Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment) (25 page)

“I’m fine.” She moved across the matchbox-sized living room to the veranda doors. She shoved them open even though snowflakes were falling from the heavens. “You said you’d smoke outside.”

He shrugged, turning in his seat. “It’s too cold.”

“Well, I don’t want to die just because you can’t take your disgusting habit out the door!” she shot back, slamming her untouched coffee on the coffee table. Black liquid sloshed, spilling over the rim. “I mean, it’s the least you could do around here.”

He jerked the cigarette from between his lips and glowered at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you have absolutely nothing to be stressed about, thus have no fucking reason to smoke. If anything, it’s just another excuse to waste the money that I have to make.”

His brown eyes went round against his unshaven face. “What’s gotten into you?”

Fueled by years of resentment, Riley charged back to the kitchen and dominated the threshold with her hands on either side of the frame. “What’s gotten into me is that I’m sick and tired of you being lazy. You sit around all day watching TV and doing crossword puzzles while I have to make all the adult decisions, like dropping out of college after only a year to support you like I’ve been supporting you since I was five. I am sick and tired of being in charge all the time. I’m sick of being stuck in this apartment with you every day, wasting away my only chance at childhood because my man-child of a father is too goddamn lazy to get his shit together. I’m only nineteen for God’s sakes. I should be out with my friends, going on dates and making stupid mistakes, instead, I have to work so you can sit on your ass. It’s no wonder Mom left you!”

A slow throb drummed at her left temple, steadily becoming a full-on pounding as it fractured like a crack in a mirror through her numb brain. She pressed the heels of her hands into the back of her eyelids until the world blurred red and sparks flashed. The wound on her arm burned until it was all she could do to keep from ripping the band aid off and scratching the hell out of it. She wanted to grab a knife and cut the skin out or just saw her arm off. She couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Riley…?”

Ignoring him, she snatched up her purse and coat and bolted from the apartment. Her feet barely touched the floor as she tore down the sidewalk in no particular direction. She ran until her legs gave out and her lungs shuddered. She dropped down on the side of the road on her hands and knees and wheezed, choking on her sobs as she fought not to throw up.

“Hey, you okay?”

Panting, Riley raised her head, shocked to find anyone else on that stretch of road. But there was a girl there, just a few feet away, watching her with concern in her bright, gray eyes. She edged closer, her head cocked to one side.

“Hello?”

Riley wiped the snot and tears away with the back of her sleeve. “I’m sorry.”

The girl laughed. “For what?”

Riley didn’t have an answer.

The girl moved in closer and knelt in front of her. She reached into the enormous beige purse slung over her shoulder and produced a small packet of Kleenex. She fished one out and passed it to Riley. Riley took it with murmured thanks and blew her nose and wiped her tears.

“I’m Daphne Caldwel,” the girl said. “I live just up the road. I was out for a walk when I saw you fall.” She delved into her bag once more, rummaging around for a moment before returning with a bottle of water and a small bottle of aspirin. “You look like you could use these.”

Riley took them without comment. She swallowed two with a mouthful of water. She used the rest of the water to rinse her mouth and ease the burn in her chest.

“So what are you running from?”

Still breathing hard, Riley stared at the girl. “What makes you think—?”

“Because I’ve never seen anyone run the way you were so either you’re a competitive runner trying out for the Olympics
or…”
She grinned a little like they were sharing a joke. “The devil is after you.”

“The latter.” Riley muttered. “I’m Riley Masters.”

“Interesting.”

“What is?”

Daphne shrugged. “You don’t look like a Riley.”

Without thinking, Riley looked down at herself. “I don’t?”

“No.” Daphne cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes as she took Riley in. “You look like a… Susanne or a Mandy. If I squint really hard,
maybe
a Betty.”

Riley blinked. “A…
Betty
?”

Daphne wrinkled her nose. “Only if I squint really,
really
hard.”

“Stop squinting.”

Daphne’s gray eyes opened to their original size once more and she grinned. “So, Riley, are you going to sit in the dirt all day?”

“I’m considering it.”

Daphne hopped nimbly to her feet. “Well.” She rummaged through her massive purse and, to Riley’s fascination, drew out an oven timer. She checked it once before stuffing it back into the bag. “As
fun
as that sounds, I have cookies in the oven if you’re interested.”

Riley tipped her head back to peer up at the girl. “I could be a serial killer.”

The girl seemed to think about this for all of two seconds. “Yes, and I could be the tooth fairy.” She spun daintily on her heels. “Coming? Chocolate chips wait for no man… or woman.”

The girl was barely five feet tall with a head full of fuzzy, orange hair and a face full of freckles that even Riley couldn’t compete with. She looked like a little kid in her jeans and flannel shirt. But after meeting the Maxwells, Riley didn’t trust anyone.

“You’re not like some supernatural being are you?” she called after the girl.

Daphne twirled around on the heels of her suede boots to face Riley. She continued walking backwards, grinning. “If I was, I don’t think I would be allowed to tell you.” Her braid swung around her shoulder as she whipped back around to face forward.

Riley waited a full second longer before getting to her feet and following, not really sure why, but not wanting to go home and having nowhere else to go. Plus, she was actually curious about this Daphne girl.

