''You know how they came up with the word Lunatic?'' he asked.
I shook my head, feeling like I probably didn't want to know the answer. His lips pulled up on one side in a mischievous, lopsided grin.
He stepped closer. ''Because all of the worst m...
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"Lou! I need your help with this," Harry grunted trying to carry a long cardboard box full of his clothes. I raised an eyebrow and watched my brother struggle to handle his grip on the large box. I let out a laugh as he glared at me when the package crashed to the ground. I gave him a meaningful cough and he rolled his eyes. "Please."
At that magic word, I sprang up from my comfortable position on our decrepit couch and we carried the box out to Penelope together. She was only half full and the look of it was kind of depressing. All of my family's possessions fit in about half of the truck bed.
Mom always said possessions weighed us down. So, I guess, my family and I were light as air.
"Alrighty," Mom clapped her hands together with a smile. "Are we all set then?"
Harry and I looked back at the last five years in the form of our humble abode. My twin brother gave me a wistful smile before climbing into the truck. Sighing, I tried to commit the sight before me to memory. Constants were a rarity in my life, but the trailer had been one of them.
Without another thought, I climbed into the truck and stared straight ahead as Harry drove us away. Luckily, West Acres wasn't too far of a drive so I didn't have much time to mope and wallow in my own self-pity. In fact, West Acres was close enough that my friends would still be able to visit but far enough away that I'd be transferring schools.
I didn't mind that part too much. Saying goodbye to people had always been easy for me. Harry was the one that made long and lasting connections.
"So," Mom began from the passenger's seat. "I don't know if I even have to ask- or maybe I do...I just want to know if-"
"Mom, relax."
She took a deep breath at my reminder and continued on, tentatively.
"I want to make sure that you'll be nice to him," She finished.
Harry looked up in the rearview mirror and his blue-gray eyes caught my own. We had a moment of twin telepathy where, despite the psychic powers, I knew exactly what he was thinking. We'd be nice enough, sure, but we would certainly not make life easy for our new stepfather.
"Of course we'll be nice to him," I assured her.
The dark image I'd seen of Owein filled my head once again. The looming darkness I'd felt when I first saw his face seemed like it was closing in around me. It was wrapped around me like a cloak, tightening and squeezing me around the neck until I could hardly breathe. My eyes squeezed shut trying to force the cloak off of my body. I tried to focus on other real and corporeal objects like the sound of Harry and Mom's bickering. The sound of the truck. The feel of the wind.
None of it seemed to work until,
"We're here!" Mom's excited squeal broke my trance-like state and my eyes snapped open.
