Ego's Trap | ✔

27 | A Lil' Secret

☆☆☆ Chapter 27 ☆☆☆

A Lil' Secret

To try and lighten up the mood after lunch, Hilery's young, bright self called me a pirate, and made up a story of how Daniel and I got together: as a lonely (one-eyed) pirate sailing all 'round the world to search for treasure, I found myself on the shores of Florida, ready to loot the life out of the Fountain of Youth, when all of a sudden I noticed Daniel's shimmery golden locks and was completely smitten. After several days of swooning over each other, I apparently learned that no material form of treasure was as great as the love I had for Daniel (not even his hair or eternal youth), and we lived happily ever. The way she described him in her cute little story seemed to me as if he was a merman, and a merman Daniel didn't sound too bad for a pirate Ane, but the only problem was that I really loved eating seafood in her story, too, and wondered if the happily ever after she talked 'bout involved me making sushi out of him.

Daniel had rolled his eyes at the silly story and Joel cracked himself up with laughter, claiming that it wouldn't be so bad if the bland, tasteless Daniel-sushi at least had some seasoning on it. I couldn't tell if Joel was just messing around a little too much or throwing shade at his brother when he said that, but nevertheless it didn't change the mood.

By the end of the afternoon we watched TV together, played several card games, snacked on some of my potato chips, and basically bonded a bit. Because of all that, I did get to properly introduce myself to Joel, and learned a few things 'bout him as the day passed that the adorable Hilery also liked to do. They both liked collecting figurines, dressing up as movie characters, and spent most of their days together in their local arcade, constantly competing against each other. One of the several things only Joel liked to do, separate from the hobbies he shared with his sister, was collecting knives. He made it pretty clear that he loved doing it── he raved on and on 'bout it, and I gotta say it genuinely intrigued me too; I already had my trusty knife, so why not give it some friends?

Joel noticed my interest, too, and so, after showing off his extensive array of blades and as a gift for being his in-law, he gave me one of them: a practical but certainly simple one when compared to the sick stuff he had, with a sharp, serrated blade that could be sneaked anywhere with ease (including the tight space in between my melons, after folding it, of course). It was a packed, sexy black pocket knife with a deadly bite── just like me, which I was super grateful for. Heck, maybe I'll give it a name like Mini-Me, Mini-Ane, Mini-Imani, Ane Jr. or somethin' 'round those lines.

I even learned some trivia 'bout Daniel's family. According to Daniel, their entire paternal family lived in North Carolina for many generations 'til Fiona convinced Jordan to raise their kids here in Florida for a while, before coming back to Jordan's roots by the time Daniel started high school. Daniel, of course, eventually found his way back here and moved into their old residence, the one we're all crashing in right now (I'm more than just sure he did that 'cuz he missed both Roger and stalking me).

Occasionally, the Campbell kids visit their mom's side of the family in Spain, which they commented to always be a culture shock, but in a super good way. It was interesting to get to know more 'bout Daniel and how he was raised, but it made me wonder just what exactly went wrong with Jade if their childhood seemed like plenty of fun and adventure.

☆☆☆

Looking up at the ceiling of my room while spacing off, I heard my sister sipping on her usual helping of peach tea nearby, somewhere by the bathroom or 'round the dresser. I found myself asking her, after a little bit of peace and quiet: "Have you ever met or talked to Jade, that tall-ass pink-haired demon?"