Rafael sucked in a deep breath, then let it out. For good measure, he took in another one, and decided not to press his luck trying to get a third. He slipped out of his car and made sure it was locked before making the trek toward the Larsen’s front door. He wanted to get this out of the way now, before anything else chaotic happened.

  He pressed the doorbell, trying to force his mind to calm down. The problem was, he wasn’t good at any of this shit. Talking, conversing, putting his point across, it was never something he excelled at. It was why he ran and hid for three years. Only the looming threat of an apocalypse could convince him to talk.

  The door opened and he saw Evelyn there. She smiled at him even as Rafael’s eyes dropped to her shoes. “Hey, Rafael.”

  “Hey. Sorry. I… came by unexpected. Is your… dad? Walt. Walt, is he here?” His words were tripping over themselves, and it did not give himself any comfort for how this conversation would go with Walt.

  “Yeah. Sure. Come on in,” she said.

  How was it that she was unbothered by him? It simply made no sense. Why was he still a floundering mess of fear and regret every time she looked his way. She closed the door and pulled out her phone, texting one of her friends.

  “He’s upstairs. If you don’t mind, I hate my dad right now and don’t want to see his face, even though he got me a car.” She flipped some hair over her shoulder as she walked down the hallway, her eyes glued to her phone. “I’m making sure he can’t buy my love, so you can just go upstairs and see him because I don’t want to.”

  Rafael was struck with the realization that Evelyn hated her dad more than she hated him. Rafael’s very presence did not bother her, and hadn’t for a while now. Things had almost gone back to how they were, except for the fact that Rafael was still a puddle of shame every time she appeared in the same room as him.

  Rafael got to the stairs and sucked in the breath he was certain he didn’t need before letting it out. He could do this. Evelyn wouldn’t be there, and Walt adored him. Or so everyone said. He had no idea what he did to gain Walt’s approval, and that’s what scared him. It’s what the monster growing in its cage made him fear. If he had no idea what had gained Walt’s approval, he’d probably lose it just as mysteriously. It didn’t help that Rafael was about to ask something huge out of Walt.

  Rafael was at the top of the stairs when he saw Walt with his arm across the couch, watching a movie. Walt glanced over and saw him, a smile breaking out. “Rafael, hey.”

  “Sorry to drop by so unexpectedly, sir. Evelyn let me in, I hope that’s okay.”

  “Of course! Of course that’s okay.” Walt grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. “Come have a seat. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  Rafael was grateful for the invitation, because he wasn’t certain he could stand for much longer. He sank into the couch next to Walt. “I was actually here to see you. See if I could get a favor from you, sir.”

  “Ah. Well, it is an honor, to be sure. Let me guess. Does this have anything to do with that pedophile Tyler Clarke?” Walt asked.

  Rafael swallowed, feeling the unease in his stomach. This was what he was afraid of. If he had to pacify Walt, he would have to agree with him on most things, but this was something he couldn’t agree with Walt about, and he was a bit afraid that it would be this that made Walt lose his respect for Rafael.

  “It’s, um…” This affirmed to him just how little a backbone he actually possessed. “A little, though…”

  “Ah, I understand,” Walt said, placing his arms on the back of the couch again. “Tyler’s still a friend of yours, is he?”

  “He’s… the best game master we’ve ever had,” Rafael said. That much was true.

  “And how many game masters have you played with?” Walt asked, the humor in his eyes.

  “Two,” Rafael mumbled.

  Walt let out a huge laugh. Rafael tried not to flinch as he realized why he hated conversations with Walt so much. It wasn’t the praise. It was the fear of correcting Walt, so he rarely did. Which meant he felt in a way like shoving Tyler under a bus as he didn’t stick up for his friend.

  Though it should honestly be more of an insult to Se?ora Florez, considering she was the other game master he played with. He just didn’t spend enough time with Se?ora Florez, that was why. He could tell she was capable of caring the same amount for his new character as Tyler. He had two very good game masters, and he should—

  Good god, he needed a backbone.

