37. BACK THEN – October
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
GARRISON ABBEY
W e’re huddled near the back of Connor Cobalt’s limo, my laptop propped open on the trunk. Water slowly trickles from a fountain in the yard. The Cobalt Estate is made for royalty. If their mansion could talk, it’d be calling all the other houses on the street “peasants.”
Cold bites my bare skin. My costume for this lovely Halloween: a red T-shirt, red slacks, and a red-horned headband.
I’m the devil.
All thanks to Loren Hale.
Halloween happens to land on his birthday. And yeah, I phrased it like that because after knowing the guy for this long, I don’t think the universe put his birthday on Halloween. It’s definitely the other way around.
As a present to Lo, we’ve all let him decide our costumes for the night.
Willow tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.
A circular gold wreath hovers over her head. Knee-length white dress and matching wings round out the outfit. An angel to my devil. I’m shocked. Not that Lo would choose something pure and perfect for Willow, but because he picked matching costumes for us.
It looks like we’re a couple.
We are.
But I didn’t think Loren Hale wanted to announce the fact to the world. Not like this . He still glares at me anytime I get within three inches of her lips. I get it. He’s overprotective of his sister, especially now that I’m dating her.
Willow and I are doing well, and that’s all that matters to me.
She glances at the opened laptop, an email server popped up next to a hacking software. But we haven’t been talking about that.
I’m stuck on news that recently came out. “I don’t get it. The artists and creators of The Fourth Degree must have smoked one too many joints. None of it makes sense. I shouldn’t have won.”
Willow moves closer to me to whisper, “You deserved to win. Your superhero was the best.” She says it like it’s so simple.
A while ago, Lily and Lo gave every Superheroes & Scones employee a chance to create a new superhero in The Fourth Degree universe.
The Fourth Degree is a wildly popular comic book series from Halway Comics. Vic Whistler (Extent) is the main character, but they’re diverging to new lines and opening up the entire world for more heroes, antiheroes, and villains.
The whole thing has been plaguing me ever since the winner was announced. I just…I don’t see how I won out of everyone who works there. People were making flow charts for this shit. It was a big deal.
If Lily was the judge, maybe I’d think she was taking pity on me, but no one in the store has ever talked to Belinda and Jackson Howell, the artists and creators of The Fourth Degree . It’s not like they could have played favorites.
Compared to the other employees, I shouldn’t have won. I barely read comics. Barely know the lore. I’m doing better than when I first showed up, but I’m not a walking encyclopedia like most of them.
My throat is dry. “I don’t know. Carter had a cool superhero.”
Willow’s face scrunches up. “His was basically a rip off of X-Men . And Maya was right when she called it a Walmart Pyro. You know, Maya even said if she had a vote, it would’ve been for Sorin-X. So it must be good. If you don’t believe anyone else, you have to believe her taste at least.”
Maya Ahn would have voted for my superhero…
Damn.
That hits me. Because Willow’s old roommate is the last person to feed you bullshit, and she probably has the most comics knowledge at Superheroes & Scones. More than anyone.
Sorin-X.
My creation is going to be an actual superhero. Or…more like an anti hero. At least, that’s how I pitched him. He has teleportation powers linked to the proximity of the girl he loves. He can’t teleport more than four miles away from her. And he’s a recovering alcoholic.
Lo never gave me shit for it, since it’s kind of obvious I drew my inspiration from him. So that’s something.
I tap my computer screen. “This shouldn’t take me long. Maybe just tonight.” Daisy’s ex-friends have been finding ways to get her phone number, even after Daisy blocked them. They’ve been harassing her enough that she asked me for help. Hence, the laptop.
It sucks that the price of fame can be so cruel. Like past shitty friends coming back to make your life hell. Jealously eats people up in different ways, I guess. I wish that Daisy’s ex-friends could find their chill, take a hint and stop texting her.
Willow pushes up her glasses. “It’s nice that you’re doing this for Daisy, but…are you sure you want to? Isn’t it illegal?”
“Yeah, but is it really illegal if I’m doing it to help someone else?”
Willow ponders this for a second. “Um…that sounds like a trick question.”
Damn, she really is an angel. I lean in to kiss the top of her nose.
“Mother of dragons!” Lo yells at the Cobalt’s mansion.
We’ve been waiting for what feels like forever for Connor and Rose.
Dressed in a navy blue, silver, red Thor costume and a winged helmet, Daisy outstretches her plastic hammer towards Lily. “You stoleth thy lightsaber, you pesky fairy.”
