by Sherry Soule
I lean my head on his shoulder. “Isn’t he the best, Vi?”
“The best,” she agrees. “Too bad dinner with the Lancasters was a total bust.”
Zach clears his throat. “I take it Mom and Dad weren’t on their best behavior?”
“Not even a little bit,” Hayden says, opening the door of the restaurant. “But Sloane handled it like a lady.”
As we wait in the lobby to be seated, Tanisha teleports into the room, her dreadlocks wild.
“Hi!” Tanisha says. “Thanks for the invite, Viola.”
Vi leans close. “Make nice. I hate it that my two best friends are fighting.”
“Fine,” I say through my teeth. “I guess, I could use more allies and less enemies.”
On the other side of the room, the restroom door swings open, and out steps a girl, looking tan and very much alive in a bright pink sundress and high-heels. “Hello there! Did you guys miss me?”
My knees lock. I can sense the color draining from my pale face. It’s Neela Voorhees back from the dead.
TWENTY-SIX
“Neela!” Tanisha shoulders past us to hug her. “Omigod! Where the hell have you been?”
Hayden and I stand there, our hands clasped. Zach scratches his chin and Viola’s eyes go wide.
“Everyone was super worried,” Tanisha says, stepping back from Neela.
“Although I repeatedly told them not to,” Hayden says under his breath.
“Oh, I went to visit my Zeta relatives on the south side. I have a cousin there with a lot college buddies and he introduced me to some cute boys.” Neela casts a quick glance in Hayden’s direction. “Were you guys really worried about me?”
“You can’t just take off without telling anyone,” Zach says in a disgusted tone. “The GB even setup search parties, and I helped organize one of them.”
I frown. He did? No one told me, nor was I asked to join. Not like I would’ve volunteered—that girl is in serious need of a bitch-slap for worrying everyone. I glare at Nasty Neela, the sadistic vacation sabotager. If only I had proof…
“Oh, Zach, that’s so sweet!” Neela says, stroking his arm. “Thank you.”
Tanisha scowls. “The GB had over a hundred Meleah and Zetas combing the area where you supposedly vanished for hours. Your mom was so upset.”
“I feel bad for freaking everyone out.” Neela shrugs, not seeming the least bit sorry. “I came home last night and talked to Mommy, so it’s all fine now.” She links an arm through Zach’s while glancing at Hayden, as if this is a ploy to make him jealous. “Have you guys eaten yet? I’m starving.”
Viola forces herself between them, and Zach slips an arm around her waist. Neela pouts and moves next to Delta, who stares through all that stringy green hair.
I’m beginning to suspect Neela’s disappearing act was just a way to see if Hayden cared and now she’s trying to make him jealous. Plus, her so-called disappearance gave her an excuse and ample time to ruin my vacay.
“What about the blood?” I ask.
“And your shoe by the cliff?” Tanisha adds.
Neela puts a hand on her slender hip. “What blood?”
“The blood found near the shoe,” Zach clarifies.
“Oh! It was nothing.” Neela releases an ear-blistering cackle, like a bizarre hyena. She lifts her bare leg to show us a bandage on her shin. “I cut myself shaving that morning.”
“The shoe?” Tanisha prods.
“Um…” Neela stiffly shrugs one shoulder. “When I teleported, it must’ve fallen off.”
A robot arrives and shows us to a table already set with glasses, napkins, and silverware. The subject of Neela’s disappearance is dropped, and everyone takes a seat. Neela slides into a chair between Hayden and Delta.
Ah, still trying to worm her way into the Lancaster family. I have the strongest urge to flash my engagement ring, but since I haven’t said yes yet, I don’t want to give Hayden false hope.
“Anyway, I met these amazing guys while I was away.” Neela reaches for the water carafe on the table and pours herself a glass. “I even invited a few hotties to join the farewell party.”
As Neela prattles on about the hot guys she met, I scrutinize her. Each time her gaze shifts from Hayden to the others, it’s as if I don’t exist as she rambles on with tales of wild parties and late-night hookups.
