"Are we attending a funeral for the cat or the laptop now?" Chad asked, "Because my social calendar is full already without these absurd events." Luke's phone rang. We all saw the caller ID: Art. He picked it up and put on loudspeaker for us all to hear. "YOOOOOO," Art's greeting blasted out of the phone, "Man you're never going to believe this! You told me to check my kit and my jersey is missi-" Luke hung up. I guess Art's a little too late. That's when my mother made her sneaky exit. Now that I had backed my car up slightly, she could get her car out. I don't where she was going since she never felt the need to tell us, but somewhere work related, based on the briefcase she was carrying. Austin came up to Luke and rested a supportive hand on his shoulder. Austin had been there through the trauma of the last incident. Charlotte pushed past them. As a concerned sister, she inspected the damage to the laptop. I almost expected it to fizz and pop, that's how messed up it was. "Did you back everything up?" she asked her brother. Practical question. The kind my own sister would never ask. I shuddered to think of his response... All his files... his music... his.... "Back what up?" he asked, "This computer is like 3 months old after she drove over the last one." On the one hand, I was relieved to hear that. On the other hand, why'd he have to expose me like that? Without context, Luke saying 'she drove over the last one' must sound weird. Only Austin knew about that. Well, maybe Chad too, if he actually remembered. Sometimes, news came to him in one ear and flew straight out the other. Charlotte was now looking at me suspiciously, while she asked her brother a follow up question, "What do you mean 'drove over the last one'?" Luke was never a talker, but he explained it very simply. "This is a very expensive relationship." ** I've always admired Luke's sister from a distance. Growing up, she was the beautiful and smiling girl next door. People gravitated towards her and I always wondered what that life was like. Now, by some strange stroke, Luke and I were dating. And I wanted more than ever for her to like me. I think it's important for his family to see me in a positive light... And damn near impossible, based on my past experiences with them. Charlotte hugged her brother and said she would see him later at home. She had a dinner reservation with her ex bf and her current bff, Nicole. Her ex-boyfriend, the model that he is, was staring at me like I was last season's fashion. I waved. "You now met the girlfriend," Charlotte mumbled, pulling him away. This guy met me for 10 minutes and saw me prepare for a cat's funeral and run over my laptop's boyfriend. I don't blame him. "See you at the club, Chad," Nicole waved him bye. "Why 'the club'? You going out tonight?" Austin asked Chad, watching the girls walk away. "She meant the country club," Chad explained. "Oh." Silent moment for all of us without country club memberships. Luke stared at his friends, "You guys going to keep drooling over Nicole or help me out here?" ** What a day. So many accidents, so many mishaps. There was nothing this day needed more, than a warm bowl of chili. Thank you, Gloria. While we had been searching for Roger the dead cat and prepping for his funeral, Gloria had found old ingredients in my cupboards and whipped together the first home cooked meal I've had in a while. After all, my mother's groceries consisted of alcohol and alcohol. And one block of cheese that Austin found. Now he was happily grating cheddar all over his bowl, watching the yellow flakes melt into his chili. A mountain of cheese formed, drowning out the meal before he got stuck into it. "So why was your laptop on the floor?" he asked. "Maybe this house is cursed," Chad answered, "I broke my sunglasses in the kitchen an hour ago." "But that's a good question, Austin," I jumped on the opportunity to clear my name, "Why would it be sitting on the driveway like that?" "Can you pass the salt?" Chad asked. Honestly, I can't be blamed for stupidity. Except when I contribute to it... which I guess I did. Luke gave Chad a knowing look and then said, "Because Ch-" "Why are we dwelling on the past?" Chad interrupted, "Let's not focus on how the laptop got there, and let's be grateful that we are all well." "True words, Chad dear," Gloria said, cleaning up the last of her cooking utensils, "Now everyone, I think it's time for me to leave. It's getting dark outside." I watched Gloria wrap her scarf around her neck and put on her woolly coat. I said longingly, "Please stay." She made everything better. "I wish I could, sweetie. Today has been a lot to handle but you need to take care of yourself now," she kissed my forehead and then went to hug the boys. On her way out, she said, "I didn't realize Millie and Luke lived across the street from each other. And now they're dating. How cute!" Luke wasn't a fan of that reaction. I don't think he liked being called cute. "You are cute though," I whispered to him and he smiled, squeezing my knee. ** After everyone had left, it was only Luke and me in the house. Even Flora had woken up, eaten some of Gloria's chili and gone out. She said there was a -200% chance she would come back tonight. I'm not comfortable with her statistics, but... Luke held his broken laptop in one arm while he held me in the other. He kissed me softly and said, "Will you be OK here tonight?" I thought about the blood stain on my carpet upstairs. I thought about the dead cat outside. I thought about how someone had broken in and violated my home. How could I feel safe here? Luke opened the front door. A crescent moon was high in the clear sky tonight. His picturesque house was across the street and he was just moments away from going home. "Luke," I said, "Remember when you asked me 'your house or mine'?" There was a pause. I gulped, "Well. I changed my mind." A knowing smirk crossed his handsome face, "But you were so insistent..." I smiled and grabbed my school backpack. I still had homework to do tonight, after all this chaos. But it felt so good knowing I'd be safe with Luke. He held the door open for me. We stepped out and began the 18 second walk to his home. "Oh wait! I forgot my pajamas!" I called out. He was walking across the street when he said, "You won't need any."