Chapter 421: Shannon’s Birthday [2]

About ten minutes later, Maribel and I had managed to cover most of the house with decorations.

She had tied the balloons together in small groups while I handled the tape and climbed onto chairs whenever we needed to stick something higher up. We started with the living room since that was where everyone would gather for the birthday, and Shannon helped whenever Carmen did not need her downstairs.

By the time we finished, the room looked completely different.

Garlands ran across the walls and over the doorway. Balloons had been taped in uneven clusters near the ceiling, around the windows, and beside the table where Carmen would bring out the cake later. The lamps gave the colored paper a warm glow, making the furniture and worn walls look less depressing than usual.

I had never really prepared a birthday party before.

Not like this.

It was actually nice. Weirdly nice.

For a while, I could focus on tape, decorations, and figuring out where another balloon could fit without thinking about infected people, Callighan, Brigantine, or whatever problem was waiting for us tomorrow.

Carmen was still busy with the cake downstairs, and Summer had joined her in the kitchen.

That left Maribel and me with most of the things Summer had brought from the shopping mall. We used nearly all of them. We hung decorations around the hallway, taped some above the stairs, and even added balloons near the front door.

At some point, it was becoming a little ridiculous.

There were only going to be a handful of people at the party. The house did not need to look like an entire school celebration had been crammed into it.

Still, neither of us stopped.

I had nothing else to do, and every time I caught sight of Summer downstairs, guilt hit me all over again. Avoiding her was cowardly, but I did not trust myself to approach her yet. I still needed to apologize properly, and I did not want to do it while Carmen was busy nearby and Shannon could walk in at any second.

Maribel was easier to be around.

That was part of the problem.

I felt less guilty around her, but I felt too comfortable too. Every time I saw her in her red dress, my thoughts went back to that afternoon. The stabilization. The way my body had reacted afterward. The urge that had followed me around for hours.

It was getting worrying.

Maribel looked good in that dress. Really good. The red stood out against her dark hair, and it made her look softer than she usually did in her tank tops and trousers.

I tried to keep my eyes away from her.

The last thing I needed was for my hormones, or whatever the Symbiote had done to me, to take over again and make another disaster like the one with Summer.

Thankfully, we were not left alone much longer.

Footsteps sounded outside, followed by a knock at the door.

"Welcome, Marlon. Molly," Carmen called as she opened it with a warm smile.

Marlon stepped inside first, wearing a jacket over a plain shirt. He had made no attempt to dress up, which was exactly what I expected from him. Molly came in behind him, smiling as she looked around the decorated living room.

Both of them carried small gift bags.

"Why is Uncle Marlon here?" Shannon asked.

Carmen reached over and ruffled Shannon’s hair.

"Stop being mean."

Shannon pulled away with a sulk.

Marlon gave a quiet chuckle and set his gift beside the table.

"Looks like little Shannon is finally growing up."

"Yeah, finally," Shannon said, folding her arms. "So stop treating me like a child already."

"You will always be a child in our eyes," Marlon replied.

"I am not!" Shannon shot back. She pointed across the room. "And if you want someone to spoil, there is Summer. She is your daughter!"

"No thanks," Summer said quickly from the kitchen. "I am fine on my own."

Marlon grumbled under his breath, which only made Molly laugh.

"Do you need any help, Carmen?" Molly asked, walking toward the kitchen.

"No, I am done with the food," Carmen replied. "We only need to wait a little longer for the cake."

I came down the stairs around then, brushing a bit of tape from my hand.

Marlon looked up at me.

"You are here, brat."

"Yeah," I said.

Molly’s attention moved past me toward the stairs.

"Oh my," she said. "Maribel, you look stunning."

Maribel had started coming down behind me.

Her face colored slightly, but she tried to act like the compliment did not matter.

"Carmen forced me to wear it," she said.

"So it is yours?" Molly asked Carmen.

"Yes." Carmen looked proud of herself. "It is one of the dresses I wore when I was younger. I did not want Maribel coming to a birthday party in the same casual clothes she wears every day, so I asked her to try it."

Carmen looked at everyone else with a grin.

"She looks beautiful, right?"

"She does!" Shannon said immediately. "You look so pretty, Maribel. You should wear things like that more often."

Maribel reached the bottom of the stairs and looked down at the skirt, clearly unsure what to do with all the attention.

"Well," she said, "it is still uncomfortable."

"You will get used to it," Carmen said with a quiet laugh. "And dresses like that get the attention of the man you love, so take good care of it."

