A Family Affair (Hunter Street)

Chapter Seven -- A Clandestine Meeting

THE SKY WAS darkening as Oliver walked through the surprisingly busy streets of Amsterdam, reading the directions Anika sent him on his bright phone. It was late in the evening after the girls versus boys trivia game, and while the other boys were trying to figure out the code that was written in the notebook back at the apartment since Sophie had finally left from whatever she was doing there, Oliver was meeting up with his twin sister. He wasn't sure why she needed him to meet up with her since they had talked to each other earlier that day on the phone, but Oliver wasn't complaining right now. 

For some reason, Anika texted him earlier telling him to get all of the boys out of the apartment while Daniel was at work. She didn't tell him why they had to leave the apartment, but Oliver managed to get everyone away for a few hours, coming up with the excuse that they had to go shopping for food that everyone would eat instead of whatever Daniel had. Oliver was glad he came up with that excuse because no one questioned him about it. Well, besides Florian, but the boy questioned everyone on what they were doing. He didn't question Anika, though, Oliver noticed, which was strange. 

Oliver hurried through the streets of Amsterdam, squinting at his phone in the decaying sunlight. Thankfully, no one was around on this particular street because he would definitely be running into people since he wasn't paying attention to where he was going or even what he was doing. Multiple times he had almost run into the streetlamp poles. He was supposed to meet Anika on something called The Kate, which was weird since Kate was the name of Mrs. Hunter.

Soon enough, he reached the docks where the coordinates led him, and he did a quick scan of the boats softly floating in the harbor. The sunset was reflecting off of the clear blue water, and for a second, he was distracted by the beauty of the city. He had spent his whole life in the forest, and that had its own beauty, but this was different. A good different. It was something that he wanted to experience more, but he wasn't sure if his mom would allow him to stay with the Hunters. 

With a small smile on his face, he walked down the walkway, scanning the boats as he passed by them. Most of them were empty, though there were a few with college-age students on them. He hurried past that boat because it sounded like they were getting into something a little dangerous or rowdy with all the shouts and screams. Finally, he found a boat with the title The Kate emblazoned on the medium brown wooden side. He could tell that someone was on it, so he quickly but carefully passed over the water and found himself in a quaint little boat. 

Someone was sitting on the small couch to the right, and in the dark, it was hard to tell who it was. Oliver knew, though. Anika hopped up, rocking the boat slightly so that Oliver had to reach out and grab onto one of the cabinets, and she threw her arms around Oliver, who grunted in surprise. "Nika!" he said, the breath knocked out of his body by the intense way Anika hugged him. "I literally just saw you earlier, so why are you hugging me like this?"

"Because I miss you!" she said excitedly. Pulling away from the hug, Anika grinned at Oliver, who nervously smiled back at her. This was not how she was acting the last time everyone was together before they all split up. She had been a little moody and angry, probably because of Sal, but it seemed like there was something else going on. Maybe there wasn't, though. Maybe it was just Sal's fault for making her upset. "Plus, you guys got a clue that we girls don't have, so I want to know what it is."

"Of course," Oliver said, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at Anika. Her grin didn't falter, but there was something behind her eyes that made him drop his arms from his chest. "I'm assuming this has something to do with why the rest of the boys and I had to leave Daniel's apartment earlier."

Anika shook her head at him like he was totally wrong. "Sophie was the one who asked me to do that, but I'm not sure why she did it," she said, nodding once. Suddenly her eyes widened, and she pulled her phone out. "OMG, I think I know why Sophie made you guys leave. Let me ask her real quick."