27. Annalise
Chapter twenty-seven
Annalise
“Sasha, I swear to the Gods, if you don’t stop squirming up there, I’ll tell your parents all about that smutty knotting book you have tucked under your pillow,” I jokingly threaten from my cramped middle seat in the back of Mattey’s pickup.
Apparently, being the second oldest here tonight counts for nothing.
Between the fact that this whole seating disaster is technically my fault, and that I’m the smallest one here, I’ve been condemned to riding in the back—wedged between Emily’s puffy layers of black tulle and Theo’s tree-trunk thigh.
Meanwhile, Sasha is approximately three seconds away from grinding a hole straight through what is inherently my seat in Matt’s new pickup, with her dress.
“Sorry! Who knew sequins wouldn’t be comfortable to sit on?” she asks, still scooting back and forth.
“Literally all of us, the second you pulled it off the rack,” Emily laughs as we roll into the already half-full, employee-only lot at the Thandroan Gallery of History.
“You know what? Nobody—”
Her shrill squeal rips through the pickup, and Matt barely has time to hit the brakes before she’s throwing her door open, hopping out, and bolting for the front entrance faster than anyone should be capable of in heels.
“So…you think she figured out Antonio’s here?” Matt jokes as he backs into the closest open spot.
“Nah, she’s probably just ready for another drink after putting up with these two all afternoon,” Theo throws back, bumping my leg before climbing out and extending a hand to help me down.
Thanks to Matt’s complete disregard for parking rules, we make our way over to where Sasha is standing at the entrance—practically vibrating—as she hugs a beaming Antonio.
“Well,” Matt says under his breath, “so much for subtle.”
“Yeah, I guess I didn’t pick the best waiting spot,” Antonio laughs as he sprinkles her head with gentle kisses.
“You knew!” she accuses, pointing at me as soon as we make it to them.
I lift a shoulder innocently. “Define ‘knew.’”
Before she can interrogate me further, Antonio steps forward, meeting Matt halfway and slipping into an easy, quick bro-hug. “Thanks, man. I couldn’t have pulled this off without you.”
“Anytime. It’s good to see you.”
“You’re looking good,” he says to me next, pulling me into a big hug, his voice low enough to feel almost private…
though I’m pretty sure every single person standing here hears it.
His lips twitch into a knowing smile as he nods toward Matt.
“And thank you, too. We both know this idiot couldn’t have pulled any of this off without you. ”
“I barely did anything,” I say. “How long have you been waiting out here? Is—"
Theo clears his throat.
Right. Audience.
Antonio steps back, straightening in a way that might be intimidating if Sasha weren’t already wrapped around his bicep.
I bite back a laugh and clap my hands together once.
“Okay—introductions before we all die of awkwardness, and then we can actually get inside and find our table.” I gesture toward Emily first. “Antonio, you’ve met Emily.”
“Good to see you again,” Antonio says smoothly.
Emily gives an awkward little wave. “Yep. Still me.”
“And this is Theo. Theo, this is Antonio.”
“My boyfriend,” Sasha cuts in proudly, beaming up at him. “And officially the best surprise of the night.”
The men smile and shake hands, though there’s a stiffness that doesn’t quite match either of them. Before the moment can linger too long, Emily is already moving—shoving open the front doors with perfect timing.
“To the bar!” she calls, and just like that, we follow her inside.
Stepping into the Thandroan Gallery of History feels both like stepping back in time, and entering an entirely new world.
While the architecture is every bit as breathtaking as I remember—vaulted ceilings, soft light reflecting off polished marble floors—the space has been turned into a tropical wonder.
Where mere months ago tables were filled with elegant flowers and tall candelabras, they are now overflowing with lush greenery and vibrant flower blooms. The deep green vines wrap around the iron-laced vaults, while lanterns glow in warm amber hues, casting shifting shadows along the walls.
“Okay,” Emily claps, taking charge.
“You two—” she gestures to the happy couple one step away from being indecent before the night’s even begun. “Go find an empty corner of the museum and get this tension out of you before Sasha’s parents get here.”
“Lee, Theo, you go find our assigned table and make sure I get a spot with the best lighting, please and thank you!”
