Hunting the Fairy Tale

Chapter 103 - The Voice of Reason

Willow

The morning air spilling through the open window is fresh and crisp and probably just what I need right now, but I don't want to get out of the car for fear of running into someone who saw what I did last night. Tomorrow is a school day, and I truly wish that I could just call in sick again and study at home.

I'm a coward, I know.

The levels of humiliation and mortification I'm feeling are just too overwhelming. Reading one of the novels Dex is in the process of writing and publishing on a few writing websites is definitely helping to distract me from my current crises.

"The problem with having multiple lovers is that at some point, one invariably ends up mixing up their names. 

Miss Lilly Lupine finds that the best way to deal with the possibility of such a disaster is to make sure never to call them by their names. Instead, she uses the nickname 'Dove'' for all of them. 

This is why, as she stares down into the lifeless eyes of the young man lying dead in a tangle of limbs on the marble tiles of the foyer, her heart breaking at the thought of never again hearing his voice or seeing his smile, she cannot, for the life of her, remember his name."

I've downloaded the app onto my phone and am soon deeply engrossed in the murder of one of Miss Lily's rather fascinating lovers. I cannot stop giggling while I'm reading it, but I'll die of embarrassment if someone were to look over my shoulder and see what I'm enjoying so much.

Yesterday, we spoke about the epic fantasy adventures that Dex writes. Some of them are along the vein of the Fable games (which he had to explain to me), and some are in the same genre as Pirates of the Caribbean. Apparently, he has done some vampire, other horror and psychological thrillers as well. I cannot wait to dig into all his stories! From what I've seen so far, his writing style is highly engaging and truly good, with near-perfect grammar and filled with relatable, well-thought-out characters and lots of witty humour.

Just before we left the Davenports' home this morning, he'd called me aside and told me that he understood that I was feeling humiliated and embarrassed and that he wanted to even the score between us by embarrassing himself in front of me as well. For a second, I was terrified that he meant that he was going to sniff and lick me and call me Willikens, but surprisingly, he did it in the form of confessing a rather juicy secret to me. He swore that not even Hunter or his brother knew about it.

He has a second, secret online persona, Mathilda Amplebottom. Yes, that name alone would have been enough to keep me laughing each time I see the rather manly Irishman, and yet, it did not end there! Mathilda's books are rather raunchy, slightly gory romantic comedy murder mysteries! Not in a million years would I have guessed that Dex would write something like that!

He told me that though he's passionate about writing character-driven adventure stories and rather twisted thrillers, he finds it extremely relaxing and fun to write about saucy Miss Lily Lupine solving some puzzling whodunnits while juggling an entire army of lovers. And juggle them, she does!

I nearly jump out of my skin when the driver's door opens, and someone gets into the car. Thinking it is Hunter, I hastily exit the app and turn to look at him, pretending to be as innocent and uninformed about Miss Lily's hourglass figure and kissable lips as I was when he left the car.

It is not Hunter sitting in the driver's seat, tilting his head, giving me a suspicious look though; it is Molly.

"What are you looking so guilty about?" she asks, and I giggle uncomfortably.

"No... I just... you know... last night," I lie, sounding a little breathless, but it is only a partial lie. I am feeling ashamed and guilty about last night, and as sweet as Dex's gesture was to help repair our budding friendship, I might be less able to face him after what I've read just now, regardless of how funny and highly entertaining it was.