Chapter 32
I rub my sleepy eyes as Leo loads the last of the supplies in the car, and I try to wake myself up. It’s the morning of the Phantom Festival, and we’ve got a big day ahead. Everything seems to be accounted for and going surprisingly smoothly, but I still can’t seem to shake this feeling that something is missing.
Maybe it’s just exhaustion. I hardly slept a wink last night as my brain spiraled, thinking of everything that had happened the night before. I still can’t believe his family knew we were lying this whole time. I can’t get over the relief I feel to finally be honest with them, but there’s still this ping of sadness that the charade’s up.
It’s not like it really matters. My flight to Romania leaves in twelve hours anyway. Maybe it’s better like this. We get a clean break, and I won’t have to feel guilty for hurting anyone when I leave. Leo won’t feel responsible for his family’s disappointment, which will keep him from spiraling, and he’ll be able to move forward.
I’m so proud of him for how far he’s come. He’s finally going to have the title he’s spent his whole life preparing for. When I set out to help him, I had no idea the impact my silly antics would actually make, but in a lot of ways, I think we’re both coming out stronger on the other side of this. It’s a rare thing to have a front-seat view of watching someone catch the dream they’ve been chasing, and I think it’s shaken something awake in me too.
For the first time in my life, I’m starting to think of what I’d do without Fern’s list guiding my every step. I find myself considering the type of career I want, dreaming of the life I want to live, places I want to travel … and maybe even starting a family someday or settling down somewhere that feels a lot like Ashford Falls.
I wouldn’t be having any of these thoughts without the not-so-gentle shove from my dead sister and the silly list she’d created all those years ago. Maybe that was her plan all along. Maybe she really has been my guardian angel all this time.
Which reminds me, I have a few more things I need to check off.
“We’re leaving in five minutes if you still want to stop for coffee on the way,” Leo calls from the living room as he finishes loading the iPads I had charging overnight for everyone to have the live schedule I created.
“Be right there. I’m just double-checking I have everything,” I call back.
I know five minutes really means ten, but Leo is nothing if not prepared for me to get sidetracked. The man always inflates every timeline he gives me, and it’s one of the things I love the most about him—he helps corral my squirrelliness. I don’t know how I’ll survive a real job without him … but I guess I’m going to have to learn.
I open the top drawer of my dresser to grab my inhaler and my sister’s list, like I always do before I leave the house these days. Leo’s all but drilled it into my mind by now, making it a habit more than anything else.
I slide open the drawer to find my inhaler, but my sister’s list isn’t there beside it, like it’s supposed to be.
That’s weird. I always put it here after I change. Maybe I forgot to remove it from the pocket of my overalls the last time I wore them.
I rush to my overly stuffed suitcase, dumping the contents out on the floor. I begin searching through the pockets of all my overalls, growing more and more panicked by the second.
It has to be in here. I always keep it with me. What am I missing? It couldn’t have grown legs and walked off.
“Hey, baby, are you rea—whoa, what happened in here? Did your suitcase explode? I told you I thought overalls and sneakers were the best option. It’s going to be a long day, and you’re going to want to be comfortable?—”
“Have you seen Fern’s list?” I say, cutting him off. “It’s not where I remember leaving it. I’ve searched everywhere I can think of, but it’s not here.” My voice comes out shaky and panicked, and I have to bite my bottom lip to keep it from quivering from the fear of losing the last piece I have left of my sister, her final wishes for me.
Leo rushes to my side, rubbing his hands down my arms in soothing strokes. “It’s got to be around here somewhere.” He falls to his knees, digging through the pile of laundry and checking every pocket just in case I overlooked it. “Try to think back, when was the last time you remember having it? Where were you? What were you doing?”
He lies down on the floor, using his phone’s flashlight as he searches under the bed.
I close my eyes and will myself to think. My heart races, and I have to take a hit from my inhaler to relieve the tightness forming in my chest.
Think, Ivy. What were you doing the last time you remember having it?
A vision of myself standing in the middle of the factory in the old mine pops in my head. I pulled out the list to mark off Visit the home of the Ashford Falls Phantom.
“What’s wrong? Do you remember where you had it?” Leo’s voice breaks through as my heart drops to my stomach.
The alarm on Leo’s phone goes off, the real one indicating we only have exactly enough time to make it. He doesn’t know that I figured out his code, but the man’s not nearly as sneaky as he thinks he is. He hits silence as he waits for me to respond.
I wipe the tears from my cheeks. “I remember having it when you brought me to the mines a few days ago. I guess I was so busy that I didn’t realize it was missing before now … but it could be anywhere. I mean, we had to climb the fence and hike to get back there. It could’ve fallen out of my pocket anywhere. It could be long gone by now …”
“Don’t worry, baby; we’ll find it. As soon as we get the first chance, we’ll go look for it?—”
I shake my head. “We don’t have time. We have to leave right now. We have everyone’s schedules and the passes … they can’t open the gates until we get there … and it’ll be dark by the time it’s over … and my flight … my flight leaves as soon as the festival is over. We don’t have enough time or daylight, Leo.”
