Page 16 of Taste of Addiction

I yawn and prop myself onto a bunch of fluffy pillows. “I just want this day to end.”

Claire frowns into the screen. “I know it sucks for you. I know you miss your brother. I just want to make sure you know I am there with you in spirit.”

“Thanks. Today definitely sucks. And when I thought things couldn’t get worse, they did.”

“Oh no, what happened?”

“Claire, you won’t believe who is here right now.”

“The Easter bunny. Santa Claus. One of the guys from Thunder From Down Under,” she rattles off, barely taking a breath. “The Kool-Aid Man that the old people reminisce about?”

I shake my head and look at her with such confusion. “No. Not even close.”

“Don’t tell me, don’t tell me. I love guessing games.”

“Okay…”

“Give me an itty-bitty clue though.”

“Hmm, let me think of a good one.”

“Don’t give too much away,” she warns, clapping her hands in excitement.

“Cartoon voice.”

“Tweety Bird.”

I burst out laughing. “Not a bad guess, if Tweety Bird was a person.”

“Male or female?”

“Female.”

“Okay, so not Zander or the Hulk.” Her voice trails off and she stares up at the ceiling of her room, deep in thought. She says these things with such a straight face that I cannot even tell if she is being serious or not.

“Ready for another clue?”

“Yeah. So not a cartoon and not a man.”

“Correct. Last clue. Barbie Bitch.”

“Well, that’s basically like giving it away,” she huffs, tossing her hands up in the air, knocking over her headband in the process. “Sophia. Final answer.”

“Yup. Bingo.”

“Does Graham have a death wish?”

“Perhaps. But so does Sophia if she continues to mess with me.”

“Ugh. Can things get any worse?”

“Probably. We could be sharing bunk beds like they do in Girl Scout camp.”

“This is true. But what is Graham thinking? He actually thinks it’s a good idea to keep his ex and current girlfriend under the same roof?”

“I imagine he didn’t have much choice considering we both are in danger, and if we were separated, so would his staff be.”

“Yeah, I get that, but I feel like this could have been handled better. Ya know? Like hire a babysitting service…”

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