Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

INDI

"What is the name of Gomez and Morticia's mustachioed baby in the Addams Family Values from 1993 ?"

" It's Pubert ," Josiah whispered. "Like puberty."

King Ailwin nodded and tapped on the tablet. Then he grinned. "Nice work, Josy."

It'd been two days since Torren's wedding, and I was struggling. My sister and Nash weren't leaving for their honeymoon until November second, so they wouldn't miss Halloween night. And that was the only reason I was still on Megelle Island. Thoughts of Will had plagued my mind every second of the last two days. I felt like a scratched CD just skipping over and over and over on the same spot. I'd managed to keep my emotions in check for the duration of the wedding night, but then I'd cried myself to sleep.

I just felt so . . . stuck. It was like suffocating. Drowning. I wasn't sure what was worse: the way he pleaded his case for why we should get back together at the masquerade ball or watching him remember our wedding ceremony during Torren's. There was no doubt of what that face was remembering. I'd been right there on that trip down memory lane. I felt raw because of it.

Daniel leaned into me so our shoulders brushed. " You okay?" he whispered.

I closed my eyes and shook my head once, enough to answer his question but not enough to get the family's attention. We were down at the festival for Halloween trivia night. The entire Vauntero family was huddled together to play as a team. I had no interest in being here, but I couldn't let myself sit alone in my room for another night.

Sometimes I managed to block the memory of my own wedding. It hadn't been official or legal in any way. It was merely ceremonial. My mother had started it. My chest tightened. That night I'd been the happiest I could ever remember being.

And then I broke up with him . . . the next day.

I'd been convinced I was doing the right thing. I had good reasons. One: He was mortal, I was immortal. I would've rather lost him after a few months than spend decades with him and lose him then. That would've been unbearable. Two: He was so much younger than me. At nineteen, he hadn't even figured out what he wanted to do with his life. He was so green to the human world, so naive and inexperienced. We were on totally different life paths. The chemistry and passion couldn't compete with that. A couple had to be on the same life path to work in the long run.

And three: I had to take care of my sister. I couldn't just have fun running around with him.

I folded my arms on the table in front of me and rested my chin. God. Was Will right? Do my reasons for breaking up not stand now?

Holden laughed at something someone next to him said, then lifted the microphone back to his mouth. "In 1984, where did the Ghostbusters trio find their first ghost?"

"New York City library."

"New York Public Library, Lark." Ernald shook his head. "Get it right, kid."

The first reason was definitely void now. Will was a vampire. He was as immortal as I was. I glanced to my right to where my sister was half-curled in Nash's lap. The third reason was also nonexistent now. She didn't need me anymore. She was officially a married woman. She was Torren Vauntero now and forevermore. He was her literal soulmate. They would never divorce. Their happily-ever-after was carved in stone. He was patient with her and never got angry when she lost control. He actively worked with her to help her get more control. He was a doctor, so it wasn't like they'd need me financially. And they lived in a castle. Torren was a princess now.

For the first time in twenty-five years, I didn't have someone's life in my hands.

Holden cleared his throat. "What mask is associated with the Friday the 13th franchise?"

"Is that the guy with the clown mask?" Drusilla scowled.

"You're a clown for even suggesting that." Queenie rolled her eyes. "It's the ski mask."

Henry snort-laughed. "Said that with your whole chest . . . only to be wrong."

Little Pemberley leaned into Queenie. "It's the hockey mask."

I tried to pretend I was paying attention, like I was an active member of this team and family, but I couldn't. My thoughts were spiraling out of control. Because while there was still a ten-year age gap between me and Will, that was hardly relevant at our ages. Lex was four and half centuries older than his soulmate. Bash was six decades older. Hell, Daniel was six hundred years older than me but he and I had proved that we could have had a great relationship despite the age gap. Will was thirty. I was forty. That wasn't much. Those ages were so similar. It wasn't like he was a teenager still.

And he wasn't a lost boy anymore. He was successful, traveling the world with Archer taking great photos. He probably was more secure in his profession than I was. Our life paths weren't very different at all. I cringed and rested my forehead on my arms.

"What does the Ghostly Trio in Casper , from 1995, refer to humans as?"

