Chapter Five

333, the lesser known brother of 666

The smell of freshly baked rolls engulfed me as I walked through the front door of my home. I hung my bag up on the hook and slipped my shoes off, placing them on the clear shelf above the coat rack.

The farther into the house I went, the better the smell got. I entered the kitchen where my mother had every burner on the stove going. I hugged my momma, who at the moment, stirred a pot of something clumpy, and kissed her on the cheek. "Hi, Momma."

Her eyes lit up at the sight of me. "Honey! We're having guests over. The Hunters are coming for dinner. Can you believe how exciting this is?"

"Yeah it's great," I feigned excitement.

"I left some clothes on the bed for you to wear. I want you to dress nicely. Your brother will be joining us later, he said he would be a little late. You two have to be on your best behavior."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What do you mean dress nice?" I pouted, "Please don't tell me I have to wear a dress!"

She gave me a fake, sad smile and turned around, taking hold of my hands. "It's just a skirt and it's only for one dinner. " She held up a single finger mouthing the word 'one'. "Please, Lana, this means a lot to me."

I sighed, not wanting to ruin her excitement. "Okay, I'll wear the skirt, but uh," I tried to come up with a way to tell her about the sweatshirt. "I kind of have to wear this sweatshirt all day for a dare."

Her smile fell as she rubbed her forehead. "You and truth or dare, I swear."

My momma had always been very supportive of my dare streak. I had never broken a dare and she knew that, meaning she never asked me to break one. I gave her a pleading look. "Fine," she agreed, "tie the sweatshirt around your waist and try to make it cute, and put on some makeup."

I groaned but quickly hugged her and rushed upstairs to change. This had to be important to her if she asked me to wear makeup, she rarely asked me to do that.

A mid-sleeve grey top and a black skirt with a belt laid on my bed. I put on the outfit, tossing Caleb's sweatshirt on the bed. I combed through my hair, parting it to the side. Once that was all done I worked on the hard part: the sweatshirt.

After several attempts with it, I managed to tie it on my waist in which it appeared semi-decent. I, technically, was wearing the sweatshirt, therefore, I was not breaking the dare. I just hoped his mother wouldn't notice.

I took one final glance in the mirror, making sure I looked presentable. When I finally felt satisfied with how I looked, I headed downstairs, just in time. As soon as my feet hit the bottom step, the doorbell rang.

I must have been upstairs longer than I thought because the table now had all eight spots neatly set up.

It had become a custom to set up my sister's spot every time we had dinner. My brother demanded that no one sit in her seat. It wasn't as important to me as it was to him. I knew a seat wasn't going to bring her back.

My mother rushed over to the door, taking her apron off and hanging it on the hook. She fixed her hair and smoothed her clothes before swinging the door open, an elastic smile spread across her face. I followed closely behind her so that I would be in view when the door opened.

Three people were waiting at the door; the first: a woman close to Momma's age. Her black, curly hair and green eyes, enunciated the freckles that spread across her face. It was clear she was Caleb's mother, the resemblance uncanny. Next to her stood Caleb, dressed in a fitted shirt and jeans as usual. He still had his black sharpie mustache plastered under his nose. An adorable little girl, the same girl I had seen when they first moved in, clung to him, her face buried in his pant leg.

"Hi, it's so lovely to meet you!" My mother ushered them in. "You can put your shoes on the clear rack here." We were always sure to tell people this. "Our cat, Bella, has a thing for shoes. If she finds a shoe on the floor, she will tear it up."

The woman laughed at my mother's comment. As if on cue, Bella came strutting into the room eyeing the shoes. Her black fur glistened, mischief sparkled in her sapphire eyes. I rushed over to grab her before she could attack our guest's feet. She squirmed in my grip in an attempt to get to the shoes.

Momma laughed at the transaction before introducing us, "This is my daughter Lanabeth, she'll pretty much answer to anything you call her though."