Maribel glanced at me before she could stop herself.

Our eyes met.

She looked away almost immediately, her fingers brushing over the side of her dress.

I looked away too.

Straight at Summer.

Damn it.

She was standing near the kitchen entrance with Carmen’s cooking things nearby, and for a second neither of us moved. I could not tell whether she was angry, uncomfortable, or just trying not to look at me. After what happened earlier, I did not have the courage to read too much into her expression.

So I looked away again and walked toward Marlon.

"I did not think you would have time to come here," I said.

Marlon looked down at me.

"Who do you think I am?"

"A stern former Marine who enjoys beating weaker and younger people."

He stared at me.

Then he barked out a laugh.

"At least you know that," he said, bringing his hand down onto my shoulder.

The slap would normally have hurt after training.

Not tonight.

I was not wearing the Starakian collar anymore, and my body had already recovered enough that Marlon’s hand barely made me shift. I kept my face straight anyway. No reason to give him the satisfaction of seeing me react.

Marlon noticed.

His eyes narrowed slightly, though he did not say anything about it.

"It looks like you have become close with Carmen and Shannon," he said.

"They are good people," I replied. "They gave me food and a place to stay."

"They are."

Marlon looked toward the kitchen.

Carmen was laughing at something Molly had said, one hand resting on the edge of the counter. Shannon had gone back to bothering Maribel, talking at her with enough energy to make Maribel look like she was regretting ever coming upstairs.

"Take good care of them," Marlon added.

I glanced at him.

"I am not staying here forever, you know."

"I know." His tone did not change. "But you are here now. Shannon likes you. She has had it rough since losing her brother and father."

My eyes moved toward Shannon.

She was smiling widely while she poked at one of the balloons Maribel had tied together, clearly trying to annoy her. Maribel swatted Shannon’s hand away without much force, and Shannon only laughed harder.

Then I looked toward Carmen.

She had lost her husband and son too. Yet she still cooked for people, took care of flowers in Brighton Park, and somehow found the energy to turn a battered house into a proper birthday celebration for her daughter.

"What about Carmen?" I asked Marlon. "Do you not like her?"

"What?"

I turned toward him.

"Do you not plan to move in with her someday?"

Marlon looked at me like I had suddenly started speaking another language.

For several seconds, he just stared.

Then his expression hardened.

"There is nothing between us," he said. "Carmen is a good woman. She has a wonderful daughter. That is all."

"But Carmen, she—"

"No, she does not." Marlon cut me off before I could finish. "I helped her because she lost her husband and son. She is grateful. Do not make more out of it than there is."

That was exactly the kind of thing that would make a woman fall for someone, though.

A man protecting her family, helping her survive, sticking around when everything else had fallen apart. It sounded obvious to me.

Then again, I probably should not be giving anyone advice about romance.

I kept the thought to myself.

"Any news from the Golden Nugget Hotel?" I asked instead.

Marlon’s attention shifted from Carmen to the windows.

"Everything is going well. We have it secured. Rico is handling the people there."

I should have felt relieved.

The Golden Nugget was ours now. Callighan had lost one of his places, and the Boardwalk had gained more room, supplies, and people.

But that uneasy feeling had not gone away.

"Do you not think it is strange?" I asked. "Callighan has not reacted at all."

"You mean, why has he not tried to take it back or retaliate immediately?"

"Yeah."

Marlon rubbed one hand across his chin as he considered it.

"It is strange," he admitted. "Callighan does not usually let people take from him without answering. Either he is planning something, or he has a problem we do not know about." ℯ

"Can we find out?"

"Not without putting people at risk for a guess." Marlon looked at me. "We keep the hotel defended. We keep watch. If he comes, we deal with him then."

"Right..."

It was the only answer that made sense, even if I did not like it.

Marlon studied me for another second.

"That Starakian," he said. "Zakthar. Has he woken up yet?"

"Not yet. He is still unconscious."

"Hm."

His eyes became distant for a brief second. He was probably thinking about the same thing I was. A Starakian waking up inside the Boardwalk could become a problem fast, especially if he decided we were enemies.

Before either of us could say more, Shannon’s voice cut through the room.

"Stop speaking so seriously already!"

She came running from behind and jumped onto my back.

I caught her by the knees before she could slide off, and she wrapped her arms around my shoulders with a laugh.

"It is my birthday," she declared. "So enjoy it!"

I looked over my shoulder at her.

"You are right."

Shannon grinned, and I carried her a few steps toward the living room while the decorations above us rustled softly from the movement.