I always belong to myself first.

Arya:

"FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!"

I jolted upright, my eyes scanning the room blearily as my brain computed the words that came from downstairs. I pulled the blankets away, the cool, frigid air hitting my bare legs. It was five am. and my beauty sleep has been interrupted. Someone is going to die.

I sprinted downstairs, still half-asleep, although the sight before me woke me up fast.

The boys were pressed up against the kitchen wall, a raging fire before them. Ethan had his head in his hands- probably still hungover- Caleb was trying to blow the flames out while Nick and Isaac batted it with paper.

How have these idiots survived for so long?

"ARYA! BACK AWAY FROM THE FIRE!" Nick screamed, coughing slightly as thick tendrils of smoke wove around the house.

"She's just a girl and she's on firee-" Caleb sang.

"NOT THE TIME MARTINEZ!" I shouted, grabbing the fire extinguisher in the cabinet that I keep for precisely these reasons. Pulling the pin, I sprayed the white foam, my anger rising as the fire slowly died out. Once I was done, I turned around, allowing my anger to bubble just above the surface. The boys looked petrified, inching away from me.

"Good morning Ree!" Caleb beamed, backtracking out of the room."Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"Take one step out of this room and I will castrate all of you." I growled. "Now someone want to tell me what the hell just happened?"

Isaac clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and winced. "Umm... not particularly." He said, carefully enunciating each word.

"They were being idiots, Ree." Ethan groaned, his eyes fluttering shut for a minute, clearly very hungover. Boo-hoo cry me a river.

"Oh I can see that." I gritted out. "But I asked what happened."

"Caleb wanted cereal." Nick blurted out.

Caleb stared at him in betrayal, hand over his heart. "We're twins Nick! Twins! We emerged from the same womb! How could you sell me out like that?"

"I'm sorry!" Nick whispered, casting a furtive glance at me. "But she's terrifying."

"Damn right I am." I hissed. "How does it go from Caleb wanting cereal, to the kitchen being burned down?!"

"Well, we were planning a little surprise breakfast, for you ya know, because you're such an amazing, kind person and we are your best friends slash non-biological brothers-" Kit stopped, seeing that flattery would get him nowhere. He cleared his throat. "ANYways, we were making you some toast, eggs, cake and milk. But then Caleb got hungry since it was pretty early, so we made some cereal, which, naturally, lead to a cereal war. But then the eggs and toast burned and the smoke triggered the detector. We threw some water on it, only-" He broke off, averting his eyes from my steely gaze.

"Only what?" I glared, sweeping my eyes across the five boys, all of whom had suddenly become interested in their feet.

"Only the water turned out to be gasoline and the kitchen... blew up?"

I breathed out heavily, pinching the bridge of my nose. "What kind of idiot mistakes gasoline for water?! In fact, why do we even have gasoline in the KITCHEN-?!" I broke off and swallowed harshly, taking a deep breath to calm the raving monster clawing away inside. "It's a sweet gesture what you were trying to do, and I'm not saying it's your fault, but you guys should be more careful. You could've died!" My voice wavered at the end, and the boys looked at me guiltily.

I massaged my temples and winced, knowing I was going to be exhausted for my interview. "We'll call the fire department and try and clean up. After my interview, we can see what is salvageable from the wreckage and call people to repair the kitchen."

Zack coughed and scratched the back of his head. "Umm... now might be a good time to mention that we don't have any insurance?"

I threw the extinguisher across the room.

X

The fire department said that the damage was aesthetic- I was very glad to know that- so no important pipes or anything got destroyed, miraculously. Unfortunately, we couldn't live there for the next two weeks, while the damage was being repaired. But with a quick phone call to his father, Zack managed to secure us a temporary living space. We had to move all our stuff to the new place and set it up.

Not only that, but Paulson Enterprise emailed me, saying my interview was happening an hour earlier. So I had barely any time to get ready and grab a granola bar, before sprinting out the door and praying that I get there on time. I gunned down the roads and searched desperately for a parking space, jumping about four red lights and traumatising a group of children with my colourful language. 

Puffing heavily, I skidded to a stop in front of the towering building. It was made entirely of glass- which must be a nightmare to clean- and was carved in a slight oblong shape. The sun reflected off its surface, blinding innocent bystanders who looked upon it.

They really should put a warning sign. I thought absentmindedly, fixing my outfit and pulling stray pieces of hair into the bun. With a satisfied nod, I pushed open the door and strode to the receptionist confidently.

"Good morning, my name is Arya McKenzie and I'm here for the interview." I stated confidently to 'Carlos'.