Thanks, Momma. Caleb smirked at me. I glared at him, making sure his mother couldn't see. The little girl giggled, her green eyes sparkling, as she watched the two of us.

"This is Bella," my mother continued, scratching behind Bella's ear, "and my son Lucas will be joining us later." My mother changed her direction to Caleb and the little girl. "I'm Laura."

The woman's smile stretched just as big as my mother's. They both seemed elated to meet new friends. "I'm Jacqueline." Her accent was beautiful. She continued introducing everyone, "This is my son Caleb, and my daughter Everly. My husband is away on business, unfortunately, and wasn't able to join us and my other son, Danny, is in college."

After they set their shoes on the clear rack, I released Bella, who hissed, not at all pleased with the fact that I kept her from fresh shoes. She dragged herself over to her mat in the corner and pouted. I swear, sometimes I wonder if she's a dog.

Momma guided the Hunters into the kitchen. Caleb popped up by my side carrying Everly in his arms. She now had her face buried into Caleb's shoulder.

"Your cat didn't look very pleased," he commented.

"She did seem sad, didn't she? Maybe I'll feed her your shoe later, to cheer her up," I retorted.

Caleb bumped my shoulder playfully. "Wow, Scarlett, and I here I thought we were beginning to become friends."

The little girl giggled once more and slowly removed her face from Caleb's shoulder. "Hi, Everly," I smiled.

"Hello," she whispered. Unlike Caleb and Jacqueline, Everly didn't seem to have even the slightest accent.

"You're Everly right?"

She nodded moving closer to Caleb. He rubbed her back gently before whispering, "It's okay, niña. Scarlett's not going to hurt you." He narrowed his eyes at me. "She may hurt me though."

Everly laughed, giving me a big, toothy grin, trusting her big brother's judgment of me. "Do you like tea party's?" She questioned me.

"I love tea parties." I made sure my voice flowed softer when I spoke to her.

Her eyes lit up. "Really? You can come have a tea party with me and Cal! Cal throws the best tea parties—" she leaned in closer to whisper in my ear—"He even wears the princess crown."

Caleb's cheeks turned bright pink as he set Everly down. "Okay, Everly, she doesn't need to know everything."

"Tea parties?" I laughed.

"I don't know what she's talking about. I throw very manly tea parties."

I tried to hold in my amusement. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Everly ran over, taking a seat next to her mother. Momma sat next to Jacqueline, leaving three seats on the other side of the table for me, Caleb, and Lucas.

I wasn't a fan of having to sit next to Caleb but, because Lucas hadn't arrived yet, I didn't want to be rude. We took our seats, Caleb to my left and an empty seat to my right, as Momma filled everyone's plates. She handed Caleb his. "Thank you," he told her.

A shocked look fell upon my face. I quickly tried to cover it up but the damage had already been done. Caleb raised one eyebrow at me. "I do have manners, Scarlett."

"Have you two met before?" Jacqueline asked us, noticing our friendly banter.

"We're in the same class," I replied sweetly.

She smiled. "Oh, how lovely. It's good of him to be making some friends. I was afraid he was going to have trouble, but at least he has Chase and Evan to help."

She made Caleb out to be some unpopular loser. I had a feeling she didn't know about his sudden popularity. "How do you know Evan and Chase anyway?" I asked Caleb.

He gave me a questioning look and laughed. "I didn't move from that far away, Scarlett. We were on the same soccer team."

"You play soccer?" It seemed like a dumb question after I asked.

He chuckled while stabbing a brussel sprout with his fork. "Yes, I play soccer."

Everly sat on the other side of the table, pushing her food around. "Honey, you have to eat your vegetables," her mother attempted to convince her.

I had a feeling Momma only made brussel sprouts because she could find nothing else. Our house severely lacked vegetables.

"But Mom," she whimpered.

"You want to become big and strong, don't you? Look, Caleb eats them." She nodded at Caleb, signaling him to take a bite of the brussel sprout that he had already stabbed on his fork.

