Page 39 of The Heart

When the doors open, we step into our penthouse, but quickly stop at what’s waiting for us in the entryway.

I let out a frustrated breath.

Our mistake was leaving Leena and Colton unsupervised. So this one’s on us. We should’ve known they’d pull some shit like this.

I stare down at what’s sitting on the dark marble floor before us.

“Are those?” I grumble.

“Yup,” Luke replies.

I set my keys down and step closer, reading Leena’s handwritten sticky notes stuck on top of the two Nerf guns lying on the floor. One note that says “Sebastian” with a little heart, the other with Luke’s name.

And a fucking cutesy heart.

I stare, unamused.

“Fuck no,” I say definitively, stepping over the toys and into the living room, but what I find there has me pausing once again. “You’ve got to be fucking me.” I glare into the room.

We only left them alone for a few hours, and these motherfuckers decide to use string to connect every single fucking object together, creating a webbed sort of maze through the entire goddamn penthouse.

I don’t even know what to do in this situation.

I’ve never fucking been in this situation.

Living with Leena is never boring, so this shouldn’t surprise me. But adding Colton to the mix clearly made her step up her game.

Luke stands beside me, carrying the two Nerf guns. I glare at them, then at him, then at his stupid dimpled smirk and the amusement in his eyes.Oh, for fuck’s sake.

I duck under the first string, stepping over another, grumbling my displeasure as I do. “Leena Rose Hart! Get that pretty ass of yours out here, sweetheart,” I shout angrily, my voice echoing off the large glass window that spans the entire living room.

I stand here, trying to decide my next move to get through the wall of fucking string in my path.

My gaze darts up to the movement coming from the hall.

I stare, unamused, as Colton crouch walks from around the corner. He’s wearing all camo with black streaks painted on his cheeks, his Nerf gun trained on Luke behind me. He ducks quickly through the strings surrounding him, then shoots. I roll my eyes as Luke and I watch the silly little plastic tipped foam bounce off his bicep.

This is fucking ridiculous.

Colton somersaults to hide behind the dining room table. The table they tipped over in order to create a barricade.

I let out an exasperated breath.

Suddenly, Leena pops up from behind the kitchen island. I can’t help but chuckle, seeing she’s also wearing camo, and has those same black lines smeared over her cheeks. A very serious look comes over her face as she aims her Nerf gun at me.

My smile fades.

I stare at her, cocking my head and daring her to fucking shoot me. Daring her to find out what will happen if she does.

She stares right back.

This is a stand-off, and she fucking knows it.

I watch her think over her decision carefully.

Then, she squeezes the trigger.

I watch as the little dart hits me square in the chest. I look down at it in disbelief, then back up to where a wide-eyed Leena ducks back behind the safety of the counter.

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