Is any of this story even true? Or has Neela been here all along, ruining my vacation?
“Are you guys planning on going to the farewell party?” Neela sips her water.
“Hell, yeah,” Zach says.
“If it’s a party?” Viola says. “We’re so there.”
Neela flicks a glance at me. “Let’s all hope Cyclone Sloane stays home. With her crappy luck, she’ll probably cause the yacht to sink.” She giggles at her stupid joke, but the others only slightly smile.
Grrr. A blush of color brightens my pale skin. I reach for a fork ready to stab her in the eye. My anger somewhat subsides when Hayden puts his arm around me and squeezes my shoulder.
“We need to talk,” I whisper in Hayden’s ear.
He scoots back his chair and helps me from mine. Neela raises an eyebrow and watches as I grab his elbow and steer him outside into the bright dual sunlight.
“Don’t listen to Neela,” Hayden says the instant the door closes.
“How can I ignore her outright hatred? And why am I always the one being tortured because of you? And why the hell didn’t you get a nifty nickname like me?”
“She’s wrong. Don’t listen to her.” Hayden reaches out to tuck loose hair behind my ear. “I used to believe you’d be better off staying away from me because I’m the reason you keep finding yourself in these life-threatening situations. But now, there’s no more cumulus hovering over my head. All gone. Poof!”
“Huh? What’s poof?”
“No black cloud of doom hanging over us. Neela is back.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “And she’s still trying to make you jealous and probably plotting her next dastardly deed.”
“You still think Neela caused those accidents? I honestly don’t think she’s smart enough to be planning any evil schemes against you.”
“Ha! Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” I grunt. “She’s the Vacation Sabotager, and you’re too blind to see it.”
“Do you want me to talk to her again? Find out if she is the instigator?”
“No. She’ll only deny it.”
“Despite what Neela may or may not have done…” He blows out a breath. “I’m glad you never gave up on us.”
“So you’re okay with dating Cyclone Sloane?” I tease.
“Yup, I’m a regular trailblazer.”
We’re quiet for a moment, and suddenly, blood starts pumping in my ears. All of Viola’s questions haunt me like specters followed by all the reasons my parents had for postponing our nuptials. The constant doubts bubbling at the back of mind every time I’m with Hayden began to boil over.
“Where are we gonna live?” I ask, my voice trembling in concert with my insides. “With your parents?”
His forehead creases. “What’re you talking about?”
“Our living arrangements.”
“After we’re married? I don’t know, but not with my parents.”
“Good. Good. I mean, we should figure this out. I have dreams and plans, and both of them require me to be physically present to make them happen.”
“I get that, but—”
I hold up a hand to silence him. “Also, I have a bunch of stuff. My entire closet will need its own moving van and it goes where I go. Nothing can be left behind. Not even Jinx. My cat goes with me.”
“Yeah, all your things and cat will need a new home—”
“Plus, I want to go to film school.”
“Who said you couldn’t?”
“I like kids, but I don’t wanna be changing diapers until I’m, like, thirty and have an established career in Hollywood.”
“W
ait. Kids? You’re losing me—”
“Sure, I like babies. Who doesn’t like babies or puppies? Or puppies and babies together?” I groan and ramble on. “Oh no, will you want us to get a dog, too? Because Jinx will not tolerate another pet and a baby—”
“Sloane!”
“What?”
“Calm down. Who said anything about babies and dogs?”
“It’s just…marriage is a huge thing and it’s important we have the same dreams and goals.”
“I agree. We definitely need plans. Especially, if…” His lips curve into a lopsided grin, crinkling his eyes. “Are you saying yes?”
I blink. “What?”
“Are you saying you’ll marry me?” he asks.
“I-I don’t know…am I?”
“You tell me. You say we need to talk and it sounds urgent. Now you’re freaking out about where we’re gonna live, having babies, pets, and all the stuff in your closet.”
“Because these things are important to discuss while I’m…deciding.”
