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“We tried to sneak into Uncle Matthew’s house, but the alarm went off. Also, did you know that he sleeps naked?” Christopher informs, cringing.
Matty just laughs beside him, shaking his head. “He was not a happy person.”
“Okay, how about I order some food for you two?” I suggest, walking to my phone. “You just bring the boxes in, and I’ll organize them.” I open the Uber Eats app. “What do you want?”
“Pancakes,” Christopher rattles off, “scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fries.”
“I’ll take two of that,” Matty says, pointing at Christopher.
“Does anyone want a mimosa?” Gabriella says, and the guys just groan, “Don’t drink with the big boys if you are straight out of daycare.”
Christopher gets up and looks at her. “That makes no sense.” He holds out his hand to help Matty up, who just swats his hand away.
“I can do it myself,” Matty declares, getting up and then falling back down on the wooden step, hitting his elbow. “Motherfucker.” He rubs his elbow and gets up. “Can we just get this over with?” He takes out his phone. “Where the hell is Stefano?”
“I’m right here,” my other cousin, Stefano, says, dressed in blue shorts and a white shirt, holding a box in his hand. “There are a million boxes outside.”
“Listen”—I look at the three of them—“if it’s too much work for you guys, I can always call the girls.” I look at Gabriella. “Last time, it took us forty-five minutes to unload Zoey’s things.”
Stefano looks over at Christopher. “We can do it.” Christopher nods at him. “Dude, why are you wearing two different shoes?”
“It’s a fashion statement,” Christopher grumbles, making Matty laugh.
“Yeah, it’s an ‘I got dressed in the dark look and didn’t notice,’” Matty explains. “Let’s go and beat the record.” They all walk out of the house.
“It took us seven hours to do Zoey’s house,” Gabriella reminds me, folding her arms over her chest and looking over at me. “Well played.”
I nod my head. “I must get it from Uncle Matthew,” I say, turning back to the phone and ordering five of everything the guys said they wanted.
It takes them three hours to get all the boxes inside the house, but that’s because they stopped to eat for an hour. The three of them leave, heading straight to each of their respective houses to sleep.
Gabriella and I work side by side, unpacking the whole kitchen, which takes us the longest time. By the time I walk up the stairs to go and tackle my bedroom, I’m honestly exhausted. As soon as I step into my bedroom, I take off my flip-flops and walk over to the white side table, putting down the glass of water I brought up. The bed is still unmade from this morning, so I just throw the cover back on it. I walk over to the tall brown boxes and open one to see all the clothes hanging. Walking over to the white door to the side of the bed, I open the door and turn on the light. It takes me a full hour before everything is hung up, and I’m walking to my en suite to start a bath. My head hits the pillow about twenty minutes later, and I only wake up when I hear the soft alarm ring.
I slept thirteen hours, and when I wake up, I feel like shit. My whole body aches, and I wonder if it’s because I’ve been burning the candle at both ends. Between moving here and then the partying, I’m exhausted. I get out of bed, and the minute I do, my body shivers. I put the back of my hand against my forehead, and I feel like I’m on fire. Getting up, I walk over to the bathroom and take my temperature, and only when I try to swallow do I feel like razors are going down. “Shit,” I curse, opening my mouth and looking in the mirror. I walk over to my phone and call Chase, who answers after one ring.
“Hello,” he greets, and I can hear that he’s in the car.
“Hey,” I reply. “I have a fever of one hundred and one, and I think I see white spots at the back of my throat.”
“We leave in three days,” he says out loud.
“What do you want me to say, Chase?” I ask him. “Should I tell strep throat to come back while I’m on vacation.”
“Are you home, smart-ass?”
“I am,” I confirm. “I can come to you.”
“No,” he says, “I’m on my way over to the rink. I’ll stop at your house first.”
“I thought hockey was done after you won the Cup,” I state, and he just laughs.
“I have to clean out my office and make sure that everything is ready for next season. I’ll be there in ten.”
I hang up the phone and walk back to the bathroom, taking my temperature again and seeing it hasn’t changed. I groan and make my way downstairs. I’m about to make a coffee when there is a knock on the door. I walk over and open it, seeing it’s Chase.
“You look like shit,” he greets me, and I just nod.
“Thanks.” I roll my eyes. “I wonder why because I feel like a million bucks,” I tell him, and he walks in with his little black bag.
