The Bride Wore My Nightmares Chapter 05
Early the next morning I drove straight to Chloe Bennett’s house.
Chloe had a lot of friends, connections in strange places, and a brain that worked faster than mine did.
Sure enough, once she heard the story, she let out a cold laugh. “That girl’s been running with some seriously shady crowd since ninth grade, and after she landed in community college? Forget about it.”
She gave me a reassuring look. “Don’t worry. I’ll handle the background dig.”
When I got home, Mom was sitting on the couch in the living room, her eyes drifting again and again toward Ethan’s door.
“Mom, I’m back.”
She perked up at the sight of me and was about to say something when Ethan cut her off.
“Mom! Maddie! Please let me out. Vanessa really is a wonderful girl. If you just spent some time with her you’d accept her, I promise!”
Ethan’s begging voice drifted through the closed door.
His voice wasn’t even hoarse — clearly he still had plenty of snacks and water stockpiled in there.
Mom was too irritated to even respond, waving a hand in frustration. “Same broken record over and over again. What does that woman even have? How does she have him this bewitched?”
I sat down obediently beside her. “Mom, the more you shut him out, the more he pushes back.”
“You don’t worry about this. With me and your dad here, that woman will never set foot in this house as long as she lives.” Mom patted the back of my hand gently, then shot the door of Ethan’s room another furious glare.
“Look, Ethan hasn’t eaten all day. Let him out for dinner. As for that woman — we’ll deal with her slowly.”
Once I’d calmed her down, I went over and unlocked Ethan’s door.
Ethan bolted out of his room and made a beeline for the front door.
“You dare walk out that door!” Mom snapped, instantly furious.
“Mom, just trust me this once!” Ethan yelled, already yanking the door open.
And of course — there she was, all done up, holding an Erewhon shopping bag stuffed with fresh fruit. Vanessa.
“Vanessa! Perfect timing — we were just about to eat!”
Ethan reached for the bag immediately, cradling it as if a single wrong move might crush her under the weight of a few peaches.
Mom and I turned our heads away at exactly the same moment. Not worth the eye contact.
Vanessa minced along behind Ethan and came in.
“Hi, Mrs. Callahan. Hi, Maddie.”
That good little girl act was flawless.
“Ethan told me you love cantaloupe, Mrs. Callahan, and Maddie loves white peaches, so I got a little extra.” Vanessa played the girl-next-door part without missing a beat.
I knew perfectly well that throwing her out again would only push Mom and Dad past their limit — and drive Ethan further into rebellion.
Fine.
Let’s see how long you can keep this performance going.