The pirate traps Joy in a bear hug before she can get away. She practically lifts her over the threshold, all but dragging her into the house. Slightly unnerved, Joy tries to cover it up by asking, “And Summer didn’t vouch for my existence?”

The pirate laughs, letting her go. “Oh, she did. I just figured she was pretending to believe the delusion to make him feel better.”

Malcolm says, “Joy, this is Rebekah. She routinely enjoys being loud and wrong.”

“Hello, Joy.” Fiona’s blue hair is just as vibrant as it is in her pictures. She saunters out of the darkened hallway directly on the left, hands behind her back. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Feeling wary and on guard, Joy says, “Good things, I hope.”

“No, not really.” Fiona doesn’t have the grump gene like Fox does but her entire vibe feels divinely menacing. As if she’ll either make your dreams or worst nightmares come true. And you won’t know which one it is until it’s too late.

“Ah.”

“Just kidding.” Fiona unleashes a dimple punctuated grin identical to Fox’s. She grabs Joy’s arm, pulling her forward and into the dark hallway. “Come on. I want you to sit with me.”

“Um, is Fox here?”

“No, my brother heard you were coming and decided to stay home.” Fiona glances at her and laughs. “Just kidding. Relax.”

Joy narrows her eyes. “You do that a lot, don’t you?”

“Oh yes. And it’s only going to get worse.” She laughs. “Fox had to work overtime. He said he’ll drop by.”

The room they end up in is decently sized with an adjacent kitchen. There are two couches and a recliner that has seen better days, band posters cover the walls, and a glass coffee table in the center is filled with cups and bottles of alcohol. The TV is on but it’s not playing something Joy recognizes.

“Joy!” Summer hops to her feet and runs over. “Hug okay?”

“Well, Rebekah beat you to it, so sure.”

Summer wastes no time, enveloping Joy too. “I’m so glad you came. Do you—”

“Nope, she’s sitting with me.” Fiona says, guiding Joy to the couch once Summer lets go. She picks up a blue cup that matches her hair. “So. You and my brother, huh?”

Joy almost snorts. She certainly didn’t waste any time either. “Not exactly.”

“Hmm.”

Dear god, not her too.

Fiona continues, “Calling him grumpy was genius. It got under his skin like that.” She snaps her fingers.

“He told you about that?”

“Oh, he told me everything.” She takes a sip of her drink, one wickedly perfect eyebrow up. “We’re very close. But even if we weren’t, Summer also told me everything.”