Get Your Spy On

Get Your Spy On Chapter 18

"I've been okay. Mostly busy with school and hanging out with my friends. It's just been Ben and I since dad had to go away on a business trip." 

"Ah, yes. He does go on a lot of those." 

I nod, and drink my coffee. "Where did Matt go for his trip?" 

Mom smiles at me, clearly happy that I'm mentioning him in conversation. "He went to China actually. Quite a big trip. He's been gone for more than we anticipated though." 

I nearly choke on my coffee. China? She looks at me worriedly when she sees me coughing. She gets up and rubs my back, asking if I'm alright. I somehow nod, but I'm far from being alright. Matt is in China, one of the secret agents that made the airplane with my dad in it go down. 

"How long has he been gone?" I choke out, trying to sound normal. 

Mom casts me one last look of worry before she sits back down across from me. "I'd say a few weeks. He called me a few days ago letting me know he wasn't sure when he'd get back." 

I nod, but it's hard to. I can't believe Matt. Well, I actually can, but still! I bet he'd love to kill my father, since he helped make me and Ben. I bet he even volunteered for this. I have to tell Ben and the others. I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, and then I hurry inside. 

Right now, I want to call Sloane, but I can't. Instead I call Ben, but I doubt he'll care. When he answers, I tell him everything. He's silent for a moment, but then, after the sound of a door closing, he starts talking in a rushed tone. 

"What do you mean? Do you think it's a coincidence-?" 

"No, of course not! Matt nearly knocked us out in tennis with the ball. Only a spy or secret agent could throw that hard." 

After a moment, I hear Ben sigh loudly. "Well, I could call the Alpha, but I doubt he'd do anything about it. I mean the only thing he'd do is investigate the house, and probably integrate mom." 

"This is useless information then. I better go before mom gets suspicious. Not that I care though." 

Ben says good-bye, and then I head out of the bathroom and walk back into the kitchen. Mom is on the phone, her voice tense. "What do you mean?" 

I stop walking and lean against the wall. Who is she talking to? I hear her swear, and then she continues talking. "I have to disagree with you on that. He's allowed to come here when he wants to, Matt. What do you want me to do, ban him from seeing his mother?" 

Yes, I say to myself. Matt must've said that as well, because my mother for the first time gets angry with him. "Matt, get a grip. He's my son, and I'm lucky if he comes over. I've gone along with a lot of things, but this is taking it too far. Maybe it's good you went on that trip. It's giving me time to think about us." 

I hear her hang up. That's my cue. I walk in, and I see her wipe the edges of her eyes quickly when she sees me. She smiles at me, and then asks me if I want some ice cream. I agree, and she gets out rocky road. She takes the lid off, and we both grab spoons. She puts it on the counter, and we both eat out of the carton. 

"So, how's Ben and everybody been?" she asks, her mouth full of ice cream. 

I shrug. "Alright I guess. He's still with Sandy, so that's good. Other than that, he's just been studying a lot, and he's going to head out to college soon too." 

Mom smiles sadly. "I've missed a lot, haven't I? I mean you have friends now! Before all you had was Tyler, but now you have that girl, Sloane right?" 

I nod. "Yeah you have." 

We both take another bite of ice cream. The phone rings, and mom looks down at it. She groans and clicks the ignore button. I'm guessing it's Matt. As we're eating, I think of things to talk about, but I see mom's biting her lip, something she does when she wants to ask something but isn't sure if she should or not.