The key turned in the lock with a click, followed by the sound of me opening the door and closing it behind me.

"I'm home!" I shouted kicking off my shoes and strolling down the hallway to the kitchen.

I hadn't even gotten halfway through the corridor yet when I felt something, or rather two somethings slam into my stomach, "Oracio!" they said in unison.

Looking down, my eyes met a set of emerald and sapphire ones and two sets of smiling faces were staring back up at me.

"Oh, hey, you guys," I hugged them both, "Good day today?"

The second I finished my sentence they both started bombarding me with detailed explanations of their day. I could barely understand one of them when they talked that fast let alone two.

"Woah, Cyan, Azura, calm down, one at a time." I laughed.

Those two bundles of trouble were my siblings, Cyan, and Azura, the twins. Not too long after I was born they came along too. Naturally, even us as a family found it hard to tell them apart, until, luckily for us, one developed green eyes and the other blue.

They were always the troublemakers of the house and the fact that they were twins would make finding the culprit of their little experiments kind of hard if it wasn't for the eyes colour thing. They could get one my nerves just by being there, they were annoying as hell and never stopped arguing with each other, but, despite all that, they could be really sweet and innocent when they wanted.

"Oracio, Cyan touched your guitar when you told us not too!" Azura cried.

"What! Haven't I told you guys not to touch that, if you break it, it'll cost a fortune to get a new one!" I shouted.

"Liar! I didn't." He shouted back.

"Yes you did, I saw you, and then you made me pinky promise not to tell anyone but I had my finger crossed behind my back!" She stuck her tongue out at Cyan.

"Snitch!"

"Oracio, Cyan said I'm a snitch!"

"But you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes you are and you're a poopy head too!"

"Oracio! Cyan's being mean to me!"

"Would you both please be quiet!"

Mum stepped out of the kitchen door wearing her favourite "Your opinion is not on the menu!" apron over her jeans and t-shirt and a wet ladle in her hand. Her chestnut hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and she was wearing her signature do-not-test-me-unless-you-have-a-death-wish facial expression. It didn't take long for the twins to rush over to her and continue their argument, though, it was clear that mum just wasn't having any of it.

"Muuuuuuuuu-

"I swear to God what am I going to do with these two?" she sighed.

-uuuuuuuuum!" The twins shouted.

"Alright, that's it! Go to your rooms! Now! And no coming down until I say so!" She boomed and the twins quickly rushed upstairs, while still arguing.

"Mum, can you please tell the twins not to touch my stuff,  you know how easily they break things," I begged.

After they were out of sight, Mum turned to look at me and smiled wearily, "Welcome home to you too."

"Mum, my guitar!" I said, but then look at mums face and decided to drop it. "Never mind, looks like you had your work cut out while I wasn't here." I exhaled.

"Urg, don't even get me started, these two have been at it since morning. Bloody screaming at each other, it's doing my head in," she groaned.

"Well, for what it's worth, I don't think I'd still be sane if I had to look after them as long as you do," I said walking with her back to the kitchen while mum just rubbed her temple in response.

Heading into the kitchen Mum went back to cooking whatever it was she was cooking and Dad was sitting in his usual spot, his legs crossed, his face buried in his Daily Mail newspaper. He remained pretty much silent when he was like this with the exception of the occasional chuckle or grunt.

As I walked in he lifted his head above the paper and nodded in my direction followed by a "How was school today?"

"Fine Dad, anything interesting happened in the paper?"

"Nothing worth mentioning," he replied.

Crouching down I went to stroke Isabella, behind her ear, and like always, she hissed at me and almost bit my finger clean off. To this day I don't know what I did to make that cat hate me so much, but ever since we'd gotten her, she'd always been hostile towards me. Every day I'd come home and try to forget all the time she very nearly scarred my face or killed me and every time her response would be to hiss or lunge at me with her claw.

I'd gotten so used to it, it rarely surprised me when I'd just be sitting there and she'd claw a piece of skin off of my arm, but that doesn't mean I got used to the pain, it still hurt like hell every time.

Mum wanted to get rid of her because the scars all over my body were becoming too much for her to stand, though I thought they looked pretty cool. Unfortunately, the twins practically worshipped the damn animal and I quote said they'd run away from home, jump off a bridge and never speak to mum or come back ever again if they ever got rid of or hurt Isabella. Hence why she's still here.

Luckily for me, this time, she'd only grazed my thumb a little and I brought the tip of it to my mouth to suck away the blood.

