"Uh uh oh. What do we have here?"

I cracked open an eye, barely even conscious, and saw Carlo's very amused, very smug face inches away from mine. "What the hell?" I said, trying to blink the sleep from my eyes.

"I think the "what the hell" is more reserved for me," Carlo said, widening his eyes. "What the hell did you and Archer do last night?"

Oh.

That was when I noticed that Archer's arm was draped over my waist and I was snuggled up into his side, my head resting on his other arm. I was much more relaxed than I thought I would be, actually cuddling with someone, and I didn't really care that Carlo was acting like a creeper.

"Piss off, Carlo," Archer mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow we were sharing.

"Okay, okay!" Carlo said quickly, holding up his hands in defeat. "I just wanted to make sure that you two...you know, used protection."

Before I even had the chance to let Carlos's words sink in, Archer leapt off the couch in a spectacular display and tackled Carlo to the ground. At first I thought their fighting was actually genuine, but when I heard Carlo cackling with laughter, it was clearly all play.

I sat up, brushing my hair out of my face, and I wasn't so sure if I was supposed to find this entire thing humorous or embarrassing. Mia and Lauren appeared in the basement living room a few seconds later and watched the two boys duking it out on the floor with baffled looks.

"Uh, care to explain?" Lauren asked, pointing a finger at the boys as she looked over at me.

I shrugged, throwing my hands in the air. "The Lord only knows."

I got up from the couch and dragged myself up the stairs, ignoring Carlo and Archer. My stomach was grumbling and breakfast sounded pretty fantastic right about now.

Karin, Ana, Sophia, Regina, and Victoria were seated at the dining room table when I made it up the stairs. In the living room, all the younger kids were sprawled out on the floor, piled underneath mountains of blankets, and it didn't look like any of them were awake.

"Morning, Hadley," all of the women greeted me as I took a seat beside Ana.

"Hi," I yawned, waving a hand.

"You look like you had a good night's rest," Karin said, sipping at her coffee.

"Oh, the greatest," I mumbled, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

The women around the table all laughed. Except for Victoria. But I highly doubted the woman laughed very much as it was.

"What's going on down there?" Sophia asked, pointing a finger towards the stairs.

"The boys are fighting," I said with a sigh.

Karin and Regina exchanged looks, their lips pursed. It was a look that clearly said we love our sons, but they're idiots some times.

I bit my lip to keep from giggling.

"We should get breakfast started," Victoria said.

It wasn't a statement. It was clearly an order.

"You're probably right," Sophia agreed with a sigh, taking a sip of her coffee. "But don't wake the others."

"Definitely," Karin, Regina, and Ana agreed in unison.

I decided not to ask why they came to this agreement and instead reached forward for one of the sugar rolls sitting on the table.

"Aunt Karin!"

Karin paused on her way to the kitchen and turned towards the basement stairs. Archer came parading into sight a moment later, holding a ripped t-shirt in his hands, a rather annoyed expression on his face.

"Your son owes me a new shirt," Archer informed his aunt, shaking the ripped piece of clothing in front of her.

"Well, you two shouldn't have been fighting," Karin said breezily, waving away Archer's shirt.

"Well, he shouldn't have made some stupid, crass comment about Hadley and me," was Archer's response.

I'd rather been hoping that what Carlo had said and the fact that Archer and I had technically cuddled would forever remain in the basement of this house. But apparently that was too much to ask for.

Not even a second later did all of the women around the table demand to know what Carlo said.

"I'll thank you to keep your big fat mouth shut, Archer!" I snapped before I could stop myself, shooting him a thunderous glare.

Honestly, you'd think I'd be a bit more flustered by the fact that he was currently shirtless - and I'll tell you, that boy definitely had some amazing triceps, biceps, and every other "ceps" - but I was doing a pretty good job of keeping my head on straight...kind of.

Archer glanced over at me and shot me a dazzling smile, flashing straight white teeth. "I'll remember that next time."

Hopefully there wasn't going to be a next time.