Daphne lived in a small, split level home encased entirely by trees and giant bushes. A gorgeous bed of flowers grew in the front and climbed up the walls like 3D wallpaper. Five steps led to the screen door and another two steps inside led to a spacious and tidy sitting area. The sweet scent of melted chocolate hung thick in the air. It coated everything in sight and left a trail to the back of the house where the kitchen was.

Daphne left Riley to follow as she darted to the oven and snatched up the oven mitts off the counter. Humming, she pulled out two trays of freshly baked cookies and switched them for the two pans sitting on the stove.

She exhaled, wiping the back of her gloved hand over her brow. “I’m nearly finished.”

“What are all those for?” Riley asked, glancing at the row upon row of cookies cluttering every available space.

“Oh just ‘cause,” Daphne replied with a shrug. “I’ve got four brothers and this’ll all be gone by the end of the day. Sit.” She motioned to the chairs tucked beneath a small, square table tucked away in the corner.

Riley shuffled over and sat.

Daphne brought her a tall glass of milk and told her to help herself to the cookies on the pans taking over the table. Riley took one. She bit into it carefully and moaned as the morsel practically dissolved in her mouth.

“Oh my God!” She took a bigger bite. “This is the most amazing thing I have ever tasted!”

Daphne giggled. “Thank you. It’s my own personal recipe.” She leaned in, lowering her voice. “The secret is—”

“Hey, twerp, where are you?” a billowing male voice shouted from the front of the house.

“Kitchen!” Daphne called back.

A minute later, four enormous boys charged in, each one bigger than the last and looking dirty as all Hell as they tossed a football between them. Their clothes were caked in mud that dripped from their hair and smeared over their faces. They stomped into the kitchen, leaving a fresh trail of mud behind them.

“Smells great,” one said, sniffing the air.

“No cookies until you’ve showered,” Daphne said, smacking his hand when he made to reach for a cookie.

He winced, cradling his injured arm to his chest. “Just one?”

“No! Shower.”

Grumbling, they stalked out the same way they’d stocked in.

Daphne shook her head. “I don’t know what to do with them.”

“So it’s just the five of you?” Riley asked. “Where’s your parents?”

Daphne’s bright smile diminished as she turned away. “They passed away. Car accident.”

Riley grimaced at her own tactlessness. “I’m sorry.”

Daphne shook her head, transferring cookies from a pan onto a cooling rack. “It’s all right. It was ages ago. I was a baby so I don’t even remember them. My brothers raised me.”

“They seem nice,” she said, trying to change gears on the subject.

“They are! They’re great. I got really lucky.”

“It’s just me and my dad,” Riley said. “My mom left us when I was five. I haven’t seen her since.”

Daphne turned to her, her blue eyes glinting with sympathy. “I’m sorry.”

Riley shrugged. “No big deal.”

They lapsed into silence as Daphne went back to work moving cookies from pan to cooling rack and from cooling rack to plastic containers.

“Can I help?” Riley asked, getting to her feet.

Daphne looked momentarily surprised by the request, but smiled brightly. “Yeah! That would be awesome. Thanks.” She gave Riley a spatula. “Just take them off the pan and put them on the racks.

It was a mindless task, one Riley welcomed wholeheartedly. In the time that passed, Daphne’s brothers returned, freshly showered and looking more human and less mud monsters. They greeted Riley with surprise.

“This is my friend, Riley,” Daphne introduced, never faltering in calling Riley her friend. Riley didn’t know what to say. She’d never had a friend before. “Riley, my brothers, Doug, Derek, Dallas and Daniel.” She grinned. “Our parents
really
liked the letter
D
.”

Smiling, Riley replied, “Yeah, I can see that.” To the boys, she said, “Nice to meet you.”

The boys looked remarkably alike, except for their heights and build. Each had dull, bronze hair and eyes in various shades of blue or gray. But what set them apart was their height and build. Daniel, the eldest brushed nearly seven feet tall and was built like a house. Dallas and Derek were an inch apart in height, but Dallas was on the heftier side with a snoutish nose and squinty eyes. Derek the looks, in her opinion, good looking in a boy next door sort of way while Doug, the youngest brother still possessed the chubby baby fat around the cheeks and belly. He was also the one that easily sulked or complained like he was the baby and not Daphne. But not one of them seemed annoyed by Riley’s appearance into their home. If anything, they treated her like she’d always been there. It made it easy to see where Daphne got it from. They were all just so laid back.

She wasn’t sure how it happened, but she wound up staying for supper, which consisted largely of meat and vegetables. The boys whined about it, mainly about getting force fed
rabbit food,
as Doug kept referring it to. Daphne would have none of it. For her pint-sized stature, she corralled her brothers with just a look. It was quite impressive.

“You seriously need to teach me that,” Riley told her as she helped clean up after supper.

Daphne giggled. “It’s all in the eyes. I usually just picture something really gross, but the trick is not to blink. They won’t take you seriously if you do. So just hang on to that picture and stare at ‘em until they give in.”

Laughing, Riley tucked that bit of information away for the next time she had to do inventory with Gideon. At the thought, Riley felt a stab in her chest. She’d tried so hard not to think about her boys or Octavian. But spending time with the Caldwel boys made her long to see them again.