Page 110 of The Pushy Pixies Are Going Down
Miles hung up with a sigh. “Guess we better hurry.”
I gave his shoulder a squeeze, and we quickly finished loading up the traps we’d collected, shut the truck up, then we went on our way to the next house.
By the time we made it to the museum, I was exhausted from a long day of work—it was after five, and we’d started at seven this morning—and I was starving. It’d been too long since we ate lunch.
But Miles and I wanted to get this over with so we could go home and relax. So here we were.
Sola decided to ride on my shoulder today, which was unusual, but I definitely didn’t dislike it. She kept rubbing her cheek on me and giving me affection, which I appreciated and returned by petting her.
When we walked up to the ticket booth, Chaos seemed surprised to see us. “Um, hi, guys. What are you doing here?”
“Sharp called and asked us to remove the dragon egg because someone stole our artifact,” Miles said.
Chaos straightened. “What? Someone stole our artifact? When?”
Miles glanced at me in surprise before facing the teen and answering. “Um. He called us almost two hours ago and said the pixies were attacking people again. So sometime before that, I guess? I’m not sure how long the pixies were acting up or whether it would’ve taken time for them to start behaving like that again or what.”
The kid crossed his arms over his chest, looking really pissed. “Why the hell didn’t he say anything to me about it?”
“I don’t know. You’d think he’d ask you since you helped make it.”
Chaos sighed. “Well, he thinks I’m trash, so I shouldn’t be surprised.”
That made me grimace, and Miles looked pissed off as he asked, “Did he say that to you?”
Chaos shook his head and moved his hair out of his face. “Not with words, no, but I can tell by the way he treats me. He’s not much better to Ace, but he does at least act like he’s a person and not someone without a brain or emotions.” Chaos grinned, but it wasn’t a happy grin at all.
“Is he treating you badly?”
He shrugged. “It’s fine.”
“No, Chaos, it’s not. If he’s treating you like shit, then you should quit.”
“Can’t. I need the money.”
“I’m sure we can find you something else where your boss isn’t an asshole. Maybe I can hir—”
“It’s fine, Miles. But thanks for your concern.” Chaos shot him a look I couldn’t really interpret, but I was pretty sure it was fond exasperation.
Obviously, at this point, both the kids knew my boyfriend just really wanted to take care of them. Honestly, if he could, he’d probably adopt them on the spot. But I didn’t think their guardian would be happy about that.
Although, if they didn’t care if the kids ate, and they needed money this badly, then maybe they wouldn’t even notice.
Shaking off that terrible and sad thought, I stepped forward, put my hand on Miles’s lower back, trying to convey support and comfort, and said, “Tomorrow’s a holiday, isn’t it? You guys have off from school?”
Sola let out a screech like she was adding to the question.
Chaos looked like a deer in headlights for a few seconds before he nodded. “Yeah, we have off. And neither of us is working tomorrow. Why?”
“Let us take you out for breakfast tomorrow morning. I’d say dinner tonight, but I’m starving already, so I don’t think I can wait until you guys get off work to eat.”
He snorted. “Make it brunch so we can sleep in, and you’ve got a deal.”
“Perfect.”
“Go ahead inside. I’ll text you in the morning.”
“Awesome. Thanks.” I leaned over as close to the glass as I could and caught the end of a tail, so I said, “Nice seeing you, Clucky.”
