Key to Hell (Hell Night 4)

I pout. “Well, it’s stupid, and I ain’t ever gonna knock on your door.”

He shrugs again. “Whatever.”

I rub one of Boo’s ears against my cheek. It always feels so soft.

“I’ve got a tea party all set up in my room. Do y’all wanna have tea and cookies with me and Boo?”

“We’ll come as soon as we finish the track.”

“How long will it take?”

Trouble glances up. “I dunno. Maybe an hour.”

“Oh, okay.” I toe one of the cars. It’s dumb to get upset over not having my brother come play with me now, especially since he said he would do it afterward, but an hour seems like such a long time away. And the tea will be warm, and the cookies will taste rubbery by then.

“I’ll come with you now,” Aziah says, getting to his feet.

My face lights up. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’m kinda hungry and thirsty anyway.”

I smile big up at him and grab his hand. “Thanks.” I tug him toward the doorway.

“Hey,” Trouble calls out. “Don’t eat all the cookies or drink all the tea. Leave us some, would ya? When we get done here, I’ll sneak some gummy bears and bring them with me.”

I beam at him. “Okay.”

I continue to pull Aziah down the hallway. I love my brother, JW, and Judge, but I always really love spending time with Aziah. Being with him always makes me happy.

I walk him over to the little table in my room and point to one of the chairs. “You sit there.” He looks too big for the chair when he sits. I flop Boo down in the chair next to him, making sure he’s sitting up perfectly. When I sit down in the seat across from Aziah, I look at him and see him looking down at the hand I grabbed, wiggling his fingers. The expression on his face looks funny.

I pick up the teapot and pour some into one of the little cups. “Do you want one or two cookies?” I ask him after I slide the saucer and cup to him, making sure it doesn’t slosh over the edge.

“Two.”

I put three on his plate, just because I want to give him something extra for coming to play with me.

Trouble plays with me a lot, and so do the others, but I know he wants to do boy stuff too. Aziah always offers to spend time with me when I ask.

I pour Boo and me some tea and put one cookie on each of our plates. I’m nine, and some people might think I’m a little too old for tea parties, but I don’t care. I don’t really have any friends besides my boys, so I’ve learned to play with my stuffed animals. I could have friends, but I don’t really want any other ones except for my boys.

I smile when Aziah picks up his little tea cup and gulps all of it down.

“Is your tea good?” I ask, picking up my own cup and taking a small sip. Boys never know how to drink tea properly at tea parties. I don’t care though.

“Yes.” He sets it down and grabs one of the cookies, eyeing it.

“I made the cookies all by myself. I found one of momma’s recipes.” I watch him expectantly as he takes a bite. When he doesn’t make a weird face, I grin bigger. I guess I made them okay.

I pick one up and take a big bite, then spit it out onto the plate. Using a napkin, I scrub my tongue over and over again.

“Yuck!” I spit more pieces out of my mouth. “That was nasty!” Holy moly, I’ve never tasted anything so bad before.

Hearing a laugh, I look over at Aziah. His whole face lights up when he laughs, and I wish he did it more.

“Why did you act like you liked it?” I complain. Grabbing the teapot, I don’t even pour it into my cup, I just drink it straight from the pot. I use the back of my hand to wipe my mouth. “You could have told me before I ate one too.”

“I did like it,” he says, sounding serious.