CHAPTER TWO
As we got out of the car, our cousins ran toward us.
First came Roger. He was always cracking odd jokes. His favorite was one about three guys in a plane. The first two guys drop fruit out the window as they pass over their countries, saying that they love their countries. The third guy drops a bomb out the window and says that he hates his country.
When the first two guys get home, they find kids crying about fruit that fell on their heads out of nowhere and feel guilty. When the third guy gets home, he finds a man laughing his head off in front of an exploded building. When the guy asks what's so funny, the laughing man replies, "I farted and the building behind me blew up!"
Behind Roger came his only younger brother, Tim. Tim was never sad, always smiling and having something good to say. It was actually kind of annoying sometimes.
Then came Macks, spoken about earlier. He was older than both of his brothers, and blonde hair was brighter than theirs as well.
Last came Josie, my only cousin with brown hair. She had given up trying to tie it back, and, as it was very thick, doing just that was next to impossible. She was clutching the latest Warriors book, a super edition called Tallstar's Revenge.
"Annie! Let's go up to my room to wait for Ryan," she called, smiling.
Oh yeah ... If you're wondering, Ryan's my ... um ... boyfriend.
Don't get mad! I'm not cheating on Lionbla ... Well, I guess I am. But he hadn't showed up, and I did have to move on eventually. I don't see how he couldn't be in StarClan—he had died in the epilogue The Last Hope—but he wasn't there when I visited each night. Whenever I asked some ancestor, the cat I was talking to just awkwardly changed the subject.
I followed Josie across the yard, into her house, up the stairs, into her room, and flopped down on her bed. The walls were plastered with Warriors posters and pictures, and the bookshelves were filled with books. Josie owned every single Warriors book ever printed, and she was the only human who I had told the truth about Gingerstar to—because I knew she was the only one who would believe me.
"Hey, Annie! Look, Ryan's here!"
Josie's shout broke me out of my memories, and I looked out the window to where she was pointing.
And there he was!
Ryan was running up the lawn, his blonde hair catching the sunlight and making it seem more golden than blonde ... the same golden color as Lionblaze's fur. Sadness welled up inside me, but I quickly pushed it away. Ryan's large and powerfully built body was running fast, and his face was screwed up in a disgusted expression, his hazel eyes lifted to the heavens. I looked behind him and saw why.
Ryan's foster-bother, Jeff, was running up behind him. Jeff's mouth was moving, but I couldn't make out what he was saying from this far away. Something about fish, maybe? Ryan was adopted, as was Jeff, and my boyfriend occasionally hinted that he had a tragic past, but he never elaborated, and I didn't press him. He was perfectly happy with his new life. The only downside was a slightly overprotective mom, and his brother Jeff.
Jeff was short. He was annoying. He looked almost exactly like Ryan (except for his skinny body and blue eyes), which was creepy, because technically, they weren't related. Jeff was probably really nervous and/or scared for some unknown reason, but he acted really annoying to hide it.
Jeff was all honey around his Mom, but he was mean and annoying to anyone and everyone else, especially when you bugged him. He had horrible eyesight, but his Mom fixed that by giving him contacts. So now he could see fine. He wanted to be a doctor, but you would have to be psycho to let him. Jeff and sharp objects just don't go together.
Oh, and he was also best friends with Macks, which was the reason Ryan and Jeff's mom let them spend the night here occasionally. It wasn't to get me and Ryan together, as his mom disapproves of our dating.
"The monster's here, too," I groaned. Josie closed her eyes and muttered a prayer to StarClan: "Please, StarClan. Make him vanish from our world forever! Please!"
Little did she know just how much her wish would come true ...
