Read The Survivors (Book 2): Autumn for Free Online

face, but apparently I had her attention now.  Sometimes I had to remind myself that she was only eighteen.  Our relationship had become a bit peculiar.  To me, she’d gone from being an adorable eight-year-old to being a grown, very capable young woman without me having a chance to watch the change happen naturally.  I was still struggling to work out how to cope with that.  Sometimes I didn’t know whether to treat her like an adult or a child.  Luckily, she seemed to understand how jarring the transition was for me, and was generally patient with me.
    “What about a board game?” I suggested .  “I found Cluedo, Monopoly, and Scrabble.  Take your pick.”
    “Oh, I remember Monopoly.” Her eyes lit up.  “We used to play that with Mum and Dad.”
    “Yeah, that’s right .  I don’t remember the rules, but I’m sure we can figure it out.” I gave her a squeeze and held her close until she finally smiled and nodded.
    That was all the permission I needed .  I grabbed her hand and dragged her off for an evening of frivolity before she could lose herself in depression again.
    The others joined us in the common room, and helped us to set up the board .  None of us really remembered how to play and the instructions were faded with age, but between us we managed to figure out enough to get the game going.  The pieces were dirty and tarnished, and the old paper money was wrinkled, but no one really minded.  Although I offered to play with my sister as a team, she rejected the help with a stubborn determination that made my heart swell with joy.  That was the Skylar I knew.  Her personality was coming back at last.
    We played long into the night by lantern light .  Eventually the doctor retired and took Madeline off to her bed, leaving five of us to battle it out.  I fell quickly to my sister’s brutal wiles, and Michael and Anahera soon joined me in bankruptcy.
    Defeated, we sat back to watch the two youngest members of our groups battle it out, their faces masks of intense concentration .  Then it all came tumbling down, when one unlucky roll of the dice made Hemi’s little race car land on Mayfair.  It was stacked high with Skye’s motels, so that was the end of him.
    “I can’t believe it .  Beaten by a girl,” Hemi complained jokingly.
    “And I’d beat you again, too,” she retorted, leaning over to smack his arm.
    “Hey now! You’re not allowed to hit me,” Hemi protested, holding his hands up in mock defence.  “That’s not fair, since I’m not allowed to hit you back.”
    “Seems perfectly fair to me.” Skye grinned wickedly at him.  “You think I’m only a girl.  I’ll show you!”
    A crack of thunder so loud that it made the windows rattle punctuated Skylar’s sentence, and made us all jump .  We exchanged looks, and then melted into communal laughter at our own expense.
    “ Okay, children; off to bed,” Anahera commanded once the levity subsided, making shooing motions at Skylar and her son.  I expected protests, but neither of them said a word.  They stood obediently and departed, still teasing one another as they went out the door.
    I watched them go, then turned and looked at Anahera with a raised eyebrow .  “You know, if I tried that I’d probably just get jeered at.  What’s your secret?”
    “My secret?” She laughed and shook her head.  “I’m old enough to be both their mothers.  Mum will always be Mum.”
    I heard Michael chuckle behind me, then felt a hand run across my shoulders .  “Hear that? You’re just too young to be the boss.”
    “Hey!” I pouted at him.  “You’re only four years older than me.  That means you’re too young to be the boss, too.”
    “You’re both youngsters.” Anahera peered at us with a peculiar little half-smile on her face.  “Therefore, I am the boss.”
    “This entire conversation is silly,” I announced, sliding down off the couch to start picking up the game pieces and putting them away .