"How you feeling, baby girl?" Gram asks as we roam the aisles of Foodsmart, our search for a proper Thanksgiving turkey only just beginning.

"Good," I reply, and I mean it. "I feel good."

"You've seemed a lot happier these past few days," she comments. "Your glow has returned."

Blushing, I stop at the produce section and pretend to be interested in the selection of apples. Having mind-blowing sex on a regular basis is known to stimulate the release of dopamine and regulate mood, but Gram doesn't need to hear about that.

"It's just good to see you smile again," she goes on. "For a moment there, I thought we'd lost you."

"I'm still here, Gram," I assure her. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Speaking of going places, I've been meaning to ask you about college," she elegantly changes the subject. "Have you sent out any applications?"

I nod my head. "I have, actually. I applied to UIC, Wheaton, Northeastern, and NYU."

"NYU?" She spins around so fast that her carriage bumps into a barrel of peaches, sending half a dozen of the poor fruits to the floor. "Sweetheart, that's all the way in New York."

"I know where it is, Gram. They have a good writing program. I figured it didn't hurt to apply. It's unlikely that I'll get in, anyway."

"Of course you'll get in. You're brilliant. I just... I just didn't know you were thinking about going out of state."

I shrug my shoulders. I wasn't thinking about it, but with Rem moving eight-hundred miles away come September, I wanted to keep my options open.

"My plan is still to attend UIC with Kira. That hasn't changed." I hook my arm through Gram's and lead her away from the peach mess. "Besides, I wouldn't be leaving for another nine months. You have nothing to worry about."

Forcing a smile, she says, "I know, baby girl. I know."

The rest of the trip is silent and uncomfortable. I shouldn't have told her about NYU. I knew she wouldn't react well, having always assumed that I'd go to a local school and be close to home. It's unlikely that I'll move to New York, or even out of Chicago, but I can't pretend the idea doesn't excite me. A new environment might be exactly what I need.

When we get home, I carry the enormous turkey into the house. I'm greeted by an exhausted-looking Grandpa and a sprightly Clementine.

"What are you doing here, kiddo?" I place the dead bird on the counter and pull my little sister into a hug.

"Alyx had something come up last minute and asked if she could drop her off," Grandpa answers. "She failed to mention that she'd given her gummy worms and half a frappuccino from Starbucks, but that's beside the point."

"You're bouncing off the walls, aren't you?" I turn to my sister, who nods her head at record speed.

"Geoffrey, you look like you're about to pass out," Gram remarks, eyeing her husband up and down.

"I'm fine," he grumbles, brushing her off.

She places her hands on her hips. "Get your butt upstairs and take a nap before I drag you up there by your ears."

Clem and I exchange an amused glance, knowing that Gram can and will do that.

With a dramatic eye roll, he silently obeys. Chuckling, Clem and I take in the rest of the groceries and then head to my room to watch a movie.

"The Princess Bride?" I suggest, scrolling through my watchlist on Netflix.

"Nah."

"E.T.?"

"Nah."

"Well, what do you wanna watch, Clem?"

She shrugs her tiny shoulders, her lips dipping into a frown.

"Are you sugar-crashing already?" I ask, tickling her ribs.

She pushes me away and lies down on my bed. "No, it's not that."

"Then what is it? What's wrong?" I stretch out beside her, desperate to make her talk. My sister is the happiest, bubbliest child in the city. If she's upset, something must have happened, and as her big sister, it's my responsibility to find out what.

"Well, he asked me not to say anything...."

My blood boils. "He? Clem, did someone do something to you?"

She shakes her head. "Not really."

"Then what happened?"

"A man came up to me at the playground."

I already don't like where this is going.

"Clem, what did he say to you? Did he try to touch you?"

She shakes her head again. "He was nice at first. I was wearing my unicorn shirt, and he told me he liked unicorns, too."

"I'm guessing unicorns aren't why you're so unsettled right now," I say. "What else did he talk to you about?"

"I... I don't really remember."

"Clem, I know you're lying."

"I'm not!"

"What did the man say to you?" I demand.

She lets out a shaky breath before muttering, "He said he was my dad. My real dad."

Her words steal the air from my lungs. I try to do Althea's four-seven-eight technique, but it feels like there's a heavy weight on my chest, like I'm being suffocated.

I finally manage to take a breath and calm my racing heart. My anxiety is replaced with rage. Total, unadulterated rage. My trembling hand balls into a fist before colliding with the drywall, leaving a bowling ball-sized hole.

I stare at my bloody knuckles, then at my petrified sister, but I don't say a word. I can only think about one thing.

Benson is still in town, and he's harassing my ten-year-old sister.

"Are you... are you mad at me?" Clem whispers, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Not at you." The words come out as an angry growl. Her bottom lip quivers as the tears start to fall, and I immediately feel guilty.

Before I can rectify the situation, Gram yells up the stairs that Alyx is here. Clem races out of my room so fast that it gives me whiplash.

I try to stretch my fingers out and wince in pain. Dark purple bruises are already forming at the top of each knuckle.

What the hell is wrong with me?

<>*<>*<>*<>*<>

"Evangeline Rose Porter, let me see your hand."