Lily looks even ganglier in her Tinker Bell costume, green tutu dress and wings. She whips out a blue plastic beam. “Prepare to meet thy doom, Thor.” Lily and Daisy are grinning as the plastic weapons make contact.
Ryke gave Lily his lightsaber, and he also lent Daisy his blackish-brown robe. So now he’s just dressed in a tunic and pants. I nudge Willow’s shoulder and nod towards Ryke. “He still look like Anakin Skywalker to you?”
Willow grimaces and shakes her head. “Lo’s going to be upset. But Daisy is pregnant, so maybe he’ll understand that Ryke is trying to keep his pregnant wife warm.” Willow beams at the words pregnant and wife .
Daisy went through hell and back trying to get pregnant, and Willow’s happy for her best friend. Hell, I’m happy for Daisy. It’s hard not to want joy for someone who brings so much joy to other people.
It’s why I’m confused whenever anyone wants me to be happy. You know, why want that?
I point to my laptop screen, catching Willow’s attention. “I’m going for it.”
“I’ll bail you out of jail if anything goes wrong,” she says softly, smiling.
My lips lift.
“Devil!” Lo shouts at me from up the driveway.
I raise my gaze from the computer screen, unsurprised that I’m being given a nickname.
“You know what happens when an angel and a devil create a bodily union? The apocalypse.” Jesus this is why he gave us a couple costume. “Do the right thing and don’t end the world tonight.”
“That’s definitely not how that works,” I say dryly.
Lo looks to Ryke. “Do you hear this guy?”
“Yeah. I guess he doesn’t understand the fucking meaning of apocalypse. Want to spell it out for him?”
I cross my arms over my chest and give Ryke a look like, why do you have to be on my case too? Man, it royally sucks that Willow now has two brothers. One was enough since his name is Loren Hale. Adding Ryke into the mix is like throwing in barbed wire and explosives.
I’m not a fucking GI Joe doll. I’m not about to run through their obstacles with a smile and yes, sir .
It doesn’t help that Ryke doesn’t trust me. I see it in every inch of his I fucking hate you stance and his towering, broody ass glare.
“Apocalypse,” Lo defines, “also known as the end of your godforsaken, puny little life by the powers that be.”
“Also known as me ,” Ryke chimes in.
“And me,” Lo finishes with a half-smile. “Welcome to hell.”
I barely blink. “I’ve seen scarier.”
Ryke’s brows jump in surprise. “Who?”
“My brothers.” I turn into my computer, a little shocked I even uttered those words. My abdomen tenses and I roll out my shoulders.
Whatever.
Lo and Ryke have dropped the whole overly protective brother routine, and Willow nudges my shoe with hers. “Sorry about them,” she whispers.
I shake my head. “It’s good they care about you.” If it were any other guy on the receiving end of their bullshit, I’d probably be applauding. Willow deserves people to care about her enough to grill whatever guy she’s with. I’m just the lucky asshole who gets her.
“They’re ten fucking minutes late now,” Lo complains. As soon as he says the words, the front door opens. Rose struts out first in a long, light-blue draped dress with a gold belt, along with a platinum blonde wig.
Daenerys Targaryen. The Mother of Dragons from Game of Thrones . It’s not my genre of choice, but I’ve been watching with Willow.
I glance to my girlfriend. Her smile has officially burst across her face. “It’s perfect,” she says softly. “I never thought I’d get to see Rose dressed up as Dany.” Before I can say anything, she leans a hip against the limo and angles to me. “Are you nervous about the party?”
“The Halloween party?” I ask. Lo gave us bare details. It’s in the Hamptons at some famous singer’s house. He annoyingly forgot the singer’s name. I know this is Willow’s first “adult” Halloween party that’ll include more than just chaste apple bobbing.
She nods.
“Not really,” I tell her. “Are you?”
“Yeah, it’s just…” She rubs her arm. “Their bodyguards aren’t allowed in the mansion, and what if something happens?”
“Nothing’s going to happen,” I say, and I don’t add that if anything does happen, it’ll probably be to the people more famous than us. That’ll just make her worry for Daisy. “What are you nervous about specifically, anyway?”
“People. Lots of people. Being touched or not knowing where to go. Getting lost…lots of things.”
Fuck. “I’m not going to let anyone touch you.” Even thinking about it is like drilling nails into my skull. Not happening. It’s not fucking happening.
* * *
Willow and Daisy are gone.
They left us for the bathroom, and everyone thought they were “taking way too fucking long” so we all went on a search and rescue party.
It failed.
No surprise there. I told everyone we should have just stayed at the same spot they left us. The velvet-lined coffin. The probability of them returning was a million times higher than us finding them in this maze.