“You lot better not be up to anything, you hear me?” he asks.
“I just want your nuts,” August declares in his superhero voice. It’s enough to confuse the man and maybe scare him a little.
“I mean… like to eat. You know… Your sign says you have nuts. I’m just… I’m going to stop talking.” And even though he stops talking, he holds on to that superhero pose.
“I think that’s best,” Landon whispers.
The guy finally leaves, so I hurry over to help Asmodeus up. He drops his illusion while Landon lifts the ball up enough he can crawl out, where I help him to his feet.
“Landon nearly murdered me,” he says as he holds his arms out, like he wants a hug. I hesitate, unsure of what to do with this, before deciding that maybe a hug doesn’t hurt and giving him one. It’s not like I know much about the fine art of hugging either.
He beams at me and my face immediately ignites, but he’s holding on so tightly, I can’t run away. So there I am, holding Asmodeus while Landon holds a giant ball of yarn with his mind.
“Well… I think that’s a wrap. We should head home,” Asmodeus declares while seeming determined not to let me go.
“Gladly,” I state as I pull back from the hug, which Asmodeus seems horrified by. I almost feel a little bad, but are we just going to hug here forever when we didn’t even pay?
“Guys… guys, don’t leave. The ball is unsteady. The second I let go with my mind, it starts rolling,” Landon says. “Guys, help! Anyone have like… superglue or something?”
“You think superglue is going to solve this mess?” I ask as Asmodeus pulls away enough to begin walking toward the exit.
I sigh and decide I’ll help. So we all get down on our knees and watch while Landon rotates it until we find the exact spot it’smeant to sit. He sets it down, and it must stay because he beams at us.
“We did it, guys. We came, we conquered, we’re going to pretend there’s not a bullet hole in it… those kinds of things. Let’s get out of here,” Landon says, so we head out and over to where Patricia has somehow talked her way out of a ticket. The police officer is walking toward his cruiser and is almost in it when Asmodeus jerks me out of the way as the giant ball of yarn whips past us and smashes right into the side of the cruiser. The windows shatter and the ball leaps into the air and slams down right on top of the cruiser, caving the roof in before rolling to a stop in front of the building where the owner is busy selling nuts.
Patricia just quietly gets in her vehicle and starts driving, leaving all of the SAVCGEM members to race after her. Thankfully, there are a couple of people inside who push the doors open, allowing us to dive into the SUV as she takes off.
Baker wipes a hand across his forehead. “That was thrilling.”
“Hey, Landon,” Asmodeus says.
“What’s that?”
He points out the back window. “Isn’t that your brother?”
I watch while Brandon races after the car, running as fast as his legs will carry him with the police officer right behind him.
“Mom, I think we forgot somebody,” Landon says.
“It’s okay, his father’s back there with him,” she responds.
“We left Dad too?” Landon asks.
“He went in to get me some nuts,” Patricia says. “Which I was hoping to snack on during the drive home. Dammit.”
She whips the SUV in a U-turn and heads back toward them.
“I’m sure he’s written the license plate down by now,” I comment.
“I hope he has. I stole it off my bitch coworker’s car. I’d love to see her arrested,” Patricia says, quite delighted by the idea.
“Mom, you’re going pretty fast to pick up Brandon,” Landon observes before we whip on by him and head for Mark, who is standing in the parking lot looking exceptionally confused. Patricia slows the SUV down.
“Here, give me the nuts so you can get the door open,” she says as she holds her hand out the open window. He hands them over and she takes off.
“Patricia, you forgot me!” Mark yells.
“Mom, we forgot Dad,” Landon calls out, as if Patricia might not have noticed.
