Chapter 2 #2
“Fine, but unless that scary escort actually comes to pick you up himself, you’re staying the night and I’m taking you back to campus tomorrow.” I ushered her inside. “Now, let’s get this party started.”
I led the way toward the living room, my step-niece’s hand in mine, and found a spot on the couch. The coffee table was already full of appetizers and drinks.
“Help yourself,” I said, taking a seat on the couch and watching Violet and Sienna grab refreshments.
A world map was sprawled across the wall to my right, its edges peppered with tiny pinholes and the odd dart scar. The amber floor lamps glinted off the metal tips of the darts, their shadows stretching like thin needles across the continents.
While Sienna helped herself to the food, Violet’s gaze kept drifting past the spread, flicking again and again toward the map and the cluster of darts mounted beside it. Even as she reached for a drink, her attention refused to stay put.
“So,” she said at last, sitting down on the loveseat, “what exactly is a dart party?” A grin tugged at her mouth. “I have to admit, your message piqued my curiosity.”
“Well, it’s a party where you throw a dart at a map and you hope it lands somewhere sunny and warm.”
“Never heard of it,” Violet said as she pulled her hair into a claw clip, exposing the light olive skin at her shoulders. “How come we’ve never had it before?”
I shrugged. “I only just found out about it myself.”
“How long will you be gone for?” Sienna questioned.
“Not sure.”
It was Violet’s turn to grill me. “What are you going to do with all your stuff? I don’t understand where this is all coming from.”
“I need a change of scenery.”
Violet pursed her lips. “I don’t buy it. What are you hiding?”
“Nothing. I just want to try something new for a bit.”
“Yeah, because you hate your job, Miss Workaholic.” Violet scoffed. “Remember who you’re talking to. Now, seriously… What’s driving all this?”
“Doctors take sabbaticals all the time. It helps with longevity. Look it up if you don’t believe me,” I stated.
Before Violet could continue questioning me, Sienna chimed in.
“Okay, fine, but are you going to explain all these Greek appetizers?” She plucked up a piece of spanakopita, the flaky crust scattering crumbs as she bit into it. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Yeah, I’m curious about the theme too,” Violet added dryly, one perfectly groomed eyebrow lifting as she followed her line of sight. “Planning on landing a dart in Greece?”
Her words hovered in the air for half a second, long enough for the faint hum of the refrigerator and the clink of cutlery against ceramic to fill the silence.
I knew where her mind had drifted to. Violet’s one-night-stand-with-consequences involving an infuriatingly handsome Greek god (her words) still haunted her, though she rarely spoke of it. Some secrets were better left buried, although I worried this particular one would find a way to break free.
I smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
“Actually, I cornered the owner of this building and tried to convince him to install a charging station and amend the HOA agreement that would allow me to keep my energy-efficient vehicle.” I shrugged, reaching for a napkin and a plate as the citrusy scent of taramosalata drifted through the air.
“He happened to be in a Greek restaurant, so I figured I’d be efficient and take care of the catering at the same time.
You girls know that the kitchen is just for show. ”
“Did he agree? Because if not, we could find a way to… I don’t know…
have him killed or robbed,” Sienna suggested, tone sweet as sugar as she grabbed another appetizer.
Then realizing what she said, she quickly added, “Yes, yes, I learned my lesson the last time, and this time I wouldn’t get caught. ”
Violet’s expression threatened to switch to therapist mode. Thankfully, it didn’t.
Instead, she chose to talk sense.
“I don’t get it. Why would you buy a car without having all your ducks in a row, especially knowing you live in an HOA building? Yes, you tend to do chaotic things, but this…” She gestured around vaguely, crumbs clinging to her fingers. “You’ve had this condo since college. Rookie mistake.”
“She wanted to be environmentally friendly,” Sienna chimed in.
“And save money,” I interjected. “It doesn’t matter, because the owner told me to take it up with his employee. You’d think the owner would have more power than his manager, but whatever.”
Sienna nodded, then added, “That asshole—whoever he is—should jump when we say jump, not give you a hard time.”
That asshole was none other than Lykos Costello, a Greek real estate tycoon worth typhoon levels of money. The man was scary, although I couldn’t exactly pinpoint why.
“Judging by your expression, you didn’t succeed in convincing his manager,” Violet said, her voice calm and collected.
“Your assumption is correct.” I sighed.
She shook her head. “You know there’s nobody else to blame for rushing into a vehicle purchase without doing your research. You should have let Kristoff’s driver chauffeur you around for a bit rather than rush from the hospital to buy a car.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Why did I invite you?”
