Page 284 of Chaos Kills

“You’ll be playing forever if you only play with two people.”

“So?”

Ellie shoots me a desperate look for help and points at Mae. “Bay, tell her.”

“C’mon,” I urge, straightening my back because it’s killing me from sitting on the floor for the last hour. “Just give Els the money and let’s move on.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Mae, dude…” I hit her with an exasperated stare. “I don’t want to be here all night.”

Her eyes light up. “I want pizza!”

Fuck me and my life.

“You just ate.”

Mae ignores me and starts bouncing around on her butt excitedly. “I want pizza! I want pizza!”

“At least wait until Levi gets home from the docks. I just left him an hour ago, and he’ll be back soon.”

She wrinkles her nose, still not fully understanding at the age of eight that patience is a virtue. “I don’t want to wait?—”

“I’m going to go call Peter,” Ellie announces, pushing herself up from the hardwood floors and pulling at her jean shorts. “Mae sucks at this game.”

“I do not,” she whines back. “You’re cheating.”

Ellie scoffs, but ignores the weak insult. “Call me if you need help with the devil child.”

I nod, the reality of how big she’s getting hitting me over the head with everything else. She’s going to be sixteen in a few weeks, and I haven’t even begun planning what we’re going to do yet.

“Let’s get this cleaned up.” And that prompts Mae to toss her cash on the board and shoot up to her feet before sprinting to her room.

“Goddamn it,” I mutter, glaring at an empty hallway that she occupied for two seconds.

“She sucks,” Ellie states simply as she watches her disappear. “Was I like that?”

“Yes.” Ellie’s blue eyes shoot back to me. “You used to go in my room and steal all my shit.”

“Like what?”

“Anything you could get your hands on.”

A ghost of a smile appears on my sister’s face. “Highly doubtful.”

“Oh, you mean like the pink crop top you stole from me the other day?” I quirk a challenging eyebrow because I purposely don’t lock my door when I leave so she can grab anything she wants, but it still doesn’t mean I can’t give her shit for it.

“Borrowed,” my sister retorts. “And besides, you never wear it. I was just giving it the loving care it needs by being worn and—” The front door to the house flies open, startling the both of us, and I go into instant defense mode when I see Ozzy standing in the foyer.

His dark blue eyes immediately padlock onto me, and it’s when I see the splatter of fresh blood that I know he just got himself into some shit.

“Bay…” Ellie whispers, fear clogged in her tone as she takes a step back toward me.

“Make sure Mae doesn’t leave her room,” I order softly. “Everything’s okay, got it?”

“But—” My palm falls to her lower back, prompting her to move, but also to give her a little comfort that I’m not nervous.

I’m just a ball of anxiety and confusion about what the hell he just did.

---