***

  “ Come sit down!” Someone screamed, waking Isaac up from his nap.

  Still groggy, Isaac tried to rub his eyes, only to find that he still had his glasses on. He had forgotten to take them off again. At least he’s not the kind of guy who moves when he sleeps, or else he might have messed up his glasses.

  Ignoring his glasses for a moment, Isaac tried to figure out what woke him up. The only thing he heard was someone screaming “ down”.

  Which wasn’t all that helpful when you live with the kind of family he had. Down could mean many things: the TV is down, he fell down, put down that gun.

  It hadn’t been a real gun, but in this family, you had to know what was happening around you.

  Checking his phone for the time, Isaac saw that it was already six-thirty. Dinner was usually from five to seven, depending on how late everyone was. So, his mom was probably calling everyone for dinner.

  Wait, six-thirty?

  Frowning, Isaac tried to remember, what time did he go to sleep?

  They had gotten home around one, and then his parents argued for a while, so by the time he actually got to his room and laid his head down, it should have been around two.

  Four hours, he had slept for four hours.

  ‘Damn it,’ he thought ‘It’s gonna take forever to go to bed now.’

  He had just wanted a small nap, not actually go to sleep. Now, tonight, when everyone else is asleep, he’ll be stuck wide awake, bored out of his mind.

  “ Unh!” Tasting his mouth, Isaac let out a grunt. He doesn’t know why, but his mouth always tasted terrible after waking up.

  Welp, can't eat tasting sleep breathe, can he?

  Getting up, Isaac walked out of his room and down the hall into the restroom. Isaac was the only one in the house without a restroom in his room, meaning he had to use the one in the hallway. Which was ok; the other ones were too small, so he got more space…to still be able to put nothing in.

  Walking to the sink, Isaac stuck his head under the facets before turning on the water. He stayed like that for a couple of minutes, letting the cool water fill his mouth, not drinking it but just enjoying how cool it felt.

  But, knowing he needed to hurry, Isaac quickly got to work. Lifting his head, he started swishing the water in his mouth, moving it around, just trying to get that old sleep taste out of his mouth before spitting it out. Then he did it again, filling his mouth with water and spitting it out.

  Finally, when he no longer tasted it, he turned off the water and went to the kitchen.

  Today was Wednesday, meaning that they were having something American tonight. Not his favorite; those were Mondays when they had Italian or Fridays with pizza night.

  On Wednesday, they usually meant something fried or grilled. Like hamburgers or chicken fried chicken. And by the smell coming from the kitchen, they were having hamburgers.

  Walking into the dining room, Isaac saw that he was the last one to come to the table. His mom and dad were already in their spots while his two sisters, Anne and Mirra, were just barely sitting down with their plates.

  Anne was his older sister, already seventeen and hard as nails. If Isaac had to describe her, she was like those old-school Rocksters, always listening to loud music and going out late with her friends.

  Looked like them, too, with her short black hair, her dark round glasses, and her leather jacket with the patches.

  She was the “quiet’ one in the family, always serious and stone-faced but caring…in her own way.

  He thinks…she punched that kid who was making Mirra cry that one time so that counts for something. It was really funny too because of how short she was. The kid was actually taller than her.

  He was also taller than Isaac, but that wasn’t the point.

  Anne wasn’t as loud as Isaac, but when she wanted to, she could stir up just as much trouble. She was also an artist, quietly sketching in her room while chaos unfolded around her.

  Mirra, on the other hand, was the happy child. Barley eleven years old and already a ball of sunshine, skipping everywhere she went, acting all cute. She is the kind of person who wouldn’t sit still if something bad was happening.

  Annoyed the hell out of him is what she did. Here he is trying to make his jokes, and then she comes around acting all cute and ruins the whole joke. Telling him that he wasn’t nice and needed to stop or she’d tell Dad.

  She’s so sweet that she’d make friends with anyone, even with people who are mean to her.

