After that bizarre introduction, we continue toward the hall where the will-reading would take place.
The corridor is beautiful, so I take out my phone and start taking pictures. Because, why not?
"Mademoiselle..." Xander asks. "May I ask: What are your feelings on roller coasters?"
The fuck did he mean by roller coasters?
"This place has a roller coaster?" It was the most intelligible reply that came out of my mouth.
Before I could process my question, Xander Hawthorne dragged me somewhere.
—---
Libby hadn't meant to get on the roller coaster.
She hadn't even known one existed.
But there she was—hands gripping the safety bar, eyes narrowed at the neon-red tracks spiralling through a secluded grove behind Hawthorne House—sitting beside Xander Hawthorne, who was fiddling with buttons on a homemade control panel that looked vaguely illegal.
"You're going to tell me this passed some kind of inspection," Libby said.
"Inspection?" Xander blinked. "You're adorable. No, this passed vibes. Big difference."
Libby glanced at the twisting steel arcs ahead, then back at Xander, who was wearing safety goggles for no discernible reason. "You know, in a few minutes, a billion-dollar mystery decides my sister's future. You wanna explain why we're doing loop-de-loops like it's a middle school field trip?"
Xander grinned, utterly unbothered. "Because stress tastes better when it's upside down."
The ride jerked forward, smooth and sudden. Libby cursed under her breath but didn't scream—not when they plummeted, not when they twisted through corkscrews. Not even when Xander shouted, "WE'RE CHASING EXISTENTIAL CLARITY AT SIXTY MILES PER HOUR!"
What she did do was grip the bar so tightly her rings cut into her palms. It was messy. It was fast. And somehow, it was the most honest moment she'd had since arriving.
—---
When they stumbled off—Libby's hair wild, Xander's grin feral—she glared at him through a fog of adrenaline.
"You have a death wish."
"I have a life wish. Entirely different flavour," he said, offering her a juice box from his coat pocket like it was a peace treaty.
Libby raised an eyebrow. "You're impossible."
He shrugged, sipping his juice box. "You're welcome."
—---
That was fun, not gonna lie, but I am not telling Xander that because I don't want to see that smug look on his face.
We walk back to where we left Avery and Grayson. I see her talking to two women.
"Skye Hawthorne, our mother and Zara Hawthorne-Calligaris, our aunt," Xander tells me before I can ask.
"Now," Skye says, looping one arm around Avery and one around Grayson, "why don't we make our way to the Great Room?"
We follow them silently.
—-
The great room was slightly smaller than the foyer but still larger than any room I have ever seen.
Avery and I were seated in the wingback chairs, and then Grayson made his way to the front.
Many people were joining them. I observed them trying to find someone or something familiar, which would gives us a hint of why were we here.
YOU ARE READING
Holding The Sky
FanfictionLibby Grambs. Billionaire Avery Grambs' older sister. Nash Hawthorne's fiancée. Is that all that's there to her. No. This is her story. An older sister often overlooked because she didn't inherit billions of dollars or isn't important enough.
