Chapter 24
Invite Gabriel over for dinner tonight,” Miles’s mom instructed, turning down the radio as they rolled up to the stop sign at the end of their street.
Miles nearly choked. “What?”
When she’d offered to drive him to school this morning, he knew she wanted to talk about last night. He thought he’d been prepared for any turn the conversation might take, but apparently not.
“Your dad and I spoke last night and agreed it’s important that we meet him. We took tonight off for a family dinner.” She flipped on her blinker, waiting for a woman in magenta earmuffs to cross the road with a golden retriever, its tail wagging happily. “Does he like lasagna?”
“I—I don’t know.” That was so far from important right now. “Mom, this is kinda last second, I don’t think he—”
She slid him an amused look. “If you two can find time to sneak around every day, you can make time for one dinner.” Damn it.
“We actually already have plans for tonight. We’re going to the football game.”
The brakes squeaked as she hit them a touch too hard.
“Since when have you started going to football games?”
Miles tried to banish the heat crawling up his neck. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Well, the game won’t start until six or seven, so we’ll just have dinner a little earlier than usual. And Gabriel’s obviously free, so it shouldn’t be a problem for him.”
Double damn it.
A group of kids scurried through the crosswalk, backpacks and pom-pom hats bobbing. Miles chewed over his words, trying to find a way to say them as nicely as possible.
“I don’t think it’s fair,” he said slowly, picking at a snag on his jeans, “to invite him over so he can be gawked at like a freak. I know last night was a lot, and I’m sure you have questions for him, but it’s not… that’s not…”
He couldn’t tell her that part of him hoped the first time he’d have Gabriel over for dinner, it would be as his boyfriend, not a Hawthorne. Sweet and awkward and potentially mortifying. Not the interrogation he was already picturing.
He was tired of letting this curse steal things from him.
His mom’s expression fell. “That isn’t what this is.
We can tell he’s important to you and I…
” She blew out a breath, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel.
“I’ve been so worried about you being lonely, and feeling guilty because our lifestyle isn’t exactly conducive to easy friendships.
He’s the first friend you’ve made in years, Miles.
That means a lot. That’s why we want to meet him. ”
Miles appreciated what she was trying to do. She had something to prove to him, and to herself. But the thought of sitting through a painful meal with Gabriel and his family with multiple elephants in the room that none of them would acknowledge sounded like literal hell.
He wouldn’t even know how to tell Gabriel that he was expected at his house tonight for a Warren family dinner.
Scoffing, Miles could handle. For once, he’d prefer it. Give him disbelief, even a snarky comment or two. The more terrifying possibility was if Gabriel wanted to come.
If you’d asked him a week ago, Miles would’ve said there was no way. But this was the new Gabriel, the Gabriel who’d been forced to rethink his priorities and somehow landed on dating Miles and having ridiculous normal teenage experiences with him.
And what was more awfully cliché than the dreaded first dinner with your boyfriend’s family?
They pulled into the school drop-off line, the entrance looming. On the sidewalk, a kid dropped a basketball and had to sprint down the hill after it, kicking up wet leaves in his wake.
Miles snatched his backpack from the floor, all but lunging for the door handle. “I’ll see if he’s free,” he settled on. “But no promises. Thanks for the ride.”
His mom let him escape, pulling away as he hefted his bag over his shoulder and trudged over to the courtyard.
Emily and Gabriel were sitting together and amazingly Gabriel didn’t look like he wanted to bludgeon himself with the nearest heavy object. Either Miles was imagining things, or there was a glimmer of amusement in both of their eyes.
“Am I interrupting?” Miles teased, sliding into the seat beside Gabriel.
His expression smoothed out in a flash. “You’re late. I was worried I was going to be stuck hearing about football until my brain leaked out of my ears.”
Emily grinned, hands cupped around a stickered red thermos. “Don’t let him fool you, he was enraptured the whole time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was considering joining the cheerleading squad for the homecoming game tonight.”
Gabriel’s chin lifted haughtily. “As if they’d be so lucky.”
A burst of laughter exploded out of Miles, and Gabriel flushed pink.
Emily crowed with delight. “He does make jokes! I knew it.”
A few people from the packed table beside theirs glanced over curiously, wondering what the ruckus was. The attention didn’t bother Emily as she tossed her long braid and knocked shoulders with Gabriel, still chortling.
