It's All Loki's Fault, Not Mine

Chapter One

My eyes snapped open and I sat up, squinting in the sudden light filtering through my open window. I’d had a dream—something about my parents—but I didn’t bother to try to remember it. It wasn’t like I’d be telling them, anyway. Why should they even care? Mom’s movie was unfilmed, Dad’s experiment was untested—they wouldn’t care until all of their work was done, and as far as I knew, that would never happen. There was always another paper to sign, another article to write. My brother would care, but he was in Germany learning how to be a spy. I didn’t even know where to address letters to.

There was one other person who would definitely care—my godfather, whom I hadn’t seen in over two months. We had exchanged a few texts but mostly, he’d been under the radar since Mom got after him for being “irresponsible” as my guardian. Honestly, if anyone’s irresponsible, it’s Mom and Dad. They often left for days at a time without telling me when they’d be back or where they were going. It was infuriating, but soon I knew how to handle being home alone.

My eyes drifted to the calendar strung up on the wall next to the window, and my heart leaped when I saw the date. “Mom! Dad!” I yelled, sprinting down the stairs and jumping over the last one, like always. “Guys, it’s today! I see him…”

I trailed off after seeing Mom’s face. She’d been in the middle of saying something— “he’s not good for her, Mark, and that’s the end of it!” —when I burst in, and now she had set her features in stone, the way they usually were. She placed a hand on my shoulder and motioned to the seat next to her, smiling tightly. “Kaitlyn. There’s something we need to—”

“If you think I’m not going to my godfather’s, Mom, you’re wrong. Even if I have to run away and jump out a window, I will make it to his house. Besides, it's your fault that I'm spending time with someone that's 'not good for me'! You named the Norse God of Mischief as my godfather!”

Dad cut in, placing a hand on my knee. “Sweetie, we know you haven’t seen him in a while. But he’s just not good for you, that man. He took you to blow up metal in the park, for heaven’s sake!”

I shrugged, bouncing my leg so his hand fell off. “It wasn’t our park, and it wasn’t our scrap metal. He made me get in the right gear. It wasn’t like I would die.” I could feel myself hardening up, folding my arms and smiling ruthlessly.

“Katelyn, I know we’re not here for you enough,” Mom tried, “and that’s why we’ve decided that, instead of going to Loki’s this weekend, we’re going to spend Saturday and Sunday together!”

“No thanks.” I stood up, backing towards the stairs. “I'd rather spend time with the person that actually cares about me, thank you very much.”

“How can you say that?” Mom's voice was weak and she sat down hard in a chair, pale and shaking. “I've raised you for sixteen years, and this is what you say? This is the thanks I get?”

I shrugged, dropping down on the couch again. “I dunno whether or not I really should be thanking you. Remember the accident last year? When the car was speeding and it hit me? Remember who took me into his arms, genuinely crying the whole way? It wasn't you, Dad! Not Mom either! It was my godfather! The very same man you got after for 'not being responsible’! He carried me to the hospital!”

“Katelyn, calm down. Please, sweetheart. Do you want this to be our last argument before we go back to work?”

I grinned, stepping backwards toward the front door. “I’d love to answer your question, Dad  — really! — but someone’s here to get me and I’m pretty sure they don’t want to be left waiting.”