A Family Affair (Hunter Street)

Chapter Sixteen -- A Risky Escape

SHE SLOWLY WALKED through the house like she was a thief in the night. The only thing was, she wasn't a thief, and it wasn't really night, either. Tess just needed some time to think about a lot of things. Though it was very early morning, she hadn't really slept much last night because of the conversation she had with all the girls the other day. 

Tess quietly opened the front door, hoping no one would hear how the hinges squealed slightly or how her foot squeaked on the creaky board that someone needed to fix yet no one paid much attention to. In her dreams, the house felt like it was swallowing her up in one of the secret rooms that no one had found yet. When she woke up, nothing really changed, so she needed to get some fresh air outside.

"We've been waiting for you, Tess Hunter."

She let out a scream when she heard the freaky voice. It was low and growling, and it sounded exactly like the hooded figure of Saganash that had haunted her family when Max first came to them. That should have made her more afraid, but then she realized that Saganash had not been haunting them for at least a year. All the fear that had gripped her heart slowly slipped away as the voice continued talking to her.

Tess whirled around toward the street and glared at Max who was holding the voice manipulator that Sophie used when she was stalking them for her father. He held the microphone close to his grinning mouth. A slice of moonlight shone behind him while the stars twinkled in his eyes. His maniacal and strange laughter echoed through the otherwise silent street around them. He laughed the whole way up the stairs to where she was standing.

"What is wrong with you?" Tess hissed, slapping Max's arm as hard as she could. The smile quickly fell off his face when he wrapped a hand around the arm that she just hit, letting out a soft "ow." She glared at him again when he dropped the microphone to his side. "What in the world are you doing out here, messing around with that? Shouldn't you be at Daniel's apartment with the other guys, trying to figure out the treasure hunt before us?"

"Did you know that you're incredibly strong for a --" Suddenly, Max stopped talking. His eyes went wide as Tess's glare turned much angrier.

"I'm incredibly strong for a girl? Is that what you were going to say, Maximilian?"

"No, definitely not," Max said quickly. His voice was at least an octave higher than normal, which told her that he was lying to her. "I was going to say that you're incredibly strong for someone who doesn't work out much. Yeah, that sounds much better." He shot her a not-so-convincing grin, but she decided to forget about what he was going to say right now when she saw the conflicted look in his eyes. "It's probably because you lift so many books every day just to get around your room. And who's Maximilian?"

"Where'd you get that, anyway?" Tess asked, gesturing to the voice manipulator. "I thought Sophie had it last."

"I found it at Daniel's apartment," Max said, shrugging. "I don't know why he had it, though."

Tess nodded. "Sophie must have brought it when she moved in with him."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Max said, a surprised look on his face. He leaned forward, closer to Tess, and she couldn't help but laugh in his face. "What do you mean Sophie moved in with Daniel?"

"They're dating."

"They're what?!"

Tess didn't want to get sidetracked, though. She could tell that he was trying to avoid telling her about the real reason he was out here in the earliest of mornings. There was no reason other than something that had to have been bothering him. "Look, what are you doing out here at this time of night?"

"I could be asking you the same question."

She pursed her lips while rolling her eyes. He was deflecting her question back to her instead of answering it. Ever since he came back from Spain, he had been so very different. Erik and Kate seemed to notice it, too, and so did everyone else who knew him better than he knew himself. They were all waiting for him to tell them what was wrong. They all knew that they had to give him time before he would open up, but Tess was worried about him.