Page 104 of The Life We Left Behind

TRACE

Istalked through the living room, the rifle held securely at my side as I peered into the dark, trying to see who I’d heard moving around.

A soft shuffle sounded off to the left, and I knew I was closing in on them.

This was it. Everything rode on making this shot.

Suddenly, the lights flipped on, and I hissed as the light burned my eyes, momentarily blinding me.

A battle cry rang out around the room, and I knew I was done for. My rifle dropped in defeat as the first of the Nerf bullets pelted me in the side of the head.

Cade’s cackle of joy made my miserable defeat all worthwhile, and as I blinked away the white lights in my vision, I saw Cade, Booker, and Dex set up in various spots around the room, unloading their Nerf guns in my direction.

“You know, we said we weren’t going to do teams,” I pointed out as I ducked a Nerf bullet coming straight at my face and then glared at Dex in annoyance. “And we said headshots were off limits.”

“Booo, you’re just sore that you lost.” Dex laughed and then scowled down at his Nerf gun, which was out of rounds.

I lifted my own and got a dart between his eyes before he even had a chance to look up.

“Hey!” he protested. “That hurt.”

“Yeah.I know.”

He didn’t even look slightly sorry for himself.

Cade came jumping out from behind the sofa. “Let’s play again!”

I looked around the living room and winced. We’d gone from making a den to a Nerf battle, and the place was a wreck. Delaney was going to kill us when she saw the state of the house when she got home.

“Maybe we should tidy up a bit before your mom gets home.”

We might have wrecked the house, but this was honestly the most fun I’d had since…well, probably since I was a kid.

Booker started scooping some of the Nerf bullets off the ground and then gave Cade a look and nodded at the ground. “You’re right, little brother. We shoulddefinitelytidy these up.”

Cade immediately jumped into action, and I should have known then that this was all going too easily. But instead, I turned around and started to take down the blanket fort.

It was the giggles that clued me in to my mistake.

And they weren’t all coming from Cade.

When I turned around to see the three of them reloading, I made a quick decision.

Darting forward, I grabbed Cade, who squealed with joy, and threw him over my shoulder as I ran for the kitchen.

“You’ll never take me alive,” I shouted over my shoulder at the others. “I’m taking a hostage this time.”

“Then it’s time for drastic action,” Dex shouted as I rounded the kitchen table and dove for cover, pulling a laughing Cade with me. “I’m getting the super soakers out of the truck.”

Cade looked at me, his eyes wide as he tried to stop the grin from taking over his face.

“Your mom will kill us,” I pointed out.

“She has to catch us first,” Cade told me seriously, and I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my lips.

This was the best night of my life, and I couldn’t believe this could be every day for me. After everything, this was more than I ever thought I’d have. More happiness than I thought I deserved.

I’d only known about Cade for a matter of days, and I loved this kid more than I knew how to process.

---