"...and this is Addy." I smiled at Mrs. Hanson, hoping she wouldn't suspect me when her son showed up dead.
"Hello Addy, I'm glad to know you and Taylor are becoming friends." She said with a smile. I must've given her a confused look, because she continued on, "He told me that the two of you have spent a little time together and really enjoyed each other's company." I noticed the three boys (Isaac, Taylor, and Zac, I've been told) were snickering behind their mother's back. Zac's hands were clamped over his mouth and Isaac's eyes were wide. "I was talking to your mother earlier and was telling her how you four were becoming friends, and she had a great idea. We thought that maybe you and Joey would like to come over to our house tomorrow while your mommy and daddy are going to be working on the house. Since you guys are friends now, you'd rather be playing with each other than sitting at your house with nothing to do. Does that sound like fun?" Mrs. Hanson asked. I smiled weakly and nodded my head, craning my neck to see (to my personal fulfillment) that the three boys weren't laughing anymore. Taylor's jaw was hanging open, Isaac was glaring at his mother, and Zac was looking back and forth between the two, trying to gauge their reactions. I smiled to myself.
"Sure Mrs. Hanson. I know we'll grow up to be GREAT friends, huh guys?" Mrs. Hanson turned around and waited for her sons to answer.
"Did you hear what she said? You guys will be great friends." She smiled at her children.
"Um, uh-huh, right mom. It'll be really fun." Isaac stammered. My mom walked out of the kitchen and looked at us four standing around akwardly.
"Why don't you kids go play outside while Diana and I finish up the dinner?" My mom asked. I nodded and told the kids to follow me.
"JOEY!!! WE'RE GOING OUTSIDE!" I yelled to my sister who wsa sitting in the living room with Jessica and Avery.
"Ok!" She called back, walking up to the four of us and leading us outside. I smiled to myself. This wasn't exactly how I'd planned on things happening, but maybe, just maybe, they'd be better this way. I sat down at a picnic table and told everyone else to sit down too. Joey and I were face to face with Isaac, Taylor, and Zac. The speech I'd planned about wasn't going to be brought up today. Maybe we'd get over our differences at the get-go and wouldn't have to kill Taylor. After all, I'm not a mean person until I'm provoked. I was thinking these things when Isaac spoke up.
"So, what are we going to do?"
"I dunno, what do you want to do?" I asked, glaring at him and his brothers. Why should I have to think these things up?
"Hide and seek?" Zac said uncertainly. I shrugged. That was fine with me. Joey nodded, while Taylor and Isaac cried out "YEAH!!!!"
"NOT IT!!!" I yelled, jumping up from the picnic table and running to hide behind the tree. A chorus of 'not it's' were heard until Joey said it last.
"You're it Joey," I called out. "Count to 20." She nodded obediently and put her head in her hands, hiding her eyes and counting loudly. Isaac ran off to the left, Taylor went over to some bushes on the side of the house, and Zac just looked around frantically. He saw my tree and ran over to hide behind it. He smacked into me and both of us went sprawling to the ground.
"Hey! This is my hiding spot! Find somewhere else!" I hissed at him as I picked myself up off the ground. His shook his head defiantly.
"It's too late. I'm hiding here too." He whispered back, crossing his hands over his chest. I rolled my eyes.
"You're such a baby. Fine, I'LL go hide somewhere else." I said, turning to run and hide under the table on the porch where my sister was counting. She wouldn't expect me to be so close.
"TWENTY!!!" She yelled loudly. "Ready or not, here I come." I saw her legs hop off the bench and start running around the yard. I quickly climbed out from under the table and sat on the bench, which was 'safe'. I watched as Taylor came running out from the opposite side where my sister was searching and ran towards the bench. Safe. He sat across from me, looking anywhere but my eyes.
"Do you know I was grounded because of you?" I asked him angrily.
"What did I do?" He asked with sincerity.
"On that message your mom left, you yelled that I killed your baby sister and my parents grounded me." His eyes widened and he began laughing. This made me even more furious.
"You know I'll get you back, don't you?" I said in my most menacing voice. The grin slowly faded from his face.
"You couldn't even if you tried." He informed me. I rolled my eyes at him.
"How much do you wanna bet? Before you leave, I'll have gotten you back already." I said, smirking at him.
"Oh yeah? I don't think so. I'll bet-" He was cut off by a shriek from the yard and the picture of Joey chasing Zac towards the bench. She tagged his back right after he'd gotten on the wooden deck (obviously a lot more forcefully than she'd anticipated) and he went flying to the ground. I watched as his head went SMACK right against the wood flooring. His jaw dropped a bit and he looked around, right before
"WWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" His eyes filled with tears and his hands flew up to his forehead where a red bump was already showing. Taylor scrambled off the bench and ran over to him, while Joey looked back and forth from Zac to me nervously. Isaac's head poked out from behind another tree and he trotted up to where the commotion was.
"What happened guys?" He asked breathlessly, looking with concern at Zac's head.
"She pushed me!" He said inbetween sobs.
"I did not! I tagged you! You fell yourself." She defended.
"No he didn't! You wanted him to hurt himself! You wanted him to fall so you wouldn't be it again!" Taylor accused.
"She did not. She was trying to tag him, not hurt him, right Joey?" I looked at her expectantly. She nodded her head up and down, still staring at Zac's head.
"Both of you are liars!" Taylor yelled at us. "You told me you were going to get me back, and that's how you did it! You told your sister to hurt my brother!"
"No I did not." I snapped, shaking my head. "If I wanted to hurt someone, it would be YOU!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Guys, why don't we just-" Isaac began, being cut off by Taylor again.
"Oh yeah?!!?" He yelled, taking a step closer to me, glaring into my eyes. The screen door opened and Mrs. Hanson poked her head out.
"Zac honey, come here," She said, opening her arms to him. He ran over to her quickly and jumped into her arms, burying his head into her neck. "Now kids, let's stop fighting. We just met each other and I don't want anyone else to get hurt. Dinner's ready, so why don't you all come inside now." She suggested, standing up and carrying Zac inside with her. When she was gone I turned back to Taylor.
"This is war, Taylor. Me and Joey against you and Isaac and Zac. Be prepared when we come over to your house tomorrow." I threatened, turning quickly and walking inside with Joey on my heels.