The Woe We Deserve

Chapter 32

Once the Addams had excused themselves for for the evening, Wednesday wasted no time to grill her boyfriend. She'd been burning to know how his conversation with his dad went, and what on Earth was in that envelope, but she figured it would be better not to interrogate him in front of her parents.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Wednesday reached for his back pocket. Xavier gave a startled jump as she yanked the envelope.

"I was going to tell you about it as soon as your parents were gone, I promise," he said, slightly panicked. He couldn't have her thinking he was trying to hide things from her again. "I don't know what it is, though. He said it's what was used to blackmail him. Told me I could do whatever I wanted with it..."

Wednesday was taken aback by the last part. "Seriously?"

Xavier nodded. "Said I could even send it to the tabloids or whatever."

Wednesday handed him the envelope back, still sealed. Xavier shook his head. "You can open it, if you want. We can look together."

Wednesday placed it in his hands and shook her head. "It's for you to see. When you do, if you still want to share, you can."

Xavier gave her a grateful smile, but he ripped the envelope open anyway. He didn't take the pictures out, just peaked at them briefly. His eyes widened and he let out strangled noise.

"I'm not sure if these are worth me almost dying, but they certainly are embarrassing." Xavier handed the envelope to Wednesday, who also looked at the pictures discreetly. She discovered picture after picture of Vincent Thorpe at some sort of club or party, snorting cocaine, or sitting with a naked woman on each thigh, drinking, partying, and in general being very family-unfriendly. It was definitely not a good look for a his brand, not when his biggest fans were usually children and housewives.

Wednesday tried very hard not to laugh. The ridiculousness of it all was too much. She wasn't sure what she was expecting to find, but it was not that. "Definitely bad enough to risk losing an arm," she said teasingly.

"Definitely," Xavier chuckled. "Now I feel bad for being so harsh."

"Yeah, you should totally call your dad and apologize."

Both teens broke out in a fit of laughter, unable to keep a straight face about it any longer.

"So what are you going to do with them?"

Xavier's smile faded for a second. He looked at Wednesday. "What do you think I should do? I mean, humiliation is a small price to pay. It won't make things right, but I'm sure it'll give you and your parents some satisfaction."

Wednesday shrugged. "He's your dad."

"Yeah, but—"

"Xavier," she interrupted. "Please stop apologizing for him. My parents don't hold it against you, and neither do I. So do whatever you want, because it won't change how I feel about you. And trust me, if my parents wanted revenge, they wouldn't need these."

Xavier sighed and tucked the pictures back in his pocket. "Part of me would love to see him squirm. It could ruin his career."

"Pugsley would be devastated," she added.

"You know, for years I dreamed it would all fall apart for him. I thought maybe if people didn't want to see him anymore, he'd finally have time for me."

Wednesday gave him a sad smile.

"But now...I don't know. Even if he had a wide-open schedule, I don't think that would change anything. It would probably just make him even more overbearing, but I'm sure he would find something other than me to fill his time."