His face flushed white as he stared at it in disgust. He held his breath before popping the whole thing in his mouth. The brussel sprout squished audibly in his mouth as he tried to chew it. Everly watched with great concentration to see if her big brother actually liked the nasty, green vegetable, which he attempted not to make clear that he did not. I didn't think Everly knew that though because, as soon as Caleb finished, she took a big bite of one.

Her eyes widened as she bit into it. Everly gave her mom a pleading look before Jacqueline sighed and handed her a napkin. Everly promptly spat it out and gulped down her juice.

I glanced down at my plate, I had eaten almost all the brussel sprouts. Caleb followed my gaze. "Okay," he whispered in my ear so only I could hear, "how in the world can you eat these?"

I chuckled quietly. "Promise you won't tell?"

He stared at me, bewildered. "Should I be worried?"

I pulled a small bag out of my skirt pocket. Can we take a moment to appreciate that this skirt has pockets? Inside sat a small gummy. "It's a miracle gummy. You let it dissolve on your tongue and it makes everything taste like candy." Leaving my only obstacle to finishing dinner being the texture.

"Devious, I like it!"

I handed him the gummy, which he quickly popped into his mouth. My momma wasn't the best cook in the world, especially not when it came to brussel sprouts. I had figured I should eat a gummy, for safe measure. Since we had company, I was pretty sure spitting out food wasn't going to be an option.

My thoughts were interrupted by two loud knocks, which sounded through the house. My eyes widened, my breath hitching in my throat. Please don't knock a third time, please don't knock a third time. Sadly, my wishes didn't come true. A third knock rang out. I mentally sighed.

Ever since we were kids, Lucas and I had a secret code: sets of three. Basically, whenever one of us needed the other one's help, we would do a repetitive motion, such as knocking, three times. No matter how mad we were, or how much we didn't want to, if they used the code, we had to help.

My brother was the main one to use this, ever since he started getting into fights at school. He only ever fought with one person, the same person every time.

The only major time I ever had to use the code was when I fell off my skateboard and cut up my arm.

After my sister passed away, Lucas and I have hidden any and all injuries from Momma. She would have 'episodes' when we got hurt. She would stop talking and remain motionless, or pass out. Lucas and I figured it best just to hide any injuries from her.

"What was that?" Momma queried, looking directly at me.

I quickly tried to think of an explanation. "I'll go check."

I excused myself from the table making my way towards the back door. As I pass the corner, a set of arms yank me in the opposite direction. A small yelp escaped my lips as I came crashing to the ground.

"Are you okay?" My momma's worried voice called out.

"I'm fine!" I yelled back frantically. "You know me, such a clutz."

I looked up, only to find my brother standing above me, his usual light brown hair now coated in dirt and blood, a huge bruise forming under his eye. Fresh blood glistened off a gash on his forehead. His clothes were torn and muddy, his brown eyes pleading.

He helped me off the ground, giving me a look at his arm, bruises spread across his skin leading up to his torn sleeve. A fresh set of teeth marks dug into his skin.

I could only imagine what the other guy looked like.

I sighed, rubbing my head. "What happened, Lucas?"

He avoided my gaze.

"Look at me!" I demanded, attempting to keep my voice quiet.

That was the third fight he had gotten into that month. What was worse: that was less than usual.

"Look, I know! It was stupid but you've got to help me get past Momma. You know what'll happen if she sees and we have guests over," he pleaded.

I ran a hand through my hair. "Fine, try to sneak up the stairs while I distract them. I'll meet you upstairs."

The one problem with sneaking him up: the fact that our staircase led directly into the dining room. Thankfully, with how the tables were set up, Momma's back faced towards the stairs. The only person who would be able to see, aside from me, would be Caleb. I just really hoped he wouldn't rat us out.

I smoothed down my outfit and plaster on a fake smile. I grabbed a quick breath before heading back into the dining room.

