Love Like Winter ❄️ Xavier Thorpe

Chapter 34: The Future is Bright

After everything settles down, we decide to still all go and grab pizza somewhere because we'd worked up an appetite taking down a centuries old vampire. I approach my aunt and uncle's car, looking for any signs of damage from Levi's assault on it, but can't find any.

"The car is okay after that?" I ask my aunt Morticia who is standing by it.

She nods. "Yes, my darling. This car is quite strong. What's more important though, is if all of you are okay?"

"Yeah, I think we're all fine, still reeling, but fine." I smile and run my hands through my hair. "I am in shock though, I think."

My aunt Morticia pulls me into a hug and strokes my hair. "That's more than understandable, sweetheart. You all have been through so much together. I bet you're glad it's almost over."

I nod and shut my eyes, taking in a deep breath. The length of the school year is way different at Nevermore than it is in most public schools, which means not even a month left until we graduate. It's almost hard to be enthusiastic about graduating and leaving behind the best year of my life.

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We all squeeze together around a table inside the pizza place in Jericho. Acantha keeps checking her wrist to make sure the leaf mark stays gone, despite Tyler kissing her wrist where the mark had been and telling her that it's really gone. "I just can't believe it. I thought he was going to harass me forever. I can actually go and get my sister now and you guys could meet her. I'd kept her in hiding when Levi started getting more and more aggressive, she's safe with one of our great aunts somewhere."

My aunt Morticia asks Wednesday if she's told Acantha about her grandmother's old house that we were gifted and Acantha's eyes light up. "She asked me to move in with her and Tyler after they graduate!"

That's fantastic to hear and I'm really glad that Wednesday decided to ask Acantha to live with them because I'd been wondering what was going to happen after we're done at Nevermore. "Maybe we really should consider what we were talking about before?" My eyes meet Xavier's with a little smile.

"You mean moving to Salem?"

His dad overhears and looks over at us and smiles. "The two of you are considering moving to Salem? You must have really enjoyed your trip there."

Xavier pulls up the email on his phone from the guy who owns the Airbnb and hands it to his dad. "This is where we stayed when we went up there. Apparently the guy is planning on selling it but wanted to offer it to us first."

Vincent's eyebrows raise as he looks at Xavier's phone, scrolling through the photos of the house. "You must not remember the time you, your mother, and I went up to Salem. You were probably three or four years old, but this is the same place we stayed in those years ago."

"Wait," Wednesday interrupts us. "You're moving? All the way to Salem? You do remember that our house is in Westfield, New Jersey, right?"

I shut my eyes and sigh. "Yes, Wednesday, I know. It's not something that's set in stone. We just felt really safe out there and the house was perfect."

"But, Levi's gone now. You guys are safe here," Acantha frowns. "Plus, I thought we were all going to help you guys with Zoey."

Now everyone is staring at me and I feel like a horrible person, so I put my head down on the table and groan.

"Alright, let's not bombard them. Everyone has valid points here." Vincent Thorpe speaks up and I feel Xavier's hand rub my back gently.

As soon as he touches my back, I'm launched into a vision.