Lethal Weapons

Chapter 3

Leo and I walk into the house to find my mom and Lisa talking in the kitchen. The twins lay on the floor in front of the TV in the living room playing a game on Xbox. My dad and uncle are nowhere to be found, so they must be outside in the backyard cleaning the grill. Dad loves his grill ever since he got it three summers ago. He said God blessed him with the grill of his dreams, and so he was going to take care of it. Maybe a little overboard, but at least I don't have the dad that overreacts when someone wants to mow the lawn with 'his' lawn mower.

"Hey, Claudia tried calling you on the home phone not too long ago. She said she tried texting you but you never answered." Mom says. I gasp and pull out my phone. Dead. That would explain why I didn't hear her trying to contact me.

"Are you using my laptop at the moment, mom?" I ask as I turn on my phone.

"Nope. Here you go." She says. Leo takes my laptop and the two of us walk away from the kitchen to the hallway. At the end of the hallway is my room that I was going to share a long time ago with a little sister, but she died an hour after being born.

Leo takes a seat in my desk chair, making him comfortable and turning on my laptop. I bend down to my phone charger and plug up my phone, keeping my phone on from when I turned it on a few minutes before. Yep. Claudia tried contacting me A LOT. Six missed text messages and three missed calls, two new voicemails.

I click my voicemail and listen to the first message, Claudia telling me I need to answer her texts and calls. The second message makes me laugh with the whole Star Treck thing of, "Earth to Riley, Earth to Riley. Come in please, over." I look at my texts and one of them is from Ginger.

Just left Claudia's. Great party. Wish you had been there. Get on Skype around eleven.

I glance at the clock. Eleven twenty six. Sighing, I put my phone down on my desk to let it charge. "You wouldn't mind getting on Skype would you?" I ask.

Leo sighs like a groan and says, "Gosh, Riley, I don't want to get on Skype." I look at him and he winks at me. He pulls up Skype and I type in my password. Four friends are on. All of them waiting for me. Oops!

There isn't a seconds passing until I get a group call invitation. I click answer and my screen splits five ways.

"Where were you?" I hear from Jennifer.

"I'm sorry guys. I was catching up with Leo." I explain.

"And I am sorry for being the one to hold her up." Leo says scooting closer next to me so he can be seen in my webcam. Jennifer's face lights up.

"At least you are on now." Claudia says in understanding.

"So while you were catching up with your cousin, Riley, we were talking about plans." Ginger says.

"Plans that I agree with!" Claudia pipes in.

"And we came up with what and when we are going to do this trip. Oh, can Leo come?" Sean asks.

"I think so." Leo says. "It all depends if I'm needed at home."

"Yay!" Jen says excitedly. "Well, what I mean is, is that it will be good to have you along, since you will be the oldest and, um, my mom would probably feel better letting me go having an adult along."

Leo smiles and then Claudia says, "Have you asked if Link can go?"

"Who's Link?" Leo asks.

"I haven't asked yet." I say.

"Oh."

"Who's Link?" Leo asks again.

"Well ask him!" Jen says.