“Naturally. But they’re only important if you’re saying yes. So are you?”
“Am I what?”
He shifts his weight. “Sloane, come on.”
“I’m saying maybe.”
“That’s better than no.” He wraps his arm around my waist and hugs me. “We’ll figure everything out, Peaches. Stop panicking.”
“It’s all Viola’s fault,” I say, resting my head on his shoulder. “She had all these questions that I couldn’t answer.”
“I’m glad you’re being so mature about this and it makes me even more confident that things will work themselves out.”
“You always so annoyingly positive?” I mumble into his neck.
“Only about us.”
I smile. “Good answer.”
“The whole point of my proposal was to be romantically spontaneous. Throw caution to the wind. We can either sink or swim together.”
Leaning back, I snort. “Sounds impulsive and so cliché.”
“It sounds adventurous and bold and maybe even a tad reckless.”
“Recklessness is not our friend,” I argue. “It has gotten us into too much trouble.”
“Ah, yes, but I had a stern talking to recklessness last night, and he feels ashamed about his ghastly behavior in the past. He sincerely wants to make amends. It’s all gonna be different from here on out.”
“Is that so?”
“Yup. So you can stop worrying so much.”
I step out of his arms and groan. “But your parents! We’re doomed!”
Hayden makes an annoying buzzer noise. “Incorrect answer. We’re being guided by destiny.”
“Destiny?” I throw out my arms. “We’re more like one of those disaster-prone couples. Worse than Claire and Jamie from Outlander.”
“Such the pessimist.” Smiling, he thrusts a fist into the air. “Our romance will be greater than Elizabeth and Darcy!”
I rub my temple. “I can’t help it. I’m a worrywart. The fates have not been kind to us.”
“Every dark cloud has a silver lining.”
“Stop with the clichés! Did you know lightning kills hundreds of people each year? Also, no pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.”
Hayden clutches his heart. “Next you’ll be telling me that you don’t believe in Santa Claus.”
“Not since the fifth grade when I watched Gremlins. I was forever altered by that morbid monologue by Kate Beringer about her father dressing as Santa and going down the chimney on Christmas morning, but slipping and breaking his neck.”
“That is both sad and disturbing.” He grips my arms. “But I’m not giving up on us.”
“Guess that’s what makes us a great team. You’re a half-full glass to my partially empty one.”
“We do even each other out.” Hayden hands slide up to grasp my shoulders, his blue and green stare searching mine. “I’m crazy in love with you, Sloane.”
“You might not be after you wake up next to me in the morning,” I warn with a smile. “Feral bedhead and serious morning breath.”
“I can live with that.” Hayden shrugs. “I snore and like to get midnight snacks.”
“Late-night munchies? I could jump on that food train.”
He kisses my forehead. “See? We were meant for each other.”
I burst out laughing. “Except there’s only room for one pessimist in this wacky relationship.”
“Agreed.” Hayden crookedly smiles, causing my heart to flutter. “I would never dream of taking that title away from you.”
“Hey, I’ve earned it. We have one of the most complicated love stories in history and it never seems to get any easier.”
His grim widens. “Love conquers all?”
I hug Mr. Clichéd Optimism and try not to roll my eyes at his utter cheesiness, but deep down, I like Hayden’s unfaltering positivity. He wouldn’t be Hayden without it, and I wouldn’t be me—the eternal cynic—without my fears and doubts. But he’s right about one thing, we do balance each other out and that’s a definite positive.
Staring into his eyes, something inside me breaks free. I love Hayden with all my heart and soul, and he’s worth this crazy, up-and-down, dangerous roller coaster of a relationship. Falling deeply in love with my soulmate means wanting to share all the joys and excitement I’m feeling with those closest to me—my own family. So naturally, I want Hayden’s parents to embrace me whole-heartedly, too.
He unravels himself from my arms. “It’s good to have plans. I’d never ask you to forgo your dreams because I have my own.”
“Such as?”
