Chapter 3 - "Jesus, you two are so vulgar."

The surrounding atmosphere the moment he woke up felt heavy and uneasy. He only realized why when he finally sat upwards and realized he wasn't alone in his room.

On the rocking chair, his metallic arm on one of the armrest, was his father who still had the disappointed look as last night. He hadn't been able to sleep comfortably at all, especially since he knew the conversation last night was not going to be the end of it. But he didn't expect his father to be in his room already.

"Good morning." Nate's tone was cold and distant, as if he truly didn't mean what he said at all. He interlaced his fingers over his crossed legs before adding, "You slept okay?"

Charles swallowed hard, wondering what was going to be his punishment. He was probably going to be grounded, but he really hoped he could continue his training with Cesar.

He didn't have time to respond though, since Nate leaned forward in his seat and stated bluntly, "I know you two are hiding something."

Instantly, Charles' face drained of colours and he quickly turned away, his fingers gripping the blanket. He wasn't the greatest liar and his parents could read through him as though he was an open book.

"There is then," Nate confirmed, his eyes widening as he stood to his feet. Charles already started to sweat, and his fingers began to tremble as he gripped his blanket harder. "I know it involves money, and maybe some sort of death."

Immediately, Charles eyes flung towards Nate, his eyes widening in horror.

He remembered that night as though it was yesterday.

"You...Y-You c-can't say...any...an-anything...al-al-r-right?"

Natalia's body was covered in that dark red murky colour, traces on her face that had dried, and her hands were completely engulfed in that colour. However, Charles choked when he realized she was not bleeding from anywhere; it wasn't her blood. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, filled with such terror as though she had witnessed something she wasn't supposed to.

And she was completely naked.

"Pl-pl-pleas-se..." she hiccuped. "Ch-Charles," she begged through tears, wiping her nose and only causing more blood to be left on her face. "Our-our...pa-parents w-will go n-n-nu-nuts if th-they..." She couldn't even finish her sentence from how much she trembled.

That had been almost a year ago, and he had been able to keep her secret until now.

Charles' eyes filled with tears, exhaling a shaky breath.

Ever since his birth, he had been around Natalia. They went to the same schools, endured the same trainings, celebrated birthdays together even though they were born opposite times of the year, because they were practically twins. They had been raised together, as though they were siblings.

If he was to reveal her secret, she would never forgive him for it.

At the same time, he didn't want his father to feel as though he was lying to him. They were a tight-knit family, spending a lot of time together that both his fathers were literally his best friend. He remembered when the principal tried to suspend him from school for getting involved in dismantling a fist fight in the cafeteria. It wasn't only Nate that showed up for the meeting with him, but Dante, Lucius, Sarah, Jake, Jules, Bronsted and Cesar; that was his family.

He lowered his face into his palms, trying his hardest not to burst into sobs, but this situation was making his anxiety climb through the roof. Before he could even say a thing, his breathing began to climb alarmingly, and for a moment, he felt as though no air was coming in and out.

That was when he heard a soothing voice coo, "Alright, alright, you don't have to say anything. Don't worry about it, alright?" Nate had shuffled onto the bed, seated beside him as he wrapped his arms around his son. "I won't ask you any more, okay?"

Finally, Charles' quivering started to calm down, and after a few minutes, Nate pulled apart to meet his gaze and asked, "Could you do me one favour though?" Charles nodded his head, tears still streaming along his face as his lips tightened into a line with the ends turned down. "If Natalia asks you to go somewhere, please, I'm pleading with you," Nate placed a palm on Charles' jaw, "don't go. I have a bad feeling about this, and I'd go ballistic if anything was ever to happen to you, okay?"

Natalia was the worst at taking no for an answer, but his father was much more important than a night of sketchy missions. That was why he nodded his head and said quietly, "I promise."

***

"Holy fuck! You guys bother me all last night, and the moment I wake up, you barge in here to talk to me! I'm fucking tired, leave me alone!"

Jake raised a hand towards Lucius who had started stepping forward. They had made a pact; Jake did the talking and Lucius stood by the doorway and listened. However, it was definitely tough for Lucius not to get involved when his daughter spoke that way.

