*Copyright: All Rights Reserved, Stephanie Myrick, 2024. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*
Antonia got home twenty minutes later after stopping to get Dallas's favourite cheat meal from The Boston Burger Company, an Inferno Burger with coleslaw on the side and The King Freakfrappe and an order of Mumbo boneless wings and Garlic Parm fries with a Strawberry Shortcake Freakfrappe for herself. She would probably regret not getting her run in the next day, but she wanted Dallas to be in a good mood and a bit of a food coma when she told him about Maverick.
She didn't think he'd be upset or jealous; he was too confident in himself to be insecure, but the fact that she hid that she dated him might be a problem. For someone who had most likely been hiding a whole other life from her, he didn't like it when she wasn't upfront with him. She pulled into her assigned space next to Dallas's truck, grabbed the bags of food and went inside. "Hey! I'm home!" She called as she walked in. "I have food."
"Oh, thank god, I'm starved." Dallas came out from the hall, grinning widely. "How was your day?" He kissed her cheek and took the bags from her. "How did you know I was craving Boston Burger Company?"
"Busy. But it was the first day of the sale, so we were expecting it." She chuckled and shrugged out of her jacket. "I didn't know you were craving it; I wanted to put you in a good mood."
"Oh?" Dallas raised his eyebrow as he pulled the food out of the bags and set it on the table. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything bad, not really." She smiled at him and got a couple of glasses of water for them. "I didn't tell you something because I didn't think it would matter, but some things have changed, and now you need to know."
"Right." He nodded and sat down, waiting for her to do the same before he started eating. Antonia watched him for a minute. He had perfect table manners; it was something she had admired about him before, and now she wondered if it was part of his public mask. When he swallowed a mouthful of burger, he looked at her expectantly. "So what is it?"
"Do you remember me mentioning a Maverick?" She ate a fry and watched his face carefully.
"Yeah, Raven and Jynx's triplet, right?" He didn't blink; he just kept eating as she nodded. "What about him?"
"He's back in town and helping out with the store." She swallowed and took a drink of water. "So I want to be transparent that he was the one I dated in high school."
"The first love who broke your heart?" Dallas set down his burger in surprise. "That guy?"
"Yeah, that guy." She nodded. "Obviously, I'm not interested in reigniting anything romantic 'cause I have you." She reached out and wiped some sauce from the corner of his mouth. "But I would like to be friends with him again."
He caught her hand and licked the sauce off her thumb with a grin. "Sure. I can understand that. But you know you don't need my permission to be friends with someone."
"No, but there's just a different dynamic with Maverick, that's all. I wanted to be open about it."
"Thank you." He kissed the back of her hand. "I'm looking forward to meeting him." A loud BANG! From the bedroom made them both jump and turn to the hall. "You heard it that time, right?" He got up and stormed down the hall, and Antonia pulled out her phone and opened the group chat with Raven and Jynx.
A warning would be nice next time.
Jynx🍀: 🤣Sorry!
It's hard for me to pretend I don't hear things if I jump lol
She shook her head, closed the chat, and followed Dallas down the hall. "What was it?"
"I don't know!" He spun around in frustration. "All the doors are open."
"Did something fall?" Antonia looked around the bedroom with fake concern as the sounds of scratching could be heard. Dallas shook his head, looking more and more upset as the noises got louder.
"No, I checked. I'm gonna talk to building maintenance tomorrow. I think there are animals in the walls."
"Huh." Antonia shrugged. "Probably a good idea. Sounds like they're falling down in the walls. I'd hate for the smell of rotting animals to permeate the place." She left the bedroom and went back to the kitchen to finish eating. Dallas followed her reluctantly, muttering about the noises.
"I feel like animals in the wall should have been caught by the inspector." He shook his head. "How did it go with Nola?"
"I asked, and she said she needed to think about it." Antonia shrugged. "She's coming over Saturday night to copy pictures from mom's photo albums and will tell me then."
"Well, Carver said yes to standing for me, so what are you gonna do if she says no?"
"I'll ask D'arcy." Antonia yawned. She was exhausted and really wanted a bath. "I got the afternoon off and made an appointment at the law firm. Are you still good to go?"
He nodded. "Did you make an appointment with the doctor too?"
"Yeah, I managed to get in before the store opens though." Antonia lied smoothly. She watched as something dawned on him, and he stared at her.
"D'arcy? As in the witch D'arcy? Your casual employee?" He swallowed, and she could see the anxiety on his face. The joy that gave her was indescribable.
"Yeah, she's probably my closest friend besides Raven and Jynx." Antonia grinned. "You do realize you're about to marry someone who runs a Wiccan supply store, right?"
