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Milo and I ate our breakfast at the island again. He chose to wear a pair of overalls with no shirt and I wore a pair of shorts with a basic t-shirt. I kept my Crocs on and thought about how fast I could order a pair for Milo with my first check. We both sang little bits of the songs he seemed to like between bites and the Carringtons vanished even faster than they had the day before after grabbing their food.
I waited with butterflies in my stomach for a reaction and I wasn’t disappointed when it came. Shouting and gagging came from the office hallway and I pretended to look as concerned as David at the sounds. Of course, the kids drank milk or chocolate milk so I didn’t have to worry about them. It was just the brothers I was after.
“What the-” David gasped when a very red-faced Collin stormed into the kitchen, followed shortly by Joe. “What’s wrong?”
Joe leaned over the sink and spit, his eyes watering as he glared at David. “What the fuck was in the orange juice?”
Collin pushed him aside and gargled with tap water before bracing his hands on the counter and coughing. “Seriously, David, what the fuck?”
Oops. I hadn’t considered that David would get blamed. I was on the verge of saying something when David stood up for himself.
“I have served you the exact same breakfast for a decade. If you think I suddenly forgot how to cook, then I’ll leave right now.” A slight French accent appeared in his voice as his anger rose. “What was it? What caused this reaction?”
Joe pointed at the orange juice and then noticed me. Sitting with Milo, a piece of bacon halfway to my mouth, wearing what was probably a shit-eating grin. “Did you do this?”
I gasped and held my hand to my chest. Channeling my best acting skills, I turned my lips down and tried for puppy dog eyes. “Me? You think I did something to your food?”
David sniffed the orange juice and took a sip. Immediately, he was in the sink next to the brothers. His eyes caught mine for a split second but then it was like it’d never happened. He washed out his mouth and sighed. “I’ll have a talk with the local farmer I bought these oranges from. I don’t know what could’ve caused this reaction, but I’m sure it won’t happen again.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and lifted my chin as I stared at Joe. “Well?”
“Well, what?” He growled at me.
“Are you going to apologize for accusing me of poisoning you?” I was going too far but I couldn’t stop myself. I could see a vein in his neck throbbing and I liked knowing I was pissing him off.
“No.” He grabbed a bottle of water and stormed off, Collin on his heels.
I shrugged at David. “Well, that was weird.”
11
***Ada***
Ispentanotherdaylooking for the older kids and barely seeing them while playing with Milo. I dreamt of my mystery man again and woke up feeling frustrated by my brain. Instead of touching myself, I soaked in a steaming hot bath before going down for breakfast. I didn’t want to mess with the food or orange juice again so I sat at the island with Milo and smiled pleasantly when Collin and Joe walked into the kitchen.
Joe stopped short and frowned at Milo. “What’s he wearing?”
I grinned at Milo’s outfit of choice. He’d gone for something extra special while dressing that morning. He had on dinosaur pajama bottoms, no shirt, and a fireman’s hat. It was an interesting choice, but it was his. Milo tipped his hat at Joe the way I’d shown him and I laughed at the cute smirk on his face.
“He’s a dinosaur-loving fireman. What else is he supposed to wear?” I turned just in time to see Collin sniffing his orange juice and I snorted so hard that it tickled my nose and brought tears to my eyes. Holding my hands over my face, I peeked out from between my fingers and saw Collin glaring at me. Behind him, though, Kendall stood with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed in on me.
Teenage girls could be terrifying and I worried for a moment that she knew what I’d done to the orange juice and was going to tell on me. Instead, Kendall walked around her dad and uncle and pulled out the chair next to me. “I’ll eat here today.”
I had to contain the urge to bounce on the spot. It felt huge that she was deciding to sit with me. If the look on Joe’s face was any indicator, itwashuge. I tried to play it cool. “That’s cool with us. Right, Milo?”
He tossed a dry piece of cereal at her and stuck out his tongue. “Mi-wo tinks not.”
Kendall threw it back at him and smirked when it hit him in the forehead. “That’s what you get, kid.”
Milo narrowed his eyes at her and I got the impression that inside his sweet little head, he was plotting her demise. To ward it off, I leaned forward and blew the cereal dust off his forehead. “All better.”
David placed Kendall’s plate of food in front of her. “There you go. Chocolate milk still okay, Kendall?”
Kendall raised her eyebrows even higher at me. “Should I get the orange juice for a change?”
My voice broke as I answered, very aware that Joe and Collin were still in the room. “Just depends on what you’re feeling, I guess. I think whatever issues the oranges had yesterday are all cleared up today. At least, it seems so.”
Joe looked between his daughter and me and his mouth moved like he was going to say something but then he just turned and walked out. Collin held my gaze as he backed away. When my smile never faltered, he shook his head and left the room.