  She’d be standing there all cutesy with her long brown hair swept back with her pink headband and just look at you with those light brown eyes so full of joy. Asking you to be her friend as she twirled in her immaculate white baby heels.

  Being the middle child wasn’t a bad thing; it just made it seem like he was stuck between two extremes. One always serious, and the other always happy.

  Seems like he’s the only normal one.

  “ Good morning!” Isaac exclaimed, walking past them as he went into the kitchen. Only getting an exasperate “It's almost seven” from Anne and a “ good morning” from Mirra as he went by.

  In the kitchen Soffia had spread out all the ingredients for hamburgers on the counter. The patties, already grilled, were by the buns while the tomatoes and lettuce were set off the side. Cheese and condiments were kept in the fridge while the fries sat on the stove in their tray.

  After making his hamburger with pepperjack and tomatoes and a plate piled high with fries, he made his way back to the table.

  But before he sat next to his mom, Isaac leaned across the table and stole some of Anne’s fries from her plate.

  Snorting, Anne rolled her eyes as she quietly ate her burger. Chuckling, Isaac sat down, his prize added to his own pile. Annoying Anne was like a game; you had to do it just enough that she’d find it funny but not enough that she’d get mad and leave.

  Now, most people would think dinner at the Cantor's house would be a crazy mess, showcased with screaming and food flying everywhere. But it was actually quite the complete opposite.

  In fact, most dinners were kind of mild compared to the rest of their day. They do some pretty hectic things during the day, so it's nice to come home and enjoy some family time.

  That's why his mom is eating with them instead of in her room. Dinner time is family time, which means no fighting, screaming, or skipping.

  As he bit into his burger, Isaac peeked at his parents, wanting to see if they had made up by now. It had been hours since their fight, so they should have calmed down by now.

  But looking at them, well, the only thing that Isaac could say was that at least they weren't screaming at each other.

  His mom seemed fine; she just quietly ate her food, not saying a word to anyone. Happy to ignore whatever was said and move on.

  His dad, on the other hand, didn’t look ready to move on. He looked like there were still some things that he wanted to say. Every few seconds, he would look back at Soffia, waiting to see when she’d finish so that they could continue talking.

  The only thing stopping him from bringing it up at the table was that he didn’t want to ruin their family dinner. He was probably the one who liked dinner the most, as it was the one time that the family could be normal.

  But when dinner was done, he was going to try again; Isaac just knew it.

  Looking at Anne and Mirra, Isaac could see that they were tense. They were trying to act normal, but Isaac could tell. Mirra was talking less, and Anne was barely looking at her phone at all tonight. It didn’t feel right, everyone acting like this.

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  Everything just felt heavy at the table.

  So, trying to fix this mess, some would say that he caused, Isaac decided to break the ice.

  “ So, how was your day?” Flawless, he thought.

  Smiling, Isaac looked around the table, waiting for someone to speak up. If he was going to break this tension, he needed to get people talking. Thankfully, there was always someone ready to talk.

  And she didn’t disappoint.

  “ Oh! Today, I got to play dodgeball in the gym. It was so fun to play, and everyone had such a good time. Jacy and I were working together where I would catch it, and she would throw-”

  Getting Mirra to talk wasn’t hard; just give her the mike, and she’ll go on for hours. But if he was going to break this tension, he needed both of his sisters. Anne was harder to get talking, but not impossible; she just needed a little push. One that Mirra is perfect at giving.

  “-and then, after lunch, we got to hear that Isaac made another mess. At first, I didn’t believe it, well no, I believed it, what I didn’t believe was that he would do this and not invite us again, he said “ Mirra, the next time that I get in a fight I’ll let you watch” and did he do that, nooooo-”

  “ Shut up, Mirra.” Finally, Anne couldn’t take it anymore; she had to get Mirra to stop talking.