"Your attitude has been disgusting, and it's been getting worse," Jake started, approaching the bed where she laid with a pillow over her ear and turned away from them. "You dyed your hair black, you've been missing way too much school, you don't train as much, you sneak out late at night—"

"I'm in my senior year," Natalia argued, turning around to finally face them and sending glares to both of them. "I'm having a little bit of fun, that's all."

"What d'you do with the ten grand?" Jake asked bluntly.

Natalia's eyes darkened. "What ten grand?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Jake growled as he got closer to her bed. "The money you asked Cesar to give you."

"I didn't know Uncle Cee was a snitch."

"Answer him, Nat," Lucius spat from the doorway, keeping his hand on the doorframe. "What did you do with the money?"

Natalia sent them a coy smirk before she said playfully, "I gave them to homeless people on the street."

"Natalia, I'm not playing around," Jake snapped, his face darkening as his eyes sharpened threateningly. "What the fuck did you do with the money?"

She scoffed, "I'm not going to tell you that."

"Do you still have it?" Lucius stepped forward, unable to keep his mouth shut any longer. "Because if you don't, I don't care how long it takes, you're getting a job and you're paying all of it back."

It didn't seem to phase her as she shrugged her shoulders and chuckled mockingly, "Is that all?"

The smugness in her tone was enough for Lucius to instantly lose it, stepping closer to the bed. "I don't know what's going on with you, why are you acting like such a bitch lately?"

Immediately, Natalia's eyes widened in shock. Then, in one swipe, she shoved the blanket off and jumped to her feet as she screamed, "Mom! Dad called me a bitch!"

Lucius followed her out, continuing to curse about her attitude and Jake attempted to calm him down, but they eventually reached the kitchen where they both startled Sarah who had been washing dishes. She exhaled a long exhausted sigh; they argued as though they were siblings, and although it was cute sometimes, it had happened too often lately that it was irritating and draining to her.

"Mom, did you hear what I said? He called me a bitch!" Natalia shouted, pointing to Lucius.

Lucius shook his head. "No, I didn't." When Sarah sent Lucius a look, he rolled his eyes and admitted, "Alright, I did, but she fucking deserved it Snuggles."

"And you've been a fucking dick, and an asshole," Natalia spat back, her hands on her hips as she glared back at her father. "You've been up my ass about everything."

"Jesus, you two are so vulgar," Sarah groaned under her breath, her scrubbing of her dishes growing more sporadic. They had the exact same personality, especially when they were angry. They argued and shared insults and curses, even though they didn't really mean it, and both were too stubborn to back down.

Jake knew how volatile arguments between Lucius and Natalia could be, hence he decided to fold his arms and lean against the doorframe, staying out of the screaming match.

"Natalia, you've been skipping school, you took ten grand from Cesar," Lucius counted on his fingers, "you stole sunglasses and had a police chase, and you fucking stole drugs from a dangerous troop! What the fuck did you think would happen, that I'd be proud of you?!"

"And you've done way worse when you were my age so you have no right to say anything to me," Natalia shrieked, shrugging her shoulders.

"You're supposed to be better than me, you dumb ass!"

"Mom! He called me a bitch and a dumb ass," Natalia growled, pointing at him as she insisted for her mother to come to her defence.

Natalia grinned and lifted his chin when Sarah's eyes finally turned from the dishes and glared in Lucius's direction. "Lulu, you shouldn't say stuff like that, you're her father."

Lucius kept his narrowed eyes towards Natalia, watching her smug look and wanting to rip it off her face. However, when he glanced towards Sarah, the death glare she sent was enough to make him flinch,

"Fine, I forgot," he admitted reluctantly. "I apologize for calling you rude names." The smirk that grew lengthier across Natalia's face made his fists tighten. "But I mean what I said, you've been acting out and I want to know what's going on."

"Nothing is going on!" she shrieked again, throwing her arms in the air. "I'm in my senior year, that's all it is!"

Jake shook his head and murmured under his breath, "That's not all it is."

"Do you two have to be so loud?" They heard nearby footsteps before a grumpy Asher arrived at the doorway, glaring at the both of them with swollen eyes; it was evident he had been asleep moments ago. "It's not even noon yet."

"Shut up, Asher!" Natalia snapped, waving a dismissive hand.

Lucius narrowed his eyes towards his son and spat, "Stop involving yourself."

"I'm not involving myself," Asher grumbled, entering the kitchen and broadening his shoulders as well. "You two woke me up by your argument, you involved me!"

