Papillon

Chapter 19: Homework

Francis

"I need your help," Bella barged into the apartment, not sparing anyone a second glance as she strode to her brother. She placed a notebook and a textbook on the dining table in front of him, pushing aside the containers of take-out.

I was lounging in Christian's apartment with Damon for dinner. Christian—Damon and I were pretty sure–didn't eat real food very often so Damon made a point to cook something or order take out and bring it to him once or twice a week. The three of us always got dinner together. When the girls were around, they might stop by but Robyn was back in NYU and Ariadne was at Johns Hopkins too.

"Don't know," Christian said dryly, typing away at his laptop.

"You didn't even look at it," Bella huffed, parking her hands on her hips. Dressed in black leggings and a pink shirt, she had big glasses on and her hair was up in a messy bun. She looked... cute. Merde.

We tried not to talk much around our family and when we did, it was a few acidic words here and there. Some jab about how I was wearing black, me saying her hair had so much hairspray in it it probably felt like cardboard, etc etc. Truly charming shit.

Christian cast a split second-long glance to Bella, the notebook, and then back to his laptop. "Don't know," he repeated.

"You're supposed to be good at math," she frowned. "Ariadne says money follows you wherever you go." This was true.

"You're the one in school," he countered.

"You're getting an MBA and working for Dad, so..."

"Working with Dad," Christian corrected, jaw ticking. His fists clenched which put me and Damon on defense immediately.

"Same difference," Bella said quietly, unravelling his hands gently. We all knew the signs of his temper–Robyn better than anyone else.

"I'm busy, Bella. Go FaceTime Aria and ask her. She'll do it happily."

"She's studying for the MCAT. I'm not bothering her."

Bella tossed her hair behind her shoulders, an exasperated breath escaping her. She was yet to even look at me, while I hadn't looked at anything but her since she arrived.

She slid the books over to Damon. "Can you help me?"

"I barely made it through school, Bella," Damon chuckled, taking a sip of his beer. "Robyn could probably help you, though."

"She might be with that hottie she's seeing. I'm definitely not interrupting that."

Testosterone surged in the room as Damon and Christian stared at her with anger written all over their faces.

"Who the fuck is she seeing?" Damon demanded. "She didn't even let me run a background check."

"I don't know," Bella shrugged nonchalantly. "He was insanely hot, though. And massive. He was like a football player, I swear—"

"What's his name?" Christian seethed. Amusement flooded through me like a tsunami. When the fuck was he going to realize she was it for him?

"She told me about him," I said, adding fuel to the fire. "Seems nice."

"Did she tell you his name?" Christian asked calmly but the way his fists clenched said he was anything but tranquil.

"I don't remember," I drawled. "Maybe you could pick up the phone and ask her."

If looks could kill, I'd be slashed in half on Christian's pristine marble floors right now.

"I'm going to kill her," Damon muttered.