“I’ll—”
“Come help me get drinks, because there’s no way I’m carrying all of them by myself,” Emily cuts in, shooting Matt a pointed don’t-even-think-about-arguing-with-me look.
“Fine.” Matt’s gaze shifts to Theo, sharp and unapologetically protective. “But I’m trusting you to keep an eye on her.” His jaw tightens as he glances over the growing crowd filing into the venue. “Gods only know what kind of trash will show up tonight.”
Theo lifts a brow, clearly debating whether to be honored or ask questions.
“Good to know I’ve made the cut.”
Matt claps him once on the shoulder—hard enough to make it feel more like a warning than affection. “No, just lack of better options.”
I gape as Emily successfully drags Matt toward the bar, Sasha and Antonio already long gone.
"Looks like the assignments are posted over there," I say, indicating to the same spot they were at the last time I was here.
“Should be…” Theo squints ahead. “There.”
I follow his line of sight toward the table in the third row, and immediately drop my arm from where it’s been looped through his since getting our assigned table number and trying to navigate through the crowds of people.
Someone is already sitting there.
Tall. Solid. Broad shoulders stretching beneath a fitted black shirt.
His dark hair catches the soft lights overhead as he sits there like he owns the whole damn place. Completely relaxed. Completely out of place.
“Dad? What are you doing here?”
“Ahh, there you are! As if I could miss my baby girls' Track Gala,” he says, pulling me into an uncomfortably tight hug as I plead to Theo for help with my eyes.
A look of confusion passes across his face, and I’m silently wondering how big of a scene is about to break out until his mouth opens, and his hand shoots out.
“Sir, it’s such a pleasure to meet you after all of the wonderful things Annalise has told me about you,” he lies, and every bit of hope I had disappears instantly.
“Still up for eating someone tonight?” I ask Tyr, though I’m not sure it would only be one person in this moment.
“You’ve only been alone with him for a few minutes. How can he already be that much of a disappointment?”
“Oh, and who might you be?” My dad asks, appraising Theo from head to toe.
“Theodore Stevens, Sir. And the lucky bastard your daughter is letting escort her around.”
My dad laughs, nodding in approval.
“It’s good to meet you, son. Now sit and unbutton your jacket, we’re here to celebrate.”
I send the last few seconds down the bond, and feel Tyr’s concern instantly.
“I’m fine for now, but if you could stand by just in case I need an extraction?”
“The fact that the humans around you can’t immediately see that you’re a Ghost Walker just proves how stupid they all really are…And yes, I’ll be close by. Just say the word, and I’m there.”
“Which word?”
“Never mind, THEY might not be the problem,” Tyr teases as I mentally flip him off.
“Did I hear someone say celebrate?” Emily cheers enthusiastically until Matt stops just in front of her, his eyes shooting between my dad and me as his grip on the glasses grows tighter.
Gently, I shake my head, though I’m not even sure what I’m asking Matt not to do.
Not to go another round with my dad right here and now? Not leave me stuck between my abuser and my unaware, brown-nosing date?
Never letting his eyes stray from my dad, he gently places my glass of champagne in front of me before taking the seat on the other side of Theo.
Minutes feel like hours as Theo peppers my dad with questions about being the sheriff and blows smoke up his ass about his hard work and dedication rubbing off on me since I was the first of my class to bond, and came back to classes so quickly after the rockslide incident during Vanguard.
Every question stirs a memory worse than the last, but still I listen.
“You guys should really take a walk through the exhibits, they’re jaw-dropping,” Sasha says, eyes still focused on Antonio as she falls into the seat next to Emily.
“It was the exhibits, was it? I thought it was the thing I did with—”
“Nice to see you’ve made so many new friends,” my dad cuts in loudly with a smile. “It’s too bad some just can’t seem to let go, even when they're no longer useful,” he adds, eyes locked on my Mattey.
Matt’s chair scrapes against the floor as he stands abruptly, and I'm up just as fast, my hand settling on Matt's chest to keep him from causing a scene.
"He's not worth it, ok? He can't hurt me here," I whisper.
"That doesn't mean he won't try."
"Mattey, look at me. I'm fine."
His eyes drop to mine, too many emotions in them to read.
