too much product. He wasn't tan like his brother either, causing the freckles on his face to stand out. He wore a black tight fitting athletic shirt over gym shorts with Nike running shoes.
"Ma'am, step back." The security guard on duty said, finally noticing what was happening.
"It's fine, I know them." She waved him off.
"Ma'am, Kassidy stated not to allow anyone in or out of the home." He replied.
Lydia whirled to face him, "Kassidy doesn't have the authority to prevent me from having guests."
The man pulled out his phone and started tapping the screen.
"If you call him, I'll make sure you get fired from this job faster than you can hang up." She spat, hoping he wouldn't see through her bluff. The man stopped what he was doing, looked at the two men at the door, then back at Lydia before putting his phone back in his pocket.
"Sorry, ma'am, I didn't know you planned on having guests today is all." He stepped back and took position by the wall.
"That's the security you were worried about?" Josh laughed.
"No, it the other one that's a pain in the ass. He isn't here right now." She replied. "Come in, I can have the chef make something if you're hungry."
They made their way into the house. Lydia's hands were sweating. Why had he brought Scott with him? What was he planning? This was a mistake. Internally, Lydia was panicking but she had to keep a nonchalant composure. The last time they'd seen her, she was a mess. She wouldn't let the embarrassment get the best of her. If she acted like nothing happened, maybe they would too.
Lydia had just sat down when Scott's phone pinged in his pocket. He pulled it out and smiled. Her veins filled with ice at that smile. Scott got a look in his eye when he was planning something, and she knew it well. She had been a part of many of his plans in the past.
"I'm sorry I didn't text to ask you before, but everything was so busy with rerouting the flight and changing plans. I may have sort of thrown something together at the last minute." He said, voice amused.
"What do you mean?" She asked, keeping the worry from her words.
"I invited a few other people to come hang out, I thought it would cheer you up." He replied.
"What? Scott you can't-" she was cut off.
"Dude what the hell?" Josh asked, astounded. This was good, she thought to herself, Josh was the only person who could keep Scott in check, and vice versa, Scott kept Josh in check. It was a twin thing they always said.
He went on, "that's a great idea! I'll post a story and get some people here too!"
Lydia's jaw would have dropped if she didn't have it so tightly clenched. This is what they had been planning. As soon as they knew where she was, they had immediately made a plan to spite her. Of course they weren't hear to talk about what had happened, they were here to get back at her.
"Absolutely not." She said, but they ignored her and Scott strode to open the door. A group of six people she'd never met came in, chattering away to each other.
"Josh," she plead, "if my dad finds out, he's going to be furious."
"So? He's always so serious, come on. When has that ever stopped you?" He looked down at her.
She paused at his words. He was right, wasn't this what she had wanted? Maybe this was a good thing. If she couldn't leave the house to see anyone, maybe she would just bring everyone here. Kassidy wasn't around, and even if he came back, what was he really going to do? Lecture her?
"Fine, but not too many people." She resigned.
"There's my girl!" Josh pulled her in and hugged her. She felt squeamish at the touch. She could turn this around into a good thing, she was sure of it.