  “I’m here to hopefully offer a compromise,” Rafael said. “Nick and Evelyn are… really fun to hang out with. And we don’t want to stop playing CCNC, which is what might happen if they don’t show up.” It absolutely wasn’t what would happen, but Walt didn’t need to know that. “I know you have some concerns about Tyler, but perhaps I can… be there. To… keep him in line.”

  It was what Tyler suggested Rafael say, but he still felt dirty suggesting it. It’s what Tyler was doing to Rafael, to keep Evelyn safe.

  “Mmm,” Walt said, warming up to the idea fast. “I suppose I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “If… I’m always in the same room with Tyler and Evelyn, I… guarantee nothing will happen,” Rafael said.

  Walt nodded. “Yes. And should something happen, I of course give you my permission to beat the shit of Tyler.”

  “I… won’t hold back, sir,” Rafael said, forcing his face to be neutral.

  Walt laughed again, patting Rafael on the back. “I like you, kid. Do you want a drink?” Walt asked, getting up.

  Rafael was confused. “Um… like water?” Walt laughed again as Rafael got to his feet. The fact that Walt didn’t answer made him seriously afraid that Walt was going to hand him a beer. “I am… underaged, sir.”

  “Oh, Rafael,” Walt said as they walked down the stairs. “You’re such an old soul.”

  “Which… means my body is still young. I don’t actually like the taste of alcohol. I’m not-”

  “Don’t worry, Rafael. Water it is. Stick to your principles. It’s why I like you,” Walt said.

  Rafael let out a strangled breath. He would have refused any alcohol Walt might have given him. He hadn’t touched the stuff in three years, and he was not going to touch it again with Evelyn down the hall.

  They entered the kitchen and Rafael noticed Nick at the table, working on something on the laptop.

  “Hey,” Walt said, snapping his fingers at Nick. “You and Evelyn can go back to that game you play. I feel a lot better knowing Rafael’s got your sister’s back.”

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Nick tore his gaze from the laptop to stare at his father. “Right. Yeah. Thanks.”

  Rafael was eternally grateful that he and Nick were on such good standing, because Nick no doubt saw the irony in what Walt said. Rafael certainly did. And if this was two months ago, Nick would have tried to kill Rafael.

  “Hey, do you have a girlfriend?” Walt asked, glancing at Rafael as he passed him a glass of water.

  “Uh, yes, sir,” Rafael said before taking a sip.

  “Ah. You know, that daughter of mine has not had a boyfriend yet? Pity it couldn’t have been you.”

  Panic brought everything Rafael had just drank back out his mouth, and he tried to cover it up, but it was impossible. He set the glass down, grabbing a paper towel, and tried to think of something intelligent. “Hazel,” Rafael sputtered. “Hazel Jones. My girlfriend. I love her.”

  That wasn’t quite intelligent, but Rafael didn’t know what else to say. Nick had stopped typing whatever essay he was working on to close his eyes and slowly massage his temples. If he was doing that to keep the glare off his face, it wasn’t working.

  “Ah, I know. Foolish man’s dreams for his children. Hopefully there’s more men like you in the world,” Walt said.

  “Mmm,” Rafael said, patting himself dry as he found he couldn’t even look at Nick anymore. His feelings for Evelyn were quite gone, replaced instead with shame and remorse. It wasn’t like that was any better, but he knew there was no such future for him and Evelyn, and he spent three years coming to terms with that.

  It did remind Rafael the second reason why he came to Walt’s house.

  “That… actually reminds me of something,” Rafael said. “My own sister, Alejandra. You’ve met Alejandra, right?”

  “Yeah. Sweet, shy little girl,” Walt asked.

  “Mmm, that’s Alejandra. See, I’ve been wanting to set her up myself, as it’s her junior year and she hasn’t gone to one of the school dances. I know it’s super last minute, but… but perhaps Nick could go with my sister? To the winter ball this Saturday night?” Rafael asked.

