Page 63 of Always: A Legacy Novel

“Get the hell out.”

Calisto went, but he laughed the whole way. “Happy seventeenth birthday, principe. Next time, you won’t put saran wrap on your sister’s toilet seat.”

Oh, that …

Yeah, he’d done that.

And it was worth it.

“Fuck my life,” Cross groaned again as he rubbed his wet palms down over his face.

“Thirty minutes, and you better be in the car for school!”

Cazzo.

“Move your ass,” Calisto added as he strolled back by Cross’s bedroom door, “or the next bucket of water is coming from me, son.”

Why did God hate him?

And on his birthday, no less.

Cross got ready for school in record time, though he was pretty sure he could have gotten out of going if he really wanted to. He grabbed the cream cheese bagel his mother held out the kitchen entryway and held it between his teeth as he slipped on his school blazer and a tweed coat over it.

“Thanks, Ma,” he mumbled.

“Happy birthday, baby.”

Cross rolled his eyes. “Not a baby, Ma.”

Emma leaned out the entryway to kiss his forehead despite his cringe. “Still my baby. Go, you’re almost late.”

“My bed is soaked.”

“Sleep in the guest bedroom for a few days.” His mother winked. “You were due for a new mattress, anyway.”

“You all planned this,” he accused.

“You know it,” his sister said.

Camilla smiled sweetly at the front door, and dressed in her lower Academy school uniform. She looked entirely innocent.

Sweet, sure, but evil.

God, he’d taught that kid well.

He was damn proud.

Calisto came around the corner with a set of Mercedes keys in his hand. “Let’s get moving.”

Cross gave Camilla a one-armed hug on his way out the door. “Well played.”

She beamed.

Pure evil, but she learned from the best.

Calisto made the forty-five minute drive from their suburb neighborhood in Amityville to the private Academy school in thirty minutes, but Cross knew they were still cutting it close on time. He would most likely slide into homeroom just as the bell rang, knowing his damn luck.

“Cross, wait a second,” his step-father said before he could get out of the car. “But, Cam, get going before you’re late.”