Peek A Boo I See You (Emma Frost #5) Read Online Free Page B

the stairs, feeling horrible for not being there when they got home. I was always there to greet them. I almost always baked something for them. They had to be so sad.
    At least I thought so until I heard Maya's laughter coming from the kitchen. I walked in and found her sitting at the table with a cup in her hand. Next to her sat my mother. They looked chummy and, somehow, that annoyed me more than anything.
    "Hi, Mom," Maya said.
    "Where is your brother?"
    "He’s in the yard playing," my mother said. "He didn't say much, but went straight out there after he came home. Maya here tells me he likes to play out there. That's good. Gets a lot of fresh air and exercise."
    "He's all right, Mom," Maya said. "I checked on him not long ago. He's wearing his warm snowsuit and everything. I made sure of that."
    I inhaled sharply. "Well, that's good. But I better get him inside now. It's getting dark."
    "Can't he tell it’s getting dark and figure out to come inside on his own?" My mother asked with a scoff. "I mean, he is eight years old now, right? He should know when it’s time to come back in."
    I closed my eyes and calmed myself down to not answer her too harshly. "No, Mom, he doesn't know when it’s time to come back inside. When he’s in a world of his own, he doesn't sense his surroundings. If I don't get him inside, he'll stay out there all night. He’s not like other kids; he doesn't think of consequences."
    "That sounds like nonsense to me," she said. "You're just being overprotective. No good has ever come from that."
    I drew in a deep breath, then walked out of the kitchen without answering her. I found Victor in the middle of the yard talking to the tallest of the birch trees.
    "Victor! It's time to come back in, buddy. It's getting dark."
    He didn't answer. I was used to that. "Victor? Buddy?"
    He nodded and looked at the tree. "I'll make sure to ask her," he said, right before he came towards me and walked right past me.
    I caught up with him. "Hi, buddy. How was your day at school?"
    "Bad," he said. "You know it was. It always is. Why do I have to say the same thing every day? Why do you ask the same thing every day? It doesn't make any sense. People spend way too much time talking about stuff that doesn't matter."
    "But it matters to me, Victor. I really want to know how your day was. Maybe I secretly hope that it will be good one of these days."
    Victor didn't say anything. He kept walking towards the porch.
    "So, what did you have to ask whom?" I said.
    "What?" he asked, as we reached the porch and I told him to take his muddy shoes off.
    "You told the tree you would ask someone something, what was that? Who was it?"
    "You," he said. Victor lifted his eyes and looked into mine, something he rarely did. Only if it what he had to tell me was important.
    "He asked me if you liked to play Hide and Go Seek ."
    Victor turned around and walked inside the house, leaving muddy prints all over the wooden planks with his dirty socks.
    "Wait, Victor," I said and stormed after him. "What did the tree mean by that?" I asked and suddenly heard how silly of a sentence that was. But Victor had a way of knowing things and I had reached a point where I couldn't ignore it anymore. I didn't dare to. "What do you think it meant?"
    But Victor didn't answer. He kept walking towards the kitchen and disappeared through the door. I followed him, but stopped when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and saw Morten's name on the display.
    "Still working, huh?" I asked, as I answered.
    "Yes. This is going to be late. I'll sleep at my own place since I have to get up early, if that's alright with you?"
    I was disappointed, but at the same time, relieved. I hadn't told him about my mother showing up all of a sudden and I wasn't prepared for him to meet her just yet.
    "Sure. We'll see each other tomorrow night instead. Any news on the identity of the woman?"
    "You were right. The head didn't belong to the body. The face has been