  Nick dropped his hands quickly from his forehead and pretended like he’d been working on his essay the entire time instead of forcing a glare off his face. Nick was typing way too fast and chaotically for him to possibly be writing anything of value on the computer as he glanced at Walt with a face that meant he was bracing for whatever the answer was.

  Walt glanced at Nick, frowning, then back at Rafael. “Nick?”

  The slight wince Nick gave was proof that he didn’t have the toughened skin he led everyone to believe he had.

  “Yeah. Nick.” Rafael had a goal to make it sound a lot better than Walt’s. It wasn’t hard.

  Walt glanced again at Nick, who was deleting all the nonsense he was writing from before, sparing a glance at Walt.

  “You sure you want to trust your sister with him? He’s been up to no good, lately.”

  Nick glared at the screen.

  “Oh, don’t worry, sir. The two of us had a good chat about it last week. He’s… turned from his ways,” Rafael said.

  “Has anyone told you you’re too trusting,” Walt said, taking a sip of his own beer.

  Rafael glanced again at Nick, feeling his soul wither. Nick kept glaring at the screen, kept saying nothing as his father talked about him as though he wasn’t in the room. Rafael forced himself to pretend to have a backbone. “With all due respect, sir, Nick is… right there,” Rafael said.

  “The kid can handle it. And if he can’t, then maybe he should remember this feeling, so he doesn’t keep disappointing everyone in this family again,” Walt said, the fake warmth gone from his voice.

  The laptop lid slammed down, the chair scraping the ground as Nick got up. He left the laptop there as he stormed out of the kitchen and down the hall and disappeared into his room

  Rafael glanced at Walt who was slipping a sleeve over his beer, glancing down the hall. “So, to be clear,” Walt said, pointing at the direction of Nick’s room. “That’s the boy you want going on a date with your little sister next week?”

  Rafael didn’t say anything, mainly because he had a lot of things he wanted to say with none of the backbone to support it. Tyler assured him that he was fine being thrown under the bus, but Rafael never got that permission from Nick. Still, he opened his mouth, staring at his barely touched glass of water. “I… will be in the same room with him. They won’t be alone, sir.”

  A small smile crossed Walt’s face. “I think you better tell Nick about all that.”

  “Nick… already knows what would happen if he tried anything on my sister,” Rafael said.

  Walt gave another loud laugh, and the last of Rafael’s self-respect shriveled up with it.

  “I knew I liked you,” Walt said, pushing off the counter and gesturing for Rafael to follow. Rafael did, mainly because he already felt too much of a coward. They walked down the hall and Rafael stopped at Nick’s doorway as Walt walked right in.

  “Hey, you. You’re going to the winter ball with Alejandra Walker next week. This guy is going to be your chaperone, and you are not to leave his sight.” It was then that Walt must have noticed Rafael didn’t follow him into Nick’s room. Walt gestured for him to enter, but Rafael felt conflicted. This room wasn’t Walt’s to command. “Come on, Rafael.” Walt said.

  Rafael held in a breath as he moved into Nick’s room enough to see Nick sitting at his desk, glaring daggers at his dad. Walt ushered Rafael closer, but Rafael didn’t dare. Instead, Walt walked over to Rafael and draped a hand around his shoulder. Rafael’s shoulders stiffened at the touch.

  “Now, Rafael has kindly informed me that he’s already been quite clear to you about what he’d do to you if you so much as touch her without her consent, so let me be perfectly clear about how I feel about it.” Walt’s voice dropped in volume, though somehow still holding its intensity. “You better hope Rafael kills you, so you don’t come home and face me.”

  Nick’s dagger glare never let up. Rafael closed his eyes, the fear turning into nausea. “Sir, perhaps I could… remind him of that again. Privately. Could you… give us a minute?”

