Sonoma County, Sebastopol – California
Sebastopol is a small town with a population of less than 8,000. Its main streets are dotted with small shops, artisanal cafés, and local art galleries.
The day in Sebastopol was very cloudy, as if a heavy rain could start pouring down at any moment.
Not far from the town center, in the more remote areas, the scenery changes. Among the rolling hills and oak forests lies a very peculiar house at the end of a winding dirt road.
The house is built with weathered wood and filled with irregular additions that give it an eccentric charm. There are also pigs playing in the mud, cows grazing peacefully, and chickens running around between the pens.
Inside the house, which has three floors and is taller than it is wide, a large family is having lunch in the dining room.
The long table was covered with plates of juicy, rare steaks. A total of six people were seated: four men and two women.
Three of the men were teenagers, loud and messy eaters, joking around with each other. The other man, middle-aged, ate quietly and calmly, used to the noise his sons made.
One of the women was middle-aged and also ate quietly, accustomed to the commotion. Her gaze settled on the blonde girl sitting across from her.
“Why aren’t you eating, Enid?” the woman asked, looking at the nearly untouched steak on her daughter’s plate. She was Esther, Enid’s mother and the mother of the boisterous boys.
Her daughter had been acting strange throughout the holidays, with less appetite than usual and a more subdued mood compared to her usual enthusiastic and cheerful self.
Esther knew the reason for this but didn’t want to bring it up. It was better for her daughter to forget about him entirely.
“I’m not very hungry,” Enid replied, staring at her plate.
“If you’re not eating it, I will. I won’t let Daisy’s meat go to waste,” one of Enid’s brothers said, stabbing the steak with his fork and moving it to his plate, which already held three steaks.
Daisy had been one of the cows they cared for on their farm. She was slaughtered earlier that day, and now they were eating her. He wouldn’t let poor Daisy’s meat go to waste.
Enid didn’t care that her brother had taken her steak. In the past, she would have given him a beating-she never let anyone touch her food. Only one person had ever been allowed to…
That memory made her frown, her expression tinged with sadness.
“I’m going to my room,” Enid said, dropping her utensils and standing up. Within a few breaths, she had left the dining room, and her always-noisy brothers fell silent, watching her leave.
“Dylan, you idiot! You shouldn’t have stolen her food!” one of Enid’s brothers shouted, smacking Dylan hard on the head, nearly making him faceplant into his plate.
Enid’s three brothers are a rare case of trizygotic triplets, meaning they are genetically distinct. While they share familial traits, they are far from identical.
All three are about to start their final year of high school at Nevermore. Then there’s their older brother Andrew, who graduated last year-the same year the hooded figures attacked the Poe Cup.
“Shut up! It’s not my fault!” Dylan shouted, trying to punch his brother Eric, but his blow was skillfully dodged, leading to a scuffle.
“You’re too young to try and hit me, Dylan,” Eric said with a grin.
“You’re only older by a minute!”
“Stop fighting. We’re in our final year now. You should start acting mature. Being the oldest can feel lonely sometimes,” William said, shaking his head.
“You’re only older than me by fifteen seconds; don’t let it go to your head,” Eric replied, glancing at William for a moment before returning his focus to wrestling with Dylan
“Mm… Why has our sister been acting so strange these holidays?” William wondered aloud, resting a hand on his chin. Not only was she acting odd, but it was as if she were melancholic and sad. He didn’t like seeing her that way, but he wasn’t particularly good at dealing with feelings and emotions.
“Maybe it’s because she’s not eating her daily protein intake?” Eric suggested, without taking his eyes off Dylan, who scowled disdainfully at the comment.
“Don’t be an idiot. It’s obvious why she’s acting like that,” Dylan said.
“Why?” Eric and William asked in unison.
“Luke Poe,” Dylan replied, and the dining room fell silent once again. Eric stopped wrestling with Dylan, his expression becoming more serious than usual.
“Don’t say that name again,” Esther said, finally breaking her silence and stepping into the conversation.
The triplets exchanged knowing glances. On the first day of the holidays, their mother and sister had a huge argument. The shouting didn’t stop for two hours, and the atmosphere had been tense for days afterward.