"All right, that's enough," Victoria interjected, making everyone fall silent. "I do believe we were about to get breakfast started."

Right. Breakfast.

"D'you need any help?" I asked quickly, getting to my feet as the other women did.

"No, don't worry about it," Sophia told me. "You're a guest here and guests don't help make breakfast."

"Oh," I said. "If you're sure."

"Go back to bed, Hadley," Regina said, giving me a smile. "You look dog tired. Breakfast won't be done for awhile, anyways."

"All right," I said. "Sounds...good."

Ana, Karin, Sophia, and Regina all bid me a farewell and a good rest before I headed for the stairs to the basement. I really was hoping that I would be able to get at least some sleep. That nightmare I'd had the night before had done more than enough to do me in for the weekend.

And I didn't want to be reliving that anytime soon.

Carlo was nowhere to be found in the basement when I made my way down the steps, and I was a little pleased about it. That meant I'd successfully avoided crude remarks about me and Archer...for now.

I collapsed onto the couch and tugged the afghan back over me, curling up underneath it. I closed my eyes, saying a silent prayer that I would have a dreamless sleep. I would have very nearly drifted off to sleep, too, if it weren't for the ever familiar voice of Archer saying, "Smooth move back up there, Jamison."

I kept my eyes squeezed shut, refusing to look at him. "Yeah, well, you could've been a little more inconspicuous, don't you think?"

"What would be the point in that?" Archer asked bemusedly. "I can guarantee you the second Carlo walks upstairs, the entire house is going to know that we...shared the couch together."

I let out an aggravated huff and propped myself up on an elbow, giving Archer a withering look. He was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch, he was still shirtless, and he kind of looked somewhat amused.

Huh. Lucky him.

"Just say cuddling, Archer," I said with a sigh. "You know that's what it was."

He made a disgusted face. "Cuddling. Ugh. It sounds so stupid when you put it like that.."

I dropped my head onto my pillow and smirked. "Not my problem."

Archer rolled his eyes. "Very funny."

He got to his feet and started making his way for the stairs. When I caught sight of his back, though, I let out a shriek.

"Holy shit! You have a tattoo?"

Archer turned back to me and gave a slight smirk. "Uh, yeah. That a problem?"

I furiously shook my head and propped myself up again, examining the tattoo I didn't even know he had more closely. Black and gray ink encased part of his right shoulder, most of the way down his back, the design ending just above the curve of his hip. It took me another moment to actually figure out what the tattoo was.

The closer I looked, I saw that the tattoo was a phoenix. Part of its long, intricate wings started at the top of his shoulder and the bird its self looked as if it were in flight as it stretched down his back. The phoenix's mouth was open in a silent cry and its talons were curved, as if it were digging into something.

I didn't understand the symbolism of the tattoo, but there was no denying the fact that it was well done and actually rather beautiful.

"It's pretty," I said softly, looking up into his eyes. "When did you get it?"

"Sixteenth birthday present," Archer answered. "From my mom and grandma."

"Why a phoenix?" I continued on curiously.

"A phoenix represents new life."

That was only the explanation he gave before he walked up the stairs and out of sight.

Flopping backwards onto the couch, I scrunched my eyes closed and forced myself to get even a few more minutes of sleep. I could certainly understand why Archer would have gotten a tattoo of a phoenix.

I'd probably only gotten maybe three more minutes of sleep before I was yanked awake by May and April bouncing on top of me, shrieking in my ear that it was time for breakfast. I was a little grumpy, sure, but I was hoping that those pancakes were going to be delicious. Otherwise I'd be upset.

The dining room and kitchen were in a state of disarray when I joined the family upstairs. Somehow I managed to snag a large blueberry pancake that managed to take up the entire plate, doused in syrup. Those who were seated at the table were deep in discussion about what was on the agenda for today while I ate my breakfast.

