“Mom says lunch is in fifteen minutes!”“OK, Pumpkin. Let me finish talking to Katy and then we’ll be in.”She left, and I turned back to load...another log onto the splitter.“Pint-sized humans aside, I like soft and cuddly just as much as you do!”“She’s getting so big! I remember when she was born!”“Me too! You feed them and water them and they grow! It’ll happen to Davey, too!”“I know,” she said with a smile.“Katy, here’s the question for you. I don’t need an answer right now, but you do need to. "But she wants what most women want. To know that she will be safe from the Sa'arm and that means finding someone to take her from Earth." And Mark would never refuse," Jason said pompously."I'd refuse Kelsey," I said. "What she did was despicable." You have to say that last word with a lisp," Jessica said. "Well, I just wanted to see what was happening. And I remember you saying that Flannel Pants wants to see us at nine in the morning. We should head home and get some sleep."I nodded. "True,. "What's up? I just got your message, sorry."She smiled. "You're alright. Don't blame you for cutting out for a bit." Yeah, you too?" Fuck yes. This must be why we never do these, everyone can hardly stand each other." Yeah, I just needed the bathroom, but, yeah, it's weird." What are you doing later?" Not much, probably gonna head back to my room and chill." You staying at your parents?" No, I got a room down the road." At the sketchball place?" It's not sketchball. It works for a couple. I moved to the door and heard a voice. It was lost in the music and I couldn’t make it out. I looked to the house and saw no movement. I moved away from the workshop and toward the front porch. I heard no noise from inside the house. The front door was locked. I quietly moved around the back, opposite the workshop. One of the small panes in the back door was missing, replaced with duct tape. The door was unlocked. I took a deep breath and quietly entered. The kitchen and great room were empty..