Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"... A nd that is why the Atlantians are squid-faced brain suckers," Chet said.

Nick let out an exaggerated breath. "I'll never look at an octopus the same way again."

"I'll never step into the ocean without my Faraday briefs again," Tyler said.

"I said they'd slurp your cerebellum out of your nose." Chet shook his head, an amused grin on his face. "Not through your ass."

"No, they only stick stuff in his ass, not pull it out," Nick said. "Tentaculoids are all about stuffing that cake."

Resounding laughter bounced around the room.

I scrubbed my hands over my face and wished I was far away from my studio.

"The chainmail will rust in the saltwater," I said under my breath.

Nick's blue eyes flared with delight. "And he'll end up with tetanus-filled disco balls."

The guys' barking laughter carried them into a state of hysterics.

I checked the recording time, and yes, finally we had enough content to call it a day. I pulled off my headphones. "That's a wrap."

"This one's hitting two million views, I can feel it," Nick said as they stood from their seats.

Tyler slapped him upside the back of his head. "It's listens."

"Whatever. You know what I'm saying. And don't hit me, or I'll—" Nick lunged at Tyler and caught him in a headlock.

"Outside. Now." I pointed a finger toward the door.

The pair chuckled as they listened, shoving each other along the way.

I took a deep breath and turned to Chet, who was lingering behind his pack. His hands were in his pockets in that way he did when he flexed his biceps and cast what he probably thought was a smoldering look.

"Time to go," I told him again.

"I've been thinking, Daisy, for a while now."

The strain must have been painful.

"You need to loosen up." He took a step closer. "That stick-up-your-ass tension you're carrying around isn't healthy. If you don't do something about it, you'll end up with ulceramelmoma. It's what killed my grandma."

Ulceramelmoma was not a thing.

I said, "I appreciate your concern, but what will relax me is you leaving so I can finish up and leave, too."

"I have a different idea." He stepped too close.

A prickle of unease washed over my skin. I couldn't step back or I'd signal submission to his predatory pea brain.

He smiled one of his self-assured grins. "We have a special connection, you and me, Dais. I could help you with that tension, bend you over this desk and?—"

"You're going to stop right there and leave or you will never step foot in my studio again." My heart raced in my chest. I felt heat rising up my neck, and not the nice kind.

The BroFOs would never replace Chet. If I banished him, I'd lose all of them, which meant losing the paychecks that put food in my girls' bellies.

If Chet didn't stand down, he'd lose the producer who made all of his dreams possible. Was he delusional enough to think they could maintain their trajectory without me?

His wolfish eyes scanned my face.

My breath caught in my lungs as moments passed. Neither of us moved. Neither of us blinked. The silence felt like an endless cage.

Finally, the corners of his lips dropped a smidge. "Only trying to help."

With that, he left.

The air felt colder, lighter, with only a lingering musk of Axe body spray.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. I checked it.

Davey.

Every time his name popped up on my screen, a nagging whisper of guilt pulled at my conscience. One of these times I was going to have to talk to my brother, but I just didn't have the energy for it right now.

I finished cleaning up, scrubbing every surface until no sensory trace of the BroFOs remained. Tomorrow I'd start the Herculean task of editing the hot mess of recordings into a coherent podcast to upload for streamers.

As I exited the studio, I spotted a familiar face coming down the sidewalk.

Mr. Hanson, who owned all the animals at the farmer's market petting zoo, always wore stained coveralls, no matter the weather. His skin had taken a beating from spending so much time outside over the years, likely without proper sunscreen, but it was the smile lines around his eyes that made clear with a glance how kind he was.

"Hi, Mr. Hanson," I said with a wave.

"Daisy." He stopped walking and snapped his attention to me.

We'd struck up conversation once or twice at the farmer's market, and he'd allowed me to bring the girls by his farm a few times to snuggle the animals during the summers. I realized now that this was the perfect opportunity to get a little bit of information for Ivy.

