Page 24 of Falling Again
CHAPTER 7
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Natalie woke to thestench of something burning. Just as her brain registered the smell, the loud piercing sound of the smoke detector rang through the house. Blinking herself awake, Natalie flung the duvet back and fell out of bed. “Oof,” she exhaled as she untangled herself from the sheets.
Beside her, Anthony sat up, fumbling around. “Nat,” he croaked, his voice still coated with sleep. “What’s going on?”
Natalie threw open the door and ran into the hallway, hearing Anthony hot on her heels. “Maddie? Otis?” she shouted. Opening Madeline’s door first, Natalie found her bed empty. Pulse pounding, she met Anthony in Otis’s doorway, which was also empty.
“What the hell?” she asked, following Anthony down to the kitchen.
When the pair made it downstairs, they saw the cause for the smoke alarm: Alice.
Standing in a pair of pajamas that Natalie swore were hers, Alice fanned a tea towel at the smoke detector. Both Madeline and Otis were perched on stools at the counter, clearly delighted with the drama of their morning. Natalie went to her children and kissed the tops of their heads, only breathing again when she saw they were unharmed.
Anthony stomped over and knocked the smoke detector off the ceiling with a swat of a spatula. When the ear-piercing clanging stopped, he tossed the spatula into the sink and ran a hand through his hair. “What the hell is going on, Alice?”
Behind him, Madeline perked up at the profanity, and said, “Swear jar!” Natalie put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder to stop the conversation in its tracks. Family extorsion would have to wait.
“I was trying to be helpful,” Alice huffed. With a flick of her wrist, she threw the towel onto the counter and put her hands on her hips. “It’s not my fault this house has a sensitive smoke alarm.”
Natalie surveyed the scene in front of her, her temples pulsing with the beginnings of a headache. Their expensive espresso machine was in pieces, and piles of damp coffee grounds scattered the surrounding counter space. A few mixing bowls were out, each filled with a different substance. Their griddle pan was plugged in, with a burnt disc—Natalie assumed a pancake—charred to its surface.
Needing to collect herself, Natalie spun on her heels and went into the living room. The sight that greeted her was no better than the mess in the kitchen. The sofa was completely taken apart, with stacks of cushions all over the floor. Madeline’s favorite pink quilt was draped over one side of the couch, while Otis’sStar Warsblanket hung from the coffee table. Glancing up at the clock on the mantle, Natalie saw it was barely seven o’clock. It was way too early for playtime.
“Tony, chill out,” Alice said from the kitchen. When Natalie walked back in she found Anthony hurriedly cleaning up the espresso machine. Caffeine clearly took precedence in the moment, and Natalie couldn’t argue. The promise of a strong cup of coffee was likely the only thing keeping her—and Anthony—from throttling Alice in that moment.
Anthony practically snarled. “I’m not going to chill out. What the hell, Alice? This place is a mess.”
Madeline hopped down from her stool to go in search of the swear jar. Natalie didn’t try to stop her this time; she didn’t have the energy.
“Alice, why is the living room wrecked?”
Anthony scowled and stalked into the living room. When he came back to the kitchen, his eyes were bulged from their sockets, fists curled at his sides ready to punch through a wall. “I’ll brew some coffee. You,” he said, pointing to his sister, “will tidy up the living room. If you’re going to sleep on the sofa, you should at least clean up after yourself.”
Alice opened her mouth to respond, but Madeline jumped in. “She didn’t sleep on the sofa. We did,” she giggled, not understanding she sold her aunt up the river.
“Excuse me?” Natalie turned her focus to Alice whofinallylooked embarrassed.
“I can’t sleep on that lumpy thing! So when you guys went to bed,” she said, gesturing to Anthony and Natalie, “I got the kids and set them up down here. Maddie’s bed is way more comfortable.”
