Page 81 of Evil Queen

Nathan

It made me happy when we could barely make it up the front sidewalk to the front door of the main house. Avery and Kyle, flower aficionados, kept stopping along the pathway to talk about the different colorful flowers I’d had planted there, and Alistair was impressed with the hedge work and new cobblestone pathway. Nikita seemed fine to just hold my hand and follow along as everyone buzzed about the house’s new look. I’d planted a few fresh trees that would grow over the course of the next decade and had all the stonework power washed so that it looked fresh and inviting.

“It’s so nice,” Colette said. “I never really realized how dreary it seemed until I saw it like this. You really made it much more inviting.”

“Thanks. That was the goal,” I said. “This isn’t even the best part, though. Come in.”

I unlocked the front door and led the members of The Royal Court into the renovated house, where they were met with several dozen bundles of gold, silver, black, and white balloons, sashes in the same color scheme, and a Congrats Class of 2020 banner hanging across the front entryway. The kitchen was jam-packed with everyone’s favorite foods, and there were now colorful, welcoming pillows in the living room, where each of our senior portraits was placed on the mantle of the fireplace.

“Wow!” Nikita said. “You completely redid it.”

“Yeah. I won’t say I was trying to get the feeling of my parents out of here, but I wanted this to be a place I could love and feel good about. I wanted it to be a place where all of you could come and be comfortable, which is why…” I walked over to the table in front of the fireplace and held out my arm toward the bags on the table. “In these bags, you’ll find a variety of fun things, including a key to the front door and a fob for the front gate. I want you guys to come and go as you please.”

Everyone walked over and fished into their bags, and though they all seemed excited about the contents, it made me happy that they all immediately went for their keys and started adding them to their key rings.

“What about your dad?” Avery asked.

“I had all the locks on the place changed, and the gate is being replaced in a few weeks, at which point I’ll have new fobs for you. I wanted it done sooner, but the people who installed the original gates are no longer in business, so I had to contact new people, and they have to install new doors.” I shook my head. “It’s a whole thing. There had been enough employees floating around who had fobs before I let them go, so there were enough to go around. When the new gates are installed, we’ll be the only ones who have the fob, except for maybe some new housekeeping staff.”

Brayden flipped his key over in his hands a few times and seemed taken aback. “You good?” I asked.

He jumped a little, but then he looked up and smiled. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“Okay. Stay close. I have a lot of exciting stuff to show you.” I smiled, and Brayden smiled back before sliding his key into his pocket. I locked eyes with Nikita, who’d admitted on the way home that she thought Brayden was up to something. We were staying on high alert, but I thought his emotions were simply related to not being a senior and feeling distant again. “Come on. This is just the start of it.”

With everyone in tow, I started my tour of the house, showing everyone the common areas first, including the fully stocked kitchen, the game room where my dad’s sitting room used to be, and the modernized library with room to add books as we needed to. Then I led them up to the second floor and showed off their bedrooms.

Colette’s and Jaxon’s room was done in opposing pink and red themes to match their starkly opposite personalities. The colors on the walls blended into a nice magenta right around where the bed was situated to symbolize their bond as a couple. There was a writing desk in there for Colette, and a punching bag for Jaxon, with plenty of room to add things as they saw fit.

Avery’s and Alistair’s room was very understated to match the pair. I’d given them the room with the best view of the garden, complete with a nook for them to curl up in like a couple of cuddly cats. Over the course of their budding relationship, I’d learned that their favorite thing to do was just be together, so even though I’d put an old-fashioned record player in there for Alistair and a classical piano for Avery, the bulk of the space was dedicated to different ways the two could simply be together.

The room that Nikita and I would share was also very simple, though it had a few high-end swords on the wall that held Nikita’s attention for much longer than I expected them to. We’d sleep most frequently in our house on the back of the property, but I made sure we had a plushy, comfortable bed for when we wanted to drink coffee and spend a few more minutes lounging around, and it also had an attached rolling desk for mornings where I had to work.

Kyle’s room had tons of closet space and a large ceiling to floor mirror. Just as he was about to comment that I’d themed his room around his vanity, I stopped him to tell him that it was so he could help me with my fashion sense since, apparently, it sucked so badly. There were also a few succulent plants scattered around for him to tend to, and I added an aquarium because I knew he really enjoyed fish as a low-maintenance pet.

Brayden’s room had a large entertainment system with all three major gaming appliances affixed to the wall. His television was theater-style and projected across his entire wall. In front of his bed were two haptic gaming chairs for when he and I wanted to get into some gaming sessions. He was responsive and thankful, but he was not as happy as I expected him to be. I’d work on figuring out what was wrong with him later, but I didn’t want to ruin the mood in the group.

After everyone got to their rooms, I let them all spend some time in them and then brought them down to the living room.

“Nathan, those rooms are beautiful,” Avery said. “It makes me sleepy just thinking about falling asleep in Ali’s arms in that window seat.”

“Well, there will be plenty of time for that, but for now…” I plucked the small remote for the stereo system from the mantle in the living room and pressed play, and music started to fill the room. “We’re going to party like our lives aren’t based on one of those teen dramas!”

“Yeah!” Colette yelped.

Everyone helped themselves to the food and the kegs of the personalized drinks Kyle had made for everyone, and then we all walked out back to the pool. Our decorations spilled outside, including beach balls in each color of the scheme that floated on the water, and we situated ourselves around the pool, all kicking our feet in for now so that we could hang out and talk.

“I have a couple of things to admit,” I started again after a while. I wanted to spread out my announcements so that we could have some fun.

“Okay?” Alistair said.

“First of all, you,” I said, pointing right back at him. “You’ve been evading me this whole time. I’ve gotten everyone else something worth-while in some form or fashion, but you’re a slippery one.”

“I told you already—”

“Shh,” I cut him off. “So, here’s what I’ve done. There is a fully furnished, penthouse apartment waiting for you in New Haven if you want it. I know you could have gotten one for yourself, but Avery told me where you’re working, and it’s nearby. It’s got a ton of space, and once Avery is ready to move out of the dorms and in with you, you’ll still be more than comfortable there. The complex has tons of really nice amenities, and I’ve taken care of rent and utilities for four years, so all you have to do with your money is pay for the rest of your costs to live there.”

Alistair’s jaw dropped. “Wow, Nathan, that’s…huge.”

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