𝕊𝕥𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕕 ℂ𝕦𝕡𝕚𝕕 ➶

𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕥𝕪-𝔼𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥: 𝕄𝕪 𝕆𝕙 𝕄𝕪

Seven days. Her mother allowed Valentina a week to feel like her normal self again. They hung around their backyard pool during the day. Living in sunny San Diego meant that, even in the winter months, there were days that were balmy.

She slathered herself in suntan lotion and spent most of the daylight hours roasting like a little rotisserie chicken, occasionally taking a dip in the pool to cool down. Her mother kept her company most days, although she covered up a great deal more.

If there was anyone more self-conscious of their body than her, it was her mother. But Val felt... What was the word... Safe in her strappy red bikini in their backyard. Even though her belly pooch was hanging out, there were no cameras or other people around.

Sometimes she offered her daughter a sip from her mug of hot mulled wine. It tasted like Christmas.

Good old Saint Nick visited on day five. They exchanged gifts early that morning, while Bing Crosby crooned quietly in the background. Valentina always felt bad getting more than she gave, but her mother insisted she was still just a kid and that, as an only child, she deserved to be spoiled.

Plus, she was overjoyed by the little surprises she received from her daughter: a pair of sheepskin moccasins, a new bottle of her signature scent, and a wallet from her favorite designer.

Her father didn't call, which was just like him. Instead, he sent a perfunctory text message --which she was ninety percent certain he copied from the inside of a Christmas card-- and informed her that he had transferred money directly into her checking account.

It was a large lump sum. She still would have preferred a call. It was getting to the point where his face and voice were hazy in her mind. She wanted to remember him... Really she did! But memory was an imperfect thing.

And when she thought of memories, she started to think back to Vincent in the back of that police car, begging to be believed. That recollection never failed to worsen her mood, to the point where she did anything and everything to distract.

But, on day eight, when Valentina sat down at the kitchen table for dinner with her mother, the first words to leave the other woman's lips were, "We need to talk."

Val squirmed like a worm on a hook. "Can't this wait until later?" She was glad that her tone came out as more of a plea than a whine.

"No, baby," she answered, resolutely shaking her head. "I gave you time. It has to be now."

She sagged forward in her seat like a marionette whose strings were cut. There was a veritable feast laid out on the table, but, despite how good everything looked and smelled, she suddenly had no appetite.

"I don't know what you want me to say," she muttered before just sitting there with a pout, already feeling dejected. Under the table, she scuffed the toe of her slipper against the newly polished kitchen floor.

"I want you to tell me everything, starting at the beginning."

"I tried that already! You didn't want to listen. You dismissed every concern I had."

"And I'm sorry for that. I didn't realize how serious things were. But I'm here to help now. You just need to be completely open and honest with me."

Valentina let out a small sigh.

"Morticia Frump and Gomez Addams are Nevermore's power couple. They might be a couple of weirdos, but they're popular weirdos. There is this friend of theirs that was always third-wheeling them... Larissa Weems. I wanted to help. I wanted to make you proud. I used every spell I could, but she still refused to move on.

"So I decided to take a more direct approach. I let loose an arrow, but Morticia blocked it. Then she turned around and looked at me. That's when the trouble began, but things only got worse from there.

"Gomez is very... Protective... For lack of a better word. Once he found out I was the one who hurt his girlfriend, he cornered me and-- And he tried to hurt me. So I stabbed him with one of my arrows. In my defense, I didn't have any other choice!

"Naturally, they put two and two together, realized I was Cupid's envoy. They blackmailed me into a relationship. I was uncertain at first. I didn't know what I wanted. But I know now that it's not them... I thought I wanted something like what they have, but I'm starting to doubt even that. Their love is so intense. It can be suffocating at times.

"I don't think they had any ill intentions, even when they kidnapped me. They said they didn't want to be apart for an entire month. I told them you would never let me spend winter break completely unsupervised in a haunted resort. So they completely disregarded my opinion and just sorta stole me away.

"And I wish that was the end of the story, but it's not... See, there was this gorgon that I had a bit of a crush on. Deuce. I liked him until he kissed me without my consent before abandoning me in Jericho one night with no way back to Nevermore.

"Well, he went missing shortly afterwards. And this psychic, Vincent, said he had a vision of him being killed, and he pointed out Gomez as the main suspect considering his violently protective nature.

"Now Vincent has come up with this crazy turn of events that went down at the hotel, none of which I have any recollection of! He claims Morticia gave me a forgetfulness potion, but the main ingredient went extinct years ago. I'm starting to believe he's just losing his mind. His mind is supplying him 'visions' of what he wants to see. It's just... So sad."

At last, Valentina went silent.

Eventually, her mother reached across the table to rest a hand on hers, gently stroking her fingertips over her wrist. Despite all the craziness she'd just heard, she wore the most reassuring expression.

"That's a lot, and I'm sorry you had to deal with it alone. If you want out of this relationship, then we'll get you out. Like I said before, the effects of Cupid's arrow can sometimes fade with time and distance.

"So here's what I suggest: you break up with these two kids. Then we transfer you to a normie high school here on the West Coast for the rest of your freshman year. It might just be enough to shake this obsession they have with you."

Alarm bells immediately started going off in Val's head. "What if they tell the entire school that I'm Cupid's envoy?"

Her mother shrugged one shoulder. "So what if they do?"

"I'll be a disgrace to the family!"

Here, she made little hushes and coos. "Baby, baby, baby... You could never in a thousand years be a disgrace. You said you wanted to make me proud? I'm already proud. And there's nothing you could ever do that could change that."

And, naturally, that's when the floodgates opened up and Valentina started to cry in earnest. And, despite the fact that she sobbed for what felt like ages, her mother held her the entire time.