He tugged at the legs of his pajama pants before wiping his palms on them. “How much do you know about our childhood?” he asked when I didn’t speak.
My anxiety skyrocketed. He went right for it. Kaiden was much braver than me.
Gina's confusion turned into understanding as she studied us. “Not a lot,” she admitted. She kept her voice soft and her words precise. “That you two were kidnapped, and someone helped you escape.”
He nodded and pursed his lips. “It's much crazier than that.”
“Being kidnapped is pretty crazy. I'm astounded you two are as normal as you are.”
I snorted, but he continued. “The only way to tell you is to just say it. It's hard to swallow, even liquor coated.”
Kaiden took a breath and opened his mouth, then his shoulders drooped, and he said nothing. His face brightened, and he raised his hand but stopped instead. Repeatedly, he started and stopped. He resembled a fish gawping water.
I huffed through my nose. “Hard, isn't it?”
He frowned. “You're not helping much.”
“Is that who’s back?” she asked. “The guy who kidnapped you?”
“You could say that.” I gripped my kneecaps and took a deep breath. Warmth bloomed in my belly as the liquor settled and relaxed my muscles. It was now or never. “Kaiden and I were kidnapped by a magical evil king who took us to another dimension.”
His gaped mouth made me want to recant my words. It sounded preposterous, and his expression—as comical as it was—made Gina even more skeptical. “Uh huh.”
Frustrated by her response and everything we were dealing with, he threw his hands up in the air. “There's much more to it than that!”
“That's the main gist, though.”
Gina earned extra credit. She remained silent, waiting for us to continue our ridiculous story. That's more than anyone else ever did.
Kaiden ran his fingers through his hair. The way he tugged at the strands worried me he'd rip it out. “He turned me into a goblin,” he sputtered, “and in order to change me back and send us home, Calista agreed to give him something in return.”
To my shock, a smirk pulled at her lip. “And what was that? Her firstborn child?”
“Yes!” Kaiden grew excited. “I thought you said you didn't know.”
“Oh, I know.” Gina huffed. “I read the story in elementary school. Really guys? You'd think you'd be a little more original.”
“What?”
She leaned forward. “Rumpelstiltskin.”
Kaiden's nose crinkled. “What does he have to do with this?”
There was silence until Gina’s sarcastic laughter filled the room.
“You know,” she sneered, “if you didn't want to tell me the truth, all you had to say was you didn’t want to talk about it. You didn’t have to make up this bullshit.”
“We're not lying to you,” Kaiden pleaded.
“Yeah, and pigs fly.”
“They do there,” I mumbled.
Her sneer aimed my way. “Always deflecting. Always pushing me away. I'm tired of it. You didn't have to suck your brother into it with you.” She shook her head, angry tears wobbling in her eyes.
Frantic, Kaiden jumped up. “We can prove it!”
My head jerked his way. I knew what he was thinking, and I wasn’t ready to face my personal demon. Not yet. We hadn’t even discussed how we would handle it. All I wanted, more than anything, was to process my actions and what happened to Dad. “No. She doesn't want an explanation or to believe. This protects her.”