I jumped at the sound of my mother's voice, "What was it?"

"What?" It took me a minute to remember why I supposedly went back there. "Oh! It was nothing, just a squirrel."

Jacqueline raised her eyebrow. "That must have been a large squirrel."

My plan clearly had not been well thought out. "Yep, huge." I fell into my seat, next to Caleb.

I feigned a laugh and quickly shoveled food in my mouth. My mother shot me a questioning look but continued talking to Jacqueline.

I checked around to make sure everyone was distracted. I tapped the table three times, signaling for Lucas to sneak upstairs. Lucas came creeping around the corner. He carefully attempted to tiptoe up the stairs, the creaky stairs threatening his position. Lucas made it about halfway up before a loud squeak rang through the house. He stopped immediately in his tracks. My mother began to turn her head, I knew I had to think fast. "Momma!" I yelled.

She turned to me startled. I tried to think of an excuse quickly but nothing came to mind.

"Scarlett, over here, wanted to tell you something that happened during third hour," Caleb covered.

I shot him a dirty look. Jerk. He very well knew both of us most certainly were not in third period. What was I supposed to tell her: I skipped class to play truth or dare with a couple of idiots and Eliot. No! She would kill me!

I faked a laugh and tried to play along. "Haha, yeah, it was such an adventure."

I watched, nervously, as Lucas attempted to make it the rest of the way up the stairs. He made it all the way up before darting around the corner and heading to the bathroom. I waited till he turned fully out of sight before planning my next move.

Caleb watched me with amusement as I came up with a story on the spot, something I had never been good at. "We had to do a creative writing assignment. Yeah," I reassured myself, coming up with a semi-solid plan, "mine was regarding these two horrid, rancid, monstrous boys who kidnapped this sweet, innocent girl and forced her to play truth or dare with them, causing her to miss a really important meeting."

My mother smiled. "Oh, that's lovely, sweetie. You'll have to let me read it sometime."

Crap. "Yep, I'll definitely have to!"

Caleb covered his mouth to stifle his laugh. I moved my foot around under the table in an attempt to find his. He stared at me, confused, as I basically played footsie with him. I smirked at him before reeling my foot up and sharply kicking his leg. I gave him an innocent smile.

He jumped at the impact before glaring at me.

It took me a second to remember what I was supposed to be doing: helping Lucas. I waited till Momma's attention focused on something else. Everly watched her mom with great focus so, thankfully, I didn't seem to have to worry about her. Caleb, on the other hand, watched my every move. He knew I was up to something.

Caleb leaned over, his lips brushing past my ear. "What are you doing?" He whispered.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I avoided his gaze, moving my glass of water conveniently right in front of me.

"Oh really? Then who was the boy you, oh so obviously, tried to sneak upstairs."

"Careful, Caleb, you're starting to sound crazy." With that, I tipped the glass, spilling it all over my clothes.

I jumped up, the cold water seeping through my skirt. All eyes darted my way. "I'm such a clutz!" I pretended to laugh. "Looks like I'll have to go change. I'll be right back."

I excused myself but my mother's voice stopped me, "If this is your attempt to get out of wearing a dress, it won't work. I put a second outfit on my bed."

I groaned. Great. I slowly walked up the stairs, trying to act natural as water dripped down my legs and onto the floor. As soon as I made it out of sight, I sprinted to Momma's bedroom to grab the clothes.

A black and white striped top and a coral skirt were laying on the bed. This one is worse. I threw Caleb's, now wet, sweatshirt on the bed and swapped outfits. The skirt, this time, fell quite a bit shorter and felt far more uncomfortable. Lucas, you owe me. I quickly tied Caleb's sweatshirt around my waist, more sloppily than last time.

I rushed to the bathroom where Lucas stood at the sink, washing his wounds and hair, the makeup already laid out next to him. I nodded for him to sit on the toilet, which he complied with.

