Sullivan Family: BOOK 2

I

"Please tell me you didn't just wake up, Huxley." Odin sighs dismally. I fold knotted hair behind my ear and look at him, clearly still not fully awake.

"I didn't just wake up," I say, my sassiness somehow still visible in my half-asleep state.

"I don't believe you," Odin huffs. I throw my arms in the air and shake my head. Then, I sit on one out of the three new stools Odin brought home yesterday. They are black, with padded red seats. With the scratches on the legs and peeling fake leather, I assume they are second hand.

"Whatchu got cooking, good looking?" I ask, rubbing my bleary eyes. With so much creepy stuff going on, my mind has been running in circles instead of resting. Insomniac is my new middle name. Odin pauses stirring whatever is in the bowl and rests his palms on the counter, hunching his shoulders in as he stares at me.

"Tuna melts on cornbread and a chicken salad." He replies. I open my mouth to say something else but the quick squinty eyes he shoots me vetoes that idea. "You look a little cold. Want my hoodie?"

"No, I'm good." I reply. Amusement dances in my eyes. Odin doesn't like my answer but with Ivan agreeing to the clothes Ivy helped me pick out, he won't say anything. It's not like he can be too upset. All I am wearing are leggings (super comfy, by the way) and a t-shirt that is actually my size.

"Whoa! You're a girl!" Alistair, Silas's friend, stops halfway through the doorway when he spots me. It might also be because of the holes in the cupboards and our visible glass measuring cups and a few odds and ends dish ware sticking out like a sore thumb.

"You didn't know that?" Baby asks, then snickers. Alistair rolls his eyes and claims the stool next to me.

"Not with her homeless look," Alistair laughs. I see him check me out out of the peripheral vision of my eye. Odin clears his throat and slams the bowl of cornbread mixture on the island.

"I did." Baby purses his lips and shrugs. He opens the fridge and peers in, oblivious to the daggers Odin's eyes are throwing at him. My face heats up. Suddenly, my toes look very interesting.

Oh gosh, why? Just why did my stupid little heart have to go and fall for my brother's best friend? Hollis is going to kill me! If Baby finds outs, he will make my life a living nightmare! It's just stupid, so, so stupid!

"What?" Odin snaps frostily. Baby jerks back from the fridge, alarm rising in his eyes at Odin's angry tone.

"Cheer practice, dude." He quickly answers. A cheese string is in his hand. "Ask Tristan."

"Geez, Odin. Get your mind out of the gutter." Emmett chides. He slides onto the stool next to Alistair and grins menacingly, cracking his knuckles. "Did you hear what happened to Austin?"

"Aren't you supposed to be looking for a job, Mr. High School Dropout?" Odin intervenes, arching an eyebrow. Alistair sighs in relief.

"It's Ansel y'all should be worried about," Alistair mutters defensively under his breath. I think I'm the only one who hears it. He scratches the back of his neck and stands up. "I was just teasing her." He even ruffles my hair like he would a dog on the way out. By my hip, so Odin can't see, I stick out my favourite finger to him.

"I've been looking online. With my experience, I might as well just go join a chain gang." Emmett grumbles. He groans and rests his forehead on the island, arms hanging at his sides. Then, he snaps his head up to glare at me. "It's your fault."