8. Ivy Jade
Ivy Jade
My nighttime angelitos can go to hell!
My beauty sleep was ruined. I felt the stress bags under my eyes puffing up. Everything was unpleasant!
“Where is it?! Where the heck is it?!” I muttered under my breath, ripping apart every box, suitcase, and closet as I tried to look for the rings.
They weren’t here, not in my pockets, not in my purse, not even in the safe in my room.
I lost Gustav and Tallulah’s wedding bands.
What were they going to say? They were going to freak! I sure would if someone lost my shit—sorry. Rings were literally the entire point of a wedding, and we couldn’t lose the plot over this.
I stopped midway, glancing around, taking a moment to breathe and focus. Think.
I could just tell them the truth.
Honesty was the best policy, right?
Yes!
I could tell Tallulah that I simply misplaced them—or, wait. No. That was so stupid! Telling Tallulah would be… the worst thing I could do. Mami would chase me with a chancla if she knew I ruined an event attached to our Castellanos reputation.
Or… actually, I think Mami would be happy if those two didn’t get married.
No, let’s not go there.
I just needed to retrace my steps.
Alright.
First, Tallulah gave me the rings while we were waiting in the foyer of the chateau.
That was the start of this whole debacle.
I had them in my hand, and to keep them safe, I placed them into my purse–the Chanel one Mami got me when we were in Paris.
It held my lipstick. It was totally cute.
Tiny and with a bow. I remembered thinking it was the perfect size for storing the rings safely, and that was right before Gustav dragged us to that stupid Scare Park… Thrill Valley.
Oh my god.
They must have fallen out of my pocket! But when…
It hit me all at once. I dropped them when I fell into that disgusting, horrible ditch!
Out of all the places, really? This was not a sunshiny day! This was cruel beyond all reason.
I couldn’t just sneak away without being noticed. I was too pretty! I needed the plainest clothes to not draw any attention, which was to say, I needed to look as generic and vague as the rest of the wedding party.
I went to the coat closet where I stuck the goody bag Tallulah gave all of us girls.
It was a welcome gift that contained a branded water bottle with Tallulah and Gustav's name and wedding date, chapstick, various little chocolates, and a black shirt with…
rhinestone letters. I held the shirt up.
It read ‘Basic Witch’ on it, and I nearly screamed.
It was repulsive. Maybe this was her idea of a cruel joke.
Kind of how designers created the most ridiculous outfits, just to see which desperate clowns would pay thousands to look like an idiot.
The stones totally clashed with my eyes, but I was willing to wear it for the sake of saving Tallulah's rings—like any good maid of honor would. Reluctantly, I placed the shirt over my head, then slipped on some capris and those same icky sneakers from last night. It wasn’t my finest look, but it was the best way to leave the room undetected.
Quietly, I opened my door, peeking out into the hallway. Looking left and right, I saw nobody nearby. It was only past nine in the morning. Everyone should be out and about doing some horrendous Halloween activity. I slowly closed the door behind me.
Letting out a big sigh, I quickly walked down.
Once I passed these stairs, I should be able to sneak out through the kitchen staff’s quarters, and…
“Ivy Jade! Where are you going so fast, and… dressed like that?” Tallulah quirked her brows, gleaming. I looked over at her, standing near the kitchen, surprised. She wore the same shirt as me. “You actually looked through the goody bag! You’re wearing your shirt!”
I stood in front of her, helpless, arms at my side. Of course she’d be here waiting randomly of all things.
"I couldn't resist... you know how much I love rhinestones," I said with a smile, teeth held tight. Truthfully, I felt like a disco ball, but I couldn't get hung up on the details. This wasn’t Paris Fashion Week; this was simply her Gothic wedding, no awards, no press, nothing.
“Well, it looks super cute. Thank you for indulging me,” she said happily.
"Anything for the bride,”—I murmured, palms sweating—“you can always count on me."
“I knew I could.” She patted my shoulder. “Now, remember that one guy Gustav used to be friends with back in the day?”
It was so hard to focus. Tallulah was saying so much, yet all I could picture was leaving immediately before anyone else caught me. If I could leave, I could get to the park and find those rings.
“Ivy!” Gustav said.
“Jade,” I yelled. My attention snapped back to where I was. “Ivy Jade.”
“Sure, you snap her out of it,” Tallulah griped at my brother.
“I just need to get something,” I said, walking off.
“Watch out!” Tallulah said.
I stopped cold in my tracks when I nearly ran into the last person I expected to see here.