I grabbed the primer and spread a generous layer all over his face. The two of us remained in absolute silence as I concealed his injuries.

I finally decided to speak after a long pause, "Lucas, what happened?" My voice stayed calm.

He sighed, remaining still, while I added concealer. "I got in a fight again."

I didn't even have to ask who with. It was always the same person: Derrick Mellot, the only person he ever got into fights with. "Did you start it?" I wanted to get all the information before I got upset.

He remained silent.

"Did you start it?" I repeated with more force.

"Yes, I started it, but you don't get it. I couldn't just let him sit there with that look on his face!" He growled.

"What look?"

"That 'I killed your sister and didn't even go to jail' look!" His voice rose so loudly that I feared someone would hear.

"Lucas! You can't just go around picking fights all the time. What if Momma sees?" Tears stung my eyes but I refused to cry. I always cried when I was angry.

Lucas went to speak but a knock from the door interrupted him. I set down the makeup and quickly wiped my tears, panic spreading through me. What if it's Momma? I moved my attention to the door where, thankfully, it was only Caleb. I never thought I would be relieved to see him, in all his infuriating essence.

I let out a quick breath. Caleb eyed me as he apprehended the scene. He waited a moment before speaking. "Your mom wanted to come check on you. I volunteered to come instead, figured you wouldn't want her to see."

He looked around at everything that was going on. I picked up the beauty sponge and continued applying makeup to Lucas's face.

"So, Love, this is what you were hiding?"

My brother's head shot up. "Love?" His voice took an intimidating turn as he undertook the big brother role.

Caleb leaned on the wall, not the least bit worried. "Who is this guy?" Lucas demanded.

I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath. Boys. "This is our guest, Caleb Hunter."

Lucas glared at him. The testosterone in the room became overwhelming as they stared each other down. It was like some kind of competition.

I looked between the two of them. "Okay," I drew out, "looks like I'm done, so, uh, I'll just go put this away. Lucas, Momma laid out clothes for you to wear."

I gathered all the various cosmetics and placed them back into the box. I latched it and began to leave. I stopped in the middle of the doorway. "Don't ruin this, Lucas. This means a lot to Momma and we're not going to mess it up for her."

I left the bathroom heading back to my room, Caleb following behind me. I shot him an odd look and he quickly replied, "It's going to look weird if I walk down there without you."

"Oh, right," I nodded.

I got down on the floor lifting the grey, striped, bed skirt, which I used to hide everything, and slid the makeup case underneath. I straightened the bed skirt, trying to make it appear natural and untouched. I stood back up, walking to the door. Caleb stopped me. I attempted to push him out of the way but had no luck. I wasn't in the mood to argue. "What?" I snapped.

"Um, Love, you've got something right there." He gestured under his eye.

I headed to the mirror and, sure enough, I had mascara running down my face. This is why I don't wear makeup. I cried too much for mascara. I grabbed a makeup wipe and aggressively wiped it off, not bothering to be gentle or apply more.

The two of us headed to my brother's room where I told him to meet us downstairs. Caleb and I headed through the hallway, neither of us speaking. Thankfully, Caleb seemed to get that I didn't want to talk. Before we ascended down the staircase, I stopped. "Hey Caleb."

"Hmm?" He looked over at me.

"Thank you." I didn't wait for him to reply before stretching on a fake smile and heading back to where our families were. We entered the dining room together.

"What took you so long? We were about to send a search party," Momma joked.

Jacqueline laughed, joining my mother. "You two sure were up there for a while," she teased.

Caleb threw his arm over my shoulders. "What can I say: Scarlett makes great company," he replied.

I glared at him.

We filed into our seats just as Lucas came trotting down the stairs, his bruises no longer visible. "Hi, Momma." He pulled her into a quick hug before sitting next to me.

She stared at him in utter confusion. "Lucas? I didn't even see you come in," Momma speculated.

"I didn't want to bother you," my brother's voice came out unusually charming.

