Alpha Brothers - the King (book 1)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1
Olivia
"Liv! Liv! Come on, open up!"
I groaned at the sound of my sister's voice. Even through two doors and two walls, I could hear her. My eyes opened slightly to my now light bedroom. The sun's rays sneaked through the small gap in my old curtains, reminding me that it was Saturday morning. When did the sun come up?
I groaned again, now annoyed that she had woken me up. She never understood priorities. Sleep in when you can!
"Come on, Liv!" she groaned, still outside in the hallway.
Stumbling out of bed, I grumbled all the way out of my room. Both my bedroom and the bathroom door opened up to the living room. My apartment was small, with only a bench to separate the kitchen from the living room.
"Liv!" Amy, yelled getting more impatient.
"I'm coming," I told her, unlocking the door and sliding across the chain.
Before I could say anything, Amy was in my apartment and running towards the bathroom. Blinking my eyes several times, I wondered if I had even seen my sister or if I had just imagined it. But five minutes later, she came out of the bathroom, looking more relaxed than when she entered it.
"Hey Liv, good morning," I said, putting on my best Amy voice reminding her of how normal people greeted each other.
She just rolled her eyes, "Sorry, desperate times call of desperate measures."
She flopped back on my lounge, looking quite at home. I was still annoyed that she had woken me up so that she could use my toilet. I was even more annoyed because it was only eight-thirty-nine. If she wasn't the only family I had left, I would have killed her.
"So, what calls you here, beside from your small bladder, this early in the morning?" I asked.
"Oh, right," she started, sitting up straight with a face full of excitement, "the guy I went home with lives around the corner."
"And you couldn't use his bathroom?" I asked.
She tilted her head and gave me a get real look.
"Come on Liv, it's almost nine o'clock."
"No it's not!" I said, not realising that I had risen my voice, "It's eight-forty. Meaning it's closer to eight-thirty than nine."
She just rolled her eyes, "Oh Liv, you're such a hibernating bear."
I smiled, proud of the name.
Sighing, I stood, "Well, now that you're here, do you want breakfast?"
She shrugged, "Sure."
I walked over to the kitchen, surprised that she got up and followed me.
"What do you want?" I asked, looking through the fridge.
"Mmm, what are you having?"
There wasn't much in the fridge. I always left the shopping till Saturday because I worked all week. But on mornings like this, with surprised visits from Amy, I wished that I had gone earlier. Taking the cheese from the middle shelf and taking the bread from next to the microwave, I placed them on the bench.
"Grilled cheese?" I asked.
"Perfect."
I smiled at my little sister then turned to the griller, under the oven. Turning it to the second highest setting, I walked back to the bench and started working on the food.
"So," Amy started with a sigh, "been out lately?"
I rolled my eyes at the question. Amy was obsessed with my love life. Well, not really because I didn't have one.
"What is so wrong with focusing on my work?" I asked her.
"Because that's all you focus on," she said it as if it was a bad thing, "I mean, that's all you ever do."
"My work is important to me," I told her.
That was a lie. I worked at a café that only paid me enough so that I could pay rent for a tiny apartment. It was my other work that was important. Painting was my passion and it took me three years at college to get a bachelor of fine arts to prove it. I had created a few paintings myself that lied against the walls of my living room, but none were good enough.
"Look, Am, I'm not twenty-one like you. I can't just go home with every guy I see," I told her, trying to put a little perceptive in the conversation.
"Oh don't you use that as an excuse. You're only twenty-five."
I sighed, knowing that she was probably right, though I refused to believe her. Sticking the four pieces of bread that had cheese on them under grill, I sighed and returned to the bench.
Noticing a pile of unopened letters by my key bowl, I took the first one. I frowned. It didn't look like a bill.
I opened the letter and my confusion spread.

To Olivia Davis

We would like to thank you for entering our competition and announce your great win. You have receive an all payed for tour of Scotland to discover the hidden arts behind its grand castles. The trip is not refundable and plane tickets are not included. Congregations and thank you again for entering.

The Art Club of New York

My mouth dropped and my eyes grew wide. I read the letter three times before it started to sink it. I had just won a payed for trip to Scotland to see the castles and art work. That was my dream. To travel the world in search of different forms of art. But something still sat at the back of my mind. I had never heard of the Art Club of New York. My gaze turned to my sister who sat patiently, waiting for me to tell her about the letter.
Knowing how controlling my sister could be, I asked, "Amy, do you know anything about the Art Club of New York?"
"A-ah, um, a-about that," her stutter gave it away, "See the thing is, I saw a filer on my car about this art competition and free trip to Scotland. So I decided to enter you in it," when she saw the anger spread over my face, she quickly added, "Well, you're always saying that you're not good enough so I thought that this would be a good way to prove that you are. And you know, free trip to Scotland."
"So you went behind my back –!"
"Oh don't get upset about it," she buttered in, lighting a match inside my body.
"You can't just do that, Amy!"
She just shrugged, "Well I did, you should be thanking me not yelling at me!"
I through my hands up in defeat. She could be so impossible sometimes. So stubborn, so controlling and more often than not, right. Which annoyed me even more.
"Well clearly I can't go," I stated, throwing the letter in the bin.
"Why not!"
"Because Amy, I can't take work off," I told her sternly.
Her eyes narrowed as she groaned and stormed towards the bin. She fished for the letter and slammed it down on the bench.
"I don't understand you sometimes. Since we were kids, you always wanted to travel and now that you actually can, you don't want it?"
I opened my mouth to argue with her, but closed it when I realized that she was right.
She scoffed and stormed for my front door. I jumped when she slammed it closed, the noise echoing through my tiny apartment.
Groaning, I dropped my head in my hands.
She was right. I had been like that since Mom and Dad died. Every dream I ever had became impossible to reach. So when my dream came true, it was impossible to believe it.