Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Adelaide
Coming home after a week of pure bliss makes me pout. I want to turn around and go back to the beach. I didn’t like how busy and crowded LA was, but the beach was everything. Especially watching Poe come out of the water like a wet dream while I was sunbathing. Damon got grossed out when I told him my ovaries exploded at the sight. I took pictures of Poe to keep as my home screen, and Damon asked for brain bleach.
The flight came in early, and we gathered our luggage without any complications. All the nightmare things people talk about while traveling steer clear of our happiness. When we get home, I collapse on the couch, suddenly exhausted. Poe follows me down, carefully lying on top of me to kiss my neck.
“No way, yappy dog. Nu-uh. I’m out of business tonight,” I mutter with a happy sigh.
He chuckles and gets off me. “Travel gets better with more experience.”
“Don’t care,” I grumble, half asleep already. I’m home, and gravity is holding me hostage on this couch. No one can fight gravity.
“Don’t forget to take your phone out of airplane mode.”
“Huh?” I open one eye in confusion to see him hovering over me with a smile.
“I turned it to airplane mode on our flight out. I thought you would figure it out with how quiet it’s been. No yappy dog texts asking where you are every ten seconds, and you weren’t suspicious?”
“I was with you the whole time,” I scoff at his smug look. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I didn’t want anyone intruding on our time together,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck with a wince. “I’m sorry.”
“Better to beg for forgiveness than ask permission.” I chuckle and close my eyes again.
I don’t care that he did it. I’m actually grateful. My phone doesn’t ring unless it’s one of the three people who were with me. It’s no big loss. And knowing my luck, something would have ruined our wedding if it were on.
It makes me want to never turn it back on.
“I don’t mind, cher . Thank you. Now let me nap while you unpack.”
He laughs in surprise. “I’m unpacking alone? With all the stuff you bought?”
I pout and bat my lashes at him to look pitiful.
Poe claps his hands and looks around at the raccoons with a stoic expression. “The honeymoon period is over, guys. Get ready for the demands.”
I burst into laughter, ruining my pleading gaze. “Come nap with me already.”
“Nope. I have to be the heavy-lifter today. My wife said so,” he grins, walking away. He’s been throwing that word around every chance he gets.
“I love you!” I yell as loud as I can.
“You better!” He yells back.
***
My ‘nap’ lasts until the next morning. I startle awake in bed like I’m late for something. A glance at the pillow beside me reveals a note from Poe saying he went to work already with a starred addition to turn on my phone. The all-caps reminder makes me want to leave it off for a while longer. Knowing how Poe would freak tempers that. First, I have to find the stupid thing.
How am I in bed? Did he carry me here? Crazy man. I’m sure of it because I’m buck-naked under the sheets. It’s a good thing I don’t have any virtue to tarnish. I need to text that to him.
Without social media and limited contact with people other than Poe, I’ve lost my phone more times than I can count. There isn’t any need to check it constantly or play games. I don’t want to see whatever the Internet has in store for me. It’s freeing, but I get bored quickly.
I have to dump my purse out on the coffee table to find it. Then I have to plug it in to charge because it’s deader than a doornail.
I shower, change, and make myself some breakfast before I return to the bedroom.
The number of missed calls and messages has my eyes widening in panic.
Over a hundred phone calls, hundreds of texts, and more than a few voicemails.
Did my number get leaked? Poe warned me about it, but I didn’t think it would happen to me. My shoulders sag, my good mood trying to slip away from me. I rally quickly with a scowl. If that’s happened, then it’s time for a new number. I can’t put off looking at it. Especially when it starts ringing.
A glance at the caller ID says it’s Daniella. My lips purse as I send it to voicemail. I have nothing to say to her. Plus, I’m busy trying to figure out how to raccoon-roll through trauma. Her pettiness can stay hers .
When I open the call log, I have to scroll for a long time. Every name from the Broussards comes up multiple times, the most frequent being Asher and Maman.
Panic hits me so hard that I lose my breath. Something happened. Someone’s hurt. They wouldn’t all be calling me for anything less.
I put my phone down and force myself to collect my thoughts. I need to think before I act here. It’s something we’ve been working on in therapy. No more snap reactions to the Broussard’s games until I see it from all angles.
Once I’m calm enough, I think it out. Yeah, maybe someone is hurt, and they called me this time. But is that likely? When have they ever called me for emergencies? Pretty much never. I’m too dramatic for their tastes.
The only other reason they call is to complain, lie, degrade me, or just plain be cruel.
Maman leads, and they all follow. If I don’t answer one person’s phone call, they’ll keep trying, at her insistence. I’ve experienced it before. Asher has never been a part of it before, though. It hurts seeing his name added to the roster of harassment. Maybe he actually showed up for dinner, and now he’s pissed again.
Okay. I know what to do now.