The realization hits me all at once—how everything is happening so fast and there’s nothing I can do to slow down time, no matter how desperately I want to. Of course I’d make it all this way, get to the final leg, and drop the ball at the end. God, this is exactly like me, always the fuckup who needs her sister—and now Leo—to clean up my mess.
It’s a painful reminder not to get ahead of myself with all my high hopes and dreams for the future. There’s a reason my sister created that list, a reason I always let her take the lead. When I’m in charge, I make everything a mess … just like the current state of my life.
“I promise you, I’ll figure it out,” Leo says, pulling me into a hug.
And the thing is, I know he will because he always does … I just wish he didn’t always have to.
I shake my head, feeling defeated and oddly relieved that the pressure’s finally off. Once the worst thing you can imagine comes true, what else is there to worry about? It was bound to get lost or destroyed eventually. I should be proud that I managed to keep up with it for five years. At least I’ve got the monkey off my back now …
“Let’s just go. We’re already going to be late because of me. I don’t want the whole day to be ruined because I can’t remember to keep up with precious, irreplaceable things.”
“Baby girl, please don’t beat yourself up about this. I promise you, if I have to spend the whole night searching, I’ll find that list, and you’ll have it in your hand the moment you walk into that castle tomorrow evening. You have my word.”
Rather than argue, I just nod.
Maybe this is for the best. I still have her ashes to deal with. Maybe this is ripping off the Band-Aid so I won’t feel so sad when it’s complete. I’ve never been good at goodbyes anyway.
“You ready, Miss Ivy?” James, the security officer working the front entrance, asks, and I wipe my sweaty palms against my overalls.
There’s a small crowd gathered at the front entrance, and people are slowly filing in behind them.
I check the time on my phone, seeing it’s exactly eight a.m. Thanks to Leo’s impressive driving—honestly, I hadn’t known he was capable of driving that fast—we managed to swing by Bakery to grab doughnuts for the whole crew and get our coffees with only seconds to spare. But the important thing is, we weren’t late.
Leo’s stationed on the other side of the festival, helping coordinate the dunking booth and fair rides, while I’m set up at the entrance.
I could beat myself up over losing the list—hell, I’ll have plenty of time for that on my fifteen-hour flight tonight—but right now, the most important thing is making this festival run as smoothly as possible.
Let’s do this.
“James, open the gates.” I give the all clear, and I sit back and wait for the chaos to finally begin as the chatter from the crowd of excited people fills the air.
Oh, the sweet sound of distraction. It’s exactly what I need, giving me a break to allow the initial shock to wear off. Nothing like delaying the pain I’ll inevitably feel for a little while longer.
James clinks the metal hook from the railing, and a line of people file in, tickets in hand and smiles on their faces.
“Welcome to Phantom Fest. Here’s a booklet with an itinerary of events, and there’s a bingo card in the back. If you fill it out and turn it in, you’ll be entered to win a vacation package to next year’s event. There’s a total of ten winners, so that’s pretty good odds.”
I add the booklets to the bags and stamp hands, then point them toward the first show of the morning, watching as they take in the expansive decorations and list of events.
“Wow, this is incredible. I’ve been coming to this festival for years, and it’s never been this big. What sparked the change?” a woman says as I stamp her hand.
I shrug. “We felt inspired by someone who wasn’t able to make it.”
“Well, be sure to tell them thank you. I’m obsessed with the Phantom. Been listening to stories about him since I was this big.” She playfully tousles her little girl’s hair. She can’t be older than four or five years old.
“I certainly will. Have a good time today and make sure to stop by the kiddie area. There’s free face painting and a photo op to have the Phantom Photoshopped into your picture so it looks like he’s attacking you.” I waggle my brows at the little girl.
“Him’s not mean,” she says, shaking her head. “Him’s a nice monster. Can I take a picture with him smiling?”
Her question catches me off guard, and I lean in. “Uh, yeah. I’ll have to check … but we should be able to do that.”
She smiles brighter, looking excited, and tugs on her mom’s shirt. “Yay. Mommy, can we please go there first? Can I hang my picture over my bed so he can watch me sleep?”
I jot down a note to call the photographer. “You’re a brave little girl, aren’t you? I would’ve been terrified to see something like that on my wall at night when I was little.”
Her mom gives me a knowing smile. “It’s natural to be afraid of things you don’t understand, but that doesn’t mean those things are scary. Right, Violet?”
“Right,” the little girl says, flashing me a grin.
“Well, maybe you’re right. I guess I never thought about it like that. You know, you remind me of someone I cared about very much.”
