A Family Affair (Hunter Street)

Chapter Ten -- A Secret Rendevous

THE BOYS WERE yelling about something completely random as Jake peered through the kitchen cabinets, his stomach growling uncomfortably. Unfortunately for him, there was only a box of stale crackers left, and he shut the cabinet door, muttering to himself. Looking into the living room, he saw Sal and Max going head-to-head on a random game they were playing on the TV while Florian and Oliver sat on the ground in front of them, entranced by whatever was on the screen. Daniel wasn't home yet because he was working (which was ridiculous to Jake since they had to win the treasure hunt against the girls), and there was no more food in the small apartment.

Jake's phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he grabbed it, sighing when he saw a text from Anika. She sent it on the family group chat about the wonderful meal they made together while Kate and Erik were away. The photo showcased a huge mess in the kitchen back home, but the food (spaghetti and meatballs, one of his favorites!) looked absolutely amazing. His stomach growled yet again as he gazed at the picture. He couldn't believe that his mouth was actually watering at the sight of a photo on his phone, but he couldn't help it. He was so hungry.

"Jake, is dinner ready?" Oliver called from his spot on the ground. He didn't even bother looking over at Jake, instead keeping his gaze directed toward the TV. "I'm starving."

"We don't have anything here," Jake answered with another sigh. He leaned against the miniscule dinner table that could barely fit all of the boys, his hands resting behind him to hold him up. His stomach growled again, but this time, it was much louder than before. "We all snacked too much lately, and we have nothing left. I think we need to go to the store."

None of the other boys answered him. Instead, all four of them shouted about whatever had happened on the TV. A small flicker of anger lit inside his chest at the sight of Max and Oliver celebrating by high-fiving and chest-bumping while Sal and Florian hung their heads, presumably defeated by the other two. The only things that they could do lately was play video games or just lay around because they were stuck with the most recent clue. It didn't help that Daniel was working almost all the time and that the other boys, besides maybe Sal, didn't seem to care about the treasure hunt at all. 

He pushed off the table, which creaked loudly under his weight, and walked over to the rest of them, standing directly in front of the TV. "We don't have food," he stated loudly to them. Their celebration was cut short as his words hit them. "We ate it all, and we need to go to the store. Now."

"Wait, are you serious?" Max asked him, a frown appearing on his face. "We have nothing here?"

"No."

"Then we need to go shopping," Sal said like Jake hadn't twice before. He hopped up from his spot on the couch and turned the TV off, much to the chagrin of the other boys, who all groaned in annoyance. Jake glared at him, and Sal threw his hands up like he was about to get shot for being annoying. "Sorry, we were playing a game."

"And left me to figure out what we were eating for dinner," Jake said, shaking his head. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. There was no way he was going to yell at these guys, not when they needed to work together. "At least, the five of us can go shopping together."

"All of us?" Florian asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "I'd rather stay here alone than go shopping with the four of you."

"You're not getting out of shopping that easily," Oliver said, patting Florian on the back. "We need all the help we can get."

Florian grumbled the whole time as they left the apartment building together. Jake wasn't happy that they all had to walk to the grocery store together, but he wasn't complaining about anything because at least he got to spend time with his brothers and friend (so far, Florian was not a friend, just a weird boy who was forced to work with them on the treasure hunt). He had to be grateful for something or else he was going to lose his mind.