I’m emotional because I got the three brothers I always wished I had.
Connor, Ryke, and Lo—they protect me all the time. They care about me when they don’t have to. These are three brothers that I’d never trade in, never swap out, and even though we’re not blood related, I know they’re mine.
In the men’s bathroom at brunch, Lo and I find ourselves alone, and I end up confessing that I don’t know what to do about Jonathan.
“I want to respect him because he’s Willow’s dad,” I say, drying my hands on a paper towel. “But I can’t stand him, no offense.”
Lo almost laughs. “None taken. I get how he is, man. I grew up with him.”
I can’t even imagine how he survived that verbal sledgehammer every day. But I don’t say it out loud, because I know he’d say the same about me and my brothers.
He leans against the sink. “You know, way back when Lily’s sex addiction leaked, he tried to push us into a marriage to save our reputations and those around us.”
My brows pinch. “He tried to push you into one?”
“Yeah.” Lo flashes a bitter smile. “The guilt-trip is heavy, almost enough to make you do things you’d never think you’d do.” He stares off and shakes his head, going into a longer explanation about that time in the past.
It makes me feel…not alone.
Like I’m dealing with a cankerous sore that they’ve all tried to disinfect and rid.
“As much as I love him,” Lo says, “he shouldn’t have the power to guilt anyone into anything. Not into a marriage and not out of one.”
I nod slowly and toss the crumpled towel in the trash. “You think he’ll ever lay off me?”
“With my dad, just give it time, and we’ll see.”
The Calloway Sisters & Their Men – Fan Page
Present Day | Followers: 201K
If you haven’t heard of the big news and seen all the adorable pictures circulating GBA News and Celebrity Crush, then you’re missing out on history. Our gorgeous Calloway sisters and their sexy AF men were in London for Garrison & Willow’s engagement! And a little birdie around the inter-webs has revealed that Garrison surprised his girlfriend—how cute is that? With everyone except Willow back in Philly, here’s a helpful rundown on their whereabouts!
The Stokes
Poppy Calloway (34) & Sam Stokes (34)
Daughter: Maria (12)
Update: Boo, the Stokes are very MIA these days. They didn’t even show up to London for Willow’s big day. It would’ve been so cool to have a glimpse of preteen Maria!
The Cobalts
Rose Calloway (31) & Connor Cobalt (32)
Daughters: Jane (5)
Sons: Charlie & Beckett (3-year-old twins), Eliot (1), and Tom (11-months-old)
Update: Rumors are floating everywhere about Rose being pregnant again! Whether it’s true or not, the Cobalt Empire deserves a confetti-blast congrats for all the lion cubs they’re raising. #FamilyGoals. Have you seen a tighter-knit family? Besides pregnancy possibilities, both Rose and Connor are thriving in their companies. Cobalt Inc.’s stock has risen 31%, and Calloway Couture’s boutique was packed last week (pics in the slideshow!)
The Hales
Lily Calloway (29) & Loren Hale (30)
Son: Maximoff (5)
Daughter: Luna (1)
Update: The cutest of the cute! Lily and Lo are back in Philly with their tiny superheroes, and Maximoff loves to dress like his Uncle Ryke. He was seen in a cool leather jacket and trying to climb onto Ryke’s Ducati. No news about more Hale babies, but fingers crossed!
The Meadows
Daisy Calloway (25) & Ryke Meadows (31)
Daughter: Sullivan (3)
Update: Also back in lovely Philadelphia, Daisy and Ryke are busy, wild bees with summer approaching since Camp Calloway is a tremendous hit! It’s sold out for this year and the next. No new photos of Sulli, except some blurry pics after swim lessons with her cousin Maximoff (see below!)
The Unofficial Calloway Sister
Willow Hale (23) & Her Fiancé – Garrison Abbey (23)
Update: Sweet, sweet love! After their epic proposal, Garrison has flown back to Philly, leaving Willow behind as she finishes college in London. No one is sure about when the wedding is happening. Some sources are speculating early this year, others think a lot longer. Until there’s clearer info, let us know your favorite Willow & Garrison ship name: #Gillow, #Garlow, or #Wilson. Don’t forget to vote in the poll!
