Chapter 30

Matt

The Mystery Girl was running, running out of the ballroom. I had to stop her.

Wading through the sea of people, I kept my eyes glued on the twilight blue dress. I saw her slip out through a side door, and I chased after her. But there were a lot of people in the way, and I couldn’t get through. I wasn’t able to slip out of the door after her for too long, and by the time I emerged, she was gone.

The smell of a cigarette caught my attention. I whipped around to see a girl standing by the door, leaning against the wall. She had a smirk on her face.

“Looks like Cinderella’s carriage turned back into pumpkins and her horses turned into mice,” she cooed, staring at me through her thin eyebrows. “Maybe you should go and see if she lost her glass slipper somewhere.”

Frowning, I made a face at the girl and whipped back around. The Mystery Girl had left footprints in the snow, but they were being covered fast by the new snow that was falling. I quickly followed them, not caring if my pants got wet. I only cared about her.

Up ahead, I finally spotted a flash of blue. I called out to her, my chest swelling with satisfaction.

“Wait!” My voice echoed louder than I intended.

But she didn’t hear me. If she did, she showed no sign of it. She just kept going, and eventually disappeared.

I went to follow her more closely, but just then, I felt something crunch under my shoe. I quickly pulled my foot away and looked down to see a silver necklace there in the snow, in the shape of a heart. Frowning, I stooped down and picked it up; I recognized it almost immediately.

My Mystery Girl had been wearing it all night.

Grabbing the necklace, I stood with the intention of following her to give it back. But she was gone.

“Hey. Matt. What are you doing?”

A familiar voice caught my attention, and I whipped around. It was Jack. “Oh, hey, Jack,” I said, slipping the necklace into my pocket. “I haven’t seen you all night.”

“Well, I saw you,” Jack said, his face red from alcohol and a sly grin spread across his thin lips. “You were dancing with the girl in the mask. I saw you guys slip away for a while… How was it? Was she good?”

I frowned, furrowing my brows. “We didn’t—”

“I’m just messing with you, man,” Jack replied, punching me lightly in the arm. “Anyway, some of us are heading back to my place for an afterparty if you wanna join. I just need to make a pit stop first.”

I nodded, still feeling the weight of the necklace in my pocket. “Sure. I’ll come.”

…

Just as Jack said, we made a pit stop. I didn’t recognize the place, but when the door opened, I recognized the girls inside. Particularly one of them: Celeste. Jack’s little sister.

For a brief moment, our eyes met. She looked just as she always did: relatively unremarkable. Just a normal girl, who for some reason was cursed to have an overbearing brother. But it wasn’t my place to judge. Jack had his own business here, and I stayed out of it.

But there was something strange in her gaze—something different, something eerily familiar. Her eyes…

Could it be?

Suddenly, before I could get a closer look, Jack emerged from the house and blocked my view. The door shut behind him and I heard the lock slide through the deadbolt.

“Come on,” he said, his speech slightly slurred from drinking at the dance as he rifled through his wallet. “I’ve got pizzas on the way for that afterparty. Gotta be there to pay the delivery driver… Do I need to tip delivery drivers?”

“Yes,” I said, shoving my hands back in my pockets, and feeling the cold touch of the silver necklace in my left pocket as we walked. “You do need to tip delivery drivers.”

“Ugh…” Jack made a face. “I hate tipping.”

Jack went on to prattle for a few minutes about how tipping was a ridiculous system designed for employers to get away with paying their employees too little—and I agreed with him, wholeheartedly—but my mind was on other things. The weight of the little necklace in my palm felt heavier than it should have been, and before I realized it, I was slipping my phone out and sending my Mystery Girl a string of texts. All of them went unanswered.

“Anyway, Matt, I’m just saying…” Jack was still talking.

Suddenly, as I typed out my last text to the Mystery Girl, Celeste’s eyes came back to mind. They looked… different.

“Hey, did you see Celeste’s eyes?” I asked, interrupting Jack.

Jack froze. “Uh… Sure, I guess. I think she and her gal-pal were playing dress-up or some dumb shit earlier. I dunno. Hey, did I tell you that she really considered going to the ball a few days ago? She came home with some ugly tight-fitting dress that she thought she could squeeze her fat body into—”

“Hey.” I stopped short, sliding my phone back into my pocket. “She’s your sister, man.”

Jack froze and slowly turned to look at me, his eyes wide with surprise. “Excuse me?”

“I said she’s your sister. You say such awful things about her. Have you ever considered that maybe she wouldn’t look so awkward all of the time if you actually built up her self esteem, like a good older brother should, rather than tearing it down?”

Jack’s bleary eyes narrowed a little and he took a step toward me. “You got something to say about my sister?” he growled. “Careful, buddy. Wouldn’t want you to get any ideas.”

The derisiveness in Jack’s tone was palpable. “I have no interest in Celeste,” I shot back. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t notice how you treat her. It’s kinda fucked up, don’t you think?”

Jack let out a drunken laugh. “Oh Matt. You don’t get it.” He reached out and heartily slapped my shoulder. “I have to keep her in check. If I don’t, she turns into a wild card. She’s a troublemaker at her core. Trust me, you don’t know her like I do.”

I found that hard to believe, especially coming from Jack. The Celeste who I knew was always so timid and quiet, and hardly ever bothered anyone. Half of the time I saw her she was either serving food and drinks at a party or had her nose in a book—or both at the same time.

But I chose to remain silent. Jack was right: I didn’t know her. It wasn’t my place.

Still, my curiosity about Celeste’s potential attendance at the ball lingered for some reason.

Trying to sound nonchalant, I asked, “So, she tried to go to the ball? What did her dress look like? What color was it?”

Jack squinted at me suspiciously. “I think it might have been blue? Why? You sure you don’t have a thing for my sister, Matt?”

I shrugged, feigning indifference. “Just curious. Trust me, I’m not interested.”

But deep down, I wouldn’t help but wonder if it was the same enchanting shade of blue from the dance. No… It couldn’t be. Jack’s little sister, Celeste? It was impossible. She looked nothing like the girl from the dance.

As we continued walking, the conversation turned to unrelated topics. But my thoughts were consumed by the enigmatic girl from the ball and the uncanny resemblance in Celeste’s eyes.

The necklace in my pocket seemed to burn with possibility and unanswered questions.