Chapter 59
FAIRYTALE ENDINGS
Twig was right about the weather.
The rain stops.
By the time we’re done with the musical and pizza at the Ember Oven, fog rolls thick over the roads. It swallows the grounds as Jude pulls into the estate. Not until he stops next to the carriage house do I make out an unfamiliar car parked next to my dad’s Bronco.
“Who’s that?” Jude asks.
“I have no idea.” I unbuckle my seatbelt. “Maybe my dad is entertaining a lady.”
Jude opens my door and walks me to the front, where a solitary porch light glows.
“That was quite the show,” he says, his hands tucked deep into the pockets of his bomber jacket.
He looks ridiculously good in it.
“I think it should have ended after act one,” I tell him.
“That would negate the whole point.”
“Which is?”
“Life isn’t a fairytale.”
I sigh. “I don’t know. I kinda like fairytale endings.”
“Says the girl obsessed with Freddy Krueger.”
A smile tugs at my mouth.
He slips his hands into the pockets of my coat and pulls me closer.
I tilt my face up to his. “Hey,” I say.
“Hey,” he says back.
We smile at each other for a bit.
I’ve been smiling at him a lot lately.
But then I bite my lip, trying to decide if I should spoil the moment. The words escape before I make the conscious decision. “You didn’t tell me Rafe was back.”
“How do you know Rafe is back?”
“He was at the theater.”
“He was?”
“I talked to him in the lobby.”
“When?”
“Before you got there.” I frown. “He was as cryptic as ever.”
“Let him be cryptic.” Jude’s arms slide around my waist. His breath tickles my neck as he kisses the sensitive spot just behind my ear. “I’m not going to worry about Rafe any more.”
“Oh?”
“He’s taken enough from my family. The manor is big. The town is big enough. And a wise woman once told me, the best way to deal with a jerk is to just ignore him.”
“That’s a good plan.”
His mouth travels across my jaw.
I swear, every inch of my skin breaks out in goosebumps.
“So,” he says, his lips inches from mine. “Are you going to start up the podcast again?”
“I’m meeting Twig tomorrow at noon. We’re gonna see how it feels.”
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and nods, like that is that.
Then he gives me a kiss. The kind that has me forgetting where I am.
By the time I step inside, I’m so happy I feel like I could float off the ground.
It’s a gift, loving Jude. Being loved by him.
Not having to worry about a curse that could kill me or a sinister mark that could kill him.
With a dreamy exhale, I press my back against the door, letting it click shut behind me.
I don’t notice Dad until he stands from his recliner. It takes me even longer to register his anxious demeanor, which reminds me of the unfamiliar vehicle outside.
“Selah,” he says, his voice tight.
The whole thing has alarm zipping through my veins. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, it’s just—” He shoves his hand into his hair and curls it into a fist. “Your mom.”
My heart jumps into my throat. “What about her?”
Dad looks toward the bathroom off the kitchen.
A sliver of light shines through the gap beneath the closed door. Water runs inside, like someone is in there washing their hands.
“Dad?” I say, looking at him—my heart thundering inside my chest.
The water turns off.
The door opens.
And out steps Clara Green.
She spots me standing by the front door and smiles. “Hi, sweetheart.”
Beneath my sleeve, the mark on my wrist tingles.
THANK YOU FOR READING