“Flea treatment? Dear God, Ethan.” She pulled the Lucky Charms down from the top of the fridge. “Did you open these?”
I nodded. “I bought them.”
“I told you I’d give you some money.”
“I’m sure I can part with two or three dollars for some cereal I’m going to eat, too.” I peered up at her as she grabbed a bowl.
“Fine.” She opened the box and tipped it. A yawn scrunched her face up, and she almost spilled the cereal all over the island, but she caught herself before that happened.
She froze.
“What’s wrong? Is there a spider in there or something?”
“There are no marshmallows.” She was looking down at the bowl as if it were an algebra textbook. It was fucking adorable. “They’re the best bit. Did yours have marshmallows?”
My lips twitched. “I said I opened it. I never said I ate some.”
Her pink lips parted, and I swore I could see the moment realization dawned on her. “You!”
“Yes, sunshine?”
“You took out all the marshmallows!”
“Did I?”
“You damn well know you did!” She shook the box of Lucky Charms at me. “What kind of fucking savage are you?”
“A vengeful one.” I lifted my mug to my lips. “I told you this was war, Ava. It’s not my fault if you didn’t listen to me.”
She grabbed a handful of the cereal and let it fall through her fingers into the bowl. “This is some passive-aggressive bullshit. I thought you meant, like, actual war. Not this.”
“Well, you should have thought about that before you put salt in the sugar jar.”
“You should have thought about it before you moved my candles.”
“Yeah, you’re right, they’re totally comparable.”
“Ethan!” she snapped, shoving the bowl in my direction. “This is brutal. What did you do with the marshmallows?”
I grinned. “I ate them.”
“You ate all the marshmallows?” Horror flashed across her features. “What kind of a sick bastard are you?”
“Again, a vengeful one.”
“What am I supposed to eat for breakfast now?”
“Something not aimed at getting kids addicted to sugar before they’re fully capable of wiping their own asses?” I suggested. “Like fruit? Or granola? Or even toast?”
“No. I wanted Lucky Charms.” She huffed and without another word, took her bowl and the now apparently ruined box of cereal and dumped it all in the trash.
Literally all.
Even the bowl.
“Did you mean to drop the bowl in there, too?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
The pout her lips formed told me she did not.
I laughed. “You should probably get that back out.”
She made a noise that sounded a bit like an angry chicken before she reached into the trash can and pulled out her bowl. “I’m going to get you back for this.”
“You can try.”
“I don’t need to. I already know I can. I spoke to your sister.” She smirked. “And now it really is game on.”
My sister?
Aw, shit.
Angelica knew way too much—like how I had a very inappropriate attraction to Ava. I didn’t think she was stupid enough to tell her that, but there was every chance she would. There was probably some shit from when we were younger that she still had to pay me back for.
“All right. Then I’ll talk to Leo,” I countered.
“Do it.” Ava grabbed an apple. “He’s got less imagination than this apple.” She bit into it, the crunch filling the room, and swept past me to go to her room.
I clicked my tongue and grabbed my phone.
ME: Need to piss off your sister. Help.
He replied quickly.
LEO: Isn’t living with her already doing that?
ME: We’re in a passive-aggressive fight.
LEO: Normally I’d suggest sleeping with her and running out before she wakes up, but you have to go home after.
ME: You’re suggesting I sleep with your sister?
LEO: Not specifically. Just a general thought.
ME: Help me. I stole all the marshmallows out of the cereal and now she might be assembling an army in her room.
LEO: Hahahahahahaahhaa that’s cruel as fuck, dude.
ME: Exactly why I think she’s gathering an army.
LEO: Steal one of all her socks so she can’t find a pair. I did that when I was fifteen and she fucking murdered me.
ME: At least it’ll mean I win.
LEO: True.
LEO: You could always leave the hedgehog in her room.
ME: Then she’ll kill the hedgehog.
LEO: A worthy sacrifice.
ME: No.
LEO: Put empty bottles back in the fridge every time she takes them out.
ME: That’s cruel. I like it.
LEO: Yeah. So. When are you gonna admit you have feelings for her?
ME: No feelings. Not that kind.
LEO: Yeah. K.
ME: No feelings.
LEO: The more you protest the less I believe you.
ME: I gotta go to work.
LEO: Avoidance is a stage of denial.
ME: I’ll punch you in the nose. Avoid that.
LEO: I will. You punch like a fairy.
ME: Thanks for the help.
LEO: No problem. By the way, mission accomplished. She just texted me telling me what a fucking sadistic prick you are.
ME: I’ll sleep with one eye open tonight.
LEO: My advice? Don’t sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
* * *
AVA
It’s On, Bitches
Marshmallows were such an irrational thing to be angry about. I knew that. Everyone knew that. I didn’t even have the excuse that I was on my period anymore.
Nope, the monthly notification of not having a human being forming in my uterus was over.
The problem was, everyone knew you didn’t buy Lucky Charms for the cereal. It was for the marshmallows. They literally sold just a box of those, which was what I was now eating as I sat at a table in the library.
The little kids were all kind of… staring at me.
It was a little scary. No wonder people were genuinely afraid of them.
I had, however, swiftly enacted my revenge in the form of a double hit. I was no longer paying for cable, and I’d not only deleted Ethan’s profile from my Netflix account, but I’d changed the password, too.
And logged out.
Everywhere.
Ev. Er. Ee. Where.
I chuckled to myself as I shoveled a handful of marshmallows into my mouth.
“You know,” Halley said, buttoning up her jacket as she approached me. “It’s really weird that you’re just sitting there eating those from the box. Are you okay? Do you need an intervention?”
“Nope.” I threw a few more into my mouth, then explained the events of the morning and how I’d retaliated.
She nodded her head as she pushed open the door to the library. “Seems fair. I think what he did was basically treason.”
“Agreed.” I hugged the box tight to my chest. “Anyway, that’s today’s update. It’s getting brutal.”
“What else did Angelica tell you? Surely there’s something you can do to really piss him off.”