Page 109 of Cloudless
Posey shifts in her booster seat behind me. “What’s a code word?”
Jasper's handheld game closes with a click before he says, “Is it like a secret agent thing or something?”
“It’s, um—” You never realize how difficult it is to explain something simple until you’re faced with putting it into your own words. “It’s just a word or phrase we can use to signal something to each other, without letting someone who doesn’t know what the code word means in on the conversation.”
I can practically hear the gears turning in Jasper’s head as he says, “And it can be anything?”
Kam nods in my peripherals. “Yep! We can make it anything we want.”
Silence fills the backseat before Posey blurts, “Unicorn!”
A quick glance at Kam shows my smile reflected on his face.
Genuine confusion shines through Jasper’s voice. “Ah, come on! Why can’t I pick the code word?”
The sound of Posey’s dress ruffling reaches my ears. I would bet at least a hundred dollars she just crossed her arms. “Because I’m the most creative twin.” Her last word is a mumbled, “Obviously.”
Kam’s eyes shine as he watches them in the rearview mirror. “Why don’t we each pick a word to add to our code phrase, Tank? I’ve already got mine picked out.” His eyes flash from the rearview mirror to me. “I think I’ll go with Sunny.”
I smile because of the ridiculousness. “Alright, so we’ve got Unicorn and Sunny, how about—” My stomach rumbles from our lack of lunch. “Tacos!”
Jasper’s voice is so sudden and loud I almost flinch. “It can be a food word?”
I can hear the smile in Kam’s voice. “It can be whatever you want it to be, Tank.”
“I want my word to be Marshmallow, then!”
Kam bites on his lip as he raises his brows. “Sunny Marshmallow Unicorn Taco? Is that what we’re going with?”
I nod as the twins say, “Yeah!”
Their words fade into a mumbled conversation in the backseat.
Kam’s chest shakes with barely contained laughter. I raise my brows as my eyes trace his beaming smile. “What so funny, Trouble?”
Tears line his eyes when he glances over at me. “Make an acronym from the code words.”
Sunny Marshmallow Unicorn Taco.
Oh shit.
SMUT.
Our code words spellsmut.
I just inadvertently gave my eight-year-old siblings permission to saysmutin front of our grandparents who are crucial to my custody arrangement. Great. Just great.
My eyes slide shut to shut out some of my embarrassment as Kam chuckles next to me. “Ah, come on, Sunshine. It could have been worse. We could have gone with Fluffy Ukulele Cupcake Kitten or Doodle Icicle Cat Kraken. It could always be worse.”
I smile as I shake my head. “You’re right, it could always be worse.” My smile falls as their house comes into view. The mansion looms ahead of us like a mountain as we come to a stop in the driveway. “So, that means if any of us are uncomfortable and want to leave, we just have to say the code words.” I twist back in my seat so I can see them. “Got it?”
They nod their heads as they look past me through the windshield.
The silence that blankets the Tahoe is only broken by the unfastening of seatbelts and the shuffle of shoes against the floorboards.
Posey’s voice holds a tone of panic as she breaks the silence. “Oh no! My shoe!”
Her bare toes wiggle as she stands like a flamingo in the backseat. She searches the ground just outside her open door with frantic eyes.
