The Sinister Silhouette

“Good.” I grunt my answer. “So good, I’m thinking about opening a shop over in Winchester.”

Winchester is the next town over. It’s bigger, about twice the size of Silver Hill, and we get a lot of customers from there. There’s a shop there, but the quality is shit.

“Got any leads on locations?”

“I was thinking either the corner of Bennaview and Rosen or over on Wilson.”

Dad whistles. “Those are prime locations.”

“He’s goin’ uppity,” Vicki puts in.

I give her my middle finger, and she

gives me hers in return.

“It’s prime but sits in the center of town, so it’ll pull in customers from all sections. I don’t want to totally wipe out Majic Ink, but it makes it more convenient for customers to find.”

He nods. “Good business move.”

Mom walks out carrying two plates, and hands one to Dad. He leans down to kiss her, then they both walk to the couch. Theo’s kitchen table is too small for all of us to sit at, so some of us have to migrate to the living room. Ella walks out with her plate, and Vicki and I move into the kitchen next.

Aria, Theo, and Jules are already at the table eating. I grab a plate and start piling it high with food.

“Leave some for me, will ya?” Vicki snarks snidely.

Just to piss her off, I grab another deviled egg and stuff it in my mouth.

“Asshole,” she mutters.

I smirk then move down and put two pieces of chicken on my plate. I feel eyes on me, but I ignore them. Grabbing a beer out of the fridge, I’m just about to leave the kitchen to eat, but then decide to torture myself and act the bastard by staying in the kitchen.

I set my beer down, turn with my plate in hand, and lean against the counter. I take a couple of bites before lifting my eyes to the occupants of the table, who have been quiet since I walked in the room. Aria, oblivious to the tension, is currently stuffing her face. Theo’s not eating and glaring at me, while Jules sits there stiffly, looking between Theo and me.

The motherfucker that I am enjoys the rigidness in Theo’s body. I know he’s silently wishing me to hell, and I don’t know why I’m provoking him. Maybe it’s the way he’s sitting too close to Jules. Or maybe it’s the way his arm is resting possessively over the back of her chair, even though it’s plain to see it’s making her uncomfortable. It could be the look I saw in his eyes when he spotted us looking at each other in the living room, like he was damning us both.

Or it could just be my unhealthy infatuation with her.

No matter the reason, I’m here now, I’ve seen Jules again, and damned if my ravenous hunger to be around her hasn’t grown stronger. No way am I leaving her vicinity when she’s close by.

I take another bite, then set my fork on my plate and regard Theo.

“Abe wants to know if you’re still interested in kickboxing classes for Aria,” I inform him.

His eyes are still shooting daggers at me, but thankfully he reclines back in his chair, which forces him to drop his arm from Jules. Her shoulders sag with the extra space.

“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to afford it now. I need to look at my finances first.”

“Ah, come on, Dad!” Aria whines. “I wanna learn how to kick some ass!”

Jules sucks in a breath at Aria’s language. My jaw clenches because I know the only reason she knows the word is because Theo uses it in front of her a lot, even after the urging of our parents, Ella, and me to watch his language. I swear, me and the rest of the family have been more of a parent to Aria than Theo has.

“Aria.” I say her name firmly. She looks at me, biting her lip, knowing what she did wrong. “You know you’re not supposed to say that word.”

“Back off, Luca. She’s not your kid,” he growls.

I glare at him. “Then parent her better, Theo,” I throw back at him.

“Sorry,” Aria mumbles, her little legs swinging under the chair.