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“You…” Thane squinted out into the room before turning back to me and asking, “So you can’t just ask her now?”
I shook my head. “She walked through the wall in a huff when I teased her, so she’s no longer in here, sorry.”
“I did not walk out in a huff,” she called from the bathroom. “And yes, I can talk to Parker or Keene or whoever you need me to reassure. I’m good with that.”
“Thank you,” I lifted my voice to answer, only to nod at Thane. “She said she’d do it.”
He blew out a breath. “Thanks.” Raising up, he told the bathroom door, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Raina answered, staying out of sight.
Before I could translate that, however, my fifteen-year-old sister burst into the room. “Dude,” she gasped with wide eyes, out of breath from her dash. “I just heard Mom and Dad outside. Did you get kicked out?”
* * *
So,despite my protests, my dad surprisingly sided with my mom, and I was given an official seven-month eviction notice.
I think my siblings took it worse than I did.
“Are we ever going to get to see you again?” Reed asked with wide, worried eyes.
I laughed and dragged an arm over his shoulders to pull him close and tousle his hair. “Of course. I’ll probably still be over every day, begging for food and doing my laundry. You’re not getting rid of methateasily.”
“In that case, can I have your room?” Brey wondered.
Which prompted Amy to scoff. “I don’t think so. I’m the next oldest.Iget his room.”
Brey only shrugged. “So then, can I haveyourroom?”
Meanwhile, Little tugged on my pant leg to get my attention. Letting go of Reed, I hefted her into my arms where she pressed her cheek to mine. “But I don’t want you to go. Who am I going to crawl into bed with when I get scared at night?”
“Aww…” From the corner where she’d been trying to watch as silently as possible, Raina waved her hands in front of her face as if to dry emotional tears. “That is so precious.”
“Kiddo,” I said sympathetically as I stroked the four-year-old’s hair. “You can go to literally anyone else in the house. They’ll make sure you stay safe.”
Brey snorted and rolled her eyes, muttering, “Not me.”
When I sent her a stern glance, she only said, “What? She kicks and snores.”
“I’ll go to Reed,” Little decided with a serious bob of the head.
And Amy gasped. “What about me? I could keep you safe.”
But Little only shrugged and made a face. “Butyousnore.”
I laughed along with Reed and Breydan while Amy cried out a sputtering denial. Then kissing Little’s blond ringlets, I announced, “Come on. Why don’t the five of us go eat lunch at Duke’s? I gotta clock in at noon and…” Glancing at Amy, I asked, “Maybe you could drive them back home afterward?”
She grimaced over the idea of transporting her younger siblings anywhere, but she did love to use her driver’s permit and take her car places, so she reluctantly said, “Oh, all right.”
The others cheered, and I was relieved that we were giving Mom some time to recover after her emotional morning.
So Reed and Little piled into my truck with me, while Amy and Brey jumped in the car, and to the pizza parlor we went. Once we arrived, we sat at a table for six, and I made sure the empty chair to my right was pushed out just enough for Raina to slip in and join us. And every time someone walked by, pushing it back in as they passed, I slid my shoe over to push it out again a few inches without anyone noticing.
My ghost seemed to enjoy our sibling outing. She laughed with the others and only made me respond to her once when she asked if I knew some girls who were looking at me. I glanced over on instinct, and the strangers turned away as if embarrassed to be caught staring.
After lunch, I spent eight hours delivering pizzas.
It was just after eight in the evening by the time I was finally done for the day. I climbed behind the wheel of my truck and shut the door before glancing over at my passenger.
