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CHAPTER FOURTEEN: A HOTHEAD'S RAGE
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“SO WHAT ARE YOUR plans for today?” Wren asked as she sipped from a warm cup of coffee. She glanced over the glasses that were perched on her nose, catching an unsuspecting Maggie’s gaze. She smiled, completely oblivious to the nerves twisting around in her niece’s stomach. “Mags?”
“Oh, uh…” Confronting a boy who I believe is a supernatural creature to see whether or not my mum and best friend were murdered by vampires. “Just… hanging out, I guess. I don’t know, I’ve got nothing planned at the moment.”
Fortunately for Maggie, Wren didn’t notice the tremor in her voice. But Zeke certainly did. His brows furrowed in a visible frown, foot kicking hers beneath the table to get her attention. When Maggie just shrugged at him, feigning confusion, he scoffed and turned back to his breakfast. However, the sound was loud enough for Wren to hear, and she jumped at the chance.
“What about you, Zeke?” she asked, murmuring a subconscious thank you as Everett got up to take their plates to the sink.
Now it was Zeke’s turn to hesitate, clearly caught off guard. Maggie smothered a smirk, biting into her breakfast as she waited for Zeke to reply. “Not much,” he eventually stammered out, stubbornly ignoring his younger sister's stare. In other words, probably seeing Connor. “I might just bug Maggie for a while.”
“Whoa, I didn’t agree to this,” Maggie pouted, hoping deep down that it was just an excuse. How would she explain everything to him? He’d probably run for the hills.
“Too bad,” Zeke grinned, then winked once Wren moved on to bugging Dakota. Their sister had just gotten a job at one of the local cafes, and boy was Wren excited whenever the girl came home with work stories. It was actually kind of nice. As much as she loved each of the children, it was obvious that Wren Sullivan struggled the moment when it came to connecting with Dakota. She was closest to Maggie and Zeke for sure, but Dakota Sullivan had always held herself at arm’s length; well, until now.
All too soon, breakfast had ended, and Maggie and Zeke were the only ones left in the house. Wren had driven Dakota to work, then headed out to Port Angeles for a lunch date with Mrs Watkins, one of her teacher friends. Everett was visiting his family for the day and Vera was off doing God only knew what, leaving Maggie to try and find a way out of the house without Zeke wanting to go with her. At first, she’d assumed he was kidding about hanging around, but now she wasn’t so sure. The second everyone left, he got comfortable on the couch and switched on the television, playing reruns of Scooby Doo while Maggie just scowled at him in disbelief. Eventually, she made her way upstairs to change clothes and grab her supernatural guide. But soon enough, she was ready and waiting, Scooby Doo blaring from the living room with no intentions of stopping any time soon.