Jacqueline introduced Lucas to everyone while he grabbed his seat. Lucas attempted talking to Everly, but she simply cowered when he spoke.

"She's a little bit shy," Caleb informed him.

Everly covered her face with her hands. She was quite adorable but I could tell Caleb was trying to get her to open up more. "Chiquita," Caleb poked her, "Chiquita, come on you have to speak to someone."

She popped her head up a little. Caleb gave her a look which ultimately led her to give Lucas a small wave.

Caleb stabbed a brussel sprout before giving me a skeptical look. I glanced down to his plate and realized he hadn't eaten anything off his plate since I gave him the miracle gummy. I watched as he reluctantly took a bite of it. A shocked look fell upon his face as he covered his mouth to stop from laughing. "Not gonna lie, I thought you were messing with me when you gave me that," he lowered his voice so no one else would hear.

"What do you take me for, Caleb Hunter?" I put a hand on my chest and feigned a pained expression.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Please, we both know that is something you would do."

"And I thought we were starting to become friends," I pouted, using his words against him.

Everly giggled again, her eyes focused on us. A grin spread from ear to ear as she watched. Momma, Lucas, and Jacqueline were now all staring at me and Caleb. "You two seem close," my mother teased.

I mentally rolled my eyes, but I would never actually do that in front of Momma. Everly beamed, "Mama, Lannabe—" she struggled to fully pronounce my name, sticking out her tongue as she concentrated. "She said she was going to play tea party with me and Cal!"

"Oh, really?" Jacqueline gifted me a small smile.

Everly began gushing about how excited she was. There was no going back now, I was going to have to have a tea party with Caleb Hunter. This will be a fun story. It wasn't such a bad thing though, with Everly's adorable and lovable manner.

My attention drew to the front door when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Lucas offered.

He approached the door, his entire body still tense from what happened. He ran his fingers through his hair before swinging the door open. Allyson, Lucas's girlfriend and my childhood best friend, came rushing through the door. She jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. He stumbled back slightly, still in shock, but quickly encircled his arms around her, resting his head in the crook of her neck.

I watched as his whole demeanor changed; he completely relaxed as he held her. He nuzzled his face into her long blond hair, closing his eyes. He must have sensed us staring because he quickly waddled out the front door to get away from Momma's and my prying eyes.

Allyson had been my best friend ever since we were four. I had gotten into an argument with Lucas (he called me a baby, I was not very pleased) and had decided I would run away. I made it to the park on the corner before I realized I had nowhere to go. I plopped down on the swing and started bawling my eyes out. Allyson, being the angel that she was, comforted me even though we were complete strangers. I complained to her all about Lucas, which tainted her view of him, so when she finally met him, she was not a fan. It's funny how much things have changed. She stayed with me until I felt better and even made her parents let her walk me home. I talked to her almost every day after that.

"Did Lucas have a bad day?" Momma asked, her voice full of concern.

You could say that. Of course, I couldn't tell her the real reason Allyson came over. "He didn't do well on his test," I covered.

She gave me a look stating that she didn't quite believe me. She went to speak but, thankfully, Caleb came to my rescue again, not that I needed him to rescue me. "So, Laura, where do you work?" He formulated the perfect question for my mother— first off, she hated being called Ms.Valentine, ever since my parents divorce, second off, Momma would take any and every chance to talk about where she worked.

Momma proceeded to babble to him regarding her profession as a professional matchmaker. It was quite an unusual job but she enjoyed it and it paid well. Most of her clients were men whose version of a shower was loads of body spray. Somehow, she managed to find matches even for them.

Momma was actually the one who got Lucas to ask Allyson out. She worked her magic and now, four years later, they were still together. Momma always bragged about how she started it all.

Jacqueline became fascinated by Momma's job and continued to ask many, many questions. This let Caleb off the hook for listening, which he secretly seemed thankful for. I didn't blame him, Momma could talk for hours when it came to her job.

