Page 104 of Terror Tuesday

My foot won’t press on the gas… Because I don’t know which way to turn.

I’m stranded at a literal crossroads, neon flickering like indecision above an old diner. One route leads to a romantic hotel restaurant on the edge of town that Elliot has probably spent student loan money reserving. The other…to a deserted two-lane country road and pitch blackness ahead.

An old oak tree stands in the middle. And I think I’ve seen a picture of it somewhere, but I’m not sure where. Perhaps it was one of Mom’s.

She’s the one I want to call up right now. Not Dad. He won’t give me the advice I need. How do you choose between two men you may be in love with? If you have to choose?

I’m kind of mad at both of them for forcing me into this decision.

But my heart won’t let me leave them.

If I veer to the right, I’ll end up as the woman who stabbed Reggie Blackwell. Dangerous. Perhaps running from the society for the rest of my life. Never knowing who will be coming after me.

A Monarch.

If I choose the left, I won’t be safe either. Forgoing myappointed, whoever that may be, will not only bring the society’s wrath, but would go against everythingCaliphyllastands for.

However, Elliot and I could lead a normal life somewhere. Away from the craziness of NU. I could be his wife. Bear his children. Raise them some place far away. We’d be poor, but happy.

Although I could probably never see my family again.

To the right is treachery. Rebelling against Seventh Society. Clandestine nights. Dark days with Valen Von Dovish…

My eyes clamp shut, Valen Von Dovish’s name echoing like a curse and a prayer.Here I was, always worried about someone being rich enough for my father’s standards, only to be stalked by the one guy at school who has more wealth than all of us.

But why the mask? Why has he hidden himself away from everyone? When I looked into him, it was a known fact that no one on campus had ever seen his face.

He was homeschooled. Isolated with his family on Von Dovish grounds. A mystery, even though his name is known. Eldest of five. A genius. But a stoic shadow behind his father’s throne.

And I have to kill him. If I don’t…they’ll end me.

With all those thoughts floating through my mind, I call my mom.

“What’s up, my girl?” she answers cheerily, and the sound of her voice almost makes mine crack with vulnerability.

“Mom? Have you ever had to make a tough decision? Like one answer is safe. And you’d get what you want. Though not everything. The other, however, would lead to danger, but there’s something about it that draws you in…”

She’s quiet for a long time. “Is this about a boy?”

“No.” I swallow. “Yes.”

The sound of her shuffling about comes through the car’s speaker, and I know she’s probably trying to ditch my father for some privacy. As if that’s a thing. “Honestly? I have. When I chose your father.”

“You mean?—”

“I mean, he wasn’t a safe choice, not by any standard. But you know me. Once I make up my mind, that’s it. And I knew he’d be, um,dangerous. But he’d also fight for me. Take care of me. And our family. He didnotmake it an easy decision…” Her tone warms, as if she’s reminiscing. “But he was exactly who my heart was drawn to. Icouldn’tsay no. And not just because he wouldn’t leave me alone.”

I release a chuckle. He hasn’t changed. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Did that help?”

“I’m not sure… But I think so?”

“Nothing!” she yells behind her at my father, who’s saying something in the background. “Mind your business!”

“Will you not tell Dad?”

She huffs a sigh. “I’ll try.” There’s a struggle through the speaker, then, “No, youcannothave the phone. Because she wanted to talk tome. Sweets, I gotta go. I love you!”