"Hold up, Julianne is Sparky?" Jacques said in a surprised tone.
"Seems like everyone's gonna keep calling me Sparky," she mumbled.
"Who's Julianne?" Jackie said to him, pushing her glasses up her nose.
"Girl if those glasses are too big, get a new pair!"
"Don't sass me! Well, who is she? And where is Sparky?"
"Julianne is Sparky! It seems Laurent gave her that nickname."
"I get it now!"
Tiana glared hard at her brother. "Now Mom's really gonna kill you!"
"Not this again," he moaned, "What are you doing here, Jacques?"
"Don't mind me, I was just passing through. Goodbye, Sparky!"
She frowned as she watched him make his way out of the estate. Tiana, Jackie, and Marley had puzzled looks on their faces as they stared at her. Marley was the first to speak up.
"What happened to her?"
"I'm still trying to find out."
"You're Sparky, right?"
"It's Julianne but fine, you can call me Sparky."
Marley clapped her hands in excitement. "I'm Marilyn, but everyone calls me Marley. My sister, Jacqueline, is the brunette with the extra-large glasses, but you can call her Jackie. That's Tiana, Laurent's sister, and inside the house is Kaitlyn, who is perched on the sofa, sleeping like a drunk."
She laughed lightly. "It's nice to meet you, Marley."
"We should go inside," Tiana said, "It's late."
"Technically, it's early since it's morning," Jackie blabbed.
"Technically, you should be asleep! Sheesh, Jackie!"
They led her to the guest room.
"Are you hungry?" Jackie said, sitting next to her. "There isn't any food left, but there are tons of cookies! Marley, get the cookies!"
"On it!"
"So, what brings-"
Jackie sighed when she heard the clattering of pots and pans. "What are you doing, Marley?"
"It wasn't on purpose!"
She shot a sweet smile at her. "Excuse me, I'll be right back."
She watched Jackie shuffle out of the room, leaving her with Laurent and Tiana.
"I should check on them, and drag Kaitlyn to her room. See you!"
Tiana got up from the plush sofa, hurrying out of the room. Once again, they were alone. The silence was uncomfortable, it was hard not to stare at him. She stared hard at her shoes, not wanting to start a conversation. As much as she tried to avoid it, he ended the silence.
"Are you gonna tell me what happened with Jack?"
She bit her lips anxiously, refusing to meet his gaze. She didn't want to talk about it. He, however, couldn't take a hint.
"If I'm gonna help you, I need you to be honest with me, Sparky."
"Oh, enough with that silly nickname! I only got shocked twice!"
"You don't have to make a fuss about it."
"There is no fuss!"
"Fine, no fuss," he laughed. In a split second, he became serious. "What happened?"
"Guess."
"I'm terrible at guessing."
Her eyes left her shoes and landed on his. "Do you remember what went down at my birthday party?"
"It was one for the ages," he laughed.
"I'm serious here."
"I remember, Peyton almost shagged you."
"Don't say that word, it's rude."
"That's what happened, isn't it?"
"Shut up!"
"What should I say, Sparky? Sexually assaulted?"
"Stop mocking me!"
"Fine." He waved it off. "Was that what happened tonight? Jack almost screwed you?"
"What is it with those slangs?"
"Forgive me. Jack almost 'had his way' with you?"
"Quit it! It's not funny!"
He stopped laughing again. "It isn't, I'm sorry. I caused this."
"Yes you did, and you should feel very guilty."
She paused when she noticed his sullen look. "I was joking. I enjoyed tonight, except for the shindigs of course. I've never felt more alive, and free. Besides, if it didn't happen today, it would have happened another day, so what the heck?"
"I'm glad you liked it."
"Whatever, but please don't-"
"I've got cookies!"
Jackie and Marley's sudden arrival ended the conversation. Jackie placed them next to her before sitting next to Laurent. Marley, however, seemed pissed off. She assumed it was because her hair looked like a tumbleweed.
Laurent was the first to speak up. "What happened to your hair, Marley?"
"It was Jackie's fault!"
He rubbed his forehead, suddenly regretting why he asked the question.
"I thought there was a spider on your hair, Marley."
"You knew there was no spider. She wanted to whack me! I guess it's because I broke her old pair of glasses last week."
Julianne giggled as she watched the siblings bicker. She missed her family, and the squabbles they had. Although she didn't say it aloud, she missed her grandmother's incessant nagging and her grandfather's snoring. Times like this made her wish she had siblings she could laugh with, cry with, and argue with.
"Forget I asked, Marley, your hair looks great!"
"No, it doesn't!" She whined.
"What's with all the commotion in here?" Tiana said as she entered the room, Kaitlyn perched on her shoulders.
"It's Jackie's fault!"
"Quit it, Marley!"
Kaitlyn sat next to Julianne, looking at the cookies next to her. "Are you gonna eat that?"
She shook her head. A huge grin appeared on Kaitlyn's face as she picked up a cookie, chomping down mercilessly.
"I apologize for their behavior," she said, referring to her siblings, "Jackie and Marley make trouble out of nothing."
She nodded her head, agreeing with Kaitlyn.
"I'm Kaitlyn!"
"Julianne."
"Fine, it's settled," Tiana's voice boomed off the walls, "Jackie, apologize to Marley."
"Sorry..."
They stopped arguing and took their seats next to Tiana. Jackie eyed the clock on the table. "It's 4:00 a.m. We should get some sleep."
"Let's hear a story, Tiana!"
"Seriously, Marley? A story? What are you, five?"
Marley shrugged. Tiana sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you a story. Once upon a time, actually it was a couple of years ago but y'all get the hint. As I was saying, once upon a time, there was a rich couple..."
"Were they from Summer Bay?"
"Yes, Marilyn. Now quit yapping! Once upon a time, there was a rich couple. They had a daughter, their only child. They spoiled her and did all the stuff that rich couples did with their kids. When she came of age, she was engaged to a man who was ten years older than her. She didn't like him but for her parents' sake, she got married to him. They had a son and for a while, everything was fine. That was until she eloped with the man's best friend, who was nicer, richer, and younger. They had a daughter, but he died a while later. She went back to her parents, who threatened to remove her from their will unless she went back to her husband. She went back to him but when her parents died and their assets were given to her, she divorced him. He begged and pleaded with her, but she refused.
"On her twenty-eighth birthday, she threw a huge party at Spring Day. It was supposed to be entrance by invite only, but some robbers crashed the party, and I assumed they didn't have invites. They killed everyone, including the poor heiress. When the police came, they couldn't find her children, their bodies weren't found, and the robbers were never caught. It is said that her ghost still haunts Spring Day to this day, drawing customers to their early deaths. The end!"
When she concluded, they were all asleep. She shrugged and lay her head on the armrest, falling asleep too.