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“Lucas, where are you?” Lucas teased, dogging Olivia.

Olivia snapped. She tackled Lucas. They rolled in the dirt. Two years older, she was taller and stronger. She ended up on top and started swinging. Lucas tried to block her arms, but he was laughing too hard until her fist solidly connected with his jaw.

“Ow!” He howled.

“You could have died!” She hit him again.

“Get off, Livy. Don’t hurt him.” Lily tugged Olivia’s hair, trying to pull her off their brother.

Olivia pushed her away. Lily landed hard on her rear and burst into tears. “You’re an idiot,” Olivia shouted at Lucas. She was angry and scared and sick and tired of his tricks. “You’re going to ruin everything.”

“Stop, Livy. You’re hurting him,” Lily wailed.

“He deserves it.” She cocked her arm and then she was soaring away. Her feet kicked air as she swung in Mr.Whitman’s arms. He deposited her roughly on the ground.

“That’s enough.” Mr.Whitman helped Lucas to his feet. Lily ran to Lucas and clung to him. She wouldn’t let him go.

“You’re mean, Livy. Don’t hurt my brother.”

“He hurt me first.” Olivia wiped off the tears she just noticed she’d been shedding. Dirt smeared across her face, stinging her eyes.

“Explain,” Mr.Whitman ordered. He was looking at Blaze but three sets of eyes dropped to the ground.

Several hours later, after Mr.Whitman got the full story from them, after Blaze and Olivia finished putting away the outdoor recreational toys in the storage shed, and Lucas had cleaned the toilets because he finally admitted he’d been hiding under the log the entire time just to spook them, Olivia passed the Whitmans’ bedroom on her way to take a shower. The door was cracked and she heard them mention Lucas. Holding her breath, she turned her ear toward the door. She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help eavesdropping.

“This isn’t the first time he’s disobeyed your orders and endangered their lives,” Mrs.Whitman accused.

“He’s a kid. Kids do stupid shit.”

“Theo thought he’d drowned. Imagine what that would have done to him if Lucas’s joke had gone wrong. Theo would have been scarred for life.”

Mr.Whitman sighed loudly. “All right. I’ll talk to him.”

“Talking doesn’t work with a kid like Lucas. You need to call Dwight. Lucas needs to be punished.”

He did, but Olivia feared they’d all be punished.

“Now, now. It’s their last night here. We have a whole year before they’re back.”

“I don’t know if I want them back.”

Olivia pressed her back to the wall and looked up at the ceiling. A tear unraveled down her cheek. The Whitmans didn’t want them back, exactly what she feared. Stupid Lucas. He ruined her summers.

“Theo’s had a crush on Olivia for two summers. You want to punish him, too? The kids will be older next year, wiser. Lucas will settle down.”

“Let’s hope so,” Mrs.Whitman said.

He will, Olivia thought. She’d make sure of it.

“Any more pranks from him and they aren’t welcome back,” Mr.Whitman said. “We’ll talk more later. I have to straighten the garage.”

Olivia’s face hardened. She wanted to rewind what Mr.Whitman said about Blaze liking her, but her anger overshadowed her own infatuation for Blaze. She marched upstairs and found Lucas inside his tent, flipping through a comic book. She tore off his tent and tossed it aside in a tangle of white cotton and twinkle string lights.

“Livy!”

She kicked him in the ribs.

“Oomph.” He rolled to his side and into a ball. “What was that for?”

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