Chapter 23
Piper
I sit on the sofa with a book in my lap and a blanket over my legs. The television is on, though I pay little attention to it. A cup of tea warms my hands, steam rises from the mug as I take slow, absent minded sips.
Everything feels... calm. Dare I say it, peaceful.
So when a knock sounds at my door, it catches me so completely off guard that I flinch and nearly spill tea all over myself.
I set my mug on the coffee table, mark my page, and get to my feet before making my way to the door.
When I open it, Adelaide stands on the other side, looking impatient.
“Why aren’t you packing?” she asks as she walks straight past me and into the room.
I blink, closing the door behind her.
“Packing?” I repeat, momentarily confused.
She turns, and a few of her wild jet black curls fall into her face. She tucks them behind her ear.
“For our annual Thanksgiving trip,” she says.
It takes me a moment, but then it clicks.
The trip.
We go every year, yet this time it hadn’t even crossed my mind.
“I didn’t think we were going,” I admit.
Adelaide gives me a long look before rolling her eyes.
“Well, we are. Unless you’d rather explain to our parents why we suddenly decided to break a tradition we’ve followed for years.”
Yeah, no thank you.
The less contact I have with my father, the better, so calling him to explain why I decided to skip the trip isn’t exactly appealing.
But something about it feels wrong.
Because Eleanor is missing this year.
And without her, everything feels slightly off.
It’s late November, and none of us have heard from her in months.
Not since the end of summer.
Then there’s Adelaide and Octavia, who can barely spend ten minutes in the same room without trying to tear each other’s heads off.
So forgive me if I’m struggling to see how any of this is supposed to be a good idea.
But she’s also right.
Our parents have insisted on this trip every year for as long as I can remember, and none of us have ever had much say in the matter.
They chose Thanksgiving for it. Christmas is reserved for family, and apparently this is their compromise.
