Mom,” I said as calmly as I could manage. “Listen to me very carefully, okay? And don’t freak.”

“Dez, do not start a conversation like that. It doesn’t instill me with any amount of confidence—especially when it comes from you.

I stared at the phone, thankful it stopped bouncing right before tumbling over the edge. If I told Mom I needed another phone, she’d have a llama

Ohmygod," Jade whispered, panicked. She grabbed my arm and yanked, almost knocking me off balance. "Something moved in those bushes."

I shoved her off, pointed to the ground, and smiled. From under the bush, long ears attached to a tiny brown speckles head peeked out. "Yeah. That bunny is a Denazen suit in disguise. Where do you suppose he's hiding his gun? Or maybe he doesn't need one. Maybe he's a martial arts master trained in the art of kickassery.

Current relationship status?” Her voice cut like an arctic chill blowing through the room.
“If you mean me, then you’re not my type. If you mean my dad, he’s single, but I don’t think you’re his type either,” I said with a small smile. Mercy didn’t find it amusing. A small blue vein in her forehead started throbbing like crazy....“Actually, come to think of it, I don’t think he has a type. I’ve never seen him with a woman.
Mercy, I hate to break it to you, but there’s a very real possibility my dad is gay.

Give that boy a cookie!"
Now really wasn't the time to think about food. And where was she keeping them? In her pockets? They'd be all crumbled.
"I don't want one. Thank you."
Eyebrows raised, she wrinkled her nose - I must have insulted her by not accepting her offer.

I couldn’t see her, obviously, but I knew exactly what she was doing. She’d sunk into the nearest chair, eyes squeezed closed with her thumb and pointer pinched tightly across the bridge of her nose. The Sixes at the cabin had dubbed it her What did Dez do now? expression. Before everything in my world turned upside down, I would have been proud to have an expression named after me. Hell, if Dad had done it, I would have considered life a victory