"I'm sorry, he just—"
“There he is!”
A booming voice cuts through the tension before either of us can say another word.
Matt spins toward it, and my breath catches.
Standing a few tables away, somehow looking even younger than he looked mocking us through our cell doors, is Matt's father…and beside him are two people who look so unmistakably like Sasha that I can practically list out who she gets every feature from.
“Mom! Dad! You made it!” Sasha squeals, jumping up from her seat and launching into their arms.
“Do you mind if I take this seat so I can sit by my son?” Matt’s dad asks Emily.
“Of course,” Emily says immediately, sliding out of her chair and moving toward the open spot beside my dad, even as Matt starts insisting it isn’t necessary.
“Ahhh, if it isn’t our adopted daughter,” Sasha’s mom says as she pulls me into a hug. “We’re so glad you’re feeling better since the…” her voice softens. “…incident.”
My throat tightens.
“Thank you,” I whisper, squeezing her back. “For everything.”
With a gentle squeeze of my arm, she turns toward the rest of the table.
“Now you have to be Emily—” she says, pointing dramatically. “And you must be Matt.” Her eyes shift toward Antonio. “Which makes you our sweet Sasha’s beau, Antonio.”
Antonio barely has time to stand before she’s already pulling him into a hug that makes Sasha smile ear-to-ear.
“Sorry, I’ve heard so much about this crew for the last few months, I feel like I already know you,” she says, before looking to my dad and Theo. “And who might y’all be?”
“Theodore, Ma’am,” Theo says, his fake voice still in full effect. “And this here, is the renowned sheriff of South Hollow,” he says proudly, pausing for effect, “…and Annalise’s dad.”
And just like that, every conversation at the table dies instantly.
Sasha’s parents and my friends all glare daggers in his direction as Theo continues recounting the stories he’s only just heard from my dad as though they’ve been friends for a lifetime and he experienced each one at his side.
My dad, of course, eats it up, laughing—actually laughing—more than once.
Matt looks one starstruck story away from strangling Theo with his own tie.
And me?
I’m counting down the minutes until I can be locked behind the safe gates of Scion—well, safer than I feel sitting so close to my father.
Far longer than it should have been, the MC steps on stage, mic in hand and ready to begin the formal portion of the night.
Just like Bravo's gala, the listing of each name and waiting for that person to walk clear across the room to take the stage individually, leaves a lot to be desired.
Thankfully, it's not too long before my name is called to come up and receive my only half-true track announcement.
“Well, as many of you can imagine, Tyr threatened to end the party early if I didn’t thank him first,” I joke, grinning as a few people laugh. Across the room, Priscilla visibly cringes, her eyebrows only just recovering from her last unfortunate encounter with the riding grounds. “Kidding—mostly.”
“But truly, thank you to the instructors who have gone far beyond what was ever required of them, and to the friends who stood beside me through every hard moment this year.” I take a slow breath, glancing toward my table.
“And most of all… to the man who helped shape me into the person I am today—”
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch my dad sitting a little straighter, pride already settling across his face before I’ve even finished the sentence.
“Mattey.”
All of my friends are standing when I make it to the table, pulling me in for quick hugs before I slide back into my chair, the temperature instantly dropping ten degrees as my fathers arm drapes casually over the back of my chair, posture relaxed enough to fool anyone not paying attention.
But I can feel the barely-restrained anger radiating off him.
Feel the way his jaw flexes every time someone says Matt's name.
“You forgot someone there, Lee” Theo says as my dad's eyes bore into the side of my head, though his smile never wavers as the crowd listens intently to the next recruit.
Looking straight ahead to Antonio, I'm comforted by the knowledge that I'm surrounded by people who care about me.
“No,” I reply just as softly. “I didn’t.”
Dad's fingers tap slowly against the back of my chair—slow, controlled fury, but I don't miss the smile and nod of approval from Antonio.
When it gets to Matt’s turn, he chooses to do the same thing I did, though his list is even shorter than mine.
His dad, however, is waiting arms out, and a big grin on his face expectantly as Matt rejoins us…
but Matt pointedly side steps him, only stopping to kiss my cheek before falling back into his chair for the remainder of the ceremony.