Love you like Loren loves Lily,
xo Olive
31 PRESENT DAY – March
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
GARRISON ABBEY
Age 23
The proposal was last week, and now that I’m in Philly, I’m back to doing this thing where I try not to mope while the girl I love is an ocean away. By now, I’d say I’m proficient in the art of being okay with long-distance relationships. Productivity is key or whatever.
That’s why I’m at Superheroes & Scones today.
It’s weird being back and not being an employee or babysitting Moffy here. I enter the breakroom and ask the store manager where Lily is. Seeing the new face wearing the “manager” nametag reminds me of Maya.
Last I heard, Maya Ahn is still in Portland working for Image Comics.
It was a big deal when she first landed the job. Lily and Willow were really proud.
There was a whole goodbye party when she left the store, and I learned enough Korean to tell her that she’ll always know more than me and she’s really cool.
She smiled and said shit back in Korean that she knew I wouldn’t understand. We laughed, and I hate that I’m remembering all of this—Jesus, I swear every time I walk into Superheroes & Scones, I’m thrown back into these bittersweet, feel-good memories.
The new manager says, “She’s in the storage room.”
I pop the tab of a Lightning Bolt! energy drink and shove inside. Boxes of merch and comics line the space. Familiarity surrounding me, and I’m honestly trying not to face-plant on Memory Lane.
I find Lily and her two kids pretty easily.
Baggy Star Wars tee on and phone close to her ear, Lily looks like she snuck back here for a quiet moment. Which I’m about to interrupt.
Awesome. Looks like I still have Grand Slam worthy timing.
I shut the door with my foot, not bailing.
“Lo,” she says into the phone, face flushed, “you didn’t tell Garrison, did you?”
“Tell me what?” I stand by an old comic stand in need of serious dusting. Remember when you dusted the clearance merch with Willow?
Like yesterday.
Near a life-sized Magneto cutout, Maximoff Hale leaps off a cardboard box and races towards me. “Uncle Garrison!”
The corner of my mouth lifts. Moffy acts like I’m the coolest thing in the room, and we’re surrounded by crates of action figures.
The five-year-old rolls up to me, and we do a secret handshake that ends with a fist-bump.
“Never mind,” Lily tells me, then listens to her phone call.
“Did you see Luna?” Moffy smiles and points out his one-year-old sister, hiding in a cardboard box. She giggles, glittering eyes peeking out at me.
“Whoa, she’s getting smaller and you’re getting taller.”
“I am?” His smile mushrooms.
I pretend to measure his height with my free hand. “Definitely a centimeter taller than when I last saw you.” Which was this morning. I still live with the Hale family.
“You think I’ll be as tall as you, Uncle Garrison?” His voice sounds like he’s five, but he sometimes acts older, like he’s already leveled-up to a preteen in a 90s cult classic movie starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
“Way taller.” I’m not that short, but his dad is six-two.
“Cool,” Maximoff says and stares off in thought.
Lily hangs up her phone, so I walk closer, and Moffy matches my pace. Before she asks why I’m here, I tell her, “I nee
d your help on something.”
Lily tickles her daughter in the box, and Luna tugs her mom’s finger with another giggle. “What can I do?”
I sip my energy drink and gesture to a few cardboard boxes labeled The Fourth Degree. I’m guessing each contain comics slipped in protective plastic. Here, back stock is usually just obscure issues that don’t sell or extras to replenish ones that fly off the shelves. I explain, “I need every comic that has Sorin-X. There are too many issues and spin-offs now. Honestly, I don’t have time to go through all of them.”
I always thought Vic Whistler would continue to be the most popular superhero in The Fourth Degree universe. Somehow, Sorin-X surpassed the hero that launched the franchise.
It still blows my mind.
I wait for Lily to ask why I’m requesting this shit. She doesn’t yet. Instead, Lily picks herself off the floor and glances at her son. “Moffy, there’s a little Luna in a box—”
“I got her, Mommy.” Maximoff goes to the box and plays with his sister, like babysitting is the equivalent of a trip to Disney.
Weird.
But wholesome.
Honestly, I like being around both.
“They’re all in here.” Lily guides me to The Fourth Degree labeled boxes. “Lo will be here soon, and he might be more help. He’s read every issue about a million times.”