There wasn't much that all twenty of us were going to be able to do together in such a short amount of time. In the end it was decided that we were merely going to spend the day here, at Sophia and Marc's house. Sophia later announced that we would be going out to dinner tonight at a pizzeria called Don Vito's. I suspected that there was some relation between the name and The Godfather, and I sort of thought that was the tiniest bit creepy. But since the family was all Italian, I suppose this quite fitting.

Since we were going to be staying put for the day, I didn't feel too guilty about taking my time eating breakfast. I had maybe three gigantic pancakes before I decided that taking a shower would be a good idea.

Mia grabbed me a towel from the linen closet in the basement and pointed me in the right direction of the bathroom. Everyone else was still upstairs as far as I was aware of, so I took my chance at jumping in the shower unnoticed.

Thankfully, it worked.

After yanking on the faucet, I jumped underneath the pounding hot flow of water and did my best to shove the nagging worry that perpetually sat on my shoulders to the back of my mind. It would be pointless to worry about things during the only bit of relaxation I got during the day. I kept my mind occupied by thinking of what we were going today here at Sophia and Marc's house. Sure, there was a lot of snow outside, but who knew? Maybe we could go outside and play hide and seek or some other childish game like that.

Childish games were fun, weren't they?

Not wanting to be considered inconsiderate, I hopped out of the shower before I could totally waste all of the hot water. I wrapped myself up in the green towel Mia had given me and went to wipe the steam from the shower off the mirror.

I examined my reflection and blew out a sigh. I looked kind of haggard. Sort of. There were dark rings underneath my eyes - probably because my lack of sleep lately - and I looked paler than usual. If everything managed to go according to plan and I ended up saving Archer's life, then hopefully I'd be able to sleep for an entire weekend or something. The Lord knew I needed it.

Something white caught the corner of my eye as I grabbed my shirt off the counter - something that didn't belong in a bathroom. I mean, who would leave pieces of paper in the bathroom.

I yanked on my shirt and picked up the notecard propped up on a small medicine bottle left on the counter.

The second I examined the note and recognized the eerily formal handwriting, I knew this couldn't be good.

Written in Death's own script on the notecard were the words:

Smell minty?

Okay, what the hell was that supposed to mean?

Now I was more than confused about what was going on. Why was Death leaving me obscure notes? This made no sense. Did he not consider this "helping me out" or something?

I tossed the note into the trashcan beside the toilet and took a deep breath.This didn't have to mean anything, right? Why would Death leave me a note saying "smell minty?" This was just too weird for words.

Against my better judgment I grabbed the medicine bottle off the counter and examined the label before I could convince myself what I was doing was kind of inconsiderate. The label said that the bottle was a prescription for a medicine called Zoloft and it was prescribed to Archer for the treatment of depression.

I knew Archer took antidepressants. Regina had said so herself. So why the hell did Death leave me a note saying smell minty?

I popped the cap on the medicine bottle - and I felt stupid for even doing this - put the bottle up to my nose and took a whiff. I was instantly overwhelmed with the scent of peppermint and just about dropped the bottle in the sink.

Honestly the smell of peppermint was so strong it was embedded in my nose and every time I inhaled it was like I was downing an entire tin of Altoids.

Maybe it was because it was technically kind of early in the morning that my brain was working so slowly, but it took me a few moments before everything fell into place and the meaning behind the note Death left me to finally make sense.

I grabbed the medicine bottle and shook out one of its contents and put it in my mouth.

Yep. It was definitely a mint. Probably one of those mints that came in tins from Wal Mart.

I crunched on the mint while I popped the cap on the medicine bottle and then grabbed my pajamas off the bathroom floor. I kept the medicine bottle tight in my grasp when I left the bathroom and returned to Mia's room. Nobody was in there, and I quickly shoved my pajamas in my bag before marching from the room on a hunt for Archer.

The younger kids were all running around and laughing in the play area downstairs. They all looked so happy, like they were having the time of their lives. I couldn't find it in myself to interrupt their playing just to ask where Archer was.

