“What about Carter and Benjamin?” I asked. “Are they not at camp with Flo?”
Charlie’s mom got married about ten years ago, which was why he had three siblings so much younger than him. Penny always said it was like they were in two sets of kids—her, Elliot and Charlie, and then Carter, Flo, and Benjamin.
“Penny said she and Alexander will pick them up while they’re out since they’re at a camp across town.”
“Very organized,” I said.
“Yeah, well, we need to be.”
That was for sure. I had no idea how they kept track of everyone.
“Do you like being part of a big family?” I asked.
“I love it,” Charlie said.
“Really?” I tried to imagine what it would be like to have more siblings than just Matthew, but I couldn’t. He was annoying enough without adding four more kids into the mix.
I glanced at the football field as we pulled into Falcon High’s parking lot. A group of kids were running around, playing tag or some similar game, while the teenage counselors mostly just stared at their phones.
“I’ll just be a minute,” Charlie said, hopping out of the car.
True to his word, I barely had time to answer one text before Charlie walked out of the building again with a pink shimmery backpack slung over one shoulder and holding hands with a young girl. It had been a while since I’d seen any of the younger Owen kids, but I would have recognized Flo anywhere—she was a mini version of Penny, right down to her long brown hair and sparkle in her eye. Flo was talking animatedly, gesturing with her free hand, and Charlie was smiling down at her, seeming enraptured by her story.
“All right, here we go,” Charlie said as he opened the back door for Flo. She climbed in clumsily and pulled her seatbelt on.
“Who are you?” she demanded when she noticed me.
“That’s my friend, Madison,” Charlie said. “You’ve met her before. She’s Matthew’s sister.”
“Oh,” Flo said, voice laced with suspicion. Charlie chuckled and winked at me, then closed her door and circled back over to get in the driver’s seat. “Is she coming home with us?”
“No,” Charlie said. “I’m just driving her home.”
“Why?”
“Because she needs someone to drive her home from work.”
“Why?”
“Because she doesn’t have a car.”
“Why?”
Charlie sighed and looked at me. “Sorry. She does this a lot.”
“No need to be sorry,” I said. “It’s cute.”
“Do you work with my brother?” Flo asked.
“Why, yes, I do,” I said. “Actually, I work with your sister too.”
“Which sister?”
I glanced at Charlie warily, scared of answering wrong. “Don’t you only have one?”
Flo frowned at me for a long second before she finally nodded seriously. “Okay. You pass.”
“I pass?”
