Misty

Most people celebrate their birthdays with their family and friends. Not us. We celebrated our birthdays hunting a demon.

Emilio fixed the Demon Extractor 1000 by replacing the switch. Thank god. I didn't want to get shot with a bolt of energy.

We also had to convince our parents to stay home. Have you ever tried to persuade adults to celebrate a birthday through FaceTime? It's a wee bit difficult. We used several phones since my birthday was the day after the cousins.

Diego brought a cake to the house so the parents could sing Happy Birthday through a phone screen. I give the parents much credit. They could have ignored us and showed up.

Instead of gifts, the parents sent us money through an app and told us to buy food with it. Did they forget they gave us a food allowance?

We ordered food since no one wanted to cook and sent the Bobbsey twins to get it. As much as I like cake, I didn't want to taste it twice because I didn't eat it first. Someone knocked on the door while Nathan and Noah left to get the food.

Kat answered the door because Nash refused to let me open it. She opened it and slammed it before plastering her back against it.

"Uh, Kitty Kat, I love everything about you, but when did you become a decoration?" Nixon asked.

"No reason." Kat shrugged.

We exchanged skeptical glances before Nixon peeled Kat from the door like a banana and opened it.

"We're not buying what you're selling." Nixon slammed the door on the person and bolted the door.

"Who's at the door?" Nash asked.

"A pesky solicitor. We need a sign for them." Nixon thumbed at the closed door.

"What?" Nash scrunched his face.

The person knocked harder.

"Is someone going to answer the door?" Marcy asked.

Kat and Nixon exchanged glances before looking at Marcy. "Nope."

Marcy knitted her brows in confusion.

Unlike the others, Macey shoved the others out of the way and answered the door before slamming and locking it. The person on the other side of the door knocked louder.

"Who's at the damn door?" Nash asked.

"Well, it's not Nathan and Noah if that's what you're wondering." Macey shrugged.

"Nathan and Noah are getting the food."

"Then it's not them, now is it?"

"Open the damn door before I kick it in!" My dad barked, pounding on the door.

My eyes widened before I raced to the door, pushed the others from it, and opened it to my parents, looking highly irritated. "What are you doing here?"

"Freezing my ass off. What does it look like? Step aside before I make you."

I moved aside as my mom rushed past my dad to get warm.

My dad rolled his eyes and entered the house. "Some things never change."

"It's not my fault the weather is frigid." My mom shrugged, trying to warm herself.

"I thought everyone was staying home," I said.

"We have six people celebrating birthdays. Five of those people were our offspring in the past life. One is our offspring in this life. No, we weren't staying home. Where is Nathan and Noah? And no one better tell me we're having an impromptu wedding," my dad announced.

"Doubtful since Macey will castrate Nathan if he pulls that stunt again," Nixon said.

Macey nodded in agreement.

"I wouldn't put it past Nathan to pull a stupid stunt like he did before," my dad said.

"Well, Nathan has learned from his previous mistakes. However, we got many doctors and cops in the family thanks to Nathan's lack of judgment. They can patch us up after springing us from the joint," Nixon said.

My dad arched his brow.

"Before Nate pops a blood vessel in his head, where is Nathan and Noah?" My mom asked.

"They went to get food for everyone," Nash said.

"Okay, one mystery solved. Onto the next one. Why didn't you want anyone coming for your birthdays?" My dad asked.

"Eden's ex-boyfriend did a prison break and showed up on campus," I said.

My parents stared at me like I had lost my mind.

"Oh, and he has a demon attached to him."

Their eyes widened, and their brows lifted in surprise.

"Yeah, that was our reaction when we found out. Although it surprises me that you would have that reaction since you knew about the jailbreak," Nixon mentioned.

"The jailbreak, yes. The demon part, no," my dad said with his hands on his waist.

"It's just another day in our lives," Nolan said with a shrug.

Dad looked at Mom. "Nice to know the kids are taking current events in stride."

"Hmm," my mom said.

Nathan and Noah returned with the food and halted when they saw my parents.