“You don’t care about them anymore?” she asks.
“No, I do … but she’s gone now, so I only have my memories of her.” I tap my finger on my temple, and the little girl’s eyes widen in understanding.
“You can still talk to her though,” she says like it’s obvious. “That’s just pretend stuff anyway. You just have to hold your breath like this …” She sucks in a breath and crosses her fingers and then lets it out in a gasp. “And you think really hard in your head, and then if you are good and pray the right things, you can talk to her in your heart.”
I laugh. “Oh, well then, if it’s that easy, I’ll have to try it.”
Her mom ruffles her hair again. “Violet has quite the imagination …” She looks at me for a little longer than comfortable and says, “But she’s not entirely wrong.”
She takes her daughter’s hand, and then they’re gone, disappearing into the crowd that’s seemed to grow exponentially in the short time of our conversation.
I find myself playing back what she said, about talking to my sister in my heart. What an odd, extremely descriptive thing to say. Honestly, it sounds like some shit my sister would’ve said … which is why I actually find myself wondering if that’s what I’ve been doing all along.
“Hey, Ivy, we’ve got an issue over here at the petting zoo. Someone left the gate open, and there’s a pony out on the loose somewhere,” a male voice says over my walkie-talkie.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh. “All right, I’ll be right there. Call Andie over at the face-painting station and tell her to section off the area until we find the pony. Surely, it couldn’t have gone too far.”
“Roger that.”
“James, can you send out a call, asking everyone to keep their eyes out for a runaway pony? Keep it discreet. I don’t need the guests panicking. The gates have been open for less than an hour. You remember the codes we came up with?”
“Yes, ma’am. Can’t say I ever thought we’d need ’em, but you really thought of everything, didn’t ya, Miss Ivy.”
I throw my backpack on and sigh. “We’ll see about that. It’s only eight thirty. We’ve still got all day … anything could happen.”
“Don’t I know it?” James laughs.
Five hours later, I’m icing a goose egg on my forehead with a snow cone as sticky blue syrup drips down my arm.
After I left to find the missing pony, I got another SOS call about the jumpy house deflating. Apparently, the teenager running it didn’t pay attention and forgot to make sure everyone took off their shoes before getting inside. One tiny cowboy later, and the whole thing was caving in. It took five of us to get all the kids out. Luckily, no one was hurt, but there went our security deposit.
We found the pony after following the screams of a disgruntled vendor, who discovered it eating apples out of the bobbing-for-apples trough. The woman’s scream startled the poor pony, which took off into a run, barreling straight through a row of porta-potties. Needless to say, we had some very unhappy guests who fell victim.
Thank God it was still early enough that they were mostly empty … not clean enough, however …
And to make matters worse, there was a hiccup with the trailer for Frank’s big surprise float during the parade. It’s only the biggest event of the entire festival, where Frank Kingsley—dressed as the king of the Phantom Festival—will pass the throne to Leo, officially naming him CEO and the new head sponsor of the event. Leo was the closest one to the float, so he took the lead on finding a last-minute replacement part.
Which means I got to lure the terrified pony across the festival solo. Everything seemed to be going fine until a dog broke free of its leash and came charging toward us out of nowhere, barking. Naturally, the pony got startled when the dog nipped its ankle, resulting in me getting kicked at. I barely managed to escape, hitting my head in the process. Don’t worry; the dog was perfectly fine—and the pony ran off. At least it ran in the right direction this time. They were able to get it back in the trailer to calm down.
“Hey, Ivy. Can you stop by the stage when you get a minute? The band’s out here, saying something about needing a beer keg to perform,” Luka says over the walkie-talkie.
“There was a keg delivered this morning. I signed for it myself,” I answer.
“Yeah … he’s saying it’s not cold enough or something. I offered him some ice, but he called me a lazy, good-for-nothin’ pretty boy and said I was too young to know how beer’s supposed to taste …”
“Aren’t you, like, twenty-five?”
“Twenty-six actually,” he adds. “That’s what I told him, but he said I was lying. I can’t help it that I got good genetics and the skin of a young child.”
I laugh for the first time all day at the absurdity of it all. “Tell him I’ll be right there.”
“Ten-four. Oh, and if you’re close … don’t go out of your way or anything … could you grab me and Guy a corn dog? Extra mustard and ketchup packets, please.”
I look up at the lemonade stand in front of me. “Sure thing. How about a lemonade to go with it?”
“You’re the best fake future sister-in-law a guy could ask for,” Luka says in a teasing tone.
I should be relieved that they know it was all a ruse, but there’s a part of me that finds myself wishing it were true—that somehow, I could be part of this family I’ve grown so attached to. But it’s too late for that now. I’ve got a keg to track down and a festival to run.
I order the corn dogs and lemonade and make my way over to the stage to find Luka and Guy in a heated debate with all five members of the folk band … who are supposed to be performing right now.