She flashed me a grin. “Because you love me and I love you.”
“You’re right, dammit,” I muttered.
And then there was the fact that she wasn’t wrong. Everyone dealt with shit in their own way, and I was no different. I insisted on shopping and ended up with a new vehicle as well as a boatload of useless stuff.
Someone’s phone buzzed, and the sound set us all off at once, hands diving into pockets and screens lighting all our faces in a brief wash of blue.
It was Sienna’s.
“Seems she’s more popular than us,” Violet acknowledged.
Sienna’s eyes darted over the screen and then she shot to her feet so fast the dainty couch legs shrieked against the floor. Her gaze snapped left, then right, like she expected to see a ghost.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, yep… definitely.” A nervous energy rolled off her in waves, restless fingers twitching at her sides and her words tumbling over each other breathlessly. “When is the dart throwing starting?”
“I guess now,” I muttered, putting down my plate of uneaten appetizers. I stood up, heading across the room. I picked one up, the metal cool against my fingers and the plastic flights brushing my knuckles.
Sienna put her phone down and moved herself comfortably out of the throwing line. “Then let’s get this party started.”
“I just want to say,” Violet began, her hands folding neatly in her lap, her voice wrapped in a calm that served her well as a therapist, “that nothing good has ever started with darts in someone’s living room.”
Sienna snorted, her arm slung lazily over the back of the sofa, as if we weren’t teetering on the edge of something stupid.
“I strongly disagree,” she said. “Some breakthroughs start exactly this way.” She examined her fingernails before adding, “Or by hacking into people’s bank accounts and stealing their money.”
“You’re rage-baiting me, kid,” Violet stated matter-of-factly, “but I’m not biting.”
“Let her be,” I protested. “She’ll deal with shit her own way. We’re all working on moving on from… stuff.”
My voice cracked on the last word, but thankfully Sienna and Violet pretended not to notice.
Sienna wandered over to the windows, then stood there with her arms crossed, watching me with the sharp concern of someone too young to have learned how life could rearrange us.
“Want me to go with you?” Sienna offered. “We can throw darts together.”
“Absolutely not,” I said. The world map on the wall seemed to stare back at us, scarred and pockmarked, waiting. “Don’t worry, Sienna. This is all harmless. An adventure.”
Violet’s gaze flicked to the world map. “That map needs some updating.”
“So does my life,” I said lightly. The room went silent, and I smiled quickly to reassure everyone. “I’m not spiraling,” I added. “I’m… redirecting.”
“You’re attempting to outrun grief through geographical displacement.” Violet crossed her legs, ever the professional. “You need to stay and deal with it, not run.”
I tilted my head. “To be fair, grief hates airports.”
She shook her head disapprovingly.
I turned back to the map, my vision stinging as tears threatened to spill, the borders and country names blurring into fragments of memory. A dull ache settled in my chest, choosing the worst moment to make itself known.
Before the accident, every day had a purpose. I planned, I dreamed, I knew exactly where I was going and who I was. With or without Jonathan, but knowing he would be alive and living his own life somewhere.
Now I moved through life like a stranger, stumbling from one day to the next without direction, unsure of what the right thing to do was.
The circumstances surrounding Jonathan’s death wrapped themselves tightly around me, and the constant fear for my family’s safety became a cage I couldn’t escape. It followed me everywhere, whispering warnings and refusing to let me grieve, let alone move on.
Distance might be the only way out. Maybe if I could put oceans between myself and the past, I could finally breathe again and keep Kristoff and his family safe.
Leaving wasn’t running away; it was survival. I was choosing to protect the ones I loved.
“Leaving is the best thing I can do right now,” I murmured.
“Running won’t erase your loss,” Sienna pointed out softly.
“I know, but staying won’t either,” I said. “You’ve talked to Kai?”
Jonathan’s son and Sienna were close. For a long time, we all thought they’d be an item, but they never took it there. Instead, they relied on each other for support as friends.
She nodded. “Yes, he’s… dealing with things in his own way.”
I nodded, not wanting to probe. I never wanted her to feel like she was betraying him. The most important thing was that they had each other and were doing okay.
“Okay, let’s do this.”
Violet exhaled. “At least let us discuss the symbolic implications before you—”
I threw the dart and it struck the map with a clean, decisive thunk. For a moment, nobody spoke as I took a few tentative steps toward it.
Violet broke the silence first. “I guess you’re doing this and it’s a paradise, so can’t complain, huh?”
Sienna blinked. “What are the odds? Now I want to come with you.”
I laughed—actually laughed—because for the first time in months, the future didn’t feel so bleak.