Two days later, my skin is still a little blue.

The kids at our school are having a field day at my expense.

Not only are they still calling me a slut, bitch, and dealer, but I've also earned a few new nicknames: Stitch, Cookie Monster, and Squirtle. Those are only the G-rated ones. Don't ask me about the others. They're vile and disgusting. Words bother me, of course, but I've developed pretty strong emotional armor over the years. I pretend not to care.

Oddly enough, Cruz doesn't join in on their fun. He simply continues to ignore me at school and at home. I guess he really wants to treat me like I'm nothing. This is why, I figure, the sweetest revenge will be to insert myself into his life in a way that's obnoxiously visible and hard to ignore.

On Friday morning, I wake up at the crack of dawn and tiptoe like a ninja around the house to super glue googly eyes to the spawn's toothbrush, backpack, shoes, laptop, and his beloved Xbox. Anything of value that I can get my hands on, really.

Cruz said he wanted me out of his way, right?

Well, now, every time he finds a new set of googly eyes on one of his prized possessions, he'll think of me and how I'm always around, invading his precious space, watching him, trolling him, through an endless army of plastic eyeballs. I made sure to buy industrial strength glue, too. The lady at the store told me this crap is damn near impossible to remove once it sets.

I may not be the best or brightest student, but I'm kind of an evil genius when it comes to stupid shit like this!

Ten minutes before the spawn's alarm usually goes off, I dash back to my room, press my ear against the wall that separates our bedrooms, and wait for Cruz to wake up and freak the fuck out over what I've done.

Soon enough, I hear his alarm's 'beep-beep-beep' through the wall and bite back a smirk when I hear him walk down the hallway towards the bathroom.

He's going to find his googly-eyed toothbrush and razor in:

Three...

Two...

One?

Wait a second.

I frown slightly. I hear nothing except the shuffling of footsteps. No cursing or sounds of anger. He's moving quicker now, though. Then, the house goes quiet for a few more minutes before I hear him approach my bedroom.

My door swings open. Cruz shoves his laptop in my direction. Two giant googly eyes stare back at me. It looks both hilarious and utterly ridiculous. A pleased giggle nearly spills out, but I manage to hold it back.

He glares at me and snarls, "The fuck is this?"

I don't miss a beat. "War."

"You vandalized my property?"

"You vandalized me."

He gestures angrily at the eyeballs. "You better find a way to remove this crap!"

I shrug and snatch a line from his script, "Not my problem."

Cruz snaps, "Do you have any idea how much this laptop costs?"

I fire back, "Do you have any idea how much it sucks to be blue?"

"Grow a pair and get over it."

"Never."

"God, you're such a fucking brat."

I smirk. "So spank me."

He growls, "No, thanks. I'd rather drown myself in acid. Just to get away from you."

"Oh, yeah?" I spit back, "Well, you make me want to gouge my eyes out. Just so I never have to look at your stupid face again!"

Our voices grow louder and louder as we continue to hurl insults at each other. I hear more footsteps rush towards us.

Ron and my aunt appear at my doorway in their pajamas.

"What's going on?" Aunt Katrina asks in worried tones.

Ron frowns deeply and growls, "Why the hell are you two screaming about at 6:30 in the goddamn morning? Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Cruz straightens up and his anger all but disappears like some kind of bipolar magic trick.

Calmly, he assures Ron, "Sorry, dad. I didn't mean to wake you. It's fine now. We were having a stupid fight over nothing."

The spawn's response surprises me. I thought, for sure, that Cruz would throw me under the bus in front of his dad and my aunt.

Ron's gaze swivels towards Cruz's laptop. His expression darkens as he spots my handiwork. "What's that on your laptop?"

"Nothing," Cruz mutters.

Ron doesn't look pleased. "Didn't I just buy you that laptop, son? Don't you know how hard I have to work to provide for you? I can't believe you already defaced it!"

Cruz replies, "They're stickers. I'll take them off later."

Scowling, Ron declares, "I ought to take away your laptop to teach you to appreciate my money—"

Cruz protests, "Wait, dad—"

This heated exchange between father and son makes me feel guilty, and I know Aunt Katrina will be pissed once the truth comes out, so I decide to confess and face my punishment sooner rather than later.

"I did it," I blurt out, "as a joke."

From the corner of my eye, I notice Cruz's green eyes widen in panic.

Or is it fear?

Ron turns towards me. A thunderous expression crosses his face. "You did this, Athena?"

Aunt Katrina eyes us both nervously, but she doesn't speak up for me. "Athena! You should know better! Apologize, now!"

"Sorry," I mumble, "I'll find a way to get the eyes off his laptop, I promise."

All of sudden, Ron darts forward and grabs the laptop from Cruz. He chucks it with all his might across my bedroom. Aunt Katrina and I stare in slack-jawed shock as the laptop smashes into the wall.

Then, Ron stomps away from my room, shouting in frustration, "No one appreciates how hard I work around here! You think it's easy for me to provide for you ungrateful brats? Fuck you guys!"

My jaw is still hanging as I watch him go.

It's the first time I've ever seen Ron lose his temper in such a big, scary way, and his burst of violence rattles me. Aunt Katrina looks deeply troubled, too. I steal a glance in Cruz's direction and notice that, unlike my aunt and me, there's no distress on his face, only a tight expression of resignation as though he has seen this shit before...

Right then, I begin to wonder if there are more complicated reasons as to why Cruz has been acting like such an ass?

Our conversation from days ago floats across my mind.

Are you threatening me?

I cringe inwardly.

I'm warning you.

I don't want to jump to conclusions.

Is there a difference?

But...

Yeah, there's a difference.

Was the spawn trying to warn me about... Ron?

Trust me, you guys don't wanna marry into this family.

Shit.

A distressing, new perspective sinks in. It makes me feel as though there may be hidden depths to Cruz that I didn't see before. Reality begins to shift around me.

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.

Has Cruz been trying to drive us away because he hates my aunt and me?

Or is he doing it because there's something shady going on with his dad?