Since they argued loudly and didn’t care if others in the house overheard, the triplets learned the reason for the fight: Esther’s interference in Enid’s relationship with Luke Poe.
None of them said another word. Their mother could be terrifyingly strict when it came to certain matters. It was best not to anger her.
“That boy does nothing but get into trouble. Reviving Crackstone and then killing him? What’s next?” Esther complained aloud. Her words sounded more like an attempt to convince herself that interfering in Enid and Luke’s relationship had been the right decision.
“Andrew said Raven Island is in ruins… It would’ve been amazing to see that fight,” Dylan commented. Like any good werewolf, he loved thrilling, life-or-death battles.
“Damn it. Another year without the Poe Cup,” William complained. He had hoped to make his final year glorious by winning the competition, but now it seemed unlikely with Raven Island in such a state.
“He said his last name! Punish him, Mom!” Eric tattled immediately, making William frown. Fortunately, their mother wasn’t paying much attention to them and seemed more focused on her own monologue.
“He suffered an PLPE and still can’t stop putting his life at risk. At least this time, no innocents were involved,” Esther continued.
She knew about this thanks to her eldest son, Andrew, who worked for the council, specifically in the Department of Dangerous Outcasts Containment. He had been among the staff sent to the island after everything that happened there.
“Ahem,” Murray coughed, giving his wife a reproachful look.
“I don’t wish anything bad to happen to him. I’m just saying,” Esther said, calming herself.
She felt conflicted about Luke Poe. On one hand, she believed he could put her daughter in danger because of his old grudge with the Spellmans. On the other hand, she felt grateful to
him.
Grateful, because thanks to him, her daughter had become a werewolf and a prodigy. She wasn’t a late bloomer and was one of the strongest werewolves in her grade, even managing to defeat a Hyde-a remarkable achievement.
…
Enid entered her room, ignoring whatever her family might be whispering about her. She didn’t turn on the lights and went straight to her desk, which was messier than usual for her. She cleared some space and opened her laptop. In a program, she began typing. In less than five minutes, she was done.
‘An PLPE that could last a month or more… He’s always so reckless,’ Enid thought, and after that thought, she sighed and rested her forehead on the desk, feeling the cool wood and the clutter of papers and uncapped pens.
Why did she still care about him? It had all ended months ago. She had been rejected, and on top of that, she had said horrible things to him.
Why did she still care when he had broken his promise and kissed Wednesday Addams?
A girl she thought was her friend. She had put in so much effort to get closer to her gothic classmate, and in the end, things had turned out like this. She had even befriended Thing, and now she wouldn’t get to see the friendly hand anymore.
At first, when Luke broke his promise and chose Wednesday, her anger had kept her going. A burning fury that masked her sadness.
Her anger reached its peak when she saw him dancing with Wednesday at the Nevermore ball. ‘Didn’t you hate dancing? Why with her and not with me?’ Enid thought, clenching her teeth tightly as she watched the scene from a corner. She felt betrayed in so many ways she couldn’t
even count them all.
‘Lying bastard. Womanizer.’
But when the holidays came, and she stopped seeing him, something inside her changed. The anger quickly faded, replaced by a feeling of longing.
At first, she tried to ignore it. But as the days went by, that feeling deepened. It wasn’t just
missing him. It was a desperate need to see him, to know he was okay, to hear his voice. Enid began finding excuses to think about him, replaying past conversations in her mind, moments when Luke had shown a small glimpse of his more vulnerable side. No matter how much she wanted to hate him, those bittersweet memories clung to her heart, refusing to
disappear.
She started counting down the days until Nevermore would begin again so she could see him. However, what if he didn’t return to Nevermore? Would she never see him again? Just the thought of it made her chest ache terribly.
She couldn’t hate Luke. The anger she had felt vanished, leaving only love in its place.
When she learned about the fight against Crackstone that Luke was involved in, she became deeply worried-a concern she couldn’t deny.
Luckily, her brother Andrew was sent to Nevermore to investigate what had happened and spoke with him personally. That’s how she found out about Luke’s PLPE, which frightened her
even more.