When her mirth faded, she turned to Miles. “Hey, real talk, though—Gabriel told me about last night. Bummer you couldn’t crack the door open. Did you get ahold of Nadia yet to see if they have any ideas?”
That was unexpectedly forthcoming of Gabriel.
“Yeah, we texted a bit this morning.” Miles tucked his chin into the sheepskin collar of his jacket, searching for warmth as a frigid gust of wind whipped across the courtyard, sending scarves flapping and flipping textbook pages.
When he’d first put his coat on this morning, it’d still smelled like Gabriel, but his crisp scent had faded now.
“I was going to wait, but Charlee said they’re always up early to open the shop. ”
“Hmmm.” Emily took a long sip from her steaming thermos, the bitter smell of coffee drifting across the table. “Interesting that Charlee knows their sleep schedule so… intimately.”
She sank so much implication into that final word that Miles blushed.
“How is that remotely interesting? I became well acquainted with their schedule when I stayed there.” Gabriel’s mouth pinched. “The practicality of an hour-long lunch break when you’re running a business still eludes me.”
Miles took pity on him. “It’s interesting because it means they’ve been chatting consistently enough that Charlee knows their schedule. And Charlee doesn’t chat with anyone.”
He saw the moment it clicked. Gabriel tilted his head, considering. “Nadia did say my company made them realize how painfully lonely they were. I assumed it was merely an unimaginative insult.”
That pulled a giggle from Emily. “What did Nadia say?” she asked Miles, leaning across the damp table eagerly. “Did they mention Charlee?”
“Uh… no. We were pretty focused on the door.” He pulled out his phone and passed it over.
i can do some digging and hit the books
but its impossible to know what im looking for
without seeing it in person
stone door with a tree doesnt narrow it down
much
What about a way to just unlock it?
theres a thousand rituals for that
locking spell
protection spell
ward
ancient blood ritual
a boring hidden keyhole
I get the point… so what do we do?
i can be there tomorrow
ill close the shop for the day
get me to the door and ill see what i can do
Miles hadn’t responded yet, wanting to run the plan by everyone else. Between tomorrow being Saturday and the fact his parents were in the know now, it shouldn’t be a problem to get Nadia over there and down to the tunnels.
“I’m in,” Emily proclaimed. “We meet up, go to the tunnels, kick the tomb door down, and free Jocelyn.”
Yeah, Miles was sure it would be that easy.
Gabriel looked similarly doubtful, but shrugged. “No harm in trying now that we know the way and have an exit. If my mother is home, we’ll go through the mausoleum.”
Miles texted Nadia back, getting an immediate reply.
Sounds good, thank you… here’s my address
perfect
tell your cousin i cant wait to see her
He showed Emily that last part and she snickered as the bell rang overhead and the courtyard exploded into a flurry of movement. The Friday of the homecoming football game was always Spirit Day, so there was green and white everywhere, from jerseys and face paint to tulle skirts and striped socks.
“Are you alright?” Gabriel questioned as they gathered their things, Emily already snatched away by a group of her friends heading to first period. “You have a strange look on your face.”
If Miles had to guess, it was the “needing to tell your secret boyfriend he was invited to family dinner” face.
But that meant diving into the conversation he’d had with his parents last night, including what he’d learned about Felicity.
Not exactly a casual conversation you could squeeze in during the two-minute stroll to History.
“All good.” He wasn’t chickening out; it was a strategic delay for Gabriel’s benefit. Really.
He had all day to tell him.
* * *
By the time lunch rolled around, Miles still hadn’t told Gabriel about the dinner invitation. In his defense, classes had been crazy busy, full of Friday pop quizzes and project presentations—he’d barely been able to get in a few words.
“Hey.” Miles found Gabriel at their usual lunch table, touching his elbow gently. “Do you mind getting out of here? I had something I wanted to tell you.”
The lunchroom was extra crowded and loud with Spirit Day festivities. The cheering as people went to cast their homecoming court votes literally shook the floor as Miles and Gabriel slipped into a hallway.
“What is the purpose of the homecoming king and queen?” Gabriel inquired as Miles led the way. “Should I expect thrones?”
“I don’t actually know. I think it’s just like… a popularity contest. The richest, prettiest people in each grade get a chance to flaunt it even more than usual for one night.”
His nose wrinkled. “That seems rather outdated.”