Nathan looked at Noah. "I thought the rents were staying home?"

"Did you forget who's standing in our living room? They probably wanted to make sure you didn't knock up Macey like the last time," Noah said.

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no."

They set the food on the table. We grabbed plates, dished them onto them, and found a place to sit. I dug into my Chinese food and ate. Nash sat beside me with a plate of food and ate.

"How did Noah manage to keep Rafe from hightailing it to campus?" My dad asked in between bites.

"It wasn't easy. My dad argued with me until Nash called his dad to talk sense into my dad," Noah said.

"Dad's always been a voice of reason with my uncles," Nash said.

My dad nodded in understanding while eating.

At least Emilio didn't mistake my parents for a demon. That was a plus.

******
Valentino

My cousins and the girls kept track of Eden's ex, so we didn't encounter any surprises from him. The plan hinged on the adults not finding out what we had planned. They would flip their lid if they did.

After dinner, we cut the cake and had a slice. You can't have a birthday without cake unless you're my dad. I will never understand his logic with sweets.

West and Alana left after spending time with everyone and reporting back to our folks. I had a feeling there was a reason for their visit. If our folks couldn't come, they sent reinforcements.

Once alone, we sat around the living room, discussing the plan. Since that assjacker wanted Eden, Mags would help Eden lead Eden's ex to me. Aiden had his fun. Now, I would have mine.

Later, Mags crawled into bed with me while Nix was with Kat at the girls' place. She sat in bed with the blankets covering her lap. "Do you think the plan will work?"

"I hope so. I don't want to discredit Nix's plan, but we're not only dealing with someone's ex but also a demon. I doubt God would appreciate us ending a life."

"What if no soul is remaining?"

"Are you thinking Eden's ex's soul died?"

"It's a possibility. After our trip to West Virginia last summer, I wouldn't put anything past this stupid demon," she huffed in annoyance.

I considered Mags's words and the possibility that Eden's ex-boyfriend didn't have a soul. We wouldn't break a major rule if he didn't, but first, we needed to find out.

I climbed out of bed and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Mags asked.

"To talk to Emilio. Keep the bed warm until I return." I left the bedroom, headed to Emilio's room, and knocked.

"Come in," he said from the other side.

I opened the door to find Emilio sitting at a desk tinkering with something and walked over to him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm tweaking my infrared goggles, so I don't mistake you and the others for a demon." He glanced at me, stopping what he was doing.

"Good idea. I don't need to zap your ass again."

"Please don't. Once was enough. I still feel tingles coursing through my body."

"Can you detect if Eden's ex still has his soul?"

"I've never tried it, but it doesn't mean I can't do it. Why?"

"I need to make sure I don't kill an innocent person."

"Wayne isn't innocent after attacking Eden. He broke her nose and four ribs. I doubt God will let him waltz through the pearly gates."

"It doesn't matter. The rules were quite clear. We can't take a life, or we forfeit our own."

Emilio sighed. "Okay. I'll figure out how to find out if the idiot still has his soul."

"You're much different from before."

"I guess God took pity on my ass and gave me a second chance."

"What was wrong with the first one?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "But if you haven't noticed, my life wasn't easy before."

I looked at Emilio and thought about it. "Your last name was Diaz in the previous life, wasn't it?"

"If you think my adoptive family was related to that schmuck of a stepfather, you're wrong. Do you know how many Latinos have the last name Diaz? It's the same with Johnson or Smith."

Emilio had a point. You could have the same last name as someone and not be related to them.

"Fair enough," I said.

"Give me some time to figure out how to detect whether Wayne has a soul before you do anything."

"Make it quick. We don't need to run into issues."

Emilio nodded and returned to his tinkering.

I returned to my bedroom to find Mags wrapped in a blanket cocoon. I chucked and shook my head before joining her. I remember the days when we would snuggle in bed. It was my favorite time of the day. Then again, any time with Mags was my favorite time. I wrapped my arms around her and drifted off to sleep.

Tomorrow was a new day to deal with our current situation.