Page 16 of A Game of Secrets

"Yeah, tell me about it." I reply, pulling on a fresh pair of clothes. "It doesn't help that I don't know who it was. I don't even think he told me his name and christ how the hell did he know where I lived? I never give out my address. It’s a number one rule."

She looks at me with her mouth wide open. "You don't think he… you know?" she nods to the bed, "do you?" I know exactly what she's insinuating and the thought alone makes my skin crawl.

"NO, no way. I woke up wearing my underwear and I'm pretty sure I'd know."

Kat releases an audibly loud sigh of relief. "Thank God!" she says, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, he left me some Tylenol and water on the bedside table too, if he was a creep he wouldn’t have done that. But still. I don't know, it's weird, I just don't understand. Anyway, what happened to you last night?" I question, hoping to distract her.

"Well," she starts, pulling her legs up and getting comfortable. "I obviously hit things off with Brendan, the blond guy I was dancing with. He ended up taking me back to mine after I couldn't find you. I let him convince me you'd let the guy you were with take you home, and well, let's just say I definitely didn't wake up with my underwear on." She squeals, kicking her legs out like an excited child and I can't help but smile at her wicked ways.

"You lucky bitch, how was it? I need to know everything and don't spare me any details. Let me live vicariously through your sexual activities." I laugh.

Kat talks me through every single detail of her raunchy escapade with Brendan leaving me feeling somewhat jealous and a little bit empty. "Sounds like you had enough fun for the both of us last night." I joke, scraping my hair back into a scrunchie.

"Oh it was something Luce, he was something," she sighs, staring out into the middle of nowhere.

I roll my eyes at her. "Come on bitch, I need a coffee and we've got to get the kids from Max's. I told him we'd take them for breakfast." With that she jumps up and skips out of the bedroom.

"Wow, if I knew you would move that quick I would have said it sooner." I laugh as she's already on her way out through the front door.

Pulling up outside Max's house, I side eye Kat as she applies a fresh coat of lipgloss and smooths down the flyaways of hair that are escaping her ponytail resting tight atop her head.

She smiles at me and shrugs, "I can't help it, I don't want Max to see me looking like a dog," she says so nonchalantly as she climbs out of the car.

"No I get it, but you and I both know you'd look hot in a fucking bin bag you cow, and even in a bin bag, given the chance he'd still. . ." I start, before being cut off by Max opening the front door.

"He would still what?” He asks with his arms crossed as he leans against the door frame, eyes bouncing between the two of us and a playful smug pulling on his lips.

"Nothing, just ignore your idiot sister." Kat snaps shoving past us both as she walks into the house.

"You dick." I chuckle as I playfully punch Max's arm before walking past him to find Teddy and Isabella sat on the sofa together watching cartoons.

"MOMMY!" they both shout when they see us, both of them clambering over each other to get to us.

"Hey baby boy!" I throw Teddy up in the air and catch him in my arms. "Have you been a good boy for your Uncle Max?" I ask, nuzzling into his neck.

"Yes Mommy," he replies, a huge toothy smile plastered across his face. I glance over at Max and he smiles and nods his head in confirmation.

"Good boy," I say, kissing the top of his head as I lower him back to his feet. "How do you two little angels fancy going for some breakfast?"

"YEAH!!" they shout in unison again making us all laugh.

"Come on then monkeys, go grab your bags and let's get going. Auntie Kat will eat her shoe if she has to wait any longer for some food," I joke.

"Or I might just eat both of you," she shouts as she grabs Isabella and Teddy, tickling them till they're screaming with laughter. I love the bond we all have. Katrina isn't related by blood but Teddy has always known her as his Auntie Kat. She treats Teddy like her own, the same way I treat Isabella as my own too. It’s times like this I feel blessed to have such an amazing little family all of my own.

I look up to see Max staring at the interaction before us, his eyes giving him away, showing affection he very rarely reveals. His character is hard and serious, his physique strong and tough and it goes against everything he knows and against every set of rules he has been brought up by. I can see the kindness behind his tough exterior though. I know it isn't his fault, his father is a cruel man, a mafia boss who wanted nothing more than to turn his heir into a relentless, merciless, killing machine. Max always told me when I was younger I got a lucky escape by not being of his fathers blood.

I never understood why until I got older and walked into what can only be described as a scene from a horror movie in the dining room to our old family home. Max’s father stood in the middle of the room, covered in blood with a knife in one hand and something that almost resembled a mushed up squid, which I later found out was the man's heart in the other. He had a smile I can only recount as pure evil, the devil in human form. A very dead, very mutilated body lay beneath him, bleeding into my mothers rug. She wasn’t best pleased that day to say the least. But it painted that man in a whole new light for me, our relationship was never the same after that. I was much more cautious not to end up on his bad side. The image still haunts my sleep some nights, a repeated nightmare where I can never escape, the satanic beast ripping my heart out and devouring it before I die. It always ends with me waking in a fit of panic until I realize I’m not seconds from death.

Max catches my eye and stiffens, straightening up his shoulders before he turns and walks off into the kitchen. With Kat and the kids now in a giggling heap on the floor, I follow him and close the door behind me. "What are you doing?" I ask, shaking my head at him.

"What do you mean?" He responds, his back towards me with his hands resting either side of him on the kitchen counter.

"You know exactly what I mean Max." I state. "I'm not blind, I see the way you look at her when you think nobody is watching. Why do you keep her so far away?"

"You wouldn't understand Luce, you're nothing like me. You don't know the things I do. I would never be good enough for her." he sighs, then turning to face me. "It can't happen."

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