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"Right, sorry. I overreacted."
"Who knew there was a caveman inside you?"
"Oh, there is."
"Another family trait?"
"You bet. I keep him well hidden, but he's definitely here." Someone in his background clearly asks if they can start the meeting already. "I really have to go now."
"Go get them, Bennett."
After clicking off, I glance at my phone, grinning like a lunatic. Caveman, romantic, and reformed prankster. The different sides of Christopher come to me like pieces of a puzzle, and I can't wait to discover more.
Chapter Fifteen
Victoria
On Friday afternoon, Isabelle keeps her promise and shows up with Helen at my house.
“Girl, there’s only so long we can go without seeing each other before the best friend tag won’t fit anymore,” Helen exclaims, pulling me into a hug. Rich blonde hair cascades over her shoulders, framing her beautiful features.
“Sorry, things have just been—”
“I know,” she says as I lead her and Isabelle in the living room. “Isabelle says you have dirty news.”
“Shh, the kids will hear you.” Chloe and Lucas are in the living room, bickering. Sienna’s out with her friends Emma and Ben.
“Oh no, we have to censor our conversation?” Helen complains under her breath. I give her a strained smile, and Isabelle elbows her gently. Yeah, some friendships adapt to changes better than others. We spend the next two hours catching up with each other, and when the kids move to the backyard, I dish out details about Christopher. The girls are excited, trying to lure every dirty detail out of me, but our conversation comes to an abrupt halt when Chloe stomps back in, jumping into my arms and seeking reassurance from Lucas’s relentless teasing. Helen and Isabelle leave shortly afterward, abruptly ending our girls night. Yeah. . .I bet it will take a while before Helen will be up for one again. Kids aren’t her thing.
Over the weekend, the kids and I decorate the house properly for fall with strings of dry leaves and whatnot. Aunt Christina, Uncle Bill, and their three children come over on Saturday, and we have a blast carving pumpkins, placing them on the porch, which now has a distinct Halloween feel, and baking apples with cinnamon. The entire house smells like heaven.
When our guests prepare to leave, the usual bargaining begins. The cousins would like to sleep over, but the house is too tiny for five kids plus Sienna and me. Sleepovers always happen at Aunt Christina's house, and we agree to have one next Friday. That also happens to be Halloween night, and the kids will do some quality trick-or-treating together at Christina's. With a jolt, I remember that's the day Christopher returns from Seattle. Sienna usually skips sleepovers because she's older than everyone else, but now she winks at me wickedly and casually adds that she'd like to pop over for the sleepover as well.
On Sunday afternoon, Sienna’s friend Ben comes by at the house because the two of them have to work on a science project.
“Hi, Ben!”
He waves, nodding before he and Sienna head up the stairs to her room. I’ve always liked Ben, and having known him for years, it’s hard to forget he’s a teenager. I trust them both, and Sienna always insists they’re just friends, but it won’t hurt to remind them about the golden rule.
“If you’re going to work upstairs—” I begin, but they interrupt me.
“We’ll keep the door open,” Sienna and Ben say at the same time. I bet they’re rolling their eyes in unison too, but better safe than sorry.
While they work, I check Lucas’s math homework. Hunched over his desk, I run the numbers in my mind, double-checking them. I'm about to congratulate him on getting everything right, when I feel something crawling at the back of my neck. My hair is swept to one side, so my neck is bared to the nasty creature. Freezing in my seat, I splay my fingers on Lucas's notebook, attempting to draw in a lungful of breath to calm myself down. It can only be an insect. I hope it’s an insect. If there are rodents in this house, I'm moving us out. Immediately. Clenching my teeth, I slap my palm so hard against the back of my neck that I nearly buckle.
A shriek followed by a snort of laughter startles me. Jumping out of the seat, I do a one-eighty twirl, only to find Lucas holding his belly with his left hand. With his other hand, he holds a rope, which has a rubber spider at the other end.
"I scared you again," Lucas says between shrieks of laughter while I'm massaging the spot I slapped. Snapping out of my post-fake-spider terror, recognition sets in. My limbs instantly become as light as air. Lucas just pulled a prank on me. Stepping forward, I hug the hell out of my little brother, squishing him against me, ruffling his hair and kissing the top of his head.
"This is weird. Why aren't you yelling? Victoria, please stop hugging me."
"There's no one here to see, and this is the least you can do to make up for scaring me."
A few seconds later, he wiggles out of my embrace, clutching the damned spider to his chest. That's when I notice the huge box behind him. Lucas's Halloween Box.
"When did you bring this up? I didn't hear you."
"While you were checking my homework, I went to the basement all by myself," he exclaims proudly. "Every man worth his salt must prank the women in his house, especially during the month of Halloween."
