“Ew.” She pushes my face away with her hands. “You’re gross.” And for a flicker of a second, she’s my goofy weirdo. But her smile fades, and the concern comes back in. “Are you okay?” That side of her won’t stay long when she’s worried about me. So I answer her honestly.
“Not really. It’s going to be a lot of talking with my therapist, but we’ll work it out.”
Together we stand, rocking each other, letting the moment last as long as it can. This was it, the worst it can be. No more secrets or hiding. Through the vents the kids yell as they play their games. They are the future while we let our forgiveness wash over ourselves.
CHAPTER 35
Alana
Day 12
If anyone notices our absence, they don’t say anything. I’m about to whack Lance on the back of his head for being a general asshole, but as I’m about to take a step towards him Grae pulls me in close and whispers, “It was Ian that was the giveaway, not Lance.” I frown.
“But it’s more fun to hit Lance and a whole lot less illegal.” I have energy I need to deal with, and a little aggression never hurt anyone… Only a lot of aggression.
I’m not sure how I’m feeling about everything. Grae knows most of my personal secrets, things that not even Lena knows. It sucks that I can’t hide everything from him, and yet it's freeing too. Like weights finally being lifted for the first time in years. Waverly claps her hands reminding me of my host duties.
“It’s almost time. Should we get set up?”
I’d turned the basement into a multi-tier theater, with recliners and a drop-down TV with surround sound. It’s a few years out of date but it will do. Since I don’t live here full time I never needed to upgrade, but maybe I’ll be staying here more often. With Grae and Midge here, it doesn’t feel as lonely. The adults file downstairs and partner off, except for Donny and Uri who sit next to each other out of default. Grae takes the seat next to me with his phone out.
“Um, so about Kyoto.” He is not giving this up, is he? He looks down at his calendar. “I need to fly to Korea for a few weeks. You could meet me in Kyoto and see it in the fall as the leaves are changing or we could wait and see it in the Cherry Blossom Season.”
“You’re planning a few months out? That’s making some pretty big swings there, buddy.” I’m not sure how I feel about it, but it doesn’t seem as crazy as it did a few days ago when he first brought it up.
He shrugs. “Did you want to go play with otters?”
I blink at him a few times.
“That’s literally the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard you say.” I cross my arms across my chest and pout. “Of course I want to go play with otters.” He grins with a smugness that makes me want to kiss and punch him at the same time. “Will you be back in time for the mid series finale of Knights of the Night?” The show is doing an episode mini season, then going on break and returning with the final few episodes. They’re really dragging it about as long as they can.
“Why?” He interlocks his fingers with mine. “Are you going to miss me?”
“I'm having a watch party, and I’m trying to figure out how much food to order.”
Everyone’s phones are on silent, and I rest my head on Grae’s shoulder. He presses his lips to my head before the music cues up. No fan retrospective, just a black screen that fades into the scene with the Pirate King that Grae and I watched before.
Only Waverly and Dimitri watch the scene like we did. Everyone else leans forward in their seats like if they get closer to the screen they’ll get sucked into the world of The Knights of the Night. Izzy grabs Lance’s arm when it flashes to the Dragon and the Demon awakening in the Pirate King’s mind. Lukas leans forward when the Dragon’s claws form. Jenny grabs Joey’s arms when the Dragon’s hand rips the dragon scale off the other Merman’s neck. Uri jumps out of his seat when the Pirate King announces they will be joining the battle, and everyone cheers when the Pirate King says his mate is alive. The collective joy of a fandom is awesome to be a part of.
But it’s nothing new from them. That’s how they react to everything—pure love, excitement and joy. They do it for every one of life’s celebrations. They support each other during questions of faith or pain. The girls drop everything and come running or start a group chat. The boys… they break into apartments with vague threats of violence.
What am I so afraid of? Nonna’s right—I was given this second chance and it's wasteful to not take it.
There’s an explosion rattling through the speakers, and my attention is back on the show. Each scene moves the story closer to its conclusion. Honestly, I missed some of the details the podcasts will be geeking out over tomorrow. It’s nice just to disconnect from reality and immerse yourself in a fictional world.
The final credits play and the group moves out of their entertainment stupor. Uri gets up and stretches his back, Joey grabs Jenny’s empty drink, and I check my phone.
17 missed calls.
Shit. It’s Tim, my glitter bomb guy. What could’ve gone wrong? I call him back, not bothering to get out of my seat. Normally I would excuse myself when talking about work stuff, but with this group I don’t have anything to hide.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“The guy I’m, um, delivering packages to,” Tim’s voice sounds shaky, and I try not to roll my eyes when he attempts to sound so professional through it. “He’s under your protection now, right?”
“Yeah. No physical damage, we’re being annoying for a while,” I say and this gets Waverly’s attention. I mouth the words ‘glitter bomb’ and she smirks. “Did you want me to pick out specific colors?”
“Um no,” he stammers “that’s not gonna matter now.” My stomach drops and the back of my brain whispers what my frontal lobe refuses to believe. “Eddie’s dead.”