“That’s what I was trying to tell her. I was trying to tell her Ro will be with us this week. But you know her; she blanks out,” Tallulah told Gustav, but I swear they were thousands of miles away.
Ro stood in front of me, no… he loomed over me.
It was no different than back in elementary school when I first met him.
He was a freshman in high school at the time, and I was just nine.
Except… Ro was different. His hair was longer, his eyes more focused and mature.
He was still dressed in all black, his arms and chest wrapped in a fitted hoodie that seemed to hug his shoulders.
He was bigger. Much, much bigger. And I nearly fell back at how intensely he stared at me.
My heart skipped a beat, which was unexpected and weird because I hated this guy.
I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to show his face, especially after how he humiliated me back in—
“Ivy Jade, remember when Ro would come over and play Guitar Hero with us during summer break? You always begged to play, but you could never beat his high score?” Gustav said with a huge smile, cutting off my internal thoughts.
“How could I forget?” I sneered. “He practically lived with us like he was some moocher.”
“It’s nice to see you, too,” he said in a deeper voice than I remembered. The man didn’t even flinch at my words. Was I supposed to be around him the rest of the week?
Really? Really, Tallulah? She knew how much I despised him.
“Excuse us,” I said to everyone, taking Tallulah by the elbow to some quiet corner where no prying ears could hear us.
“Ow? Personal space, Ivy Jade,” she said.
“Why didn’t you warn me, Tal?” I faced her, blinking like a madwoman.
“About what?” She sounded annoyed.
“About Ro being here? You do remember I hate his guts, right?”
“You’re still on that? Seriously? We were just kids. How would I know you still hate the guy? We’ve all grown up. I mean, look at him. He’s drool-worthy, right?”
“This is… absolutely embarrassing. Whatever,” I said. “And he’s so not drool-worthy. Don’t use such big statements you don’t understand.”
She scoffed. “Seriously, Ivy Jade. If you’re going to stick around for my wedding—and I hope you do, because it means a lot to me to have you here as my maid of honor—I need you to behave.”
“Of course I want to be here, but…” I fanned my hands near her face in a panic. “It’s him! How can I be around him when… never mind. I don’t know what to do, Tal.”
“Maybe get to know him? I don’t know. You both will be spending a lot of time together this week. Don’t make it awkward.” Tallulah gave me an entire rundown. It was almost as if she’d become my own mom, telling me what to do, how to act, who to be nice to.
“You’re right,” I said. “I won't ruin anything for you because I'm a good person. And that's what good people do. They show they are better than their opposition."
"I wouldn't classify Ro as an opposition... but whatever floats your boat," Tallulah said, looking a tad more optimistic.
I just shook my head, mentally priming myself to keep cool, but I knew deep down that the only way I could get through this week was by avoiding Romeo as much as possible.
If I somehow ended up stuck anywhere with him, that’d be my nightmare!
No, thank you. I couldn’t allow that to happen.
It’d be impossible and not the way Audrey Hepburn used to say it. It really wouldn’t be possible.
“Good. Now let’s go back to the group,” she said.
I looked over at my brother, happily talking Ro’s ear off. Ro’s eyes were fixed on mine, watching me patiently, and scanning me from head to toe. His eyes landed on my shoes, a bit too long for my liking.
Tal hooked her arm into mine, and we walked back to them.
“There we go. Everything good now, you brat?” Gustav said to me.
The nerve. “Now, as I was trying to tell you. Leo caught a bug from his kid, so he won’t be here this week.
Ro graciously stepped in to be my best man.
” Gustav side-hugged him, looking all proud to have his best friend back.
I hadn’t seen Gustav this happy. I mean, he was with Tallulah, but I remembered these two were the bestest of friends.
If I reminded myself of that fact, then maybe I’d stop hating Ro.
But I never made promises.
“It’s nice to see you again,” I practically muttered under my breath.
Ro smirked slowly, gazing at me intently. Maybe a little too closely, too deeply. I hated his attention, actually. It made me feel angry beyond what I could handle, and that just wasn’t me. I was so much more sunshine than that.
“As the best man, I’ll do my best to honor my title,” Ro said, softening his expression.
“Good, good! Now, everyone, let’s bring it in.” Gustav brought us all in for a forced hug.
“Yuck! Stop!” I told him, but he couldn’t care less; he kept squeezing us all.
“I’m so happy to have you all here with me. Thank you,” Gustav said. “Time to hit the bus for the corn maze across town. They’re waiting for us outside.”
“Corn maze?” I said loosely.
How the hell was I going to get out of this?