Vicious Minds (Children of Vice 4)

“I’ll show you,” I said.

“Avena, go with her your sister,” her dad said to one of her sisters, who just frowned, crossing her arms.

“I don’t need to go—”

He gave her a look and she kept quiet.

“I’ll come too,” the other sister said.

Great. This was dumb. Why did I do this?

“Ethan, these are our two other daughters: Avena, a year older than you, then there is Bellarose, she’s the same age as you,” their mom said.

“Hello, I’m Ethan. You can follow me,” I offered, turning and walking toward the hall. I walked quickly so I could get away from them all. When I made the left turn, I pointed to the door. “There it is.”

“Hurry up, Calli,” Avena huffed. She had birthmarks, like small back dots on her

face. There was one over her lip and under her lip and then another right under her right eye.

“Avena, look they have sparklers,” Calliope gasped, pointing out the window.

“Your parents are so cool, Ethan.” Her other sister, Bellarose, who had cut her hair short right under her chin, gasped before running to the window. “Avena, look, they are giving out the bags. Why do we have to go?”

“Dad said he had to go somewhere tonight,” the oldest one explained before knocking Calliope on the head. “Hurry up and go.”

“I’m going!” she yelled and stepped back. She looked at her sisters as they practically pressed their faces against the windows before glaring at me wide-eyed, waving for me to follow her into the bathroom.

I did.

She shut the door and locked it fast, turning back to me but again her eyes darted all around.

“Woah, this is just your bathroom?”

“Yes, and I don’t think I should be in here with you—”

“This is the only place we can talk though. You called me over,” she interrupted before putting her ear to the door. “Don’t worry about Avena and Rosie, they forget me fast, I’ll just tell them you left while they were watching.”

“Don’t you need to use the bathroom? You told your mom you still… wait, is that why you were away from your parents before?”

She was quiet for a quick second, staring at me before shaking her head. “No. Yes. But I lied.”

“What?”

“No, I didn’t need to use the bathroom. Yes, I told my mom I needed go, but I lied. I really just wanted to see your house.”

Oh, she was answering my questions before.

“Is that why you called me?” She frowned and then crossed her arms. “I thought you wanted to say sorry for calling me a mouse.”

She heard that?

“Why would I say sorry? You were acting like a mouse, hiding behind your parents.”

“I wasn’t hiding.”

“What were you doing?”

She opened her mouth to speak before shutting it hard, glaring at me. “I don’t have to answer you.”