Page 59 of After the Fall
From Savannah’s apartment door, I gushed, “What a scary ghost you are,” while dropping a handful of Halloween candy into his bag.
“Boo,” he screamed, before turning back to the woman standing in the hallway, who I assumed was his mom. He grabbed her hand and began dragging her to the stairwell.
With a sigh, I closed the door. The candy bowl on the side table was still filled to the brim. Other than the ghost, there had been one other Trick-or-Treater so far, a princess. It was shaping up to be an uneventful evening. Meanwhile, my friends were putting themselves in danger by attending the Carder gala.
Pacing back and forth by the door, I glanced at the blank screen of my phone. I had no new messages from Savannah or Connor – or Wyatt, not that I expected to hear from him after the way we’d left things. But I knew enough about their plans to infiltrate the gala, to know that Wyatt would have arrived by now. The thought of Valentina on Wyatt’s arm made me queasy, and I slammed my phone down on the table next to the door.
It wasn’t just jealousy that I was feeling. Sitting around, doing nothing, while the people I loved put themselves on the line – it didn’t sit well for me, and a gnawing pit was beginning to build inside me, growing larger by the second.
The light rap at the door startled me. “Trick or treat,” called the low, male voice from the hallway.
My mood instantly lifted as I opened the door to greet Scott. “What in the world are you supposed to be?” My hand flew to my mouth to stifle the laugh.
He sighed and lifted his mask, letting it dangle from his hand. “It’s supposed to be scary,” he groaned. “It’s from some horror movie,Antlersor something.”
The large shadow of what I assumed to be one of Wyatt’s men was lurking in the stairwell below, likely eavesdropping. “Did you have a hard time getting into the building?” I asked.
“Yeah. What’s with the sweaty goons down there? I think one of them followed me up.”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure. I guess the apartment beefed up security for Halloween.” It was safer to leave Scott out of everything. “One sec. I’ll grab that camera for you.”
I ran to the bedroom and grabbed the camera off the desk from where it had been charging. The ribbon from my dad lay beside it. Something bothered me about the ribbon, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Thanks, Harper,” Scott said as I rejoined him in the front hall. “You sure you don’t want to come with me? This party’s going to be dope. I’ve been practicing my rendition of “Mr. Brightside”all weekfor the karaoke competition.”
My palm flew to my face. “You know I hate karaoke. That’s just extra encouragement to stay home tonight. Honestly though, I’m happy staying in and handing out candy.”
He glanced at the candy bowl and scrunched his nose. “Kids. Yuck. Well, it’s your funeral. It won’t be a late night for meanyways. I have to tutor in the morning,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“What happened to the magazine?”
“It turned out they wanted me to actually fish. Who would’ve thunk,” he sighed. “I could handle sitting in the boat no problem, but the second they wanted me to hold that slimy creature, I was out of the water faster than a feral tabby cat forced to take a bath. I’d rather spend my morning teaching about diphthongs and homophones,” he groaned.
My head jerked up. “What did you just say?”
Scott tilted his head. “The fish thing?”
I waved my hand. “Never mind. It’s nothing. Have fun at your party.”
His eyebrow raised. “Have fun feeding kids sugar.”
I couldn’t close the door behind him fast enough. I ran to the bedroom, snatching the ribbon from the desk. I’d racked my brain repeatedly trying to decipher its meaning, when the answer had been as simple as kids’ grammar. And I had Scott and his tutoring plans to thank for that.
All these years, Dad had been hiding out in Stirling County, right under our noses. It was easy to assume that he’d have known about tonight’s masquerade ball, and given what he knew about me and Wyatt, that I’d be attending. If I was right, then Dad was planning to be at the gala at eight, standing under some sort of a wave, in a deer mask. Looking for me.
My nerves were on fire. Dad was putting himself in grave danger being around the Carders. Could I trust Wyatt to follow through on his promise to me? I wasn’t sure just how far he’d be willing to go for the human woman who’d broken his heart.
No. I couldn’t count on anyone. I needed to be at that gala to meet my father.
Glancing at my phone screen, I gulped. It was already seven. I didn’t have much time.
My bare face, puffy from crying, and my disheveled ponytail weren’t anywhere near gala-ready. It would take a miracle, or a Fairy Godmother, to get me ready on time. Luckily, Savannah, with her closet of couture and her “what’s mine is yours” motto, was my real-life version of a Fairy Godmother.
I’d spent the last decade thinking my father had abandoned us and stolen our life savings. I was wrong and I wasn’t going to let him down.
“Ma’am,I’m sorry. But I need you to step aside.” The guard, a beefy man wearing a tuxedo, crossed his arms and puffed his chest.
“Can you check the list again? I should be on it.” I glanced at the clipboard in his hand and stood taller, flicking my hair over my shoulder. The silver butterfly mask I’d found in the bottom of one of Savannah’s drawers matched perfectly with the tight silver A-line dress that I’d found shoved in the back of her closet.