Lucas invited Allyson to dine with us. She shared a seat with Lucas, who shared his food with her. They were the most adorable couple I had ever seen. Allyson grounded Lucas, being about the only person who could calm him down. My brother was one of the most stubborn people I had ever met, except when it came to Allyson. He melted for her, absolutely in love with her.

Allyson didn't even want to date Lucas at first. I guess that's what drew him to her. Allyson had always been different from any girl I had ever met, with her incredibly kind and bubbly nature. It was unbelievable how good of a person she was. She could brighten any room just by walking in. She lived life to the fullest, making the best out of everything. I couldn't be more thankful to be her friend. Lucas was definitely lucky to date a girl as amazing as that, and he knew it. If you had to describe someone as perfect, Allyson would definitely fit the description.

She laughed, sparking conversation with everyone, except for Everly, who hid her face in her mother's shirt. "Did I tell you what Lucas called me?" Allyson's voice filled with laughter and disbelief.

I chuckled, "What?"

She paused for dramatic effect. "Babe!"

I gaped at my brother. Allyson has always had something against that pet name. "No way!" I laughed.

"Yes, way! I mean come on: babe? Babe is such a bad nickname. It's like I'm an object and I am definitely not an object," Allyson teased.

She despised the nickname babe but could never fault Lucas for it. Her heart was too big to be mad at him for such a trivial thing. "It was an accident!" My brother defended.

"Why can't you call me something cute like baby, honey, mi amor, or love. I mean love is such an adorable nickname!" Allyson began.

Caleb smirked at me when Allyson mentioned the name love. I mentally facepalmed, something I seemed to do a lot of when around Caleb. Lucas gave me a sinister grin before replying, "Sadly, I think the nickname 'love' is already taken."

The temptation to tell Allyson all the embarrassing stories of Lucas as a child grew strong, but for her sake, I didn't.

I liked it better when Lucas was giving Caleb the death stare.

Allyson shot me a look that said 'you better tell me what he's talking about later'. It appeared as though she thought I had a lot of explaining to do. There wasn't much to tell: Caleb refused to call me by my name; end of story.

"Love is quite a great pet name," Caleb piped up beside me.

Allyson's eyes were practically bulging out of her head as she looked between me and Caleb. I rested my head in my hands. Kill me now. We were definitely giving Allyson the wrong idea. "Don't you agree, Scarlett?" Caleb finished.

I resisted the urge to strangle him.

Everly no longer hid her head and, instead, watched the four of us, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Allyson bounced on her toes, pulling her lips into a tight line as she resisted the urge to squeal. I didn't want to know the crazy stories and questions her mind was formulating. She blinked at me a few times.

"You know, I think I would prefer to be called my own name, love is just so... boring," I looked at Caleb.

"Oh really? Would you prefer babe?" There was a subtle 'v' to the way he pronounced 'babe', almost making the nickname sound appealing. Almost.

I deadpanned. Please tell me he's not going to call me babe now. "Okay fine, maybe love is better than babe," I muttered.

Caleb smirked in victory. This boy is going to drive me insane.

"I think I'm missing something," Allyson drew out.

As if things couldn't get worse, Momma asked if I could get Allyson a drink. Allyson offered to get it herself but I had no problem getting it for her. I stood up and walked over to the kitchen to retrieve her drink. When I returned Jacqueline stopped me. "Caleb, sweetheart, don't you have a sweatshirt just like that?" She pointed to the sweatshirt knotted around my waist.

My eyes widened, as did Allyson's. I could tell she wanted to ask me a million questions.

"You know, I think I do. Seems like Scarlett has good taste," Caleb replied quickly, almost appearing flustered.

Jacqueline narrowed her eyes. She clearly didn't believe him. She returned her gaze to the sweatshirt tied messily around my waist. I laughed nervously, practically throwing the drink at Allyson, and quickly sat down, shoveling food into my mouth to avoid conversation.

I am never going to hear the end of this.