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"Yup, I'm in." I squint my eyes at the screen.
"Losers, all of you." Eric says.
"Let's get this over with." Tyson says.
I take in a deep breath and pray that I have the king or the ace, they're the only two cards that would win.
Reaching up, I grab the piece of painters tape I used to cover my in-screen display, and I see the rest of the boys do the same.
"Yes! Hell yeah!" I jump up from my seat in celebration.
An ace of diamonds. I had the best card out of everyone.
"I call shenanigans!" Eric barks out. He had the lowest card out of all of us, which means all the messed up shit falls to him.
"Shenanigans, my ass. You just lost. I told you about betting against us." Aiden says, and the six of us throw our heads back and cackle. Everyone except Eric, who is coming to grips with the absolute mess that he's going to have to go through for the next thirty days.
"I can't walk around with pink clothes on and zebra print hair. I can't do it." He complains.
"Oh, don't tell me you're going to welsh on your bet because, I'll make sure to fly out there and beat your ass myself." Aiden threatens.
"Come on, I'll never get another date again. Don't you guys want nieces and nephews? How am I supposed to do that, walking around like a crazy person." He tries to plead his case.
"Please, Eric, you don't have any game. The hair and clothes might be the only way to get a woman to even think about coming up to you." I make fun of him and my brothers all explode with a round of Oh's and damn she played you.
"You just wait, Nyla. Just wait." Eric squints at me and even though he's trying to be menacing I can see the small outline of a smile trying to break across his mouth.
"Ahhh, Daddy!"
A loud, piercing scream has Ivan out of his chair and racing off-screen in an instant. The five of us wait on pins and needles to find out what the hell is going on.
"What the hell was that?" Finn asks. There's no more laughter, now worry creases all of our faces.
"If he doesn't come back in ten seconds, I'm calling the neighbor to go over there and check on him." Aiden says, picking his phone up.
"It's fine, I don't hear any more screaming." I say even though my stomach is nearly in my throat.
"Shhh, it's okay now. It's all over. You want to say hi?"
I hear Ivan talking in a soothing tone and a few seconds later, he sits down with Linny, my two-year-old niece, in his arms.
"Oh no, Princess! What's wrong?" Aiden asks when he sees her tear stained face.
"There was a big monster in the closet, Uncle A." She explains.
"No monsters, baby, just a bad dream." Ivan says softly and kisses the top of her head.
"It was in there, Daddy! You didn't see him cause you turned the lights on." Linny turns and pouts at her father.
"Don't worry, Lin Lin, your daddy is the best monster slayer there is. If the big monster in there got a look at your daddy, they're never going to come back." I say, and she turns her head back toward the screen. I watch as her eyes scan the computer for a few seconds, trying to find the little box I'm in.
Ivan points me out and her face lights up, "Auntie!"
My arms ache with the need to hold her. I miss that little tyke so much.
"Hey baby."
"Is he really the best?" Linny asks me, whispering as if she didn't want her father to hear.