"Yeah. But you don't practice Wicca," He shook his head. "It's a brilliant business to run in Salem, that's all."
"Well, just because I'm not an active practitioner doesn't mean I don't see the benefits the people who practice get from it. And my personal beliefs align more with Wicca than anything else." She reminded him as she finished her boneless wings and reached for her Freakfrappe.
"Yeah, okay. That's fair and fine, but you aren't casting spells on the full moon, Toni!" He sighed. "You know that stuff makes me uncomfortable."
"D'arcy isn't a medium or a psychic." Antonia pointed out calmly. "And she's not gonna do a ritual in the middle of the ceremony or reception."
"I know." He dropped his head in his hands. "It's just... Nevermind." He stood up abruptly and kissed the top of her head. "If having D'arcy stand with you will make you happy, I'm okay with it."
"Are you sure?" Antonia looked up at him as he grabbed his Freakfrappe and moved over to the couch. She got up and followed him, snuggling into his side like she usually would. "I don't really have anyone else. Posey, but she's nineteen, and her parents are really strict."
"I know, Love," He wrapped his arm around her and rubbed his hand up and down her arm. "D'arcy is fine. I'd actually prefer her to Nola just because you're closer to her."
"Well, hopefully my peace offering was enough to help Nola and I to rebuild our relationship." Antonia ran her nose along his jaw. She could understand why Dawn did whatever she could to stay with Dallas. There was a tiny part of her that wanted to forgive him. She knew part of it was sunk cost fallacy, but a small part of it was thinking if she got the surgery she desperately needed, her periods wouldn't be a factor anymore, and he would stop cheating. He had helped her get over a lot of her issues and built her confidence in herself and her business abilities. She wanted to win him in a weird, twisted way, prove she was better than the others. But the logical part of her brain knew he wouldn't change and that she would never get over the betrayal.
"So she liked the scrapbook?" He leaned down and kissed her briefly. He wouldn't engage much if he knew he wasn't going to get to take her to bed, so she felt comfortable being affectionate with him, knowing he wouldn't take it further.
"I'm not actually sure if she did or not. But she cried her eyes out when she got the pearls."
"You gave her your mother's pearls?" He leaned back and looked down at her in surprise.
"Yeah, I was going to when I found them; I just never got a chance." She shrugged and drank more of her frappe. "How was golf?"
"Fine, six over par for the course." He said absently. "So the pearls aren't here anymore?"
"No, they're at her place. Why?" Antonia had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
"You really haven't noticed all the banging and scratching?" Dallas took his arm off her shoulder and covered his face. "The whispering?"
"No? well, I've heard some of the bangs, but I don't hear scratching or whispers." She tilted her head at him. "What does that have to do with the pearls?"
"Just, they belonged to your mom, and I know objects can hold spirits." He rubbed his eyes. "And that's not all; I've been feeling off balance, and the doctor said there's nothing wrong with me. I've lost a few things, or they've been moved."
"You think my mom is haunting us?" Antonia couldn't help it; she chuckled. "She's been dead for eleven years. Why would she suddenly start haunting us?"
"Because you sold the house." He muttered, looking a little embarrassed. "You said she was attached to it."
"Yeah, it was her childhood home." Antonia nodded. "Wouldn't she be messing with me, not you?"
"I was the one who convinced you to sell the house though. You would have stayed there otherwise, but I always felt weird there, so I wanted you to sell."
"I sold the house because I was tired of all the upkeep. I wanted a condo, so I didn't have to worry about that anymore. You didn't convince me to do anything. Nola didn't want to buy it, and I had nothing but bad memories there. I really don't think Mom is haunting us." Antonia leaned over and hugged him. "I think you're just tired. You've got more responsibility now with your promotion, and you're adjusting."
"You're probably right." He smiled at her and finished his frappe. "Yeah, I'm tired and adjusting to more responsibility."
"Why don't you go shower, and I'll clean up." Antonia collected their garbage and stood up. "We'll go to bed, and you can sleep in tomorrow."
"No I can't, we have a tux fitting tomorrow morning." He shook his head. "Had to get Carver in there."
"Sleep later than normal." She corrected herself as she tossed things in the garbage.
"A good idea is a good idea though." He came over and ran his hands down her sides to her hips and kissed her shoulder. "Hopefully, the doctor will figure out what's wrong with you tomorrow. I miss my little mynx."
"Mm. I miss you too." She leaned back into his chest. "The offer is still there to take care of you."
"I know." He kissed her again and let her go. "It's just not the same."
*Copyright: All Rights Reserved, Stephanie Myrick, 2024. Posted to Wattpad ONLY*