"Can I ask you something?" I said.

He nodded. "Sure."

"What's the name of the new rabbit you brought to the market last weekend?"

"New rabbit?"

"White with black ears," I said.

"I don't have a rabbit like that."

Uh, yes he did. Why would he lie? I wasn't going to argue with an old man about his bunnies, so I said, "Okay…nice to see you."

"You, too. Bring those girls by after school's over. Any time."

"Thanks, I will."

It was pretty weird that he'd forgotten about the new rabbit. But whatever.

On my drive to pick up the girls from school, I noticed two guys in suits going door to door. Maybe they were selling religion or knives or something. Somehow that didn't feel right, and a strange feeling prickled in the back of my neck. There was a lot of strange going around lately.

I ignored the sensation. As soon as I picked up the girls, the uneasy feeling completely dissipated.

After our chat yesterday morning about being super safe, they didn't seem to be worried. All was normal.

Citra typed furiously on her phone and looked out the window while Ivy carried all three of our shares of the conversation.

"After lunch Broden threw up all of his milk," she said. "Straight out of his nose."

"Gross. Why would you say that?" Citra said without looking up from her screen.

"Because it happened," Ivy said. "And it went all over the walls and it was strawberry and so he had to go to the nurse because no one told the teacher it was strawberry. They thought it was blood."

"I hope Broden's okay," I said.

"He's fine. His mom wouldn't pick him up early because he always throws up every time he has strawberry milk."

"Sounds like the cafeteria should stop selling it to him," I said.

"Why?" Ivy asked. "It's his favorite."

"We're here, finally," Citra said as we pulled into the driveway. She gestured a gimme hand at me.

I turned off the car and gave her the keys.

Both girls bolted for the door.

I grabbed my purse and pulled a snotty tissue out of the back door pocket where Ivy had left it.

"Daisy, right?" a voice said.

If I wasn't mistaken, that voice belonged to the woman who lived with Hugo.

I turned around and shut the door.

She was stunning. She was also younger than I'd expected. It made me feel like a hot mess by comparison.

"That's me," I said.

"Summer," she said, holding out her hand. "I live next door."

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"Same." She smiled wide. "Hugo's told me so much about you."

And I had no idea what to say to that, so I smiled back.

"These people came by earlier. I guess they're from the CDC or something. They were asking if anyone was infected by some kind of virus related to rabbits. They left a card for you since no one answered at your house."

My whole body tensed.

A virus connected to rabbits?

I maintained my smile and accepted the card that she offered. There was no name to contact, only a phone number. If this was the CDC, wouldn't the card say so?

Then I remembered the guys in suits I'd seen earlier. It must have been related.

"They took the couple from across the street." Summer said.

"Took them?"

"Yeah, I guess they're infected." She shrugged. "But not like super contagious or they'd have taken the whole block in, right?"

"I guess."

"Anyway, I better head back in. I'm trying to make dinner more as a thank you to my brother for letting me stay with him."

"Your brother?"

"Yeah, Hugo. He's the sweetest. I had this whole stalker situation back in Piccadilly, so he took me in, and we came here. I owe him so freaking much. He's a super great guy." She gave me a sly smile. "And he has nothing but nice things to say about you. Like super nice."

"Mama!" Ivy called from the doorway.

"I have to go," I said.

"See you around."

I nodded. "See you."

Summer was Hugo's sister. The thought made my chest feel lighter, and almost completely overshadowed the fact that while a rabbit disease was going around, something weird had happened to me last weekend after I'd kissed a rabbit.

It didn't matter who Summer was to Hugo, right? Since I wasn't interested in romance and therefore not interested in him outside of our late-night conversations.

And if the CDC was after me, they wouldn't have just left a card with Summer. They'd have taken me and the girls into quarantine like they'd taken the neighbors.

We were fine. Everything was fine.

I had my life completely under control.