Chapter 7

seven

ELLA

My heart is still hammering in my chest and every other pulse point in my body. I want to ask if anyone else can hear it, but that feels a little Tell Tale Heart and I don’t need anyone thinking I’m crazy.

It’s just the adrenaline from an emotionally charged moment. Or ten.

What even just happened out there?

I stare out the kitchen window as I sip on my apple cider, fresh from the Jackson’s orchard. There’s no neon sign flashing out in the pumpkin patch announcing that something happened out there.

What would it even say?

Chemistry with Luke Jackson ranks off the charts.

Ella hearts Luke.

Even if I gather up all the romantic feelings and put them into their own neat little box, there’s still so much left to sort through. And I wouldn’t know where to begin.

Maybe I wished a little too hard out in that field. I was thinking about Patch when I made that wish—wasn’t I? My feelings need space to untangle themselves, and I’m not sure if I’m going to get that chance.

“Ella,” Mrs. Jackson replies, drawing me back into the present. I turn around to face the two elders, worried they can hear my thoughts.

That’s silly.

“I’m limited in what I can do, I’m afraid,” Gran replies, producing the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen. “Charlotte may think her tactics are acceptable, but there’s always a loophole.” She winks.

Part of my mind trips on her words. I know there’s more to what she’s saying, but I’m too focused on this dress. I’m overwhelmed by the way all Luke’s sisters have dropped everything to pull me back together. I’m terrified because I’m not one to purposefully ‘break rules’. Although I’m not sure that Charlotte forbidding me to go tonight fully counts.

I haven’t had too much time to think about it, what with being in Luke’s arms and all.

“This is too much,” I whisper.

It’s not just the dress: it’s the confirmation of how much Charlotte truly hates me. It’s knowing that Luke feels something for me that’s far from brotherly. It’s the kindness of all the people around me.

They only know a fraction of what I’m carrying.

“This old thing?” Molly waves a hand at me and rolls her eyes playfully. “You’re not missing tonight.” She and Gran exchange a look I can’t decipher.

“What is too much, anyway? Somewhere along the way, my girl, you were taught to believe that everything should be done in equal measure. You do this and earn this in return.” Gran mumbles something under her breath before thrusting the dress at me. “You’ve earned your place tonight as much as anyone else in this town. Even more if you ask me. Now go. Get dressed.”

I can’t get out words because I don’t want to cry all over again. It’s a bit like emotional whiplash, but in the best way possible. So instead I gather this beautiful dress, the beads and sequins catching on the lights in the Jackson living room. It’s like a teal colored mirror ball.

“Can I pull your hair up, Ella?” Violet asks from beside my elbow. She’s almost a teenager now, her big eyes full of excitement and hope for the future. “I’ve been practicing.” Her own hair is half up and half down, pulled off her face in a halo of a braid.

“Can you do that with mine?”

“I know exactly what I want to do.” She nods excitedly.

“Maybe you could move in with us for the rest of the school year,” Annie replies. “We could rearrange. Find room.”

Her sisters all talk at once, ushering me to Gaby’s room to finish getting ready. Annie is younger than Gaby and I, but still tends to be the mother hen of the siblings. I might be more appreciative if I wasn’t reeling from today’s events.

I glance down the hall, knowing Luke’s room is around the corner. He said he wasn’t sure he’d be going and maybe that’s for the best? Plans are already set in motion to meet Patch. I don’t know what the future holds with either of them, but maybe Luke’s right. Maybe I need to break some rules tonight, since the future feels so uncertain.

“I have some lashes I think would be perfect for you,” Evie replies, tilting her head as she examines my face.

Gaby huffs. “She’s going to be wearing a mask. Don’t you think that’s a bit unnecessary?”

“No. I think Ella needs to step out of this shell for tonight. In fact,” she pauses, her finger tapping her lips. “Go scrub your entire face. We’re starting from scratch and we don’t have much time.”

I don’t recognize the image staring back at me from the mirror.

It’s me, but it’s a version I never imagined I could be. Luke’s sisters’ eyes are all glassy in the reflection as they huddle around me.

“No one else is going to hold a candle to you tonight, Ella.”

Panic threatens to crawl up my throat. The last thing I want to do is draw attention to myself.

“I don’t want Charlotte to recognize me,” I reply. “I don’t want anyone to recognize me.”