He looked up in confusion. "Why are you here now? Your interview is in three hours."

I stared at him and blinked. "What? I-I got an email saying it was now."

"We sent another email an hour ago..." Carlos trailed off uncertainly.

My eyes fluttered closed and I breathed out heavily. I hadn't had my daily dose of caffeine, nor my medication, so I was royally ticked off.

"What's going on here?" I turned around to be hit with the blinding smile of Fredrick Paulson. He was younger than he looked in his photos- probably around my age- with brown, slightly curled hair and hazel eyes that twinkled with mirth. I blinked and tried to compose myself.

"I turned up to the interview a little early." I laughed nervously, hoping I didn't sound like a fool. "Very sorry about that, I'll be back at the correct time."

"Nonsense." He responded easily with another five-hundred watt beam. He smiled too much. "We can have it now!"

"Oh, no, I don't want to be any trouble-"

"It's no trouble at all!" He insisted, and what choice did I have? I followed Paulson through the shiny white halls of the building, and up the winding staircase until we reached his office. He explained that the elevator was currently out of order- but that it should be fixed soon.

"Have a seat, Miss McKenzie." Paulson gestured to the comfortable white couch that dominated the centre of the room. The right wall was a window, and offered a clear and unobstructed view of the London skyline, faint light breaking through the grey clouds and shining through. A desk was shoved haphazardly in the corner, next to an impressive alcohol collection. A glass table was positioned between the two couches. Apprehensively, I sat down. 

"So, Arya," Paulson grinned wolfishly, offering me a drink that I politely declined. "How are you feeling today?" 

"Good, thanks." I answered tightly as he tipped the alcohol down his throat. This is a bad idea...

"So, Arya, I have read through your files and I must say, I am very impressed." 

"Thank you." I replied, relaxing ever so slightly. 

"Okay, so, our company hires influential businesspeople who have... questionable contacts and activities." He chuckled lightly, quite obviously tipsy. "Your job will be to make sure that they evade the authorities and keep them happy- I suggest wearing something a little less prudish." 

I blinked. "What?!" 

"Don't seem so surprised, Arya." He smirked, eyeing me up and down. My face flushed with fury and red clouded my vision. "I thought you knew, or at the very least suspected, that our business was less than legal?" 

"Why would I have any reason to suspect that?!" I exclaimed in horror, too shocked to move. "And what makes you think that I would be okay with what you are suggesting?!" 

He tsked softly and moved to sit right next to me. I leaned away from him, disgust coursing through my veins. 

"Well, I see you are the daughter of Celia McKenzie- wasn't she arrested years ago for trying to marry you off? And I see that you are still in contact with Lucas Mantennii- weren't you supposed to marry him? His father had many contacts with the Mafias and, well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." He leered and carefully placed his glass on the table in front of us. His words slurred slightly when he continued. "And also, as a woman of your colour and background, you should work on being more... presentable to your bosses- the male ones, at the very least." He placed a hand on my thigh, his other one rested on the back of my neck and he leaned in. 

My eyes widened at his insinuation and I slapped him. His head snapped to the side and my hand throbbed slightly, but I still wasn't done. I stood up and slammed his nose into my knee, hearing a satisfied crunch on impact.

"PERVERT!" I screamed, then stormed out of the office. I sprinted down the stairs, steam most likely pouring out of my ears. 

Once I was in the car, I punched the dashboard repeatedly, tears of frustration and anger streaming down my face. My knuckles soon turned red, but I felt no pain. Letting out a scream, I slumped forward. After a few minutes, my emotions cooled down into something much sharper and harder. My phone rang and Kit's contact name flashed on my screen. I wiped my eyes and accepted the call. 

"Hey Skittle!" He called cheerfully. "How was the interview? By the way, you're on speaker. Lucas is here too."

"He assaulted me and made some disgusting suggestions." My voice cracked ever-so-slightly. For a second, I heard nothing, and I thought they hadn't heard me. "Hello?" 

"Fredrick Paulson, right?" Zack's voice was dangerously low- I had never heard him use that tone before. 

"Yeah." I confirmed. "I slapped him and broke his nose and I'm in the car park now." 

"Come home and we'll talk about it there." Caleb said gently. 

"And don't be surprised if the police find a body in a river tomorrow." Ethan added darkly. 

End of chapter 2. 

Qotc: 

1. Think Arya overreacted? 

2. What do you think the boys are gonna do to Paulson? 

3. What do you guys think will happen next? 

I hope you guys liked it!

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)