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“If you guys want anything else to eat during the night, Mom always leaves a light on in the kitchen. Since the house is pretty big, it can be hard to get around at night, so it makes it easier to take out the dogs. Don’t get nervous if you hear any noise in the library. Sometimes, Dad doesn’t sleep too well, and there’s a staircase leading down from the master bedroom into his study.” Izzy became thoughtful. “Oh, and whatever you do, don’t walk outside through any of the exterior doorways after everyone is in bed. There’s a security alarm that’ll go off if you do. You’ll have to learn how to use the alarm code.”
Lex pursed his lips. “That probably means that the same thing will happen if anyone tries to break in?”
“You bet,” Izzy replied. “I guess you’re still worried that someone might be searching for you?”
“Mostly, we’re worried about Caleb, I guess,” Zane admitted. “When we were hiding out in Milwaukee, we were found by the cops a couple of times, but we were able to get away before they caught us. It made no sense. These were places that the people who were holding us before at the farm shouldn’t have known about.”
“That does sound strange,” Izzy agreed as they all began walking up the main staircase. “Make sure that you tell Dad and Jake if you haven’t.”
“Did we tell them, Zane?” Lex asked.
“I don’t think so,” Zane answered. “I’ll tell Gabe first thing in the morning. I was going to wait up for Harry, but I’m feeling pretty tired, so I might have to go right to sleep myself.”
When they finally reached the fourth floor, Izzy grinned. “Hear that?”
Both Zane and Lex smiled because Caleb sounded like he was having the time of his life in the tub.
Walking through the hallway, they all made their way into the bedroom before Izzy glanced into the bathroom. Caleb was hidden in so many layers of bubbles, you could barely see his face.
“Oh, my God.What happened?” Izzy asked, her eyes going wide as she approached the bathroom.
Arms crossed where she stood leaning against the sink, Lucy rolled her eyes, watching Amy as she tried to get Caleb to calm down.
“Amy said it was an accident, but I think that Caleb might have dumped most of the bottle into the tub when she wasn’t looking.”
Izzy motioned for the boys to glance inside.
Zane and Lex both began laughing, enjoying the sight of Caleb just being a kid.
“Want some help, Mom?” Izzy asked.
“Nah,” Lucy answered, smiling. “He’s having the time of his life, although he’s probably getting tired. I’ll get him tucked into bed soon.”
“I think that we’ll probably go to bed too,” Zane informed them. “Caleb might not want to be up here alone, anyway.”
“Good,” Lucy replied. “I’d have him sleep in Amy’s room, but it’s going to probably take a week or so to get everyone debugged.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Zane said, grimacing.
“Just remember, Zane. It’s not a big deal,” Lucy answered, smiling. “Having all of you here with us safe is the only thing that’s important right now. Okay?”
Zane nodded.
“I guess I’ll go say goodnight to Dad since you guys want to settle in. There’s a clock radio over there on the nightstand, and I came upstairs earlier before Jake and Danny arrived and left all your new clothes on the shelf in the closet.” Izzy grinned. “I also switched out the towels for Lex in the other bathroom.”
Zane just shook his head and grinned. “Goodnight, Isabella.”
“I feel like we’re living in an alternate reality,” Lex said, shaking his head as well. “Like I’m going to wake up and find out that it’s all been some crazy dream.”
“You know, Harry felt like that for a really long time. He never thought he fit in and then suddenly, everything seemed better,” Izzy said, leaving the room through the doorway, making another observation. “Well, there I go again, talking and talking.”
“She’s right.” Lex’s eyes met Zane’s and they both began laughing.
ChapterEight
Despite his exhaustion, Lex was having trouble falling asleep later that night. After spending the previous night holed up in Izzy’s hideout in the caves below the house, he should have had no trouble sleeping. But the truth was, the hideaway with the air mattresses was the closest they’d had to a safehouse since escaping from the farm. Lex and Caleb had slept soundly, although Zane, obviously concerned that they were making a mistake by not continuing to run, had spent most of the night pacing in and out of the shelter down to the beach.
Not that it had been safe at the farm, but when they hadn’t been working, they’d spent many of their days doped up in confinement and hidden away from prying eyes, so sleep had been artificial, and none of them had ever felt truly rested, especially during the past few years, when the food provided had been sparse.
