7. Ivory
Gahh you’re too freakin cute. I can’t handle it—give me more!
Ivory added a few, or rather an entire line and a half, of purple heart emojis and posted the comment under the photo of Nia and her boyfriend-recently-turned-fiancé, Caspian. If it weren’t for the pile of blankets that had become one with her and the couch, she’d be floating in mid-air out of excitement.
Caspian had gotten a hold of Nia’s phone and used it to document their first Christmas together. In most of the photos, Nia tried to hide—behind her hand, under a large bow, or even around Caspian himself, but he snuck in a kiss at the end and caught the moment his fiancée’s lips tipped up in a grin. The last photo showed Caspian’s smile, half-blurred by Nia’s fingers as she reached for the phone. Those two proved true love still existed, and she couldn’t be happier for them.
Even so, a sharp pang cracked through her heart. Aside from the good news for her favorite couple, everything had returned to normal after the Halloween party. Her one night of magic came to an end, and she went back to being the girl people didn’t notice.
She’d always been average. Never a class president, or athletic, or creative, or funny, and she couldn’t pull off anything but basic fashion. Despite that, Adrian had made her feel like there might be more to her. That maybe she could be a magical witch if she wanted to.
But not only had her black knight deliberately left her glass slipper on the ground, it had been crushed under the wheel of the metaphorical carriage—into tiny bits of unrecognizable dust. She was certain she wouldn’t be seeing him again. At least Jace had nursed a black eye for days and stayed off her back ever since.
The staccato ding of a timer shot through the silence in their living room, and before she could even set her phone down, her younger brother shouted, “The cookies are ready!”
“I heard,” she called back.
Blankets and pillows tumbled along with her as she slid off the sofa. Her mom had made sure their holiday decorations were put away by New Year, including the tree, and only small scraps of tinsel and pine needles remained wedged into hard-to-reach places or hiding behind family photos on the fireplace mantle. But nothing felt more like the season of joy than a batch of home-baked goods.
“Bring me two—no three,” Brey yelled, even though he was just in the next room with the door open and would’ve heard without raising his voice. “Thanks in advance, bestest big sister!”
She rolled her eyes and bounced into the kitchen, reaching for her purple oven mitts. “You know they have to cool off first, dork. Being nice won’t change my mind.”
“You’re so annoying,” he groaned, tone transformed into the whiny one she knew so well.
“I know ,” she groaned back in mock agony.
The kitchen filled with the rich smell of butter and brown sugar as she opened the oven. She was glad she’d made three sheets of cookies because a dozen would be enough just for herself. Setting the first batch onto a hot mat to protect the table, she checked the bottom of a cookie and made sure it was done, not burnt or flimsy, and that the chocolate melted into gooey but fluffy perfection.
As if summoned by the confectionary gods, her dad walked out of the office into the kitchen and swiped a cookie off the counter. His work attire consisted of a button-up top and sweatpants, with a ballpoint pen stuck behind his ear. She shot him an accusatory glance but broke into a laugh as he took a huge bite. His jaw immediately fell open as he panted, “Hot!”
“Duh, I just took them out of the oven.” She set down another sheet for emphasis, heat from the stove fanning over them.
“Doesn’t change the fact they taste amazing.” Her dad gave her the proud father grin and took another mouthful of cookie. So easily pleased.
She finished taking out the rest of the cookies and separated a small plate for herself, which she’d hide until they cooled properly, then took out another plate and piled on five cookies for Brey.
Venturing down the hallway and to the left, his room wasn’t as much of a disaster as it used to be—meaning she might catch a glimpse of the floor if she got lucky, and dropping off a plate of cookies wouldn’t leave her running for the shower.
Endless volumes of anime and video games lined the walls, but when she entered, only his face was visible, lit by the blue hue of a computer screen. He didn’t even look up from whatever game held his attention as she set the plate next to the hand not smashing the keyboard.
