chapter 183

62. Taste of Danger “My pizza tastes funny,” Thomas said to me through a mouthful of cheese and pepperoni. My seven siblings and I were all sitting on the floor of my living room, blankets and pillows laid out beneath us, eating pizza in front of the TV. Wes was sitting on my lap, chewing small bites from a plastic plate, while Felix used my thigh as his personal pillow, their eyes glued to Toy Story playing on the screen. Despite the conversation I had with my dad over the phone earlier that day, I ended up babysitting my brothers on my own. Madoc never turned up after disappearing behind the school. I still had his phone so I couldn’t text him to find out what happened. It was quite strange, really, and very out of character. I might’ve been worried about him if it weren’t for some boy named Josh telling me Madoc had to leave due to an emergency and that he would give me a ride home at the end of the day instead. This bothered me to no end, so I told Josh to beat it and