“Are you finished?” Maddie asked, her face scrunched in general displeasure. Chris kept laughing. Maddie fidgeted in her seat; she was sure it wasn’t safe to laugh this much behind the wheel of a car. He stopped at the stop sign and his laughter quieted.
“Okay, yeah, sure,” Chris managed to say. He wiped tears from his eyes.
Maddie huffed. “You won’t be laughing if those trashy goth kids summon one of your father’s toadies.”
Chris shook his head. “There’s no way.”
“Christopher, a gym teacher turned the football team into werewolves. A science teacher nearly killed me and a swimming pool full of students to create a Frankenstein monster. Do not assume a weird group of Hot Topic delinquents cannot summon a demon.” Maddie crossed her arms and turned to stare out the window.
“So what?” Chris said, but his voice betrayed his choice of words. He was worried, just as Maddie was.
“Chris, I’m sorry, but you can’t hide from your dad forever. I’m trying to protect you, I really am.”
“You don’t need to do that…”
“I promised you I would. That’s the deal.”
A Quiet Respite 