I delete every single thing they sent without looking at it. The same with the voicemails. Then, I block all their numbers.
It isn’t like they need me. They’ve done just fine without me for a long time now. I don’t need to stop my life every time someone calls. It’s a good thing Poe shut my phone down. All this would have ruined my honeymoon.
A pang of guilt hits me. It’s the truth, but I hate thinking it.
Poe texts, and I vent to him. I’m not convinced that they don’t need my help, and I’m feeling horrible about blocking them. He talks me through it and comes to the same conclusion I did. I’ve done something ‘wrong’, and the whole family is mad about it. They even had Joseph calling me. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him on the phone, unless you count background noise.
When I get off the phone with Poe, Damon calls me, sounding confused as hell.
“Hey, Addie?”
“Yes, Damon?” I ask with a slow drawl.
“I keep getting messages from random numbers saying the same thing.”
I frown at the news. Why is he calling me about it? It’s not like I know what to do. Other than calling the phone company.
“That’s weird,” I mutter unhelpfully.
“Yeah. Even weirder? They all say the same thing. Tell Addie to be there.” He sounds spooked now.
“The hell?” Goosebumps break out all over my body. I’ve seen enough hoodoo to know spirits are real. I just don’t need it as in my face as this.
“So, be there?” He finishes lamely.
“This has to be some prank. Be where? And when? Maybe it’s the winning numbers to the lottery,” I joke, trying to brush the creepiness aside.
Then a text comes in on my phone. And another right after. Then another.
Those chills now have chills on them.
“Hang on,” I mutter with a lot of dread.
I open the messages, and they all say the same thing.
“Addie. Family meeting. Tonight. Five o’clock at Le Chique,” I read aloud. Several more texts come in as I’m speaking, all saying the same thing.
Damon is silent for several minutes, and so am I.
“What the hell?” I ask, unable to come up with anything else to say.
The alert for my email goes off and starts repeating the same message.
“Good Lord! I get it already!” I shout in horror.
“I’m getting off the phone,” Damon freaks right along with me. “You burn that one and make Poe buy you another. I don’t want whatever’s infecting yours to hit mine.”
“ You called me, asshole!” I yelp, but he’s already hung up.
It gets so bad that I have to silence my phone. It keeps happening every hour, like a countdown. Silence, and then my phone practically vibrates itself onto the floor with messages and emails. By the time Poe gets home, I’m ready to douse the thing in holy water.
“It’s possessed. Make it stop,” I beg him with a scowl.
Poe looks from the phone to me in concern.
“Oh. Welcome home, husband,” I chuckle a little. How can I not? I have a cursed phone and a bewildered spouse who thought today was normal. Joke’s on him.
“I’m going to need some context,” he admits with a tilted smile. “Oh. Good to see you, wife.”
Crazy man.
After I explain it, and another round of insane phone vibrations happens right in front of him, he checks the time.
“We have about twenty minutes to decide if we’re going.”
I raise a brow and gesture to the phone. “We’re following the hoodoo now? To meet anyone from my family? This sounds like an ok night for you?”
His eyes slide to me, a sly smirk starting on his lips. “If they piss me off, I’ll take care of it and we can finish the night knocking over trash cans.”
“Poe,” I give him a scoffing laugh.
“Adelaide,” he returns with a grin. “A public place? Everyone there? Me as backup? It couldn’t get any better for you. If there’s the same bullshit, you can give me a signal, and I’ll beat the shit out of them all.”
“Poe Allan Richards,” I scowl at him.
“What?” He raises his hands as if anyone would believe he’s innocent.
“I may be on the outs with everyone, but I can’t sit back and watch you go wild on them. Those fools would have you arrested in seconds.”
He leans back on the couch, tossing his arm over my shoulders to drag me with him.
“Then you can leave. We can walk away with our middle fingers in the air. I think that having everyone together is a recipe for chaos, but no one can hide, either. Especially if you start asking questions and perfecting your you can’t faze me stare.”
“This one?” I raise a brow and leave the rest of my face in an awkward, stern expression.
“Yup,” he agrees with a sigh. “I hate that you need it, but they’ve proven to be insanely unreasonable.”
I want to argue, but I can’t. Over a hundred missed calls is a little insane. Even spread out over six different people. Not to mention my possessed phone.
“What if this is just another Maman ploy to force-feed me a tirade?” I mutter. The thought of willingly walking into that is daunting. This is Broussards. It’s a lot of people before you count in Suzette’s husbands and Joseph. Who knows who will be there?
The thought of Asher’s One, or any of his cake, depresses me. I’ll get to meet them, sure. But how much do they hate me already?
Never mind that. I’m not going to play nice and roll over. If they don’t like it, then I’ll deal with it on my own.
I’ll settle this whole mess once and for all with my junkyard dog straining his leash beside me.