“Hey, guys, what seems to be the problem?”
The next ten minutes are spent listening, and making promises to fix the warm beer situation.
“If you could excuse me for just one second, I need to make a quick call.” I pull out my phone and call the only person I know who’d have a backup keg in their possession.
Jett answers on the first ring, and I tell him everything and beg him to help, even promising to pay him double for his inconvenience if he can deliver it in the next half hour.
To my utter surprise, he agrees, and I have no doubt in my mind if Leo—or any of his brothers for that matter—would have asked him for the same thing, he would’ve insisted he didn’t have enough. It makes me curious what skeletons he’s got hiding in his closet. After hearing how Jett had to run home that night to get help for his injured brother, I can only imagine he’s got his own set of issues …
I hang up the call. “There. I promise we’ve got an ice-cold keg on the way. How about I grab you all some lemonades in the meantime?”
After a little grumbling, they finally agree, and I call for backup to make the delivery. My feet ache, my head is pounding, and the mental countdown in my mind is steadily growing louder … and it’s only midafternoon.
“Where’d my horrible liar of a brother run off to? I don’t think I’ve seen him all day. You’d think he’d at least try to look like he cares about this festival since he’s going to be the new head honcho around here,” Luka says more to Guy than to me.
“Didn’t he say he was going to track down the pony?” Guy says with a shrug.
This catches my attention because I specifically sent him to deal with the float while I went pony hunting. We had a whole conversation about it.
“Why do you say that, Guy? Leo’s dealing with the float trailer … isn’t he?” I swipe open the iPad, revealing the newest schedule, including everyone’s assignments, broken down in thirty-minute increments.
Guy just shrugs before sucking down the rest of his lemonade. “That’s what he told me when he asked me to wait with the float until Big Dan showed up with the replacement parts.”
I press my fingers to my temple as the beginning of a headache starts to form. “Wait. Are you saying Leo called Dan to fix the float? Dan isn’t even working the festival … so where is Leo then?”
Luka tosses back a mouthful of ice and crunches it between his teeth. “How am I supposed to know? I thought you were the one with the master plan, fake sister.”
I’m genuinely confused and worried about the scheduling. This event can only run smoothly if everyone’s in the correct place, and we’ve got a lot riding on this with the surprise parade event for Frank’s retirement.
Guy holds out his phone and dials Leo’s number. It goes straight to voice mail, and then Luka tries calling him on his.
Finally, I try to call him on the walkie, not expecting a different result. He always has his phone on him, and I know he charged it last night before we went to sleep.
Seconds of silence pass before someone pipes up. “I thought he went to get you the coffee you’d asked for?”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t ask him to get me a coffee.”
Someone else speaks up. “He told me he needed to help with an emergency with the dunking booth.”
“Uh … I’m at the dunking booth now. Everything’s running fine. I haven’t seen Leo though,” another voice says.
I drop the walkie-talkie and look at his brothers, and we all stare at each other in confusion.
Where would he have disappeared to? And why hasn’t anyone seen him since … I check the schedule, confirming his last known station.
“So, no one’s seen Leo in four hours?”
I pull out my phone and dial Frank’s number. He answers on the third ring. I can barely hear him over the noisy chatter around his sponsor booth.
“Frank—er, Mr. Kingsley,” I correct myself, suddenly feeling weird about addressing him by his first name. “Yeah, uh … I just wanted to check to see if you’ve heard from Leo recently. He isn’t answering on the walkie or his phone.”
“No … I … I haven’t heard from him.” He covers the phone with his hand as he asks Mary and whoever else is working the booth with them. “No one’s seen him since the gates opened. Do you think something’s wrong? Ivy? What’s going on? Is everything okay? Do you need us to help you look for him?”
I shake my head, feeling worry set in. “I … I’m not sure. But I’ll let you know. I just need to think …”
“Listen, I’m sure he’ll turn up around here somewhere. You two have worked too hard to put this festival together. It’s not like there’s anywhere more important he’d need to be …”
My eyes fly open as realization hits me square in the chest. I sink down to the folding chair beside me.
Guy crouches beside me. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Do you know where he is?” Luka asks, pocketing his phone.
I let out a sigh, remembering the fear in his eyes he tried so hard to keep me from seeing when he brought me there … nobody’s heard from him for hours and his phone’s not working … which means there’s only one place he could be …
“I think I know where he is.”
“Where? I’ll hop on my bike and go check,” Luka says.
I swallow a gulp and look at Luka. “The old mine in Phantom’s Reach.”
“What? Why the fuck would he go there? He’s terrified of that place?—”
“I think he might’ve gone to the mine to look for something I lost …”
I see the understanding wash over them as Luka and Guy share a knowing look.
“Oh shit,” Luka says.
Oh shitis right …