“We really should’ve been a little more rebellious.” Gaby squeezes me and my heart rate flutters back into a normal pattern. “I don’t think she will be there. But even if she is—everyone will be masked and you look?—”

“Like a fairy tale,” Mrs. Jackson finishes from the doorway. “The belle of the ball.”

Gran squeezes in beside her. “I knew it was the right dress.”

“Yes Mom, you were right.”

I giggle as she rolls her eyes at Gran. I suppose mother and daughter relationships don’t really change as time marches on. I’m glad I didn’t have to resort to a fairy godmother because this experience is one I’ll tuck deep into my memories for years to come.

“Give her the mask,” Gran says. “She doesn’t have all night.”

The look Mrs. Jackson gives her could level a building. “Patience is a virtue. ”

Then she’s coming toward me with the most beautiful, ornate mask I’ve ever seen.

“I can’t possibly?—”

“You can and you will. Can I?”

I nod my consent and she fits the mask onto my face, creating an anonymous version of myself. All that’s visible are my lips, and they’re stained a peachy pink. It’s far from the look I wore earlier, equally softer and more dramatic all at once. I don’t know how except that Rosie Jackson knows her way around a makeup kit.

“You need one last touch,” Gran replies.

The pair of shoes she lifts into my line of vision has me gasping. They’re the same color as the dress, just as covered with shimmering beads and rhinestones. I reach a hand out to touch them, but pull it back hesitantly.

“They won’t bite.” Violet giggles from beside me.

Of course not. They’re just shoes. But between all the stories I’ve been brought up on, I’m well aware that a pair of shoes can change your life.

“This really is all too much,” I whisper. “Why are you doing this for me?”

“Ella.” Gran’s tone is sharp, demanding my attention. “I’ll have no more of this undeserving attitude nonsense. Granted, that’s exactly why we’re doing this for you. But little girl—and you’ll always be a little girl to me—I will not stand idly by and watch you miss anything else. So long as I can, I will do my duty by your parents and treat you like you’re one of my own. Chin up. Now.”

“Yes ma’am.” I smile, blinking back tears.

“Now you girls get downstairs so your mother can take everybody’s photos and see you off.”

There’s a flurry of activity as the last layers of lipstick coat my lips, spritzes of perfume float in the air, and dresses swish with the movement of slipping into shoes. I wish I could say why I’ve always felt so at home here, but I suppose it’s as simple as feeling safe. Like I belong with these people. The only question of coming to Mrs. Jackson tonight about a dress was the shame of how Charlotte treated me.

One by one, the siblings file out of the room and there’s a thunderous parade as they head down the stairs.

Mrs. Jackson watches me, uncertainty painting her face. She always reminded me of Molly Weasley with her auburn hair and a multitude of children. The woman rarely has an ounce of issue speaking her mind, so it makes me nervous that she’s so carefully considering now.

“We always talked about this night, your mother and I. Sending our girls off on their last Midnight in the Hollow dance before new adventures.” She gives me a watery smile. “I’m honored that I still get to be part of that.”

“Don’t you dare make me cry. I don’t know how well these eyelashes hold up.”

“Oh, if Rosie put them on, good luck getting them off.” She laughs before she releases a heavy sigh. “I want you to have fun tonight. Take lots of photos, make memories. Don’t let that woman steal your joy, you hear me?”

“I’ll try.”

She shakes her head. “No. I won’t accept that. From now until that clock strikes midnight, I expect you to live like there’s no tomorrow.”

“Midnight?”

I’m supposed to meet Patch at midnight. Or maybe that was just clever phrasing. It’s too late to clarify.

She presses her lips together, again being careful with her words. “It’s just best if you’re home as close to midnight as you’re able. I’m not one to encourage disobedience, but I also don’t want you to borrow trouble either. ”

Her words feel coded, but I know time is slipping away. It’s just after eight, which doesn’t leave much time once we get there and I find Patch.

What do I do if Luke is there?

“I’m so proud of you, Ella.” She draws me into a hug and I’m officially fighting becoming a puddle of tears. I wish we had time for me to ask for advice about tonight, or that I could confide in her. I’m so tired of keeping everything to myself.

“Thank you,” I mumble into her hair.

She is going to make someone a really wonderful mother-in-law someday.

“Go on now.” She steps back and waves a hand at the stairs. “The Midnight in the Hollow dance is waiting.”

If she only knew.