  Walt smiled, patting him on the back. “Absolutely.” Walt headed out of the room. “Take your time, Rafael. Make sure Nick is perfectly clear about your rules and boundaries for taking your sister on a date. I’ll see you later,” Walt said.

  Rafael opened his eyes as Walt left the room. “God, I’m so sorry,” Rafael muttered.

  Nick, who was rubbing his temples again, opened his eyes, curious. “For what? You did it. You got my dad to agree to us going back to CCNC and for me to go with the group to the winter ball.”

  Rafael shook his head. “I threw you under the bus. Tyler told me it was okay, but I never… I never checked with you.”

  Nick waved a hand. “It’s fine.”

  “No, it’s not,” Rafael said.

  Nick glanced at Rafael, and he saw the moment of vulnerability. “Sometimes we… just gotta do what we gotta do.”

  “Yeah. And one of those things is to apologize for making crazy claims about you that aren’t true to get what we want,” Rafael said, glancing at the door. “I am happy you’re getting out of this house Saturday for the dance, though. You… need to get out.”

  “Yeah. When’s the next session of CCNC?” Nick asked.

  “We’re all taking turns this next week for combat. Alejandra and I have tomorrow. Derek’s offered to take all the other days, but we still want someone to go with him. You two should talk and figure out schedules,” Rafael said.

  “Yep, that sounds good. We have the same lunch, so I’ll talk to him then.”

  Rafael nodded, then glanced down at his hands. “Also, there’s another thing we need to talk about.”

  “Okay?” Nick asked.

  “I… have been trying to talk to Alejandra. She’s been miserable. Ever since it came out that you’ve been working with Chaos, she’s almost been… catatonic. I don’t actually know if she’ll want to go on the date with you on Saturday, but we can pretend for Walt.”

  Nick nodded, his fingers absently checking his new scar on his cheek. “We need to talk, but she is far better at stealth than Hraktar,” Nick said.

  Rafael chuckled. “Probably because she’s been avoiding school since Thursday. Which is also… not healthy.”

  Nick nodded. “If you can get her to school tomorrow, and I’ll track her down. I want to see for myself how she feels about going on a date with me.”

  Rafael nodded, heading toward the door. “Sounds good. I’ll… maybe text Evelyn once we get to school so you know when to be on the lookout. Would… Evelyn be okay with that?”

  “Yeah, I’ll let her know.”

  “Great, thanks.” Rafael slipped out of Nick’s room and walked down the hall. “Bye, Mr. Larsen,” Rafael called into the kitchen.

  “See you later, Rafael,” Walt said.

  The moment Rafael closed the front door he had his phone out. He dialed Tyler’s number as he did so, trying not to full on sprint out of the Larsen’s house.

  “Hey, Rafael. How’d it go?” Tyler asked.

  “God, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I full on shoved you under the bus,” Rafael said.

  Tyler laughed, and it was good to hear. “Seriously, it’s fine. So, they’re allowed to come to CCNC again?”

  “Yeah. At least once a week. And Walt’s given his okay to have Nick come to the winter ball.”

  “Incredible. Good work. Derek’s right. You really do roll nat twenties whenever you talk to Walt.”

  Rafael placed Tyler on speakerphone and placed the phone on his lap. “Yeah, well, I wish I didn’t feel so dirty doing this. But it’s done.”

  “Good. Because we definitely need to stick together. Akshi’s only gotten more powerful now that the deadline has been shortened,” Tyler said.

  Rafael sighed as he started up the car. He didn’t want to call and drive at the same time, but he also didn’t want to stay near the Larsen’s house in case Walt wanted to convince him to stay for dinner or something. “We’re better prepared for Akshi, though. Now that Grizzizzik has a sword that can kill him.”

  “No doubt,” Tyler said. “But it’s best to keep that a secret from Akshi. We do not want him attacking this group, and he might if he knew Grizzizzik can kill him now.”

  “Yeah,” Rafael said. Everything with Akshi made him uncomfortable. The sooner they kill him, the better.