“You’re fun to tease. My bad, bro, I’m just kidding. Don’t take it too seriously.” Vincent’s expression turned serious. “When are you going to visit your mom?”
Klaus sighed. “I don’t want to remind her of my dad.”
“Jesus! Klaus, she didn’t mean that word. You behaved like an asshole that night, and she snapped at you.”
“I really do remind her of my dad. My existence hurts her. She’s happy without me,” Klaus interjected.
“You say things you don’t mean. You do that all the time. Do you know how many times you’ve tried to push me away? I’ve just learned how to snap you back to your senses during your mood swings.”
“So what’s your point exactly?” Klaus snapped back.
“Visit her. She misses you. I saw it in her eyes the last time I was there,” Vincent countered.
“And when was that?”
“The last time I saw her was definitely the last time i saw her last,” Vincent replied, and the room fell silent.
They both burst into laughter.
“The fuck did you just say?” Klaus said, his smile fading. “Shit, I’m in a bad mood, Vince. Let me savor it.”
“You said she’s happy without you,” Vincent pressed, his voice serious. “What if you’re her happiness?”
“I’m shit,” Klaus sighed. “I hurt the people around me… I always do.”
“Life is just the way you see it,” Vincent said. “You should let yourself be happy.”
“Easy for you to say. You have a perfect family, a girlfriend… everything I desire ends up hurting someone else,” Klaus muttered, his words heavy with meaning.
“Why not take it and fight whatever comes? You just need to be happy, Klaus. You can’t keep hurting yourself,” Vincent sighed, clearly tired of advising his stubborn friend. He returned to his game.
Klaus, however, felt Vincent’s words strike a chord within him.
—
“Wow, he really let go,” Rhea squinted after Morticia explained Jamie’s reaction.
“Hm.”
“He must really like you to not want to let go,” Rhea remarked.
“I guess.”
“Do you feel comfortable that way? I mean, your heart is still-”
“The thing between Klaus and me is over. He showed up all of a sudden in my room last night, saying he wanted to ruin me, and Valerie warned me to stay away from him.”
Rhea’s jaw dropped. “Yeah, definitely. You need to stay away. Klaus is so weird.”
“I know, right? Ever since I got to this college, he’s been totally different,” Morticia said as they continued walking down the street.
Rhea recalled something, but before she could speak…
“Morty!” Jamie waved from a distance.
“Oh, Jamie’s here. I gotta go,” Morticia said, eager to spend time with him and sort out their differences.
“What about Jamie?” Rhea asked. “Can you return the feelings back to him?”
“I’ll try” Morticia smiled.
“I’ll see you around,” Rhea said, letting out a sigh as they parted ways. Her eyes remain on Jamie and for a fleeting moment, their eyes met.
“Weird.” Rhea mumbled.
—
At night Morticia retunred back home after spending her time with Jamie. It was fun around him, but still, she haven’t felt the spark she was hoping for.
Running her fingers through her hair she walked into the kitchen to find her mother cooking alongside Klaus. The atmosphere was bright, filled with laughter and chatter.
“Hey,” she greeted, trying to focus her gaze on Ava, but her attention was inevitably drawn to Klaus.
“Klaus made dinner,” Ava said, finishing up. “You should give it a try.”
“Here,” Klaus offered, holding out a bite of the meal he had prepared. “Open up, Bunnie.”
Morticia cleared her throat before obediently opening her mouth to take the bite.
“Hmm, it’s actually good,” she complimented, surprised by the flavor.
“You both should go ahead; I’ll handle the serving,” Klaus said with a smile, his good mood confusing her. He even winked at her.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Morticia said, heading toward the door. She opened it to find Jamie standing there.
“Jamie?”
“Hey… uh, you forgot this in my car. It has your inhaler in it, so I had to bring it,” he said, handing her the bag.
“Thanks,” she replied, forcing a smile, hoping her mother wouldn’t intrude. But Ava peeked around Morticia’s shoulder.
“You’re Jamie?” Ava asked.
“Mom-” Morticia began, but Ava cut her off.
“You’re Morticia’s boyfriend?”
Jamie nervously bowed his head slightly. “Yes, ma’am. Nice to meet you.”
“Aww, I finally get to see you! Morticia talks a lot about you. We’re about to have dinner; you should come in!” Ava offered.
Jamie hesitated, glancing at Morticia, who blinked several times in an attempt to give him a hint. When he didn’t catch on, he agreed.
“Sure, why not?”
“Good!” Ava squealed, returning to the kitchen.
“Sorry,” Jamie chuckled as Morticia stepped aside to let him in.
Tension filled the air as Jamie’s gaze met Klaus’s, who was holding two plates of food.
“Great to have you, Jamie. Take a seat,” Ava said cheerfully.
“Is he going to eat with us?” Klaus asked, his tone curt.
“Yeah, why not?” Ava replied.
“I didn’t cook for him. He should eat somewhere else,” Klaus insisted.
“He can take Vincent’s portion. That son of mine might decide not to come home tonight.”
Just after Ava spoke, Klaus received a message from Vincent, letting him know he wouldn’t be home.
Klaus sighed.
They all settled at the dinner table, Klaus’s arms folded, his gaze intensely focused on Jamie, who was trying his best to appear comfortable.
Morticia discreetly tapped Klaus’s foot under the table, prompting him to look at her.
“Stop,” she mouthed.
“What?” he mouthed back, confused.
“Stop making him uncomfortable.”
Klaus rolled his eyes but returned his gaze to Jamie.
“You’re not eating?” Ava asked.
“Not yet,” Klaus replied.
Ava chuckled and continued discussing topics with Jamie, asking about his family. Jamie shot Morticia a pleading look, but she could only offer him a sympathetic smile.
“You should meet my friend Josephine, too. She was overwhelmed when I told her Morticia finally got a boyfriend…”
“Mom, that’s enough,” Morticia interjected, feeling embarrassed.
Klaus sighed at the mention of his mother.
Ava continued, “How crazy is it? She planned to visit today but changed her mind since she needed to prepare for the upcoming wedding…” Ava’s eyes widened as she quickly paused.
Klaus’s face drained of color, and his eyes shot to Ava.
“Wedding?” he asked, his voice low. Shock evident on his face.