Tales of Gloomsdale #1: The Hidden Attic

Chapter Eight

Matt wanted to stay in his room all night on the day of the dinner party, but his mother insisted on him coming down. He reluctantly put down his video games and made his way downstairs. When he saw who was at the table, he froze on the stairs in shock, his heart sinking.

"I'm so glad you could make it, Maria," Mr. Davis was telling his friend.

"It's no trouble," she replied. "Cal and Rosa were very excited to be here. It's nice to meet your children."

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Gonzalez," Willow muttered, though she clearly also looked disturbed by who was at the table. She began speaking with Rosa in an attempt to ignore her older brother.

No way! Matt thought in disbelief. I can't believe it.

"We're going to my brother-in-law's place for the holidays," Mrs. Gonzalez said. "It'll be nice for Cal and Rosa to see their cousins."

"Yeah, very nice," Cal agreed with a grin. "I can't wait to see them."

"Neither can I," Rosa agreed, looking genuinely excited. "I wish I was their sister, instead of Cal's."

"Well, I wish the same thing," Cal snapped. Matt watched with a low groan as he snuck up behind his sister and Willow while carrying something in his enormous fist.

"Say, didn't you say you had a stepson as well, Gary?" Mrs. Gonzalez asked. "Where is he? Does Cal know him?"

Oh, he does, alright, Matt thought bitterly.

He noticed the disgusting black bug in Cal's large hand as he raised it behind Rosa, about to drop it into her curly brown hair. The next moment, Willow leaned over to reach the salt.

"Willow, watch out!" Matt called, watching as Cal began to drop the bug.

Willow raised her head at the last moment, jumping as she caught sight of Cal behind her. Cal glanced behind, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of Matt. Matt stepped backwards on the stairs while cowering from Cal's angry gaze, wishing he hadn't said anything. But he had to warn his stepsister. Not that it had done much good. The bug was now crawling across the table instead of caught in Willow's hair.

Rosa let out a shriek at the sight, knocking her glass of orange juice over as she got to her feet. Mrs. Wilson wrinkled her nose as the bug crawled onto her plate, raising the juice-stained tablecloth to swat the tiny creature away.

"Rosa, really!" Mrs. Gonzalez scolded. "You need to get over your ridiculous fear of insects."

While Cal started grinning, Mrs. Gonzalez turned her glare to him. "And you need to stop scaring your sister. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Stop!" Willow cried out as Mrs. Wilson raised her glass to crush the bug. "Don't kill it."

Mrs. Wilson stared at her incredulously. "I mean... it could have a family. And they'd be sad, wouldn't they?"

Matt rolled his eyes. "You're such a baby." Willow glared at him.

"You should kill it," Rosa insisted, seeming to have calmed down slightly as she began mopping up the spilled juice. "It'd be better than being carried around by Cal."

"You little brat!" Cal reached over to hit his sister, only for his mother to grab his arm.

"What did I tell you about being on your best behavior?" Mrs. Gonzalez scolded, before groaning. "Clearly, this was a mistake."

"Oh, no. It's no trouble at all," Mrs. Wilson insisted. "Matt and Willow often act the same way."

"We do?" Willow asked incredulously. For one of the first times, Matt agreed with her. Even they were never so awful to each other.