What if he never wakes up? What if she never sees him again? With those thoughts swirling in her mind, Enid felt an urge to go to Nevermore immediately.
But then she remembered that Wednesday would be the one taking care of him, and she stopped herself. Still, that didn’t deter her-she simply looked for another approach. ‘What if, back then, I hadn’t looked at him with fear?’ Enid wondered. Maybe she would have
been the one taking care of him now.
Her phone started ringing, pulling her out of that swarm of thoughts and emotions. Seeing
the name Andrew, she answered right away.
“Any news?” Enid asked immediately, her tone far more eager than when she had spoken in
the dining room.
“Hello, sister. I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Andrew replied, pretending to be hurt.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Enid said impatiently.
“Phew… Yes, there’s news. He woke up,” Andrew said with a sigh.
“What!?” Enid exclaimed, standing up from her desk in surprise.
She hadn’t expected such news. It had only been two, almost three, days. Had the doctors
been wrong about the diagnosis?
Not that it mattered to Enid. The important thing was that he had regained consciousness. A happy smile spread across her face, and a tear escaped from one of her blue eyes.
“That’s great…” Enid said, her tone filled with emotion as she sat back down in her chair. “Yes… great…” Andrew echoed, his tone far less enthusiastic than hers.
“Little sister, you should forget about him as soon as possible. The sooner you get over this
breakup, the less you’ll suffer. There are plenty of fish in the sea,” Andrew added, sounding concerned.
For his sister’s sake, he had become something of a double agent, tasked with updating her daily on Luke’s condition and other unconventional errands…
“I’ve already chosen my fish…” Enid murmured, more to herself than as a response to Andrew.
“What did you say? I didn’t hear.”
“Nothing. Thanks for the information,” Enid said quickly, ending the call and once again sinking into her thoughts in the darkness of her room.
The happiness she had felt upon learning that Luke had woken up began to fade. What good was it if she could never be with him again? Not that she wanted him to remain
unconscious forever, but wouldn’t everyone think it was foolish for her to feel happy when Luke was clearly happy with Wednesday?
She leaned back against the chair, lost in silent contemplation. An hour passed, maybe more,
when a soft knock on the door broke the heavy silence.
Enid blinked, as if waking from a trance. She hesitated for a moment before standing up and
opening the door. Her father, Murray, was there.
He didn’t say a word, simply extended his hand toward her, offering a carefully folded note.
“What’s this?” Enid asked, but her father didn’t answer.
He just gave her a knowing look and a small, complicit smile. Then, without another word, he
turned and walked away, leaving her alone with the note.
Enid closed the door and returned to her desk. She switched on the lamp to read the note. The
note contained a single word: Fight. She stared at it for a moment, feeling something stir deep inside her. That word echoed in her mind like a reverberation.
Enid pressed the note against her chest, closing her eyes. She couldn’t stop loving Luke, nor
could she rid herself of the feelings that bound her to him.
But she could choose not to sink any further. She could choose to stand up, even if it hurt, even
if the path ahead seemed impossible.
“Fine… I’ll fight,” she murmured to herself, a small glimmer of determination lighting up her
eyes.
If she couldn’t stop loving him, she would have to win him back with all her strength.
After that, she made a call on her phone.
“Hi, Yoko. Remember the invitation to Ajax’s birthday party? I’ll go with you.”
“That’s great, Enid! I’m sure we’ll have a blast, and you might meet someone new. Just ignore that idiot Poe,” Yoko said excitedly.
After chatting a bit more, Enid ended the call and lay down on her bed. Ajax’s 16th birthday would be before the break. Now that Luke was conscious again, he would likely attend. ‘We’ll see each other soon, Luke,’ Enid thought, a nearly maniacal smile curling her lips as her
hand reached for the handkerchief resting near her pillow.
It was the same handkerchief Luke had lent her the first day they met. She had kept it,
unwashed, since then.
The faint scent of him rose from the handkerchief, flooding her enhanced sense of smell with
memories of what once was.
Enid closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, immersing herself in the sensation of being close to
him, even if only through a simple piece of fabric.
You can read 15 chapters in advance on my patreon. Link: [email protected]/Nathe07