All Grown Up (Eden High)

I walked into the den where the guys were gathered. “Where are your women?”

“Hopefully asleep, damn, you’d think we moved to the other side of the world the way they’re acting.” It’s true. We spent the better part of the morning visiting old haunts, the ones that were open anyway.

Then each of the guys had taken their girls to see their parents and theirs, well except Shane, he took his girl to see her parents but refused to go to his house. He still has mommy issues. I’m giving her another couple of months before I step in there. I don’t like people messing with my family, and she’s just being a pain in the ass.

I know my boys didn’t have the same kind of upbringing with nosy-ass parents always in their shit, but I don’t think theirs was as bad as all that. Just neglectful as hell in some cases but not inherently evil. The problem with Shane’s mom is that she went after his girl, and he’s in no mood to forgive.

I dropped down on my seat just as my phone rang with a Facetime request. I read the screen and accepted with a smile. This kid is the cutest thing. “Catalina, what’s up?”

“Hi, uncle Jace. What’re you doing?” She’s always so happy and relaxed. I hope my kids are the same when they get to be her age. I know I wasn’t; I was always up to some shit.

“Nothing, the babies are down for a nap if that’s why you’re calling.”

“Uh-uh, I want to finish our game.”

“What right now?”

“Uh-huh, I have time. Where are the others?” Track, Jared, and Shane moved their heads into view or raised their voices in hello.

“Okay, give us a second to head to the media room and set up.”

“That’s fine, but don’t hang up the phone.” I headed for the stairs with the others behind me, each of us throwing looks at the other out of her view.

It didn’t take long for us to realize that the sweet little innocent has an exceptional mind; and that she’s devious as fuck. If Sian and her crew keep us on our toes, this one is in a league all her own. I’ve asked Mancini about that, but he just laughs and says to watch, whatever that means.

Track was the first to notice a few days ago that there’s always some kind of purpose to everything she does. Not like a kid trying to get away with shit, but something more; we just haven’t figured it out yet.

If you look at the package, she comes across as a precocious kid like any other until she opens her mouth; that’s where the pretense ends. As Jared says, every time we hang up with her, it feels like we’ve been grilled by a master. But there’s more to her than that, I suspect, and no one is talking. Not Mancini, not her dad, who just says it’s not his fucking problem whatever she’s done. Like she stays in trouble or some shit, I guess.

“Okay, we’re booting up.” I had the game on the hundred, and twenty-inch screen as the four of us sat in the gaming chairs facing forward. Her face appeared in a corner of the screen while we appeared on hers and the game came on. This is a new thing she’d started the day before. Just out of nowhere, she decided to call me up and ask us to play.

I find that shit suspect as fuck, but since she hadn’t done or said anything, I figure she’s just bored on the island. She’s adorable and smart, so it’s not so bad, plus she can play the hell out of this game. Something we don’t get to do very often is sit down and relax like this. So she’s actually doing us a favor.

Hours went by as we sat there playing. The girls joined us to watch the kid beating our asses, and the female power was strong in this group. They hooted and hollered each time she killed one of us, but she was more restrained than the vicious females who were in the room with us. Sian was going all-in with the insults, but since I knew what her problem was, I ignored her. Let her get her kicks where she can.

“Okay, Catalina, we’ve been at this for hours, and you’ve won every game but one. Can we go have dinner now?”

“Oh, I didn’t know it was that late. I better go find mommy and daddy. See you!” She waved at the screen and climbed down from the chair that had dwarfed her.

“Oh, uncle Jace, I taped it.”

“Taped what?”

“Us playing.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I wanted a record of me beating you guys. This way, you can’t deny it like my brothers always do. Uncle Hank said you’d be here soon, so we don’t have to play until then.” She smiled, and the screen went dark.