“Ahhhh!!!” Morticia screamed, rushing downstairs.
“Oh, Lord of heaven, what is it now?” Ava asked with a sigh.
“Rhea got in!” she exclaimed.
“Congratulations to her,” Ava mumbled, her expression blank with no trace of excitement.
“Why aren’t you excited? You know how much I love Rhea, you should be happy for me.”
“I am happy for you. I’m just not used to being around someone foreign.”
“Mom,” Morticia sighed. Her mother could be a proud peacock sometimes.
“Fine… I’m happy for her. Once she’s here, tell her to come have dinner with us and sleep over,” Ava shrugged.
“Yes! Thanks, Mom,” Morticia hugged Ava and headed to the dining room but was surprised to see Klaus with Vincent.
He was wearing his usual sleeveless black jersey, revealing tattoos, his eyes fixed on his phone. Seeing him for the first time after the kiss they had shared made her so nervous she almost thought of having her breakfast in her room.
“Breakfast is ready,” Ava announced, and the guys looked up. Klaus’s gaze met hers for a fleeting moment before shifting to Ava.
Was he angry at her? This was going to be the most awkward breakfast ever.
As they settled down, Ava’s question rang out.
“So how did your date with Jamie go?”
Morticia’s eyes widened, snapping to her mother, who gave her a sly smile. Vincent almost choked.
“Mom, I’m never telling you anything again,” Morticia groaned.
“What do you mean, date? Innocent demon has a boyfriend?” Vincent teased.
For some unknown reason, Morticia’s eyes darted to Klaus. He was also looking at her with an unreadable gaze.
“Who’s your boyfriend?” Vincent asked in a serious tone.
“Stay out of this.”
“Tell me,” Vincent insisted.
Klaus’s hand shot out, reaching for his phone on the table as he began to text someone.
Morticia’s heart raced, and she found herself asking, “Who are you texting?”
He looked at her, his gaze sharp. “Dimitri.”
“Who’s Dimitri? Your girlfriend?” Ava asked excitedly.
“No, my fuck buddy.. I don’t date,” he replied casually.
Morticia’s chest tightened.
“You should have a main girl, Klaus. Aren’t you tired of jumping around like that,” Ava said.
“He’ll never listen,” Vincent mumbled, focusing on his food.
“Girls are fun to mess around with… especially the greedy ones,” Klaus said, his eyes locking with Morticia’s.
Why did it feel like he was referring to her?
“Try to have a main one. Just like Vincent.”
“Not yet, Mom. I’m always surrounded by greedy ones. Dating sucks…”
Rhea’s mouth was literally wide open, staring at the huge school before her. It was beyond her imagination that she would even set foot here.
Morticia was right. The school was massive.
“Rhea!!”
Rhea spun around to see Morticia running towards her. Their bodies collided in a tight hug.
“Ahh!! Girl, I missed you! My sweet Morty!” Rhea exclaimed.
“I missed you too! Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here!” Morticia beamed.
“Me too. This school is massive, baby. Woo!”
After a long while…
“You what?!!” Rhea’s voice boomed in the cafe, shock written all over her face.
“Shh… keep it down. You said you wouldn’t scream,” Morticia whispered.
“Girl, did I hear you say you and Klaus shared a kiss? Not once, but twice? And you have a boyfriend, who kissed you twice too. That makes four kisses… where the heck is my innocent Morty?”
“Rhea, be serious,” Morticia scolded.
“Why would you do that? That’s terrible,” Rhea’s face turned serious.
“Yeah… I… I don’t know what to do. Klaus seems upset with me. He indirectly called me greedy. And Jamie… I feel like a terrible person right now,” Morticia said, spilling everything in one breath.
“Morty, you’re in a complicated mess, but you’re not a terrible person. You’re just… confused. This thing with Klaus-it’s been building up for years, right?”
Morticia nodded, biting her lip. “Yeah. But Jamie, he’s been so kind, so… stable. I feel like I’m betraying him.”
Rhea gave her a sympathetic look. “It’s not about betraying anyone. You need to figure out what you want. Klaus and Jamie are two very different guys. Have you thought about which one makes you truly happy?”
Morticia dropped her gaze. “I don’t know… Klaus makes me feel things I’ve never felt before, but with Jamie, it’s… comfortable. Safe.”
“Safe is good, but passion’s important too. Maybe the real question is whether you’re with Jamie because you love him or because you’re afraid of the intensity of what you feel with Klaus.”
Morticia ran a hand through her hair. “I feel like I’m going to hurt someone no matter what I do.”
“Well, babe, you’ve got to make a choice before it gets worse. Stringing them both along is only going to end badly,” Rhea said, her voice gentle but firm.
Morticia sighed heavily. “I know. I just… need to figure out how to handle this.”
At night, Morticia dwelled on what Rhea had said at the cafe. She was alone in her dorm. Valerie hardly came around, and Rhea still needed to sort things out before officially starting school.
She pulled out her diary, writing about her experience of the day. Her phone dinged-it was a message from Jamie.
~Hey Morty, I’m outside. Can I see you?~
Morticia stepped outside the building and found Jamie waiting for her with a bunch of flowers.
“Hey,” she greeted him with a cute smile. He stretched the flowers out to her.
“For you,” he said.
Morticia chuckled, accepting them. “Thanks. This is so sweet.”
“I was passing by and thought I’d say hi.”
She sniffed the sweet scent of the flowers. “Thanks.”
“How’s your father’s health?” she asked.
“He’s responding well. He woke up this evening.”
No wonder he looked so happy.
“Uh… actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you something really important,” he said, nervousness clear in his expression.
“What?”
He swept his hair back, his nervousness obvious.
“I… I love you, Morticia Addams.”
Morticia’s face paled. Her heart skipped a beat as his words echoed in her mind. Instead of the warmth they might have brought, they brought guilt.
“I…” Her words caught in her throat. What was she going to say? This was unexpected, and she was still trying to figure out her feelings.
Jamie misinterpreted her silence for shyness.
“You don’t have to give me a reply now. I just… wanted you to know. I’ve felt this way for a while. And I really want to be there for you, Morty,” Jamie confessed, eyes locked with hers.
“Wow, the wimp is in love,” a mocking voice sounded from behind them. They both looked in the direction of the voice and saw Klaus approaching.
“You have a nice confession, dude. But it was really boring,” Klaus added, standing beside Morticia.
Jamie’s gaze remained calm, though there was a hint of alertness.
“What are you doing here?” Morticia asked Klaus with a glare.
“I’m here to talk to you,” Klaus said, grabbing her hand without permission and making to pull her away, but Jamie immediately took her other hand.
“No,” Jamie declared.
Klaus scratched his ear with a frown. “I’m sorry, did the wimp say something?”
Jamie frowned.
“Klaus, stop being rude and let go,” Morticia demanded, her eyes flashing with anger.
Klaus’s lips curled up as if he’d just gotten an idea.
“But I want to talk to you, Bunny. Or should I say it in front of your sweet little boyfriend? That would be marvelous…”
Morticia panicked. She knew exactly what he was referring to.
“What is he talking about?” Jamie asked.
Oh no.
Klaus looked up at Jamie with a smirk.
“Well, Mr. Wimp. The thing is, I and Bunnie right here K……..