Page 49 of Shattered Love

“Anyone want to play a game? I’m bored,” Sasha sounded from inside the car I sat on, her head resting on the open window.

“Don’t know what to do with yourself when we’re not breaking and entering?” Aiden teased from beside me.

“I’m bored too,” Mina defended Sasha, sitting in the passenger seat, her door open.

Admittedly, I was also bored. It seemed that Murphy’s words were true, none of us really knew what to do with the free time. There was no plotting to be done, no places to break into, no one to fight.

For the first time in the past eight months, I was left bereft without the commodities we were used to. There was no television to turn on, no music to listen to, hell, there wasn’t even a book to read.

“Ooh,” Sasha exclaimed, “let’s play hide and seek!”

Mina let out a snort of amusement. “What are we, twelve?”

Sasha groaned, opening her car door and making her way to the hood where we all congregated. “Come on! This is the perfect place to do it. We have the woods, a bunch of cars, and it’s dark out. What else are we going to do?”

“She has a point,” I added. “Plus, everything happening has added years to my life. May as well act like a kid again.”

I nudged Aiden in the shoulder, cajoling him with a grin. “Come on. This is your chance to redeem yourself. You never could beat me when we were kids.”

As I hoped it would, the competitiveness rose in him and he hopped off the hood, spreading his arms wide. “I always beat you. And I’ll beat your ass again now.”

Jumping down to join them, Mina climbed out of the car, and the four of us started discussing the bounds and who would be the seeker first.

Murphy and Rainer spotted our huddle from where they stood a distance away and came over to investigate. Warner leaned against the frame of a car, winking at me when he found my gaze, before turning back toward the road, continuing to keep watch.

“What are you doing?” Rainer asked as he stepped into our circle.

Sasha explained the decided rules and Murphy’s grin grew as he whooped quietly. “I’m so in. Can I be the seeker first?”

We all broke out into debates, everyone wanting to seek first, the biggest difference from childhood. I remembered all the kids arguing about who got to hide, no one wanting to struggle to find the others.

“No,” Rainer spoke over us all, his voice low but decidedly firm.

I crossed my arms over my chest, exhausted of him always heeding a warning, directed as an order. “What do you mean, no?”

“I mean, this is a stupid idea. We have no idea who we could run into. And you all want to hide on your own?”

I threw my arms out, spinning in a circle. “There’s no one around for miles. Relax for ten minutes, have some fun. I know you want to.”

I could see him wavering. He and Murphy shared plenty of stories of their childhood, and I knew this was right up their alley.

Murphy tossed an arm around Rainer’s shoulder. “Come on. If you’re so worried, we can partner up to hide. That way, no one is alone.”

“And we already set boundaries. No one will be too far,” Sasha added, all of us doing our best to sway the grump.

Eventually, Rainer gave in, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Fine. But no one leaves their partner.”

Murphy clapped his hands together, calling out to Warner. “Warner, we have an odd number of hiders, you’re joining.”

Rainer opened his mouth to argue once again, but Murphy held up a hand, possibly the only person that could get Rainer to shut up. “Do not complain. The seeker will keep watch, make sure the cars don’t suddenly come to life around us.”

We began separating into pairs, Mina and Aiden pairing up. Sasha and Warner decided to team up and by the way they whispered quietly, I knew they would be the hardest to find. That left me with Rainer and, although he wanted to pretend to be annoyed about the situation, he couldn’t hide the small tilt of his lips as I sidled up next to me.

“Alright, everyone will have sixty seconds. No out of bounds,” Murphy warned, pointing a finger at each of us before covering his eyes and counting, looking every bit like the twelve-year-old Mina claimed us to be.

Sasha and Warner were gone in an instant, already having chosen a hiding spot. Mina and Aiden loped slower away, but still buzzed with whispers as they decided on a spot.

Taking a few steps away from Murphy, I whispered, “Where are we hiding?”

---