I literally just agreed to that, then went and fell in love.”
“Maybe the Grand Master will put you with them.”
“I doubt Juliette’s going to do that, and I’m pretty sure she’s not a fan of mine after I kept a copy of the bomb design and triggered that webcam.”
“Pro tip, call her the Grand Master, not Juliette.”
“I’ve been careful around Selene and Luca.”
“You haven't seen her in scary mode yet, but trust me, she can be.” Langston made a face.
“She strong-armed me into joining a cult. I’ve seen the scary mode.”
“Mmm hmm.” Langston shrugged. “Anyway, she recruited you after that. And if not Selene and Luca, she definitely won’t put you with people you’re incompatible with. Sort of defeats the whole purpose of the secret society.”
“I know, but…I can’t see myself with anyone but them.”
Langston climbed off his bed and reached for his laptop case.
“What are you doing?” Oscar asked. Here he was baring his soul to his brother, and the asshole was what? Checking email?
“This is too good to keep to myself. We’re Zooming Walt and Sylvia.”
Oscar snorted. “Jesus Christ. Do we have to get the whole family involved?”
“If I thought Mama and Papa could figure out how to get into Zoom, I’d link them in, but I don’t want to waste an hour talking them through it.”
The computer started to ring.
“Walt’s busy with work. He probably won’t—”
“Well, this is a surprise.”
Before Oscar could finish his thought, he heard Walt’s voice through the speakers. Langston had climbed back on the bed, so Oscar moved his chair to his side of the mattress so he could see the screen too.
“Hey, you’re together,” Walt said, when Oscar entered the screen. “Thought you were in Texas, Langston.”
Sylvia’s face popped onto the screen in another window, and she squealed with delight when she saw all three of them. “Oh my God. You’re all here! Did I forget my birthday or something?”
Prior to this month, it hadn’t been uncommon for Oscar to Zoom with his siblings a couple times a week, usually one at a time. It was rare for all four of them to manage to get online at the same time.
“Wait,” Sylvia said. “Where are you and Langston? I thought you were still in Boston, Oscar.”
“We’re in Italy. Outside Rome.”
Sylvia blew out a loud, disgusted breath. “Seriously? Why the hell wouldn’t you tell me you were crossing the pond? Do you know how close you are to me?”
“I’m in North Africa, Sylvie,” Walt pointed out. “You haven’t come to see me once.”
Sylvia rolled her eyes. “The last time I visited you when you were in Haiti, you had me proofreading grant reports and unpacking boxes of weird medical supplies. No, thanks. Rome, however, would be a lovely trip.”
Oscar and his siblings hadn’t lived in the same house in many, many years, and they’d grown accustomed to Walt, who’d spent most of those years in other countries, and his virtual visits. But with Sylvia living in England now, and Langston moving to Texas with Rich and Mina, Oscar would be the last Hayden at home, and suddenly, he was homesick for his siblings.
“Okay, simmer down,” Langston said. “This isn’t exactly a social call. I have news.”
Oscar crossed his arms. “Fuck you.”
“Given Oscar’s response, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess it’s actually his news,” Walt mused. “Wait. Is this about Faith? Did the two of you get back together again?”
Oscar hesitated to respond, hung up on Walt’s tone. His brother didn’t sound upset, exactly. Rather, his question was posed with almost no inflection at all, completely wooden.
“Faith?” Sylvia’s face seemed frozen in a polite smile.
Oscar wasn’t totally surprised by Walt and Sylvia’s assumption. After all, he and Faith had been somewhat notorious for their breakup/makeup routine, and while they’d been split up a couple years now, this actually wouldn’t break the record for their longest time on the outs.
“Nope,” Langston said gleefully. “I think our Faith years are finally behind us for good.”
“For good?” Sylvia asked almost hopefully.
Oscar studied the screen and witnessed the outright relief on both Walt’s and Sylvia’s faces. What the fuck was that about? “I thought y’all liked Faith.” His siblings had never said anything negative about his ex that he could recall, never alluded to the fact they didn’t care for her.
Walt didn’t reply to Oscar. Instead, he focused on Langston. “Be very sure, bro. We start trash-talking her and he goes back, we’ll all be in the doghouse.”
Langston’s smile never faded. “He’s not going