“Don’t burn your tongue like Dad did,” she warned.
“Oh, hey.” He glanced over, then grabbed a cookie and shoved it in his mouth without a second thought.
She shook her head. “Still playing the same game? Or have you branched out from your middle school crush?” She peered over his shoulder in time to watch his character slice through a mob of monsters, an array of confusing numbers flashing on the screen.
“Switching is pointless when I’ve put so much eff—damn, Ivory,” he interrupted himself as he devoured a second cookie. “These are good. I’ve missed your cooking—I mean you—so much.”
“Uh-huh,” she hummed. Whatever he was playing, he was really good at it. “I missed you too, little bro.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
She looked over and caught his little smirk. Such a brat. “You should start streaming your games online. People get really into that.”
“You know Mom would kill me if I spent any more time on this,” Brey replied, searching around the plate to locate another cookie while his eyes stayed locked on the screen. “I’d have to be active to maintain a channel.”
She sighed…he was right. “I’m still going to force you to watch a movie with me later,” she said as his avatar made it to what looked like a final boss.
Brey grumbled an imitation of a reply, lost to the digital world. Taking her leave, she got her own plate of cooling cookies and returned to the couch, then nestled into a makeshift fortress of pillows.
Spending Christmas with her family had given her a few weeks of much-needed respite, but spring semester was gearing up to be gloomier than ever. Her GPA took a nosedive after finals, and the pressure to make Dean’s list sucked out any chance at a social life.
She wouldn’t have minded if that only meant missing out on a few lackluster house parties, but a huge rift had formed between Nia and almost everyone else in their friend group thanks to Jewelle—the woman who framed Caspian as a cheater and who happened to be Jace’s charming cousin. Ivory didn’t know why Serena chose to defend someone like that, but she had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with staying on good terms with Jace.
She took out her phone and saw that Nia had liked her comment and sent a text.
Nia
How has your break been?
Warmth replaced her pessimistic thoughts as she responded.
Break’s been good! Nice to be home, see family and all. Have you and Caspian decided on a date for the wedding?
Nia had told her they didn’t have any solid plans for the big day, but Ivory couldn’t help making Pinterest boards with ideas for them. Not that she was their official wedding planner or anything, just very well prepared. She had also made a secret board filled with motorcycles, leather, and golden rings. But no one needed to know that.
I see what you’re doing, and trust me, you’ll be the first to know.
It’s still a lot for me to process. Lining up schedules for both sides is more difficult than it looks, not to mention the stress of everyone watching me.
Of course, she’d be stressed about the idea of being the center of attention. Still, weddings weren’t supposed to be about being under a spotlight. They were about the joy of companionship. Of remembering what was important.
I’m not rushing you, I swear!
You should celebrate, though. What about an engagement party—it doesn’t have to be big.
The app showed Nia typing a reply, but then she stopped. Ivory played with the tuft on a decorative pillow to keep herself busy until the response came in, two at once.
After all the drama last semester, I think the only one who would come is you.
We’d love to have you over, though. Like you said, as long as it’s nothing big.
Ivory scrunched her face, fiddling with the plate on her lap. She knew Nia’s family didn’t come around much, and now it looked like she didn’t have anyone at college to support her either, aside from Caspian. That had to be remedied.
What about Caspian’s friends? I’m sure he knows people.
The screen went blank for a few minutes before Nia’s reply came in.
…I’m not so sure about that.
Come on, I don’t believe you.
Ivory huffed—excuses, excuses. The next reply came almost instantly, but it took a while before her brain processed the three simple words.
Well, she really only stumbled over one of them.
He’d invite Adrian.
Adrian.
That name she was supposed to have forgotten.
The man who didn’t do relationships, especially not with her. Nia knew about his rejection at the Halloween party, but she hadn’t told Nia about Jace or what happened after, and certainly didn’t mention the last promise she’d made to him.
