𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴

𝕿𝖆𝖙𝖙𝖔𝖔

I struted into the house with confidence, wearing an open leather jacket generously loaned by one of Gabrielle's friends. It was the only thing draping over my torso, intentionally leaving my skin on display. Underneath, a stunning dragon skeleton tattoo adorned the space between my breasts, its tail coiling around the name 'Markus' etched into my skin—I wasn't hiding that anymore. And as if that wasn't bold enough, Melanie's sister had helped me bleach a few strands of my hair, resulting in a striking skunk-like contrast that added an extra edge to my look.

The entire band was gathered in the living room, engaged in what seemed like a serious discussion. But as soon as I stepped in, all eyes snapped to me, their conversation disappearing into thin air. Without saying a word, I made my way to my room, the sound of footsteps trailing behind me. Inside, I scooped up Bee, who was peacefully napping on the edge of my bed.

"Long time no see," I grinned, gently petting her small back.

"Indeed. Where the hell have you been?" Georg's voice cut through the air, his tone anything but pleasant. It was clear he was more than a bit agitated, though beneath that was a sense of relief at my return, so intense it could almost be mistaken for a threat.

"Out," I replied dryly, brushing off his irritation.

"The fuck you mean 'out'? And what's with this outfit? Ain't you already getting enough attention?" Georg stepped in front of me, zipping up my jacket to prevent any accidental flashing.

"Why do you care, Georg?" I questioned, my voice icy. I towered over him, my high-heeled boots adding to my height, making me taller than him. "Why do I care?" he scoffed, but I cut him off before he could continue.

"Yes, why do you care? You didn't seem to object at all when I left," I countered, my cold gaze never wavering from his weary eyes.

"You're my goddamn sister, Lolita. What was I supposed to do, huh? Chain you to the bed and force you to stay there? You had a meltdown and then ran off," he answered, the bitterness evident in his tone.

"You witnessed everything that was happening, yet you didn't speak up or take any action," I pressed on.

"And what did you expected me to act like? Like I could've stopped you from doing anything. I did what I could; I warned them, I warned you. What more did you want me to do?" Georg shot back, trying his best to keep calm.

"You know what? I'm not having this conversation with you right now," I declared, turning to exit my room and make my way to the kitchen. I was mad hungry.

"Keep acting like this, see what happens," Georg's voice trailed after me. "Didn't we already?" I shot back, meeting his gaze one last time before rounding the corner and disappearing from view.

Walked into the living room, my head up. However, inside I was hoping not to be addressed or hear some nasty comments. I glanced at the couch, and thankfully, everyone was gone. In the kitchen, I opened the fridge and took out a bottle of Sprite, bread, a tomato, and chili cream cheese; I was craving toast. I threw the bread in the toaster and while waiting, poured myself a glass of Sprite. When the toast popped out, I placed both slices on a plate, smeared the cream cheese all over them, and then added the sliced tomato, sprinkling it with salt.

I sat down at the island and started munching on my food before, out of nowhere, Tom spawned next to me. "Enjoy your meal!" he smiled, stealing a slice of tomato from my toast.

"Yo, you need to cut me a new one, it's an important part of the dish, man," I replied, ushering him toward the cutting board with half the tomato left on it.

"Ah, my bad," he said, cutting me a new slice and placing it on my toast.

"Salt," I ordered. He sprinkled a bit of salt on the new slice of tomato. By then I had finished the first slice of the toast, so I moved on to the other.

"Listen, Lolita. I know I've been weird ever since that night and acted like an asshole when you were obviously not feeling well. Forgive me. I really, really like you and I don't want to mess this up," he said, pushing a strand of my hair out of my face so it wouldn't get in the way of my toast. "I heard what you said about being in love with Bill, and I understand that maybe he is a better option, but please, if you give me another chance, I will prove to you that I can be just as caring and affectionate as him."

I stopped chewing for a second. That was unexpected. My gaze left the toast in front of me and traveled to his begging eyes. "Alright," I said, trying to hide the wave of emotions running through me. His face lit up and he pulled me into a kiss. A few seconds later I pulled away. "Tom, I am eating."

"I know, I know, I just love you so much," he whispered, smiling ear-to-ear.