Page 48 of The Hijack

“I got caught kissing Johnny Derick, and he made both of us dig trenches all night long,” Z reminisced.

“I used to sneak into the library just to get a moment to myself,” I recalled.

“I wasn’t altogether nice to the younger boys,” Lukas admitted.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Z said. “This was no place for children.”

The three of us shared a moment of silence before Theo interrupted. “Is there anything in the house to eat other than sandwiches?”

“Yes,” Lukas said. “But one thing that Abernathy didn’t teach us was how to cook.”

“I nominate myself,” Theo announced, standing up and walking through the door.

Lukas watched me watch my lover disappear and commented all too honestly, “Love isn’t an asset.”

“Leave me alone,” I muttered, going downstairs with my boyfriend to help.

Theo seemed surprised to see me there. “You don’t want to keep reading up on New Dawn?” he asked.

“Don’t you?” I shot back.

“I covered the basics,” he replied, opening the fridge to take a look. Apparently, he didn’t like what he found because his nose scrunched up.

I laughed. Remembering all the times he had cooked for me in the past, I assumed he could make something out of whatever was there. But apparently the pickings were slim. Theo produced a weeks old green pepper that had seen better days, a single onion that was growing roots, and a carton of eggs. He checked the date on the package and seemed to decide it was okay.

Reaching for the sliced deli ham, he announced, “Denver omelets.”

“Sounds perfect,” I responded.

“You want to cut the onion?” he asked.

“I will,” I agreed. “Although I don’t know if I want to.”

“If Abernathy never taught you to cook, how did you eat?” Theo wondered.

“We had a chef,” I answered.

Theo wiggled his shoulders as if to say “How posh.”

“It wasn’t cuisine,” I informed him. “Just protein and fiber. And lots of granola bars.”

“I’m sorry,” Theo said, watching me closely.

I ignored him, pulling a cutting board out of the cabinet and reaching for one of the ubiquitous knives. I didn’t need his pity. So what, I hadn’t had a great childhood. There were plenty of people out there suffering from a misaligned start who managed to get on with their lives. And maybe I was damaged, but that wouldn’t stop me from trying to save the people that I loved. Theo, Lukas, Z, and Nana Gretchen deserved to live out the rest of their lives in peace. Maybe I’d gotten my start as part of a government war machine, but that didn’t mean I was a bad guy.

I chopped the onion without removing the skin, handing it over to Theo in one big scoop. He gave me the stink eye before studiously removing all of the paper wrapping and dumping it in a pot. He chopped the green pepper and the sliced ham and put it all on the stove to cook down before adding eggs.

I had to admit it smelled wonderful. After eating next to nothing on the flight, it was a welcome sight. Of course, it couldn’t hold a candle to Nana’s famous dishes, but that was only because Theo didn’t have a lot to work with.

“You’ll make a great house husband,” I enthused, looking over his shoulder.

“That’s all I ever wanted to be,” he announced, delicately removing the knife from my hand.

“I think we should talk,” I declared, growing serious and taking a step back.

“About what?”

“About our plan,” I explained.