I kept the medicine bottle clutched tightly in my grasp as I marched my way up the stairs to the first floor. All of the adults were seated around in the living room, even the men who had previously been asleep. The only child in sight was baby Isaac, who looked ecstatic to be sitting in Victoria's lap.

If Archer wasn't up here, then were was he?

"You look a little lost, Hadley," John said. "Looking for Archer?"

I couldn't even bring myself to be embarrassed about this. I had bigger fish to fry at the moment.

"Yeah," I said. "Know where he is?"

"He's outside," Regina interjected. "With Mia, Lauren, and Carlo."

"Thanks," I said to Regina gratefully.

I turned and left the living room, doing my best not to slam the front door shut behind me as I went outside.

The morning was cold, the air crisp, the kind that bit cruelly at your skin. The sun may have been high and shining, but it did nothing to stop winter's icy cold grip. It looked like it had snowed more since last night, the front lawn blanketed in even more glistening white.

My breath came out in puffy clouds as I stepped off the porch and my shoes and pant legs were almost instantly soaked the second they touched the snow. I forced back my discomfort and hatred for snow as I started to trudge my way around the house.

The property was larger than I had originally pegged it for, and it was a little difficult to reach the back yard with how thick the snow was. When I finally did, I was disappointed to find that nobody was even back there.

The back patio was covered in just as much snow, patio furniture and a rusty swing set coated in the white stuff.

A large expanse of towering pine trees lined the property along with other foliage that made it hard to see what lay beyond it. I didn't know what was back there, but it was as good a shot as any.

I shoved my hands into my pockets, still clutching the medicine bottle tightly, and trudged forward, intent on finding Archer.

I couldn't see any path that would lead me through the expanse of trees without having to force my way through them, which in the end was what I had to do. And I managed to make it through the thick patch of foliage relatively unscathed, except for the cut across my hand I got from when a tree branch snapped back and whapped me.

My jaw dropped in disbelief when I stepped out from the pack of trees and saw what lay beyond everything.

A wide, glistening lake stretched out across the area for what seemed like thousands of feet, and it was surrounded by even more snow-covered pine trees. The lake was entirely frozen over. What was on the opposite shore could only be described as the great out doors - wild forest, through and through.

The lake seemed big, but it was small enough for there to be a faded red bridge stretching across it to the other shore.

As amazing as all of this was, I was more relieved to find Archer standing on the bridge towards the middle, leaning up against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest. Mia, Lauren, and Carlo were with him, and it looked like they were having a somewhat entertaining conversation. I, unfortunately, didn't care that I was about to break that up.

I forced as serious an expression on my face as I could and marched towards the bridge.

"Hey, Hadley," Lauren said as I stepped onto the bridge. "Your hair is frozen."

I grabbed at a strand of my hair in surprise, and sure enough, it was crispy with ice.

"Huh," I said. "Whatever. Look, I need to have a word with Archer."

Lauren and Mia exchanged smirks while Carlo let loose with a whistle as he waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Typical Carlo.

"Try to keep it PG-13, you two," Carlo told us before making his way off the bridge.

Mia and Lauren followed after him, tossing goodbyes over their shoulders at us.

I waited until they were far enough away and out of earshot before turning back to Archer. Then I threw the medicine bottle at him.

He whipped out an arm and caught it before it hit the ground. He stared at it for a second and then whipped his head up to glare at me.

He was obviously not happy.

"Mind explaining that?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"I don't really think that's any of your business," Archer retorted in a steely voice. "I don't think I have to explain anything to you."

"Oh, really?" I said. "Because I think Regina would love to know that her son actually takes mints instead of the antidepressants he's supposed to be taking."

"Oh, come off it, Hadley!" Archer snapped. "What would you know about anything, huh?"

"I know enough," I said coolly. "I'm a lot more observant than you give me credit for."

"It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Not a big deal?"

I was suddenly very angered at Archer's words. I wasn't sure if I was more angry at Archer or myself. Angry at him for acting so nonchalant about this. Angry at myself for being so blinded.