  “ You can't say shut up. Mom tell her that she can't say that. We can't say shut up at the table; that goes against the no-fighting rule. If you are going to ignore the rules, then I’ll-”

  “ ARGH!” Anne screamed, her hands covering her face.

  “What's wrong, Anne,” Isaac asked, smiling at her.

  Moving her hands, Anne glared at Isaac.

  “What's wrong? What's Wrong!? Well, let me tell you what's wrong. First, today, I had to hear that my brother got into a bit of trouble with Marleen’s brother.”

  “ Oh, who was that?”

  “ TANNER YOU IDIOT! Her brother is Tanner! Argh she’s going to have the biggest end-of-the-year party at her parent's house, and now I’m not invited.”

  “ Hey, you can’t yell at the table, Anne; dinner time is a happy time where no one yells, and -”

  “ AND then she had to go and say those stupid things about you and the family, so then I had to punch her in the mouth, and I don't care what those teachers said, but dam,n was it satisfying, but now I’m defiantly won't get to go to her party. ”

  Covering her face with her hands again, she let out another sorrowful groan.

  “ Uh, Aziel and I were going to go to the party together, kick off summer with a bang, and now what is he going to do? He’s going to go without me.”

  As Anne continued talking, Isaac leaned over to Mirra. “ Who’s Aziel?”

  “ Come on, Isaac, Aziel is her boyfriend; she’s been dating him for a few months now and-”

  “ Wait, I thought her boyfriend was Mark?”

  “ No, that was the one before Lane.”

  “ Oh yeah, I remember, Lane, what a stupid name.”

  “ Don’t say that; there is nothing wrong with Lane. I have a friend whose name is Kneeb, ooh you should meet him, come one next time I see him I’ll take you, he usually lives near the United on 50th street but now that it’s warmer he should have moved down to University.”

  As they talked, Isaac could see that Anne and Mirra were starting to relax visibly. Their talking was actually helping. It didn’t look like it, but as they talked, their shoulders started to relax as the tension in their bodies left them.

  Sure, it looks like they were fighting, but this is just how their family is. And it's fun.

  Even his parents were looking more relaxed. Sure, his mom still wouldn’t look at his da,d and his dad was probably still going to talk with his mom, but right now, things were returning to normal.

  Ding-Dong

  All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. It was so unexpected that everyone immediately quieted down. Looking at the clock it was already past seven. No one should be here right now.

  “ Isaac, go see who it is.” His mom said, speaking for the first time that night.

  Signing, Isaac wondered why he was the one that always had to get up. Anne and Mirra could go; their legs worked just fine. But instead of saying that, he put his food down, got up, and went to the door.

  Checking the window by the door, Isaac looked to see if anyone was outside. He didn’t see anyone, but he still wanted to be careful, last year someone had tried to break into their house. They never got anything, but it never hurt, just to make sure.

  Turning on the porch light, Isaac opened the door. He was expecting to see a car in the driveway at least, but there was no one there. Stepping out onto the porch, Isaac looked up and down the street, trying to find anyone who could have rang the doorbell.

  And while the sun was going down, making it harder to see, he saw what looked like a van driving down the street away from their house. Strange, but it's a street. There are cars everywhere.

  Who rang the bell?

  Just as he was about to head inside, his foot touched something. It was a package, a box, wrapped in brown paper and placed neatly on their welcoming mat.

  Now Isaac was really confused because the Post Office had stated in no uncertain terms that neither they, nor anyone in the shipping industry, was going to walk up to a Cantor’s door.

  Way too many incidents with a paint gun. Even though his cousin Matt did something unique with some string, tape, rubber duck, and elephant glue, really funny when they watched the video during Christmas.

  Picking the package up, Isaac tried to see who had sent it. He didn’t bring it inside, oh no; you learn quickly as a Cantor not to bring strange things inside, from family or otherwise.

  The package was box-shaped and very sturdy. Didn’t give at all when he tried pressing down on it. Which meant that it wasn’t going to be something nasty. Those you leave in a bag and let it rot, boxes just stop the smell from spreading further.

