LIBERTY

Chapter VIII

Axel swallowed down another mouthful of cereal, milk dripping from the corner of his lips. He used the back of his hand to wipe his mouth when the doorbell rang. Again. He lazily turned his head towards the small screen displaying a tall, black haired Asian girl, standing outside of the gate. Chloe had been ringing the bell non-stop for the past ten minutes, and the little firecracker didn't look like she'd be going anywhere soon until someone answered the door. She usually wouldn't even bother ringing the bell since she knew the combination but Adam had changed the alarm system since the incident with Lance happened.

Axel jumped from the kitchen counter and moved to the intercom, punching in one of the buttons, "Go home Parker."

The girl looked straight into the camera with a murderous glare. "Open the fucking door, Axel."

Axel grinned deviously. "Adam told me not to let any strangers in."

She didn't respond and merely flipped him off before ringing the bell again.

He rolled his eyes and moved to the couch where he turned up the volume of the television. He could barely hear himself chew and smirked internally. He put his feet on the coffee table, his eyes roaming over the fixed wall behind the flat screen. The living room still smelled like fresh paint and cleaning products. This morning, some guys came in and helped cleaning up the place – you couldn't even tell a murder had taken place in the exact same spot barely a day ago.

"Dude! Answer the fucking door!" Aaron yelled from the top of the stairs, fed up with the incessant buzzing sound of the doorbell.

"Can't," Axel said as he casually took another bite of his cereal. He snorted lightly when he heard his brother's aggravated groan, followed by heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.

Aaron walked into the living room, practically fuming as he saw his brother sitting relaxed in the couch doing literally nothing.

Axel hid an amused smile behind his bowl when his brother walked past him and laughed when he felt a smack on the back of his head.

Aaron clicked the button on the device to open the gate and turned to his brother. "What does she want?"

"I don't know," Axel mumbled around his spoon.

There was another knock on the front door and Aaron sighed as he answered it. He opened it enough to lean against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his lean chest.

"Hey – " he started to greet her when she cut him off.

"Is Axel here?" her nostrils flared as she tried to move inside but Aaron gently pushed her back. "Axel, you motherfucker! Next time I see you, I swear I'll punch your dick!"

The sound of laughter echoed through the house, and Chloe could practically imagine the smug smile on the fucker's face.

"Okay, hey calm down," Aaron said as he once again stopped her from storming into the house.

"Just let me punch him once, Aaron, please."

Aaron had to fight back a smile. "I promise I'll give him a good thumping later if you want."

"Yeah, love to see you try, bro!" Axel shouted from inside the living room.

"Don't listen to him," Aaron said, "so what's up?"

"Is Libby here?"

Aaron lifted a hand to scratch at the nape of his neck. "Uh, she's actually still sleeping."

Chloe raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "It's almost three in the afternoon."

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, she doesn't feel well."