AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Who’s Finn?” I ask.
“Another cousin.” Donnelly holds on to the edge of the counter, staring into the sink. “He was planning on ratting out my parents to the cops. This was when I was a little kid. And my dad and uncle planted meth on him and set him up. Finn got five years’ prison time.”
I go cold suddenly.
“Halloween,” Donnelly murmurs, his brows knitting in thought. “I’ll be at your dad’s party with almost all of security.”
He doesn’t mention the obvious: my dad’s birthday is on Halloween.
“Uh-huh,” I nod. “The Halloween Hellfire Gala. It’s a big one for his 50th.”
Cousins, aunts, uncles—nearly my entire family should be there for this elaborate X-Men-themed ball my dad has been planning. Maybe Donnelly will be safe among all the extra security. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been any public announcement about the private b-day ball, so they might not realize that’s a horrible day to try and fuck with Donnelly.
I glance back at the text. “How does your cousin even know Beckett has The Consummation of Empire?”
“I was wondering the same thing then I remembered…” He turns the phone back to himself and edges closer to me. His body bumps up next to mine, the cedar and eucalyptus smell of his shampoo intoxicatingly close.
Instagram on his screen, he clicks into Beckett’s account. More posts than ever flood his feed. Audrey has been posting at least twice a day for Beckett. When Donnelly clicks into the latest reel, I hear her voice.
“And this is where the magic happens,” Audrey says in a voiceover. The video zooms around his neatly organized room, a pop song playing in the background. Hung clear as day on the back wall is the painting. To Audrey’s credit, the reel has millions of views.
My lips fall, thinking about the safety of everything, but I trust our security. They’ve taken care of us for eons, even under threatening stalkerish circumstances.
“Your family must’ve seen this,” I say under my breath.
He hears in the quiet. “Yeah.” He pockets his phone. “It’s not Audrey’s fault. My family just has a way of finding cracks. It was bound to happen at some point.”
This is why my dad doesn’t want us together.
I remember my dad saying he can barely trust Donnelly, and knowing Donnelly is tethered to a darkness that could seep into me—that’d escalate fear within my dad.
I guess I never fully realized how corrosive his family could be, but his past shouldn’t be a reason why we can’t have a future. Donnelly has fought against more than I’ve ever faced just to be free of them, and that means something.
“Do you think they’d really go through with it?” I ask him. “They’d really plant meth on you?”
“I dunno.” He rereads the text again. “I shouldn’t…”
“You could,” I mention, knowing he’s thinking about Beckett’s painting. “Just ask, at least.”
His lip tics up. “Who’s the bad influence here? You or me?”
“Me.” I push a thumb to my chest. “I think that role has always been mine. You should fly away now, Planet Partner. It only gets worse from here.”
His lips keep rising. “I’ll take my chances.”
“Even if the odds are bad?”
“Oh, I know it’s bad.” He steps away from me, nearing the other door. The one that’ll lead to his bedroom. He’s leaving. After Donnelly turns the knob, towel still low on his waist, he faces me again. And as his back is pushing open the door, he says, “I’m not boarding any spacecraft without you. It is known.”
It fills my lungs.
He’s gone, the door slowly closing behind him.
And the worrisome thing, he’s taken most of my heart with him. I don’t know how to get it back.
DONNELLY’S DAILY PLANNER
TUESDAY, OCT 16TH
Today’s Focus: See where Beckett’s head is at. Hope for the best. Remember Luna is only a friend who’s a girl. Girls can be friends. You got one.
To Do:
Fill up the Black Widow with gas.
Visit Hell’s Kitchen (again, hope for the best)
Buy Xander chicken & dumpling soup from Lucky’s Diner.
Deliver soup to the sick elf. (Colds can go blow me.)
Notes: Can’t believe “fans” still believe Thatcher cheated on Jane. What a stupid hill to die on. The Royal Leaks shouldn’t be living in infamy. They should be buried and gone. One good thing, no signs of sleepwalking since I moved into the penthouse *knock on wood* Think it’s helping to be next to her. One meh thing, Boss told me and Oscar to stop calling my old apartment the Rookie Room bc Quinn isn’t a rookie. But it’s easier than saying “the apartment below the penthouse”…should I be brainstorming new names? Would Quinn really be that PO’d? ALSO, Millie Kay has been hanging around the penthouse more (or maybe I just noticed since I’m livin’ there?). She seems to really click with the girls: Luna, Sulli, Jane. BTW, Sulli is looking more preggers too. Wonder when the happy triad will confirm the baby rumors. Last thing, Luna’s new Fictitious stories are dope af. Favs are still the Thebulan saga. Waiting for the next part to Human Him, Cosmic Her like a crazed animal.