"Kira, no."

"You punched through a wall. You probably broke something!"

"Just the wall," I say with a smirk.

Kira shakes her head. "This isn't funny. Show me."

Reluctantly, I remove the ace bandage and allow her to see my swollen, bruised, still-bleeding knuckles. Her blue eyes widen in horror as a gasp escapes her lips.

"Okay, I'm taking you to the doctor," she declares.

"No!" I protest. "I don't want my grandparents to find out."

"Have they not seen the giant hole in their house?"

"I covered it with a poster."

"Vange," Kira says, her hands gripping the steering wheel, "punching Fiona is one thing. Breaking your hand in another."

"It's not broken," I insist, although I don't know if I believe that to be true. Based on the pain and lack of mobility, I very well could have fractured something. "Let's just get dinner, okay?"

"Whatever," she mumbles, pulling into Poppy's.

After my eventful afternoon, I'm eager to unwind with a milkshake and a burger. I still feel awful about what happened. I probably traumatized my poor sister more than Benson did.

We claim our usual booth and place our order. As we wait for our food, I tell Kira about my father's creepy man-on-the-playground moment.

"Poor Clem. That must have been terrifying," Kira says with a sympathetic frown.

"He got inside her head, just like he got inside mine," I murmur, recalling how I almost believed his lies, how he almost turned me against my entire family. "He's a sociopath, Kira. I don't think he's capable of loving anyone."

"He might've loved your mom," she replies.

"He didn't love her; he was obsessed with her. If he truly loved her, he would have left her alone," I toss back, unwilling to entertain the notion that Benson did what he did out of fondness or adoration. "Love isn't supposed to make your life harder."

"Are you some sort of expert on the subject?" my best friend asks.

Heat rises to my cheeks as I think about my romantic night with Rem. "I might have, um, dropped the 'L' word," I confess.

"You told him you loved him?" she exclaims.

I nod my head. "Yeah, after we had sex for the first time."

"How sweet," she coos, holding her hand over her heart. "Did he say it back?"

"Of course he did."

"You two are couple goals. Because of you, I'm beginning to believe in romance again."

The flash of pain in her eyes doesn't go unnoticed. After her dad left, she lost faith in true love. She's never had a crush on a guy, never had a boyfriend. To her, boys have one purpose: sex. Other than that, they're useless.

"You'll find someone, Kira," I promise her. "You're too beautiful and amazing to spend the rest of your life alone."

"I like being alone," she stands her ground. "Anyway, enough about that. What are you gonna do about Benson and Clem?"

"No clue. I definitely won't be punching any more walls."

A waitress brings over our food. I take a long sip of my cotton candy milkshake, letting out a satisfied moan.

"So fucking good," I whisper, grateful that someone mixed cotton candy and ice cream together a hundred years ago.

As we eat, I see a familiar face out of the corner of my eye and wave. His lips spread into a laidback smile, his chocolate brown orbs glistening beneath the fluorescent lights. He picks up a to-go bag and walks toward us.

"Who is that?" Kira inquires.

"Ambrose," I tell her. "Rem's dad."

"Hey, Vange," he greets me. "Wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Are you heading to work?" I ask, gesturing to his police uniform.

"Just got off. No night shift tonight, thankfully. I figured I'd stop and grab takeout for Rem and me."

"He'll appreciate it. He's been working on his Juilliard audition all day."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that, actually," Ambrose says.

"Okay." I nod my head, my interest piqued.

"I'm sure you know that he and I are flying out to New York over Christmas break," he goes on. "He's pretty nervous about the audition, and he's not thrilled about being away from you over the holiday, so I was wondering if maybe you'd want to tag along?"

I can't hide my surprise. I was not expecting my boyfriend's dad to invite me on a family trip. "Um, I mean, yeah," I finally say, "I'd love to. I have to ask my grandparents, of course, but I'm not gonna pass up a trip to New York City."

"Great. Hopefully, we'll see you there." Smiling, he bids us goodbye and walks outside to his cruiser.

"Wow," Kira says under her breath, "he is really—"

"Please do not call my boyfriend's dad hot," I beg her. "I don't want to think of him that way."

"What? He is." She shrugs her shoulders. "Too old for me, but maybe my mom would be interested. She's always had a soft spot for men in blue."

"Althea and Ambrose... it has a nice ring to it," I agree. "Still, don't spend too much time thinking about Rem's dad. It's a bit creepy."

"Well, I'm certainly not thinking about Rem's dad now," she mumbles, her icy gaze drifting to the other side of the diner.

When I see what—rather, who—she's looking at, my body freezes. In an attempt to not panic, I remind myself to breathe.

In for four, hold for seven, out for eight.

Sitting at a booth, eating french fries and sipping milkshakes like an ordinary family, I see Benson, Alyx, and Clem.

"Ambrose is gone, right?" I ask.

Kira glances outside. "Um, his cruiser isn't in the parking lot, so yeah."

"Great, because I'm about to cause a scene."

Cliffhanger! Maybe Violent Vange will make another appearance? 🤔

Don't forget to tap that star before you leave ⭐️⭐️