Heartbreak hotel

Chapter 13

Everyone seemed to agree with Luca’s suggestion as they split apart, spread out across the living room, and began talking in their little groups. He watched as Rick and Roman walked into the kitchen, the two brothers talking. It was still loud, but not as loud as it previously had been. Silas walked over to Julian, smiling a little. Julian smiled back at him as they made themselves comfortable on the ground.

“So, what’s your opinion on all of this?” Silas asked, looking at Julian with his head c****d.

“I think Jamie’s in the wrong, but-”

He was interrupted by his sister walking with a grin and Ravi scowling behind her. She grinned as she headed straight for Sebastian and dragged him away from Erza to talk to him. He could see his father frowning but nodding, and she smiled, but then he placed his hand on his hip and knew she was getting warned.

Thea pulled her phone out and texted, and then everyone under 23’s phones buzzed.

“I bet it’s Thea about to be a pain in the ass,” Silas muttered. Julain snorted but didn’t deny it. He was right.

He stared at the text, and she was asking to be killed. Some were for her stupid t****k idea, mainly Midnight, Isaiah, and Royal; others were against it, such as himself, and she told him to stop being a buzz kill. He gave up. If she wanted Ash to kill her, she could just ask him not to do it this way. He was surprised Sebastian had even given the okay.

“On a scale from one to ten, how badly do you think she’s going to get in trouble.”

“She’s a grown-ass woman. She won’t get in trouble,” Silas said, eyeing his phone.

“This is my father’s we’re talking about. Dad, to be specific.”

“Oh, fair enough. I’m thinking nine, possibly ten.”

Ravi walked over to the duo and stopped in front of them. Julian tried to ignore him, but he could see his legs, and it was getting on his nerves, so he dragged his eyes away from his phone and looked up at Ravi. “What?”

Ravi smiled, looking down. “Is there some sort of group chat I am unaware of?”

“Yeah. You’re not in it, f**k off.” Julian rolled his eyes but didn’t look back down at his phone. Instead, he continued staring at Ravi. Trying to figure out if he could recognise him, his face, and nothing was coming up.

“What did I ever do to you?”

“I don’t like you. Piss off.”

“You wound me with your words, Jewels.”

“Only Silas calls me that. f**k off, Ravi.”

“I’m offended.”

“You should be.”

“I’ll ask Thea. She’ll put me in it.”

“She likes you less than I do,” he scowled.

Ravi simply smiled but walked away. Julian scowled at his retreating figure. He could see Amethyst clinging to Jamie and Isaiah, glaring daggers at them from across the room. Royal had his legs thrown over Isaiah’s, keeping him there.

Thea’s stupid idea started almost an hour and a half later. The Romeros had made food: shredded chicken tacos with yorkshire puddings filled with cheese and beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, and mozzarella sticks. Everyone had been sitting around, all talking when it began.

Thea had gotten up, and she had gone to the kitchen. Sebastian sighed, eyeing his husband warily before shrugging to himself. Julian watched the phone Wendy was not so discreetly holding, a wide grin on her face.

Oh, his sister was getting killed.

“Thea, I asked you to do your laundry last week,” Sebastian had yelled, staring into the kitchen. Ash looked up, frowning, but said nothing as he continued eating.

He could practically hear the grin in his sister’s voice. “I said, I’ll get to it when I’m free. Shut up, for god’s sake,” she yelled back. Julian winced.

The room, lit with chatter, quietened as Ash’s eyes narrowed as he looked at his husband. He handed his plate to his husband as he stood up. Wendy moved the phone, and it was pointed at Ash.

“Thea,” he snapped as he stormed after his daughter.

“Oh, s**t, dad, it was a prank. I swear.” Ash’s reply was too quiet, and everyone stared at the kitchen.

When it had been silent for almost two minutes, Alex spoke. “You don’t think he killed her, did you?”

“He wouldn’t,” Nathaniel replied, frowning himself.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Erza muttered. “I did have to help hide the body on multiple occasions.”

“Dear god, I hope that’s sarcasm,” Wendy grumbled.

Erza was about to say something, but she looked over at Wendy and then at the phone in her hand and snorted. “Yeah, it’s sarcasm.”

Thea came out a few minutes later. Her head bowed as she stopped in front of Sebastian. “I told you it was a stupid idea,” Sebastian said, looking at his daughter with a small smile.

“Now, Thea,” Ash snapped. He was leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed as he glared at his daughter.

Thea sighed as she faced her father once again. “I’m sorry for telling you to shut up, even though it was a prank and you were aware of it.”

“It’s fine. Romeo, come and finish your food. It’s getting cold.”

Ash rolled his eyes as he sat beside his husband, snatching the plate out of his hands. “Don’t think you’re getting away with this, Bubbles. We need to talk.”

“In my defence, Thea roped me into this.”

“Good one,” Dai snorted. “You should be a lawyer.”

“I’m the CEO of a law firm.”

“Not a lawyer.”

“Dai, shut up,” Ash replied. He eyed the rest. “Which one of you rats has the phone?”

Wendy, who had previously been holding it, had now put it down and was focused on her food. “Oh, don’t act so innocent. She said it was a prank for Tik Tok, so one of you tools had to be helping her, recording the whole thing.”

Gabriel elbowed Wendy, who groaned. “I have the phone.”

“Delete it.”

“Can we not keep it?”

“No. Delete it.”

“Too late,” Wendy said, looking up with a small smile. “I’ve already posted it. And it already has 1000+ views.”

“Damn?” Isaiah said. “How’d you get that many views?”

Thea frowned. She took her phone from Wendya and stared at it. Wendy, who had been looking at her screen, snorted. “The comments are all perving on Uncle Ash and Uncle Sebastian.”

"Am I in the video?” Erza asked, her eyes narrowed. “Check the video, and if I am in it. Delete it. Delete it right now.”

Julian’s eyes widened. How could his sister have forgotten something so big?

“Thea!” A few people screamed.

“I’m checking,” she yelled back. “Give me a second.”

They all saw the blood drain from her face. “I deleted it. But it got a bunch of saves and reposts. But maybe no one will notice you?”

Luca got sick of everyone, and he didn’t hesitate in sending everyone home, claiming they could deal with all of this tomorrow night, and he needed his peace and quiet; no one had argued as they left his house in a swarm and disappeared within their own.

~*~