Page 124 of The Road to Ruined

"Yeah, of course. We have plenty of room. What were you fighting about?"

"Moving."

"Well, if you love him, maybe you should stay," Blakely says.

"Since when do you want me around?"

"Is he going to take care of you if you stay?" my mom asks, apparently overhearing the conversation.

"No," I tell her. "He can't."

"Blake—come on. It's time to take those rollers out," Lauren says.

"I remember what you said at the bar, Teagan," Blakely says. "I'm already sorry. I didn't like hearing the way Ashlyn talked to you; I realized that's how I talk to you, too. I won't do it anymore."

"Thank you."

"I'm glad you're here," she says.

"Me, too."

TWENTY-TWO

The shoes are uncomfortable. I feel like I'm in my own normal human costume in the tulle A-line dress. My hair hangs down my back in loose curls with a headband braid in the front. None of my scars are visible; all of my bruises have healed.

The ones on the outside anyway. As for the rest…just when I think they're getting better, something new comes along and presses on it.

"Hey, Teagan. It's good to see you."

"Good to see you, too," I tell the person I don't remember ever seeing in my life as they sign the guestbook. "Thanks for coming."

This isn't a job. It's a nonjob. It's the job you give someone just so they can feel included and the worst job for someone with my personality. Given the circumstances, I'll keep my complaints strictly confined to internal monologue.

"Thanks for being here," I say to another couple signing the book while awkwardly standing over them.

"What's that?" the girl asks, pointing to the table beside us.

"Oh, the message in a bottle? It's to leave a note for Blake and Austin to read on their first wedding anniversary."

"Aw, that's cute."

I smile and nod. "Yeah, so cute."

Kill me now.

Oh wait, I guess that'll really happen later.

After I watch them write a note and drop it into the bottle, I check the clock.Ten minutes.The wedding starts in ten minutes. There are maybe a handful of seats still empty, including the two beside my parents that were saved for me and Sebastian. I haven't seen him yet, and I'm getting nervous. What if he changed his mind?

My heart rate spikes, and I swallow the lump in my throat.

Just as I start to panic, he walks up wearing a black suit and a white button-up shirt—a better normal human costume than even Luca, especially considering not only is he not normal, but if you ask him, he's not even a human.

He says nothing before leaning over the table beside me and scribbling something onto the parchment for the message in a bottle. I cross my arms in front of me and look away before he calls my attention back.

"Hey, Teagan. How's this?" he asks, holding up the parchment.

I KILLED YOUR SISTER.

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