"You always do this," Natalia argued with her younger brother, leaning towards him. "You want to know everything that's going on with me. How about you mind your own business for once?"

Asher, who had been asleep a second ago, was wide awake and alert, ready to curse at his sister who hated on him all the time for no reason. "I don't care about your business! For all we know, you probably started prostituting with how you've been looking these days!"

"Dad!" Natalia shrieked, pointing to Asher. "Did you hear what he said?!"

Lucius' eyes had narrowed. "You can't say shit like that to your sister."

"You called her a bitch a second ago," Asher argued back.

Natalia threw her hands in the air. "Why the fuck are you listening to our argument?!"

"I'm not fucking listening, Natalia!" Asher yelled back, stepping closer to his sister. "You two were screaming in your room, and now, you're screaming in the kitchen that echoes across the whole fucking house!"

"Then don't listen to it!"

"How do you expect me not to listen when everyone can hear?!" He pointed a finger in her face and snapped, "How about you don't do dumb shit and you won't get yelled at!"

"How about you—!"

"ENOUGH!"

When Sarah slammed the pan she was cleaning in the bottom of the sink, the loud clank caused both of their lips to instantly seal. Both their backs stiffened as if there was a rod through their spinal cords, and Sarah closed her eyes, inhaling and exhaling as slowly as she could in hopes that she doesn't explode.

"Asher, go back to your room."

"Gladly, I fucking hate her," Asher scoffed, walking past Natalia and bumping into her shoulder on purpose. Natalia was seconds from retaliating when she caught glimpse of her mother's gaze and decided to stay put.

"Natalia," Sarah said softly, wiping her hands on a rag before planting her palms on her hips. "Tell me the truth, are you in trouble?"

Natalia swallowed hard, glancing towards her dad's pressuring gaze. After a few seconds, she shook her head. "No."

"Bullshit," Lucius roared, vigorously shaking his head. "Did you see how long it took her to respond? There's no way she's—!"

"I said enough." Sarah's voice was calm and quiet, but it had such authoritative impact that Lucius' lips sealed instantly. After her short pause, her eyes returned to Natalia and she asked bluntly, "Have you done something really really bad?"

"Nothing I can't fix on my own."

Sarah stayed quiet, searching through her daughter's eyes for a moment. She could tell when her daughter was frightened, and Natalia didn't seem to be scared at all of whatever she had to do.

Sarah tilted her head to the side. "Do you promise to bring your attendance at school up?" Natalia vigorously nodded her head.  "And can you apologize to your father for the insults you said as well?"

Natalia's face twisted into a grimace, and she turned towards Lucius who had a smug smirk on his face, puffing out his chest and folding his arms overtop. Sometimes, he definitely acted as though he was still a teenager, but it was also a great trait she cherished from her father. It was what made it that they could get past any fights as quickly as they started.

"Fine," she grumbled. "I'm sorry, Dad." When Lucius' smirk stretched into a full fledge smile, Natalia quickly turned back towards her mother. "Is that all?"

Sarah exhaled a long sigh, slowly nodding her head. "I trust you, so don't make me regret it."

"Snuggles, you can't be serious—"

"I said what I said, Lulu," she snapped, meeting Lucius' gaze with a glare. "Leave it alone until I say otherwise."

"Hold on." Natalia rolled her eyes when she heard Jake from the doorway. There had been a burning question stuck in his mind, and he approached them as he asked bluntly, "I have a question to ask; did you kill someone?"

A heavy silence fell, both of them peering into one another's gaze as though they would find answers in their pupils. But Jake shook his head when Natalia burst out in cackles, holding her stomach that started to hurt. "Yes, I'm just an infamous serial killer at night time, Jacob!"

Jake flinched; she knew he hated that name because it was the one Lucius used for him for a long time, and it hurt him deeply. Even worse, the sarcasm in her tone irritated him and he couldn't help but get in her face and hiss, "Listen to me. You think you know everything and you're not going to get hurt and that you can treat us all like shit, but it'll come back to bite you. Trust me when I say, you will need our help eventually, and this time, we won't fucking be there."

Her face fell, the coldness radiating from her features before she hissed, "I'd be worried if dad said that. But you, Jacob," she scoffed in disgust, "I never really needed you. You're just a fake dad," she spat, seeing his eyes starting to quiver, "always has been and always will be."