  It also didn’t have any breathing holes, so no animals, well, no living animals.

  The folding and taping were pretty nice, like someone wrapped a Christmas present.

  Isaac didn’t know what was in this thing. It was small, so it wasn't anything too dangerous, and not something that was going to explode either. Isaac had given it a good shake to make sure, and while he did hear something in there, it wasn’t a bomb.

  Those would have gone off with how hard he shook it.

  Turning it over, he tried to find some kind of name, sender's note, or something. And while it did have his name, written in large letters on the back, there wasn't anything else.

  After he was sure that the package wasn’t anything too dangerous Isaac finally brought it inside.

  Locking the door behind him, Isaac walked back into the dining room. Everyone was still there waiting for him as they continued eating.

  Setting the package on the counter, Isaac sat back down and continued eating.

  Ignoring their looks, Isaac grabbed some fries, ate his burger, and enjoyed his dinner.

  “Well?” Anne finally asked.

  “Well, what?” He asked back after swallowing his food.

  “ Who was outside, what did you bring in? Did you get us something huh, is it something that we shouldn't know, like a present or a love letter? You know Mary got a letter like that in her locker; she wouldn't tell me who-”

  Isaac was content to let Mirra talk herself out as she rambled on if he let her, maybe she’ll distract everyone long enough so he can finish his dinner.

  But it seems his mom is not that patient.

  “ Ok, Mirra. Isaac, go get it and show us what it is.”

  Sighing, Isaac, once again forced to put down his food, stood up and returned with the package. Giving it to Mirra Isaac let her have all the fun of opening the damn thing.

  Plus, if it turned out to be something bad, then at least it didn't happen to him.

  “ OOO thanks, Isaac, what is it? The paper is nice it's almost like a present, so I was right. It's for Isaac; look, his name is on it. I wonder what is underneath? Oh, and inside is a box, look nice too. It's stained and everything, all glossy. And…Uh, Isaa,c look.”

  That was weird. Usually ,if Mirra has something new in her hands she’d go on for hours, listing all the things that make it unique and special. She normally doesn’t try to give it to him.

  Looking over, Isaac wanted to ask Mirra what was wrong, but the words got stuck in his throat. Under the box and the back side ,someone had carved in a name.

  Jaime Cantor.

  Thats…That’s not right. Grandpa never had a box like that because they would have seen it. Mirra was right. It was a nice looking box, they would know. Their family, along with selling houses, does a little side business with carving furniture and sculptures, it's something that everyone does.

  And this box was done nicely. The wood was sanded down well and the staining was down with a dark, almost black, brown stain with red highlights peeking through.

  The thing was small, barely fitting in their palms. And the lid was not something they see often, instead of a hinged doo,r this one looked like it slid open. Altogether it was a very nice box.

  And not something that they had ever seen Granpa have.

  And even if it was his, who would give it to him?

  The will reading was done four months ago. Everyone already got what he had given them; this box wasn’t even on the list of things that were handed out.

  Everything about this box just raised more and more questions, questions that he couldn’t answer. And by the looks of the rest of the table, they couldn’t either.

  Not knowing what else to do, Isaac took the box from Mirra and, under everyones watchful eyes, slid the box open.

  Someone gasped; he couldn't tell who. He was too busy trying to figure out why someone gave him a key.

  In the box, sitting on a velvet cushion, was a golden key. It looked old, like one of those skeleton keys you see in the movies, but more innate. The bow at the top was an intricate rhombus with a stylized picture of a lock in the center.

  When he picked it up, Isaac noticed how the key shined in his hand. The gold reflecting the light as he turned it over. It felt weird holding it in his hand. The key was tiny, sitting perfectly in his palm, but it was also heavy, almost like he was holding a rock.

  Tied to the key was a note, turning it over Isaac read only four words.

  DONT TRUST THE TOWER