Sick with dread as she was, it took Valkyrie an extra few seconds to realise her mother was joking. When she did, though, she grinned back just as wide. "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have gotten the wrong house."
Gabe was right. If she was already capable of even considering that her parents might have forgotten about her, it was time for the reflection to go.
Valkyrie hugged her mum at the open invitation, trying to pretend this was an ordinary evening and that they were going to have an ordinary dinner after a long and ordinary day of chasing down bad guys, trading places with her reflection, and lying to her parents about it. That pretence shattered when her father's voice sounded from the kitchen, and he appeared in the kitchen doorway wearing an apron.
"Is that Stephanie? Excellent! Listen, I know you've been gone all day, and I know you're probably tired, but you've been so busy the last few days that I thought we should all sit down and have a nice family dinner before school takes you away from us again. How do you feel about lasagna?"
Valkyrie blinked at him over her mother's shoulder. "You're cooking?"
"Of course I'm cooking. Why wouldn't I be cooking?"
"Because you're not a good cook."
Des clutched his chest in an overly dramatic fashion. "Insults! I'll have you know, your mother loves my lasagna. I made her lasagna on the night I proposed to her. I've got a whole pot waiting in there, just in case you wanted to invite any of your..." His voice trailed off, and the smile on his face - while no less warm - nevertheless almost seemed to lose something. "Ah! You have! Good. I'll just go set two more places out, shall I? How do you two feel about lasagna?"
Skulduggery's head tilted to the side. "Would it matter what our answers were?"
"Well, seeing as I've practically finished, no, not really. Glad you understand, though. Consider it punishment for stealing our daughter away from us five days out of the week. Anything to drink, gentlemen?"
"I'll be fine, thank you."
Valkyrie wasn't sure if the fact that her dad would have a beer might help or not. Her dad's nonchalant and unique sense of humour wasn't making anything any easier. All it did was remind Valkyrie of what the atmosphere in the house would be like in just a few short minutes. She couldn't even begin to imagine how her parents might react, and that terrified her.
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Gabe was right. If she was already capable of even considering that her parents might have forgotten about her, it was time for the reflection to go.
Valkyrie hugged her mum at the open invitation, trying to pretend this was an ordinary evening and that they were going to have an ordinary dinner after a long and ordinary day of chasing down bad guys, trading places with her reflection, and lying to her parents about it. That pretence shattered when her father's voice sounded from the kitchen, and he appeared in the kitchen doorway wearing an apron.
"Is that Stephanie? Excellent! Listen, I know you've been gone all day, and I know you're probably tired, but you've been so busy the last few days that I thought we should all sit down and have a nice family dinner before school takes you away from us again. How do you feel about lasagna?"
Valkyrie blinked at him over her mother's shoulder. "You're cooking?"
"Of course I'm cooking. Why wouldn't I be cooking?"
"Because you're not a good cook."
Des clutched his chest in an overly dramatic fashion. "Insults! I'll have you know, your mother loves my lasagna. I made her lasagna on the night I proposed to her. I've got a whole pot waiting in there, just in case you wanted to invite any of your..." His voice trailed off, and the smile on his face - while no less warm - nevertheless almost seemed to lose something. "Ah! You have! Good. I'll just go set two more places out, shall I? How do you two feel about lasagna?"
Skulduggery's head tilted to the side. "Would it matter what our answers were?"
"Well, seeing as I've practically finished, no, not really. Glad you understand, though. Consider it punishment for stealing our daughter away from us five days out of the week. Anything to drink, gentlemen?"
"I'll be fine, thank you."
Valkyrie wasn't sure if the fact that her dad would have a beer might help or not. Her dad's nonchalant and unique sense of humour wasn't making anything any easier. All it did was remind Valkyrie of what the atmosphere in the house would be like in just a few short minutes. She couldn't even begin to imagine how her parents might react, and that terrified her.