Page 5 of Reaping Havoc
I set my cell down and closed my eyes, enjoying the silence since the boys were napping. If I were lucky, I’d have another hour before they woke up. I loved my boys, but when they were awake, it was constant chaos until they went to bed. At this late stage of pregnancy, I was easily fatigued. Luckily, Rael handled most of it whenever he was home.
My phone began ringing a second time, and I sighed when I opened my eyes and noticed Unknown Caller a second time. “Hello?”
Silence... and then, heavy breathing. Like weird, raspy breaths that sounded a bit odd.
“Who is this?”
The heavy breathing stopped. Silence stretched for a few seconds before I ended the call.
“Weird,” I murmured as Mimi and Cameron returned to the porch.
Cameron sat down and propped her feet, balancing a bowl of chips on her stomach. “What’s weird?”
“I just got the strangest phone call.”
“Oh? What about?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know.”
“What do you mean?” Mimi asked, sitting in the empty chair beside me.
“Nobody talked, and someone was breathing hard.”
“Ugh. Sounds like a prank call,” my sister observed.
Maybe. “Yeah. I guess so.” It felt off, though.
“I bet it’s nothing,” Cameron concluded. “Probably a bored teenager or you got on some stupid list.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” I decided not to answer it again if that unknown caller chose to be persistent.
He didn’t. No one other than Rael called or texted the remainder of the day. I brushed it off as nothing important and moved on. Everything was perfect in my life, and I wouldn’t waste my time on random phone calls that didn’t matter.
THE HOUSE WAS QUIETwhen I woke from my nap. My eyes fluttered and finally opened as I sat up, pushing off the blanket that Rael must have draped over me while I slept. Since having the boys, it always felt strange to wake up to a noiseless house. If I didn’t know Rael was home and looking after our boys, I’d be spooked.
I padded my way to the bathroom first, stopping to relieve my poor bladder. Rubbing my stomach as it rumbled, I headed into the kitchen next to grab a snack. Once I had apples, peanut butter, pretzels, and a handful of cheddar cheese chunks, I took my apple juice and plate to the deck out back, where I could hear Gavin and Gage giggling.
Now, hearing my boys laugh was always a delight, but when it mixed with Rael’s sexy deep timbre, it either meant they were getting into trouble on their own or he was helping them.
To my surprise, I ended up wrong on both counts.
Rael stood in front of the boys, tying on their red Superman capes and ensuring their shoes were tied. Each twin held a plastic sword.
“Alright. We’re gonna practice sneaking,” he announced.
Sneaking? What for?
I didn’t like the sound of this at all.
No one noticed as I slipped outdoors and set my drink and food on the wooden table. We bought the table and chairs last year, along with a pop-up tent that provided shelter, so we could sit out here with the boys while they played and not bake in the sun. Although now that I thought about it, the pop-up tent was probably just for me.
“I wanna be a good sneaker,” Gavin declared.
“Me, too, Daddy,” Gage added.
“Then follow my directions. You gotta keep your feet slow and quiet. No running. You can’t be loud or people will hear you.”
“No singing?” Gavin asked.