"I swear to God Oracio, you need to stay away from her, you're getting more scars everyday. If it weren't for these two trouble makers we would have gotten rid of the damn thing long ago."

Ignoring her, I walked over to the counter and grabbed the last bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk.

"Like I've said a million times mum, it's OK, I don't mind, as long as it will keep the twins from going crazy and doesn't involve my guitar."

"You really seem attached to that guitar of yours," Mum sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, I need that guitar so that once I save up enough money I can get proper lessons and play it properly. I can't do that if the twins keep playing with it."

"Well maybe you should be looking after it better rather than complaining to me every time a finger is laid on it," Mum muttered.

"Thanks, mum. It's great to know someone in this house actually cares." I replied sarcastically. "They already broke one of the string and you know how much I had to save up to get it replaced," I said.

"Urg, don't remind me," she said.

"Exactly. All I'm asking is for you to make sure they don't touch it, glue it to the ceiling if you have to. I'm not that fussed as long as it isn't damaged or broken. I'm not saving up for a new one that shit takes time."

"Oi, watch the cheek," Mum said but I was already on my way upstairs.

Up there I could hear the faint sounds of Cyan and Azura. They were still arguing.

"Geez, those two don't know when to quit do they?" I muttered as I opened the door to my room.

Inside was a mess, to say the least, with clothes laying about everywhere and rubbish covering every nook and cranny of the place. But, I really couldn't be bothered to clean so, I used my arm and pushed whatever rubbish that was on my desk to the floor. Walking to the other side of the room I picked up the guitar that was resting against the wall, hanging the strap on the shoulder like I always did. I felt the smooth wood against my palm and smiled. Doing that always seemed to have a calming effect on me, it wouldn't matter what sort of stress I went through the past day. 

I got it as a present for my eleventh birthday and since then I was attached. I've always wanted to learn how to play it but since mum and dad couldn't afford to have me take lessons it was youtube tutorials for me. I could play it, not brilliantly but it was something at least before I got my proper lessons underway. 

I eventually took it off my shoulder and put it back in its place. Soon after I belly flopped onto my bed and exhaled loudly. It had been a long day. 

Just then, I felt a buzz from my phone. Reaching into my pocket I pulled it out and switched the screen on. 

"You have 2 new messages:"

I took on look at the number, it wasn't anyone in my contacts. Curious I opened it. 

I smiled, it was Aria. I texted back. 

Just as I was about to text back, I heard the door of my room creak open. Seconds later mum stepped through planting herself in the centre of where my rug usually would be. By the look on her face, I could tell she wasn't impressed. Far from it. 

I took one look at my room and mentally groaned. 

"Here comes trouble in 3... 2... 1.."

"Oracio Colfield. What in god's name do you call this?" I never even got a chance to answer before she was back at it again. 

"Oh and what is that smell?" she pulled a disgusted face as she followed the odour to its source. I had no idea what she was talking about, I couldn't smell anything but it was obvious there was something making a smell.

She stopped next to my bed, lifted up the covers on top of it and parted the rubbish at the base of it. Her face shrivelled in disgust as her hand slowly edged under the bed, stopping a few times and the continuing. She soon pulled out a pizza box and a plate of mac and cheese. I had been wondering where those had gotten to.

The pizza box was old and crumpled and the expiration date read the 4th of December 2015. I didn't really want to think about what was inside the box. The mac and cheese wasn't any better, there was now some greeny-blue moss that settled at the top of the cheese and the maccaroni had all gone cold and hard.

It looked pretty bad.

Mum gagged, "Oh my God," she said and dropped both things back on the floor. Luckily though the mac and cheese didn't go everywhere because, from the looks of it, it was stuck to the plate. Even I felt like wretching at that point.

"When was the last time you cleaned your room?" Her voice lowered and her eyes turned towards me with a glare so fierce I felt like she was going to burn holes right through my skin if she wasn't careful.

"Well..." I said.

"I knew it! This room is pigstye, literally!" she shouted. "Get the hoover, arrange these clothes, throw away all that rubbish and for christ sake stop leaving your food under the bed!" She screamed as she pointed to the mouldy mac and cheese and pizza box on the floor. "Two hours, I will give you two hours, if the place isn't spotless by the time I get back, God so help me Oracio you'll regret it!" she yelled and left, slamming the door on the way out.

Before anything, I pulled out my phone again. 

Placing my phone down on the desk. I stared out onto the mess that was awaiting me. This was going to take some work.

A lot of work.

Clench your butt cheeks Oracio you're gonna be here a while... I thought and sighed as I got up and started picking up each piece one by one.

***