Chapter 7
TALIN
Igraze my fingers over silk, pausing to touch the lacy details, marveling at the intricate patterns. The dress is beautiful, like it was built for me.
“I hate it,” I say, staring grimly in the mirror.
“Tallie, seriously?!” Annie appears at my shoulder, brushing back my hair and fretting at the skirt. “You look incredible, which is exactly how you’ve looked in every single one of these dresses.”
“But I hate it,” I repeat stubbornly.
“Tallie—“
“I can’t, okay?” I turn away from the mirror and hurry toward the changing room.
Annie follows but I slam the door in her face, which instantly makes me feel bad.
“I know you’re not doing anything wrong.
I just hate them all.” I lean my forehead against the cool wall and close my eyes, fighting back tears.
This makes no sense. It didn’t hit me this hard until right now. Seeing myself in a wedding dress, looking like a beautiful princess, only makes this whole nightmare feel real.
“I get it,” Annie says through the door. “But you can’t keep running away. When I got engaged to Leon—“
“I don’t want to hear about Leon right now,” I snap, much meaner than I meant, but can’t help myself. I take a deep breath and blow it out. “I’m not you.”
“Obviously not, but I know the situation you’re in, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Kick, scream, fight, shout, that’ll only make it worse. Trust me, Tallie, you can either embrace it, or you can let it consume you.”
She’s not wrong. That’s the worst part.
I wait for her footsteps to recede before taking off the dress and dragging on my sweats and t-shirt.
I feel better with my own clothes on. I keep thinking about the day Annie first found out about her arrangement to Leon, the way she nonchalantly told me over breakfast, how she only shrugged and acted as though it were no big deal at all, and how freaked out I was about the whole thing.
How could she accept it like that? How could she roll her eyes at her entire future wiped away by Papa’s decree?
But that’s always been Annie, able to bend and shift with the prevailing winds.
I thank the sales woman profusely before escaping outside to the sidewalk.
Annie stays behind, probably to discuss more options or something.
I gulp deep breaths of fresh air, trying to clear my head.
The smell of the harbor wafts from the boats.
I can see the water from my position at the corner.
There’s a little sailing rig, some rowers working together, arms pulling, and a man standing nearby watching me—
With a very familiar face.
I jolt sideways, squinting into the sunlight. The man steps aside, behind traffic.
“Okay, I got her number, and I think there are some other dresses you can try—“
“It’s fine,” I say, moving toward where I saw him.
Brenden. I swear to God, it was Brenden, looking like a kid going to his first office job, but definitely him.
I know that face anywhere.
“Tallie? What are you doing?”
“Go back in there and buy me a dress. Any of the dresses we tried on. Whichever you liked the best.”
“Are you serious?”
“Dead serious.” I look back at her and force myself to smile. “I’m being a bitch, okay? I’m sorry, Annie. This is stressful and I can’t take it the way you can. But you’re right. Buy me a dress. Please?”
Annie’s lips press together in an annoyed line before she breaks out in a massive grin. “You had me at buy a dress darling.”
“You’re the best!”
“But where are you going?!”
I hurry away, not looking back. I keep my eyes focused on where I last saw him, crossing the street. And there, up ahead, a flash of white shirt, and that’s his hair, definitely his hair. Thick and messy, but definitely him. I walk faster, picking up my pace.
What the hell is Brenden doing here?
A cold worry shivers into my guts.
He’s not the type of man who shows up at places for no reason, much less at my dress fitting.
Not that I even told him this was happening.
As far as I know, Brenden’s not very interested in wedding planning. That fell entirely on me, and when I didn’t bother, Annie picked up the slack.
I’ll probably thank my sister one day for everything she’s doing, even if I don’t want any of it.
Today though?
I need to figure out why the hell my arranged fiance is lurking nearby.
He’s moving away from me, navigating down the block smoothly.
I’m gaining, but slowly. I keep my eyes on him, never looking away, afraid I’ll lose him if I do.
He turns a corner and I have to pick up my pace when he’s out of sight, heart pattering fast in my chest. I start cursing at myself for not doing more cardio; I’m sweating and out of breath. It’s a bit pathetic.
I find him again once I’m around the bend, like he was waiting for me. Brenden’s near a car, looking across the street at something. He starts moving to the left, angling to a narrow alley between two sets of buildings. I catch a glimpse of his pants and shoes as he turns and disappears.
This is my chance. I start running full-out, panting hard.