While she couldn’t erase him, she hadn’t failed at forgetting, either. She’d done her very best to disregard the memory of golden eyes warming her soul and ignore how she’d felt atop his scary motorcycle. Not once had she looked for him again in a crowd or conjured up a fantasy about her name on his lips. That was, except for a few nights when she couldn’t help but think of calling out his name.
And sometimes, when she looked up at the stars, she wondered if he’d found what he’d been looking for.
That didn’t matter, though, because he made it clear she had no place in his life. She knew he’d only been nice because of what happened with Jace.
Before she could reply to Nia, the front door opened, and a burst of January air sent a chill through the room. Her mom stepped in looking like a snowman, shivering as she quickly shut the door. “It's freezing outside! Oh, are those cookies I smell?”
“Yep, chocolate chip.” Speaking of which, the plate on her lap should be perfectly cooled now. She’d timed them to be done when her mom returned from her luncheon, the one with all the other moms who still got together from the time she’d started kindergarten. “How did your meeting go?”
“Oh, it’s lovely to get together again.” Her mom hung her coat in their front closet and shed her winter heels as she shook snowflakes from her hair. “Tanya’s going on vacation to the Caribbean, and Diana has a grandbaby on the way. We got carried away reminiscing about the good days. You know, the ones when you all were small and chubby.” She made a face and pinched Ivory’s cheeks. “Even if you’re all grown, at least I still get to see some of your baby fat.”
“—Mom!” Ivory groaned.
Her mom laughed in response and carried the plate of cookies into the kitchen. “These look great, honey, but you shouldn’t be filling up on this stuff before dinner. You know how bad carbs are without eating real food first.”
Ivory pouted, remembering to fix her expression before she got caught. Arguing would only make things worse. Maybe carbs weren’t the best, but she was pretty sure they had to be consumed to have any kind of effect.
“Amy says to tell you hi, by the way,” her mom added, rummaging around in the kitchen.
Ivory stiffened.
“Um, that’s good to hear,” she lied.
Amy, meaning the person she once thought would become her mother-in-law. Not that she’d defended the relationship when her ex told her a long distance wouldn’t work. Going to Harvard was a big deal, after all.
Too big of a deal for her to get in the way. Too big of a deal for him to send a “how are you” text, and if she were being honest, that was just fine. Hearing from him now would only feel like rubbing salt in the wound. At least Jace had been cold from the beginning, like a therapeutic wake-up slap.
Maybe she’d had more practice at forgetting than she thought.
Looking down, she picked up her phone and forced herself to believe the words she sent in reply.
That’s okay.
Nia and Caspian’s party had nothing to do with Adrian. He’d probably forgotten her by now, anyway. She wanted to be there for her friends, and if this would show them someone cared, then nothing else mattered. Sucking up a bit of wounded, school-girl pride for a silly one-sided crush would be worth it.
Are you sure? We could have a girl’s night instead.
Movie nights had always been their favorite pastime—neither she nor Nia could naturally hold a conversation for long—and it’d be nice to share that dynamic again, despite not living two doors apart. But did that mean Caspian would end up being kicked out of his own apartment? Ivory frowned. None of those options sounded like what she’d envisioned.
And then, there was something else. She must be more of a masochist than she thought—because she wanted to see Adrian again.
Even if he didn’t want her.
Even if he felt absolutely nothing from their night together.
Even if she had to work to forget him all over again because, despite his demeanor, he’d never been cold. He’d been honest. Real—even when it hurt. Something she couldn’t help but want to experience again.
No, it’s fine. We’re all adults, and I want to celebrate with both of you together. I’ll bake a special cake if you let me borrow your oven ;)
She allowed herself a moment of excitement. Friends, cake, and her black knight? Finally, something to look forward to.
Okay. I’ll talk to Caspian about it.
Ivory clutched a pillow to her chest. Next semester might not start off so bad, after all. And she knew exactly which movie to watch tonight—one where the lead rode a motorcycle.