A Dark Gift

Chapter 7

I woke the next morning to Michael coming quietly into my room and plopping onto the bed beside me. "Hey," he said, resting his chin on one hand as he looked down at me. He flicked a lock of my hair over my shoulder. I drew the sheet further up over myself. "Hey yourself," I said, my voice raw from sleep. It was then that I noticed a goofy grin on his face and he laid back and sighed in contentment.

"Oh my god, Michael!" I squealed softly.

"What?" he asked, unable to keep the grin off his face.

"You got laid," I said.

"What? No I didn't!" he said, but he blushed and bit his lip trying to hide that stupid, goofy smile. I poked him in the chest. "Yes, you did!" Oh god, I was so glad our twin connection hadn't pushed that into my brain. If it was one thing I didn't need to see, it was my twin brother having sex with Star. But I was curious. "So, how was it?" I asked, trying to be casual.

"Madison Marie!" he scolded, pretending to be scandalized. But there was humor in his eyes and that goofy grin was back after a second. "It was great," he answered honestly. "I seriously think she's the one, Maddie. I love her," he said.

I leaned over and kissed his forehead. "I'm glad, Michael. She seems like a sweet girl. I hope it all works out for you," I said honestly. I laughed when I saw that he had fallen asleep, goofy grin still in place. I quietly pulled the blanket over him and gathered a pair of jeans and a tee shirt from my bureau and tiptoed into the bathroom. I turned on the shower and climbed in as the water heated, sighing as it hit my somewhat sore muscles. I stretched under the heated spray and washed my hair. I climbed out and wiped myself down with a towel before yanking on the clean clothes I'd gathered. I noticed that the floor was a bit cold, so I took a pair of clean socks out of my drawer and pulled them on as well.

I brushed through my hair and pulled it back into a tail down my back, shivering when it swished coldly against my spine. I entered the kitchen, surprised to find it was only around 9 a.m. Sam was sitting at the table eating some cereal and I saw Lucy sitting on the porch drinking a cup of coffee. "Morning, Mom; morning, Sammy," I called out.

Lucy smiled at me and Sam just gave me a long-suffering grimace. "She's making me go with her to Max's to apologize again," he whispered to me. Oh, I remembered this part, I thought. This was where Thorn attacked Lucy and Sam got his idea about the Hounds of Hell from that stupid comic. Guess I'd have to come along and smooth things over again. I looked over to Sam. "No worries, I'll come with you," I said.

"Really?" he said, surprised. "You're a life-saver!" He finished his cereal and hugged me, dropping his bowl in the sink before running upstairs to change. I laughed and got a bowl of cereal for myself, carrying it out to the porch to sit next to Mom.

"So did you have a fabulous time with Max last night?" I asked. She looked so thoughtful, I was a bit worried.

"Hmm? Oh yes, it was wonderful," she said. "Thank you so much, Maddie, for putting so much work into it for me. It really made it a magical evening, even after that disaster with Sam and those Frog boys," she said rolling her eyes.

"Then what's wrong, Mom?" I asked.

"Oh. Oh, honey. I don't want to worry you. I'm just concerned about..." she hesitated.

"About Michael," I said. She jerked up, looking at me in surprise. "It's ok Mom, I know you're worried. But I honestly think he's going to be fine. He's just rebelling. After everything with Dad, he's just maybe feeling a little trapped."

"And what about you, lovey? Are you feeling trapped as well? I know we've only been here a few days, but I feel like you've had to pick up so much slack, looking after your Grandpa, Michael and Sam and then having to put everything together for me last night," she began.