I look unhinged. My heels clack wildly and my arms pump like I’m trying to win a marathon, but damn it, I’m going to corner him where he can’t get away.
I come around the corner, careening wildly, and I have to grab on to the edge of a fence to keep myself from skidding ass-over-teeth.
The alley’s empty.
There’s nobody, only a clean, well-cleared narrow space between fencelines that goes on for the entire length of the block. It’s not possible he made it all the way across before I reached the entrance.
I walk forward, confusion turning to shock turning to anger.
The fucker got away.
I’m not sure how he did it. One second, he was stalking me, and now he’s gone like a ghost. I peer over a few fences and find empty, quiet back yards with no sign of a sneaky, lying, shady, freaky asshole hiding anywhere.
“Brenden!” I call, cupping my hands around my mouth. “I know you’re nearby! I just want to talk!”
Silence.
No answer.
I curse myself and trudge to the far end of the alley, to be sure. There’s nothing at all, no sign of him, no hint anyone but me has been down this way in forever.
This is stupid, but an idea hits me. I reach into my pocket, thinking I’ll see if I can fetch my sister to help me comb the area, when I come up short.
There’s an unfamiliar object in my pocket.
With trembling hands, I extract a ring.
The thing’s beautiful, clearly meant for an engagement, with a massive stone and several smaller stones inset around it. Whoever bought this monstrosity paid a lot of money.
It’s beautiful. Gorgeous, actually, the exact sort of ring I would’ve said I wanted whenever I bothered thinking about marriage, which was never very often.
I couldn’t imagine myself ever walking down the aisle. Not in this life, anyway. How could that happen, if every man I’ve ever brought into my world has been scared away by some combination of my brothers and my father?
Except here’s a ring.
“Brenden?” I say, not bothering to yell. “I really hope you can hear me… because this is weird.”
Again, nothing.
No sign he’s listening. No hint he’s waiting nearby.
But I get this strange feeling, like a certainty deep inside my fingers, radiating out along my nervous system.
He knows what I’m saying.
I hold up the ring and inspect it in the light. My mouth is cotton-dry as it reflects rainbow colors on the ground. Gorgeous, a statement piece. A ring fit for royalty.
I press it to my finger, about to slip it on—
But stop myself.
What the hell am I doing?
This isn’t mine. And even if it is, I don’t want it like this. Brenden lured me from my dress shopping and ambushed me. He shoved this monstrosity into my pocket when I wasn’t paying attention. How he managed to do all that, I have no clue, but it’s the only logical explanation.
He’s a thief, right?
This is what he does.
“Next time, give it to me the normal way.” I drop the ring back into my pocket. “And don’t be a creep.”
I start walking away, but I swear, I hear someone whisper, That’ll be hard for me, baby, except there’s nobody when I look around.
I curl up on my side, close my eyes, and try to sleep.
But sleep’s not coming.
I keep playing through the events of the last few weeks.
Meeting Brenden at the party, finding out we’re getting married, going through the farce of wedding planning, trying on dresses, getting the ring.
I reach under the pillow and touch the cold metal and diamond, rolling it around, but not slipping it on.
Is this what I have to look forward to? A man only partially in my life? A ghost of a human who drifts in and out, creepily reverse-pickpocketing me?
It’s not the worst thing.
To be married to a ghost who puts expensive objects in my pockets.
Still not exactly my dream of a perfect relationship.
I feel myself drifting, my thoughts spreading loosely, my mind pulling apart, when there’s a tapping that yanks me back. I grunt, rolling to my back, and listen again.
It’s coming from my window.
Fear spikes into my stomach. I can’t move. This is a nightmare incarnate. There’s a monster trying to break into my house and it’s going to trick me into letting it through and once I do it’ll rip open my belly and wrap my entrails around its shoulders like a nasty drippy ugly scarf and oh god—
The ring digs sharply into my palm. I hold it tightly as the tapping comes again, rhythmic and patient, though louder this time. I force myself out of bed and walk close, right on the edge of freaking out, to peer through the blinds.
Brenden’s hanging beside my windowsill.
I scream and have to cover my own mouth to avoid waking up the whole damn house.
The window jerks open. I pinwheel backward in shock, lose my balance, and fall right on my ass.
“Talin?! Are you okay? I heard you scream.”
“What the fuck are you doing?!” I shuffle further from the window. “Brenden, is that you?”
“I’m coming inside.”
“Wait, no!” Aren’t vampires supposed to ask for permission? In all the stories, monsters wait for people to let them through.