Page 13 of Samhain

“I get it,” I said. Almost as much as Miri did. After all, my choices were impacted by other people’s images. Ivy had to marry Lex to save the Fairfax name. Because of that, I couldn’t have her. Because of that, I couldn’t have him. “I won’t let you down.”

Roxy made a sarcastic uh-huh noise and looked back at Miri. “We’ll see.”

Miri nodded in agreement, giving me a wink. “We’ll see.”

That night, when we still hadn’t heard from Lex or Ivy, I started to worry. I tried sending a direct message on all of her socials. Hell, I even resorted to Google Messenger, making me feel like a jilted mistress desperate for any sign of my philandering boyfriend.

Nothing.

No word.

None to Miri either.

“This isn’t right,” I said. My gut tightened, and a weight settled on my chest. “It isn’t like them. They said they’d call. They said they wouldn’t let a day go by.” I thought about reaching out to Ivy’s younger sister, Kit, but I’d only met her twice, and I didn’t know how to get in touch with her aside from the same routes I’d been trying to contact Ivy.

We sat on the balcony with whiskey in shot glasses and music playing softly in the background.

“Maybe they’re busy,” Miri said. “Maybe they got caught up.”

Normally, I was the optimistic one, looking on the bright side of every shitty situation. But now? I didn’t know. Hardly a day had gone by in four years where I didn’t talk to both of them. Now I had an ache in my soul that could only be explained by something unusual.

Midsummer had opened up a connection between the four of us, tying us together by more than just shared experience. Our vows were literally etched into our hands. That meant something, and I had a sneaking suspicion this absence was the calm before the storm.

I opened my mouth to reply, but a text came through on my phone that caught my attention.

Weeds.

I slid the screen open, my eyes narrowing on her message.

Weeds: Carter, I love you. But my mother doesn’t want me in contact with you anymore. If my phone gets hacked, if we get found out—I’m finished. We said we wouldn’t hold each other back. I need that now. Please don’t reach out to me again.

Shock hollowed me. My chest caved in on itself, my brain unable to comprehend the words on the screen.

“What the fuck?”

I showed the text to Miri, whose eyebrows narrowed when she got a similar one from Lex.

Lex: Princess, I apologize for what I’m about to do. My father needs me to keep my head on straight. Don’t call me anymore. Please be happy.

No.

No.

I wouldn’t accept this. I called Ivy, but it went straight to voicemail. I called again, and the line cut off, saying the number had been disconnected. This time, I’d been blocked on all of their social media feeds. So had Miri.

Panic raced in my veins, venomous and agonizing, souring every part of my soul. It didn’t make any sense. For four years, I’d loved them, both of them. I’d loved Ivy more than anything in the world. And for her to end it…over text?

No, I wasn’t buying it. Whatever her mother had said to her, to them, it must have been heinous. Absolutely atrocious.

That’s the only reason they’d do this. That’s the only reason.

Ivy wouldn’t back down. She’d fight until she couldn’t fight anymore; she swore she would. Lex had no love for his father or his wishes. There were so many ways to keep our affair private, to keep it between us. They were giving up too soon.

“This is bullshit.” I tried Ivy again, and when it still didn’t work, I almost crushed my phone in my palm to keep from throwing it into the fucking cliffs.

“Let it be.” Blinking back tears, Miri lit a cigarette and grabbed my hand to calm me, taking a long, deep inhale before reclining in her seat. “We knew this would happen. Let it be.”

“Miri, she wouldn’t do this.” I vibrated with my helplessness, my molecules begging me to do something, anything, to stop this from being real. “She wouldn’t be this cruel, not to us.”

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