“Hello, everyone, I’m home!” Ava stepped into her apartment with several boxes, her face lit up.
“Mom!” Morticia rushed downstairs to hug her tightly, her face lightly made up to hide her slightly swollen eyes.
Ava hugged her tightly. “Aww, my sweet girl. I’ve missed you so much!”
“Okay, Mom, you’re crushing my bones right now,” Morticia mumbled against her chest.
Ava broke the hug and kissed her cheek.
“How was Paris?” Morticia chuckled.
“It was fantastic! The shoot only took a few hours, and Josephine and I spent the rest of the time exploring Paris. It was fun. I’ll take you there for vacation during the holidays,” Ava said.
“Sure,” Morticia nodded. As Ava stepped further inside, Morticia noticed someone helping with Ava’s remaining bags-Klaus.
Her smile faded as their gazes met. He halted his movement and slowly shut Ava’s trunk.
Morticia sighed. She had mentally prepared herself for this.
“Hello, Mrs. Ava,” Rhea greeted, surprising Ava.
“Rhea, right?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Oh.”
Morticia cleared her throat behind her.
Ava quickly got the hint and hugged Rhea. “Aww, it’s so good to see you again, Rhea. How have you been?”
“Cool. How was your trip?”
“Fantastic.”
Vincent greeted Ava with a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, Bunnie,” Klaus called from behind Morticia. She pretended not to hear him and moved away.
Soon, they all settled down, with Morticia trying to avoid meeting Klaus’s gaze, though she could feel his eyes on her. He was quiet the whole time. Ava animatedly told them about her trip, keeping the dinner lively.
“So?” Rhea smiled at Morticia as they settled on Morticia’s bed. “I don’t think your mom still likes me.”
“Don’t say that. She’s just cautious about the people around me. So many friends have betrayed her because of her kind heart. The only one true to her is Josephine.”
“Hm,” Rhea nodded in agreement. “Are you still going to tell Jamie?”
“Yeah, I’m telling him tomorrow.”
Rhea drifted into thought. Again, her mind reminded her of how Jamie seemed familiar.
—
Morticia stepped into the cafe where Jamie was waiting for her.
They greeted each other with a smile as Morticia sat across from him.
“Finally,” Jamie said, and they both chuckled. “I’m the asshole here, though.”
“No, I… I also had something going on. And I really need to tell you,” Morticia swallowed. She needed to say this quickly before she changed her mind.
“What is it? You look really nervous,” Jamie said as the chicken wings he ordered were brought to the table.
Morticia smiled. “Chicken wings?”
“You said you secretly loved them.”
“Wow, you remembered… Okay, I need to tell you this quickly. I did something really terrible, and I’ll understand if you hate me for it,” Morticia swallowed. God, she was really going to do this.
“Hate you? I’ll never hate you, Morty. Never.” His words were calm, soothing her nerves a bit.
“I cheated,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Jamie’s brows furrowed. “I kissed Klaus three times… The first time I was drunk, the second he gave me a choice, and the third time we just did it… two days ago.”
Jamie’s face paled, hurt flashing in his eyes, making Morticia’s heart drop with guilt.
“The truth is… I liked Klaus for a long time, and he took advantage of it.”
“Wow,” Jamie swallowed, his jaw clenched. “That was… unexpected.”
“I’m sorry. I really am.”
“I knew you liked Klaus. I saw it in your eyes the first time we met at the party… I never knew your feelings ran so deep that you’d actually…” He trailed off. “I guess that’s what he wanted to tell me the night I gave you flowers, and he’s the reason you couldn’t reply to my confession.”
“I’m so sorry. I really am.”
“So, are you with him now?” he asked, his voice a bit broken.
“No… no, we’re not together, and something like that will never happen again,” she said.
Jamie pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly trying to control himself.
Maybe this was the end for them. Jamie had been a good guy, yet she had broken his heart because of her naive choices.
“You promise?” he asked.
“Huh?”
“Promise you won’t do that again, and I’ll forgive you.”
He wasn’t going to break up with her? She thought he’ll end things with her but he didn’t.
She nodded, and he smiled.
“Let’s spend more time together. I’m sure we’ll sort out our differences.”
—
Morticia was selecting the movie she planned to watch with Jamie when she heard a knock on her door.
Thinking it was Jamie, she opened the door, only to meet Klaus’s eyes. Her heart leaped.
“Klaus?”
She took in his appearance. He reeked of alcohol, his hair was messy, his shirt loose, and there was a bruise on his forehead.
“Hey, Bunnie,” he mumbled, his eyes tired. “Can I come in?”
Morticia wanted to say no, but he looked so disheveled, and she wanted to know what had happened to him. She stepped aside and let him in. She was wearing just a singlet and shorts.
“What happened to you?” she asked.
“I got into a fight with seven guys,” he replied, pouring himself a glass of water.
“Why?”
“They were being shitty.”
“So? Why did you come here instead of going to the pharmacy?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know why I’m here,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “I don’t know why you’re in my head.”
“Don’t,” she shook her head.
“What?”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what? I’m not doing anything.”
“Tou knkw what you’re doing,” she snapped.
“I told you, I don’t know, okay?!” he snapped back. “I… I…” He bit his lip, struggling to find the words.
“You what? You’re here to start another fling?”
“No… hell no.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.
His gaze met hers. “I’m sorry for what I said the other day. You got me riled up. You’re stuck in my head, Bunnie, and I hate it. I want it to stop, but it keeps coming. You shouldn’t have kissed me, and I shouldn’t have kissed you. We shouldn’t have held each other so close. You shouldn’t have let me touch you. It’s crazy, and now… I… I can’t stop thinking about what I want to do with you. It’s driving me mad.”
Morticia frowned, her heart racing at the thought that he thought about her.
“What do you mean. I don’t get you,” she whispered.
Klaus bit his lip again. She had never seen him like this-lost for words.
“What I meant is… I want to ruin you.”