Orson raised his hand. "Yo, Holden, can we get a question from this century?"

The Queen picked up the ketchup bottle and squirted a stream of it right into his face. "I warned you all about behaving."

The entire family cackled.

Sofia cleared her throat. "They're called Fleshies, by the way."

Daniel softly tapped on my back. "Hey . . ."

I lifted my head and turned to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Why don't you go home? You're miserable?—"

"No. No, no, no. That'll be worse." I gestured around us. "This is me trying."

He nodded. "Can I get you a drink then? Perhaps a hot apple cider?"

"Yes. Please?" I smiled and squeezed his hand. "Thank you for being here for me."

He winked. "Anytime. Now just hang tight. I'll be right back."

As he stood from the table and headed to the bar behind me, I knew Daniel was part of the reason I hadn't crumbled already. I was going to owe him one. A huge one. And a present of some kind.

"Right, here's one for the elders . . ." Holden winked right at Constantine. "Which Shakespeare play features the double double, toil, and trouble rhyme?"

Constantine sighed like he was annoyed. "Macbeth."

As the family teased Constantine for knowing the answer immediately, I thought of my best friend. I really needed Liam right now. He always made me feel better. But I hadn't known what to say for days. And not because of any fault of his own. I just . . . I was too much of a mess in my head and heart that words weren't coming out right. And he saw too much for someone who never actually saw me.

I opened our message thread and sent, ‘ Who wrote the line: double double, toil, and trouble?'

‘Shakespeare in Macbeth. Duh.'

‘Dammit. How'd you know that so fast?'

‘ I'm a writer, Andi. It's blasphemous to not know Shakespeare.'

Now that we were talking, I didn't want to let him go. ‘ BTW I thought of my favorite costume I've ever seen in the wild.'

‘I cannot wait to hear this.'

‘Picture this: a puppy dressed in a full elephant costume—trunk and all—like you could only see the puppy's eyes. Then if that wasn't perfect enough, the owner held a giant wind-up tool and he'd pretend to wind the dog up like a toy and the dog played along.'

‘brB taking that to YouTube . . .'

I smiled. For the first time in days, I genuinely smiled with a flicker of happiness.

"All right. That's halftime. You've got five minutes before we start again."

"Oi." Josiah leaned forward and pointed at something behind us. "Is Daniel flirting with that bartender? With Indi right here?"

I frowned and looked up, not because I cared but because I was curious who Daniel found attractive.

Torren snort-laughed. "Yeah, how dare he cheat on his fake girlfriend—" She gasped. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

But it was too late. The whole family gasped and looked to her.

Torren squealed, then shifted into a large hermit crab with a big white and teal shell that she instantly crawled inside to hide.

I closed my eyes and sighed. "There it is."

"What did she just say?" The Queen's jaw dropped.

The King blinked at her shell. "I haven't seen one of these in centuries. Hon' . . . look at it."

"Yes, yes, very cool crab." The Queen looked right at me with wide eyes. "Are you and Daniel in a real relationship?"

I grimaced. There was no way I was lying to my Queen's face. I shook my head, and she gasped.

Liza smacked the table. "I knew something was off. You two shook hands your first night here to check for soulmates. I didn't get why you were dating anyway."

"Some people date for fun, Liza." Kallahan leaned back in his seat. "Not Constantine, but other people."

Constantine glared at him.

Josiah snickered and took a sip of his tea. "The drama is top-notch this season."

Henry cocked his head to the side. "Shame, though. You and Daniel made a great couple."

Isolda giggled. "It is a shame. I also liked you together. And I loved seeing him date. But this actually clears up some questions I had for my brother."

They all started talking over each other, but I didn't try to keep up.

Daniel walked back over and everyone stopped talking. It was not subtle. Daniel sat my apple cider cocktail on the table in front of me. He frowned and glanced around at the family. "What's wrong?"

The Queen threw her arms up. "Apparently you were fake-dating Indi."

"Oh." Daniel pointed to my sister still on the table. "Is that why Torren's a snail?"

"I'M A HERMIT CRAB, DAMMIT," she shouted from inside her shell.

Nash chuckled and picked her up, then shoved her into the pocket on the front of his button-down shirt. "I think we'll take a walk."