Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Grace
The package arrived in the late afternoon, unassuming at first, just a small padded envelope sitting at the edge of our doorstep.
Olivia had been the one to open the door, expecting another one of her ridiculous online shopping orders.
I wasn’t paying much attention—my focus was on the coffee I was making, trying to enjoy a normal day for once.
Then I heard the gasp.
Not just any gasp. A full-body, air-snatched-from-her-lungs kind of gasp.
I turned around, raising an eyebrow. “What?”
Olivia stared down at the open envelope in her hands, her face frozen in a mix of shock and awe. Her hands trembled slightly as she reached inside, pulling out what looked like a stack of tickets.
I frowned. “Olivia?”
She didn’t respond.
She just let out a shriek so high-pitched I was sure the neighbors heard it.
Then, with zero warning, she dropped to her knees, clutching the tickets to her chest like they were the holy grail.
I immediately went on high alert. “What the hell is going on?”
She looked up at me, eyes wild, hands shaking.
"These are— these are?—"
She couldn’t even finish the sentence. Instead, she just thrust the tickets toward me, her mouth opening and closing like she was on the verge of fainting.
I took them hesitantly, glancing down.
And immediately froze.
In my hands were two VIP DreamCrest concert tickets.
Not just any VIP tickets—the kind that came with backstage access, exclusive seating, and every ridiculous luxury a superfan could dream of.
I blinked slowly, my brain short-circuiting. “Where the hell did you get these?”
Olivia squeaked, grabbing my shoulders. “I DON’T KNOW. I THOUGHT MAYBE I WON A CONTEST OR SOMETHING, BUT I DIDN’T ENTER ANYTHING.”
I frowned, flipping the envelope over. There was no return address, just my sister’s name printed neatly on the front. But when I reached back into the package, I found something else.
A small note.
I pulled it out, immediately recognizing the handwriting.
Ezra.
I sighed, already bracing myself.
Figured you couldn’t stay away forever. Consider it a birthday gift—for both of you.
I groaned, dragging a hand down my face.
That bastard.
I should have known.
Of course, Ezra would pull something like this. Of course, he would find the most annoying way possible to drag me back in.
I had barely been home for a week, and now? Now I was being summoned back.
Olivia had finally regained the ability to breathe, but when she saw the look on my face, she frowned. "What’s wrong with you? These are literally the greatest things I have ever held in my hands, and you look like you just got served a court summons."
I sighed, waving the note in front of her face. “Because Ezra sent them.”
She froze, eyes darting to the paper. Then to me. Then to the paper again.
Silence.
Then—
“EZRA CARTER KNOWS MY NAME?!”
I groaned. “That is not the takeaway here.”
She snatched the note from my hand, holding it like a relic, her breathing uneven. “This is his ACTUAL HANDWRITING. He TOUCHED THIS.”
I ran a hand through my hair, exasperated. “Olivia, focus.”
She barely heard me, clutching the tickets against her chest again, rocking back and forth like she was on the verge of happy tears. “This is real. This is happening. This is literally the best day of my life. My life is peaking right now.”
I exhaled slowly, watching her spiral into full meltdown mode.
I could already see how this was going to go.
There was no way out of this now.
There was no reasonable way I could refuse.
I mean, I could—but Olivia would never let me live it down.
And deep down, if I was being brutally honest with myself…
A part of me wanted to go.
A part of me wanted to see them again.
I had spent days trying to rebuild my walls, trying to convince myself that I had done my job, that I had walked away clean. But it wasn’t that simple. They had been a part of my life for weeks, and now, without them, it felt… off.
Like something was missing.
And they knew it.
They had known it before I even did.
That was why Ezra had sent the tickets.
It wasn’t just for Olivia’s birthday.
It was for me, too.
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… I guess we’re going.”
Olivia screamed, launching herself at me full force, wrapping me in a bone-crushing hug. “BEST. DAY. EVER.”
I stumbled back, barely catching her weight, groaning. “Jesus, Olivia, control yourself.”
She ignored me, jumping up and down, gripping the tickets like she was afraid they’d disappear. “I HAVE TO FIND AN OUTFIT. I HAVE TO CHARGE MY PHONE. I HAVE TO MENTALLY PREPARE MYSELF FOR GREATNESS.”
I shook my head, already regretting this decision.
I flopped onto the couch, staring at the tickets in my hand, feeling that familiar pull settle in my chest again.
I was walking back into the fire.
And I had a feeling they knew it, too.