The Survivor (Book #2)

Chapter 35

On Saturday, Charlotte was having some work friends over for a small get-together, so the boys and I were forced out of the house.

"You can stay if you want to," Charlotte said politely, although the corner of her eye twitched as if that was the last thing she wanted. We helped her set the table for their fancy dinner and then went out to the garage.

"Where do you want to go?" Dominic asked, awkwardly scratching his neck. It seemed the Anders boys weren't normally forced to spend time together.

"Hey! That new horror movie just came out last week! Do you guys want to see that?" Brooks asked, excitement coloring his face. Damon and Dominic nodded in agreement and Caleb whooped happily.

"Is that okay, My?" Caleb asked, putting his hand on my arm.

"Umm, yeah!" I responded quickly. I didn't want to tell them I would much prefer going to a park or the mall. If this was what they wanted to do, I could handle it.

"Perfect!" Brooks said, tossing the car keys to Damon, who reluctantly passed them to Dominic. Dominic cracked a smile. I think he secretly loved being in charge.

"Let's go." He ordered, strutting to the car, and pressing the button to open the garage. Warm air swept inside and I unzipped my jacket before walking over to the back seat. Light from the setting sun lit us as the car was unlocked and doors were opened.

Brooks motioned for me to get in first and I was confused.

"Aren't you in the front seat?" I asked.

"If we're all going, we have to sit in the back." He explained to me with evident annoyance in his voice.

"Welcome to being the youngest in the family," Caleb announced glumly as I slid into the uncomfortable bump of a middle seat. Brooks got in behind me and suddenly the small amount of room that there had been for my legs disappeared. I tucked them under me and crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at Dominic as he pushed his seat back further for more legroom.

"You sure that's enough space for you, your Majesty?" I asked as he finally clicked to a stop. Caleb snickered and Brooks and Damon shot amused looks at each other making me smile proudly.

Dominic turned to face me and grinned maliciously, before dropping his expression into an artificially remorseful one.

"Sorry we don't have a car seat for you, baby. Just hold Brooks' hand if you get scared." He mocked in a baby voice that made my blood boil.

"Don't worry about me," I replied. "Worry about your bad driving."

"At least I can drive, kid. What do you have, ten more years?" he asked condescendingly as he casually drove us down the road. Damon and Brooks were howling with laughter at this point.

Caleb joined in the fight and suddenly we were all throwing insults at each other and cracking up, even at the bad ones. The drive to the movie theater was long, but when the car finally stopped it felt like we had just left.

I jumped out of the car, breathing in the fresh air like an escaped convict.

"I'm free!" I shouted, causing a nearby couple to look at me worriedly. Dominic waved them off with a fake smile and looked at me like I was an idiot, which made me giggle.

We took an elevator to the bottom of the parking garage and crossed the street to the movie theater, before getting in line. Just before we got to the window where we bought the tickets, Dominic grabbed my hand. I looked around, immediately embarrassed, which made him laugh out loud.

I tried to yank it away, but it was impossible.

"Dom!" I whispered angrily.

"Maya!" he reprimanded in a whisper back. "You're the only one not old enough to get into this movie. I'm pretending to be your guardian, now act casual!"