#Chapter 21 – Bath Time’

Tires screech as Victor swerves into his driveway, throwing the car into park and jumping out the door almost before it stops.

“Victo-“ Amelia says, just starting to unbuckle her seatbelt. But he’s already moving around the house, heading for Evelyn’s cottage out back. Amelia slumps back in the seat, watching him go. He didn’t say a word to her the entire ride back. Instead, he made a thousand calls, shouted at Betas, ordered more security for the house. He didn’t even look at her.

f**k.

Amelia crosses her arms over her chest and stares silently out the windshield, planning her next move.

Victor bursts into my house through the back door, coming into the living room where I’m working to wrangle two sobbing boys into their pajamas. They cried the whole way home and, while I don’t blame them, my head is pounding.

“Are they okay?” Victor asks as he approaches, looking over the boys.

“They’re fine,” I say softly.

“Boys, what happened,” Victor asks, staring at the twins who lay on the carpet sobbing their little hearts out.

“Victor, I think we should –“

Ian crawls over to Victor and raises his arms, asking to be picked up, still screaming with tears. Victor complies, cradling the boy in his arms. Alvin sees this and works his way over too.

“Ian, tell me what happened, who took you?!” Victor insists, turning Ian’s head to face him while Alvin screeches, demanding without words to be picked up like his brother.

Ian doesn’t reply, just cries harder. “Boys,” Victor says, his voice deepening with command. “You must tell me what happened.”

“Victor –“ I start, but he shoots me a glare. This sends me over my tipping point. I lose my temper, raising my voice to say “Victor, they can’t right now –“

“Don’t tell me how to talk to my sons,” he growls.

and gesturing towards the two red-faced boys from whom an endless wail sounds. “They’re so freaked out, they’re not going to be able to tell you anything like this!

do we do that?!” Victor snaps at me. I shove

was trying to get them in pajamas, and wrapped up, and into bed. But,” I admit, lowering my arms. “I don’t

turns and, holding Ian close

the tub fill slowly with water. We put the boys on the

clothes while I run some soap into the bath to make bubbles, adding a little lavender to soothe them. I check the water

from my childhood, and haven’t heard since then. An old song, about wolves running under the night sky in starlight, about freedom and wind

whimpers, their eyes drying up. Alvin brushes his tears away and stands to watch the tub fill. Ian presses his face to the porcelain basin, watching us work almost

softly, lifting him and

asking me quietly to use a cup to wet his hair. I do so, and begin

your song, daddy,” Ian says quietly,

and says, “thank you. My grandmother used to sing it to me when I was little, and

laughing,

his own eyes with his fingers like spectacles. “You can see in the dark!

mean I wasn’t afraid. Sometimes we

smile a little, watching all three, my own fear finally starting to leech from me. I think I needed this too – the normalcy

think there was something to be scared of.” Ian nods in agreement, pushing a boat along through

soap and shampoo bottles so that the boys don’t see how intensely he is focused on their answer. I can see it in him, though – fear and rage and horror still showing in the tenseness

went with Beta Frank to get cotton candy, Amelia said

of Frank because we were hungry,” Alvin continues. The two tell the story together, each picking up seamlessly where the other left

heard Frank shout, and we turned around, and someone had

us. “And they smelled like

did,” Ian says, his eyes narrow. “We could smell

they put their hands over our mouths

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