“Was that an earthquake?” Mom asked, looking between me and Dad. Her long brown hair was a mess of curls, and she had thrown on one of Dad’s shirts straight out of bed without even putting pants.
“I think so,” Dad said tentatively.
I fell onto my bed as the reality of what happened sank in.
I was mad and frustrated. The feeling built up without release until the shaking started. I thought it had just been me, but what I watched was real. The swing, the ground rolling. I did that. I caused an earthquake.
My heart hammered in my chest. If I caused that, what else had I accidentally done? Was I responsible for all of those other horrible events?
Chapter 2
By morning, the earthquake was forgotten, at least for Brielle and Aiden. When I walked into the kitchen, my sister was in her highchair, chattering happily to herself while smearing a light pink substance across the tray in front of her. I kissed the top of her head and fluffed her wild curls.
“Hi, sweetness.” I traced a heart in the center of her artwork.
She giggled up at me like I’d just done the silliest thing. “Emmy.”
I licked my finger, confirming my suspicion it was strawberry cream cheese. “Did any of that make it to your mouth?”
“Nope,” Aiden answered with a loud pop of the “p”. “She took it off and ate her bagel plain.”
“Obviously, that was the better option.”
He nodded in agreement. “She thinks so.”
I walked behind his chair and stole a kiss on his cheek before he could wave me off. Despite always being little in my eyes, he was determined to be a big kid, and kisses and hugs from his sister were for babies. My heart only broke a fraction each time he told me that, but I was still faster and stronger. I’d pin him down and tickle him if he tried to stay away from me for too long.
“What did you have?” He was busy building some dinosaur or airplane or something out of Legos, so I only had a small portion of his attention.
“Eggs,” he answered, without taking his eyes off his work.
I opened the fridge and looked inside for something that sounded appealing. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”
He didn’t reply, so either he didn’t know or he made a gesture I missed. I took out the orange juice and filled up a glass.
I expected a discussion when they got up, but so far, I hadn’t seen them. Mom sometimes went walking with a few of the other women on the street in the mornings if Dad was around to take care of the little ones, but I hadn’t heard her call out that she was leaving.
“Dad?” I yelled as I headed down the hall toward the garage. He was probably out there tinkering on one of the cars that seemed to always need something repaired.
When I opened the door, I paused. The garage door was open, filling the space with morning light. Mom and Dad stood at the back of his car talking to someone. I stepped out and ran over as soon as I recognized my aunt.
“Masie!” I flung myself into her open arms and closed my eyes as she held me close. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too.” She rubbed my back before taking a step back to look at me. “You’ve grown at least an inch, I swear.”
“That’s what happens when I don’t see you for nearly a year. How have you been? What have you been doing?” I rushed out my words before realizing I interrupted her conversation with my parents. I glanced back at them and took in their concerned expressions. “What's going on?”
“Let’s go inside, Saige. I want to see my other babies too.” Masie hooked her elbow around mine, and we walked together through the house to the kitchen. I stepped back as she gave Aiden a hug. Apparently, he wasn't too big for her. Then she kissed Brielle’s chubby cheeks.
“Aunt Masie!” Aiden slid off his chair and reached for her hand. “I have to show you my room. I built a whole city!”
Before anyone could stop him, they were heading up the stairs, leaving me with my parents.
“Why didn’t you guys tell us she was coming?” I asked, grabbing my glass and finishing off the juice.
Mom hesitated. “It was a last-minute thing.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Is something wrong?”