When the Moon Shifts

Chapter Two: Ivie

Two weeks later.

The sharp squeal of her door opening pulled Ivie from sleep. Heart pounding, her hand reached out for the gun she kept tucked beneath her mattress. It was the giggles that snapped her back to reality.

Get it together, Sinclair.

She brought her arm back up to her side and waited. It wasn't long and she felt a weight at the end of her bed. The giggles grew louder, and a child whispered.

"Shh, you're gonna wake Auntie Ivie up."

The twins crept towards her, climbing over the mound of twisted blankets and pillows, until they were right on top of her. Ivie exploded from her fake sleep and snatched the two girls up in her arms. Kissing their cheeks and tugging them close, she laughed, "Who dares enter my cave? Two scrumptious princesses I see."

They squealed and tried squirming out of her arms as she blew raspberries against their skin, making nom-nom noises. Eventually, they all settled down and Ivie flopped backward.

"Good morning my sweetlings."

Taya and Maya were her sister's daughters, carbon copies of their mother. Six years old and already they wanted to conquer the world by storm. Lord help anyone who stood in their way. Mischief was always shining in their dark eyes, and their sweet smiles didn't fool anyone.

A knock on the door pulled all three sets of eyes towards a lanky boy standing beneath the frame. He was watching them with a smirk.

"Mom made pancakes," Jayce said, starting down the hallway.

The girls launched off the bed, racing each other out of the bedroom. The sounds of plates clanking, chairs scraping, and the smell of vanilla and maple were enough to pull Ivie out of bed. She padded her way over to the full-length mirror she had attached to the closet door and lifted her tank top. Four jagged red lines stretched from the bottom of her right ribcage and stopped just below her breast. Giving a slow stretch, she relished the fact that the wounds no longer sent waves of sharp pain throughout her body. Bastard had gotten her good.

Her name was called from the kitchen and got her back to moving. Open concept, the main living area was divided between the living room, a dining area offset from the front door, and the kitchen. The counters created an L shape, and completing the horseshoe was a breakfast bar that was currently occupied by all three kids.

"Morning," Ivie said, walking to the fridge and grabbing the chocolate milk. Looking at Laura, she let out a low whistle. "Damn, you look like shit."

"Language!" The kids shouted at her.

But it was true. Laura did look like shit. Her braids were twisted up in a sloppy knot on her head, her eyes were puffy, nose red and tender looking. She was also still wearing her pajamas underneath her purple fluffy bathrobe. The robe she only got out if she was sick, or it was freezing cold outside.

"Don't tell me you got a cold," Ivie groaned, making a cross with her two index fingers. "You keep your plague over there!"

The twins giggled, but Jayce and his mom just rolled their eyes. "It's just allergies," Laura said, followed by a body jerking sneeze. "I swear, just give me a Benadryl and I'll be good as new. Besides I work at The Pit tonight."

"Uh huh," Ivie snagged a hot pancake off the growing stack in the middle of the breakfast bar. Rolling it into a little burrito, she said, "I'll take the kids to school today, and I'll tell Em that I'll cover your shift. Go back to bed."