Page 64 of Forever

I didn’t. Not really. I just wanted nothing to do with any of them. “I like the Mini Me costume,” I said to her.

“I’m not Mini Me. He is.” She pointed to Magnus.

Magnus laughed. “Definitely not, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me that. I’m not your sweetheart. And you’re Mini Me because I’m the one in charge.”

“You can think whatever you want to think,” Magnus said.

Someone else cleared their throat behind us.

I spun around to see someone standing there in the ghost mask from Scary Movie. There was a bloody knife in his hand.

The lights cut off again.

And this time I did scream.

Matt stepped in front of me again.

But honestly, I didn’t know which was worse. A masked stranger with a bloody knife? Or Magnus and Poppy?

When the lights turned back on, Tanner had the masked man in a headlock.

“What are you doing?!” Magnus yelled. “It’s just Richard.”

Tanner looked at Magnus and then back down at the guy in a headlock. “Richard Reginald Pruitt?” Tanner asked. “Is that you?”

“Yes,” my dad grunted.

Of course my father was dressed like a murderer.

Tanner let go of him and my dad coughed and fell to his knees.

“Sorry, old chap,” Tanner said. He grabbed him by the back of his black robes and pulled him to his feet. “You’re all good.”

He coughed again.

Realizing who it was didn’t make my heartrate go back to normal.

“What’s with the bloody knife?” Matt asked.

My dad pulled off his mask. “It’s part of the costume. It’s fake.” He tossed it on the ground and it bounced. It must have been made from plastic.

“Speaking of costumes,” Poppy said. “I love what you have going on, Matthew. I have no idea what you’re supposed to be, but it’s very form fitting.”

Matt turned around so she couldn’t keep staring at his butt in his tan boxers.

I just ignored her. “What are you doing here, Dad? You’re not even friends with the Caldwells.”

“I was invited.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question.”

“You’ve been avoiding me ever since I neutralized Luigi and Patricia had her…accident.”

Accident? Yeah right.I wasn’t sure why he seemed so confused about my not speaking to him. He’d killed two people. And I knew in my gut that he’d had a lot more people killed than that.

“I thought we were on the same page,” he said. “I stepped down from my position. I want to be a part of your life. That’s why I’m here.”

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