"I swear, if I'm dying tonight because of you, I'm gonna haunt your ass so hard, Harrington!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I'm gonna go full Poltergeist and shit!"
"Then bring it, Graveswood."
"Challenge accepted."
***
In which after years of suppressing their...
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Chapter Sixty-Three: Code Red
(Dig Dug)
***
The crash of a bowl and a not-so-quiet, "Shit!" roused Rowan from sleep. The teen blinked blearily, a grouchy look already fixed on her face at being woken up so early on a Saturday morning.
But as she buried into her covers to catch an hour—or five—more of sleep, a jangling sound pricked at Rowan's ears and she found herself wide awake, jumping to the kitchen and asking, "Aunt Aco, why do you have the car keys?"
Her aunt whirled, hand to her chest. "Shit, kid! You scared me!"
"Sorry," Rowan said in a way that wasn't truly apologetic. "Why do you have the car keys? Wait, are you picking up Alistair?"
The minute she said the question, Rowan still felt confusion. A look at the clock told her it was six in the morning, and her brother was as notorious as her for sleeping in on the weekends, so no way would he or the Byers be up. And her aunt was dressed in a coat, blouse and jeans and boots—way too dressed up to pick up Alistair and go back home right after.
Her aunt was heading out.
"Uh, no, kid. Al's still at Will's and I think he'll be there for the weekend," her aunt answered as she gripped the car keys. "Sorry for waking you up, kid."
"It's fine. Where are you going?" Rowan grilled, leaning against the wall.
"To see a friend. He called me earlier—said he wanted to run some things by me with a case he's working on," Aunt Aco explained and Rowan's eyebrow raised. Rowan knew her aunt's friends could be... questionable—how could they not be, given her aunt's career of conning and scheming?—but never before had Aunt Aco got herself ready to see them; in fact, Rowan was pretty sure her aunt would rather shoot them in the chest with her crossbow if they showed up on her doorstep or called for her help. So it was very odd, and had a kernel of worry settle in the pit of Rowan's stomach.
Aunt Aco, reading the worry on Rowan's face, smiled and said, "Kid, my friend's solid. He can be a bit eccentric, and toes the line of ethics, but he's one of the better ones. Don't worry."
Rowan worried her lip, resisting the urge to bite her nails. "Okay."
Her aunt smiled, before she cleared her throat and said, "Now, kid, there's some leftover oatmeal if you want to have some—if not, there's cereal and I think some bread left for you to make some toast, and some food in the fridge for you to make some spaghetti or something. Oh, and if Al ends up coming back home today, tell him where I am. I'll probably not be gone longer than a day, but just in case let him know, okay?"
"Okay," Rowan said, nodding.
"Take care of your face, and make sure that you drink plenty of water. Oh, and if you need anything, just head to Wayne's," Aunt Aco instructed. "Also, if anyone comes here looking suspicious and reeking of self-righteousness or lawmaking or government bureaucracy..."