“I was going to tell you on the trip home…” Hayden sobers and takes my hands in his. “Your father has convinced the Galactic Brotherhood to kick off the integration program when we return to Earth, and talked the leaders into blowing the whistle on Sector Thirteen.”
My heart lifts with hope. “No more scary mutants? No threats of mind-wiping? Or evil government agencies wanting to control us?”
“Nope, and if we can’t co-exist in peace with the humans, we can always move here.”
“That’s the best news I’ve had in months.”
He lets out a short laugh. “For a second, I thought you’d asked me out here to breakup with me.”
“To be honest, I was considering it. Only because I don’t want to upset your parents.”
“And now? Still having second thoughts?”
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Besides, we already tried breaking up.”
“We did and it sucked.”
“It did suck. Majorly sucked. Let’s not do that again.”
He crookedly grins. “It’s important to try anything once.”
“Once was enough.”
“More than enough. So we’ve decided that being apart doesn’t work for us.”
“Not at all. Being apart bad. Being together good,” I say with a giggle. “I’m sure breakups work for some people, just not for us.”
“Sooo, should we go inside and eat?”
I smile. “Or…we could teleport to my place. My family is out sightseeing, which means no one will be home for hours.”
“I wasn’t that hungry anyway.”
I laugh as he holds me close, and teleports us to my house for much-needed cuddle time.
FRIGHT NIGHT BABBLE
Greetings, Fellow Horrorphilas!
There are particular clichés that should be tossed into a cremator and incinerated. Ever since the UFO craze of the 1950s, every movie studio has tried to remake the same film. I’m talking about the quickly forgotten surplus of alien invasion flicks.
There’s like a gazillion planets in the universe, but for some reason, the aliens choose Earth to invade. Yup, we’re just that special, folks.
The trope goes like this, aliens arrive on Earth. We try to make contact. They’re not friendly. The extraterrestrials wipe the majority of us out. Humans eventually utilize a weakness (like chocolate is toxic to these space
invaders) and humans survive the invasion.
Most of these films have a similar “theme,” which is that under life-threatening circumstances, humans will rise together to fight a common enemy. While this is by no means a bad theme, it’s one plot device that could easily be hurled into space.
Peace, love, and horror flicks,
Sloane
TWENTY-SEVEN
On a gorgeous, balmy night, Viola and I get ready for the farewell party. When I told her the good news about what the GB had decided, she said tonight we would celebrate the Meleah’s coming out party.
“Is that why you seem almost happy tonight, Sloane?” Viola lifts the red velvet skirt on her shimmery gown. She has wandered from her traditional black to a stunning garnet.
“Just psyched about the party.” I lift my taffeta ball gown to slip on black pointy heels. I feel pretty tonight with my hair swept up on one side with a bow-clip and my lips a pouty red.
Viola leans closer to the mirror above the dresser to smear on dark ruby lipstick, then smacks her lips. “Tonight’s gonna be all kinds of fun.”
My parents decide to stay home and they gush over our outfits when we pass through the living room in our fancy dresses. Jonah barely glances up from the book in his hands.
While Viola and I ride the travelator to the harbor, we admire the beautiful night. The beach resides on one side of the moving sidewalk and a row of stone and glass buildings squat on the left. Once we reach the boardwalk, we exit the travelator and walk along the wooden pier to stand in line with other Meleah waiting to board the yacht.
At the other end of the dock is an impressive vessel floating in the ocean, the guardrail twinkles with a multitude of tiny lights. An eruption of laughter, music, and conversation flows through the air.
“Wait until Hayden sees you in that dress,” Viola says. “You’re dressed to kill.”
Giggling, I tug up my cleavage. “No killing. Only sweet love.”
Viola adjusts her garnet-and-diamond necklace. “Thanks again for inviting me to join you. Also for helping me escape my parents and a one-way trip to boarding school.”
“About that…” The line moves forward and we step closer to the yacht. “I don’t want to ruin the night, but how do you intend on handling that when we get home?”
