Darling | All16 | ✔

TWENTY-FOUR

I'm sorry I took so long to update, but I should be updating more now!

"Sprinkles," I announce before firmly declaring, "Its name will be Sprinkles and I'm going to keep it forever and ever!"

"Sang," Corey said slowly. "I know you like the skunk and it hasn't sprayed us yet—which I'm so grateful for—but you can't keep it."

"Sprinkles," I correct. "We can't call Sprinkles it anymore. Which reminds me, one of you two tell me whether it's a boy or a girl."

I hold the skunk out to the two of them and wait patiently. After a minute or so, though, my arms begin to get pretty tired and patience pretty thin.

"Well? Which is it?" I ask, trying to stay calm with Wil and Corey.

Wil hesitantly replies, "Sang, do you really expect us to—?"

"Yes!" I interrupt him. "Sprinkles is a unisex name, but I would like to know. What if we came across another skunk?! They could have little baby skunks! And I'm certainly not going to feel around to see if it's male or female!"

"Alright, alright," Corey conceded with a sigh.

He takes the skunk from me and then I hear a spraying noise and screeching and smell the most awful smell I have ever smelled. Except for the smell of death. Nothing will ever smell worse than that.

"Maybe it was a bad idea to take the skunk inside the safe house," I choke out, my eyes watering as I follow the sound of Corey and Wil's feet as they flee the house.

"You think?!" Wil exclaims before bursting into laughter.

Once we are a ways away from the house, we stop and breathe deeply, wholeheartedly enjoying the fresh air. I sniff lightly but can't smell Sprinkles anywhere. Slightly panicked, I listen carefully, but can't hear Sprinkles anywhere.

"Who has Sprinkles?" I ask, my voice a pitch or two higher than normal.

There's a silence and then Corey finally mumbles, "We left Sprinkles in the house."

"But you at least closed the door behind us. Right?" I press, my nerves rising even more.

"I don't remember, Sang, I'm sorry," Wil answers. "Why don't we go back and check?"

My heart sinks with realization.

"No, there's no need," I sigh, dropping my head. "I was the last one out and I didn't close the door."

"Well, we can at least check to see if Sprinkles stayed inside," Corey suggests. "If we hurry, we might be able to catch it."

"You mean, after all that, we still don't know the gender of Sprinkles?" I say, gaping slightly before shaking my head at the two and marching off to the house.

Am I mad at them? Not at all. But they don't need to know that...

Am I mad at myself? A bit. But not too much. There was only a slim chance that we would be able to keep Sprinkles anyway.

I sigh. I just had to name Sprinkles and get attached.

Wil and Corey waste no time in catching up with me and together, the three of us head inside to search for Sprinkles.

"It's no use, you guys," I call as I walk around the house. "Sprinkles is gone."

"No," Corey corrects gently, entering the room I am wandering through. "We can always find Sprinkles another time. Let's wait until the skunk is calmed down and not so scared and then we can take walks through the forest together until we find Sprinkles."

"I think that's a great idea!" Wil agrees, almost too emphatically.

I smile at the two and sigh, "I agree. That sounds like a good idea. Why don't we eat lunch now?"

"Sure," Corey says happily. "North made us some sandwiches that are in the fridge now."

"You guys can't make your own lunch?" I ask, tilting my head and scrunching my face in utter confusion.

"Not as well as North or Luke!" Wil laughs. "They used to live with their uncle who owns a restaurant. They helped him out a bunch and still do when we come to visit."

I nod in understanding. They are good cooks, after all.

"I'll grab the sandwiches," Corey declares, heading into the kitchen.

Wil and I trail behind him hungrily. I grab three glasses from the cabinet and a pitcher of lemonade from the fridge, feeling my way around the kitchen. Luke had tried to make the lemonade sweet, but North and I agreed that lemonade should be more tart than sweet. Luke seemed a bit disappointed before hurriedly agreeing.

These men are so nice to me. I honestly don't deserve them one bit.

Smiling at my luck, I pour the lemonade and pass a glass to Corey and Wil each. We take our time eating lunch, talking and just hanging out. After a while, though, the conversation takes a new course.

"I hope the new house is as nice as this one," Corey remarks absently.

There's a thud and Wil exclaims, "Way to go, Corey!"

"New house?" I question, raising a brow. "Is that what the boys are doing? Because if it i—"

"It isn't," Wil reassures with a laugh. "We haven't worried you for nothing."

I relax slightly and continue, "So what are you talking about, then?"

There's another thud and the noises begin to worry me slightly, but then Corey talks and my worries subside.

"I shouldn't have let it slip out," Corey confesses contritely. "We are moving to a new safe house pretty much as soon as the others get back."

"How come?" I ask, folding my hands.

"Sang, someone broke in," Wil tells me and I exclaim, "I know, Wil! I was terrified!"

"He didn't mean it like that," Corey assures me gently. "But because of the break-in, this place has been compromised. It's part of the reason why we've been doing out of the house so much. We have been waiting on the Academy to let us know which safe house to head to now."

"They have to make sure we go to a low-key place and that no one else has been there recently," Wil adds.

"That makes sense," I say, nodding slightly.

There's a brief silence and then Corey happily announces, "That's the others, Sang. They're perfectly fine and will be back soon."

Grinning, I marvel at the way the simple news makes me so happy. I'm so glad they are alright.

But I'm scared at the same time.

I'm so attached to the boys now. What happened if they were to leave like Sprinkles did?