A flame burst out from between my lips and seared a quarter-size hole in the wood.
Gabriela jumped up and down. “You did it! Oh, Sky, that was awesome!”
I let the flame die and looked over at Ryan. Maybe I hadn’t quite forgiven him yet. Maybe I never would. Or maybe…all I needed was this heist, to fix everything.
Ryan was deeply involved in his laptop and hadn’t seen, but I noticed Maximus was watching me. He nodded solemnly, as if he were bowing. I saw a hint of respect in hiseyes.
And so that’s how we spent the afternoons:
Maximus working on his spell to fight the fire beast (whatever spell that was—wizard secret, he said) and more fire resistance potions for Gabriela. Ryan working on his computer to hack the security cameras. Gabriela conquering her natural human instinct to fear fire. And me crouched in front of a lock or a piece of wood, trying to be both angry and calm.
Each day, we improved. Better. Stronger. Smarter.
In a weird way, it was a wonderful time.
ON THE NIGHT OFthe heist, I stole Liam’s car keys, pretended to eat dinner (being so close to my chance to fix my family= no appetite at all), and then shut myself in my bedroom.You can do this,I told myself.Focus on the details.First, I had to get dressed.
Standing in my closet, I rifled through my clothes. All black was a must, of course. Gloves. Face mask. Can’t do anything about the whites of my eyes—I had to see.
A knock shook my door. “Sky?” It was Charles.
“I’m doing homework!” I called.
Another knock. “We know you’re not.” Liam. “Come on, Sky, open up.”
What exactly did he know? I’d been careful. “Can it wait until tomorrow? I’m not feeling great tonight.” I contemplated making retching noises, but then they might send Dad to check on me. Better to just be mildly ill.
“Open the door, Sky.” Tuck. All three of them were out there. Fabulous. “Really don’t want to explain to Dad why we bashed down your door. He still blames us for the chandelier.”
I shoved the gloves and face mask back in the closet. Wiping my sweaty hands on my black jeans, I shot a look at the clock. Still had a half hour before I had to be out the door. Or window. Opening my bedroom door, I began, “Guys, I have a headache and—”
All three of them stood there, shoulder to shoulder, smiles on their faces, with Charles in the center holding a massive tub of popcorn. They pushed forward, jamming together in the door, and I retreated as they argued, mock punched, and shoved their way into my room.
My three brothers can fill a room, even my princess-size bedroom. Immediately, they took over as if it were their turf. Tuck plopped onto my bed, Charles claimed my desk chair, and Liam carried my comfy chair from its reading nook to the center of the room. “Where’s your remote?” Tuck asked.
“Found it!” Liam fished it out from between my jewelry boxes and switched on the TV. “I vote for a classic human comfort movie. LikeDie Hard.OrReservoir Dogs.Or anything with zombies.” He then relieved Charles of the popcorn bucket and dropped into the comfy chair.
Like dogs that had settled into their new doghouse, my brothers already looked like they’d been here for hours and would stay for hours. “Um, guys?”
Charles glanced at me, his expression serious. He tapped the calendar on my desk, and I immediately worried that I’d left incriminating papers out. But I hadn’t. Everything was at the lodge. We planned to burn all the evidence before we started the heist. “Do you think we don’t know what tonight is?” he asked.
Inside, I felt as if my stomach were curdling. How did they know? How could they? They couldn’t. I fought to keep my face pleasantly confused. “Saturday night?”
Liam flicked a kernel of popcorn at me. “It’s the anniversary of your and Ryan’s first date. You had it marked on your calendar, then crossed it out enthusiastically. We saw.”
“That’s why we’re here, with popcorn.” Tuck pointed at the bucket of popcorn and mumbled, “We’ll even let you pick out the buttery pieces, though you should just grab a handful and eat what you get. Basic popcorn etiquette. Don’t steal the butter.”
“We’re all going to watch a movie,” Charles said. “And you aren’t going to mope or feel sorry for yourself or even think about that idiot who doesn’t deserve you.” Liam nodded so vigorously that he spilled popcorn off his lap.
This was the worst-timed and sweetest thing my brothers had ever done. Getting up, Liam patted the armrest of the comfy chair. “You sit.” He plopped himself on the floor and leaned against the chair.
“You guys, I really, really appreciate this, but…,” I began.
Charles held up his hand. “No arguments. You aren’t going to be alone tonight. Whether you admit it or not, we know this is hard for you. So here we are.”
I felt tears prick my eyes. “Really, I’m fine.”
“Of course you’re fine,” Charles said. “You’re a Hawkins.”