We tear open a couple boxes and flip through the comic, setting aside any with Sorin-X.
Ones without the character, Lily gingerly slips the issue into its plastic cover. “Are you going to read these?” She motions to the Sorin-X pile.
I place another issue on top. “What else would I be doing with them?”
“I don’t know.” She squints at me. “You don’t really read comics, not like Willow.” She notes, “You had no clue who Cypher was when you started working here.”
“Yeah, and none of the employees ever let me forget it.” I begin to smile, remembering how Willow tried to help me learn factoids about the New Mutants so our co-workers would stop giving me shit. Six years ago. I swig my energy drink to swallow down the nostalgia and say, “I’ve read New Mutants, by the way.”
Lily wears a giddy smile. “Because of Willow?” I love how supportive she’s always been of me and Willow, especially since she was there at the beginning of it all.
“Yeah, because of Willow.” I shake a comic back into the plastic sleeve.
“Which brings everything to Twitter. Gillow Engagement has been trending all day, did you see?”
My stomach nosedives, energy drink curdling.
The headlines are pretty generic:
Willow Hale Gets Engaged! Check out Loren Hale’s New Brother-In-Law!
I prepared for press to be all over our ass, but I’m worried the amount of paparazzi interested in us right now could go from “Chaotic Good” to “Chaotic Evil”. I’d really love if my fame capped out here.
No more.
Lily continues, “Connor said you both made GBA Entertainment News last night too.” I pegged him as a daily C-Span viewer. The guy still reads the paper. As in newspaper. Printed. In his hands.
“He watches entertainment news?” I say with cinched brows.
“That was my reaction.”
Maybe to check himself out. He is a narcissist.
I flip another comic, recalling other trending Twitter topics. “You also forgot about Garlow Engagement and Wilson Engagement.”
Fans still can’t decide on a ship name, which are dumb anyway. Willow loves ships though and even owns Raisy, Coballoway, and LiLo merch. She’s too kind to play favorites, so she supports all three of our ship names too.
“Does all of this bother you?” Lily asks me. “You and Willow never talk to us about the media presence.”
Because they’re the cause of our fame, and it feels shitty to complain when they’ve done a lot for us.
I shrug. “Being around you guys, it just comes with the territory, and we both kind of gradually stepped into it.” Thank God we weren’t thrown into the deep end at the start. If the paparazzi were all over me back then like they are now, I don’t think I could handle it.
I tilt a comic upside-down, the panel sort of backwards. Brown hair hangs in my eyes. Need a haircut. It’s starting to bug the fuck out of me.
My stomach is still in knots. And I know it’s not about my hair.
Paparazzi.
Coming home from the engagement in London was pure hell. Fans and media bum-rushed us at the airport, and I could barely see. Barely breathe. Rabid crowds, I’ve dealt with before, but for maybe the first time, the spotlight was centralized on me.
If I think too hard, I can still feel hands scraping down my arms. Tugging my body. Pulling at my shirt, choking me at the collar until Lo’s bodyguard shoved them away.
Sickness churns at the thought of that happening again.
But at some point soon, I have to go back to the airport. I have to see Willow.
And next time, Lo, Ryke, Connor, and their security won’t be with me.
“Lily…can I ask you something?” I peek over at Moffy, ensuring he’s not listening. Last thing I’d want is to scare him about the media. Especially when they’re raising their kids to be accustomed to crowds and cameras.
He’s climbed into a plushies box with Luna and chats to his sister. She baby-blabbers back.
Lily smiles fondly at her kids, then nods to me. “Sure.”
“I just…” I shake my head. Don’t complain. “Forget it. It’s stupid.” I chuck a comic aside.
“I bet it’s not.” She sidles closer.
I stare down at an issue called Battle of the Extent and just let it out. “The airport—I don’t want to be mobbed like that when I go to London alone.” I inhale. “I just…I don’t want to be touched like that again.”
Lily holds a breath, concerned. “Are you scared to go back to the airport?”
I shrug and then nod.
“I can ride to the airport with you when you need to go, and there’s this thing we can do.” She explains, “We can drive right up to the private plane and bypass the normal airport entrance?”
When Willow left for London, she did that, but I didn’t think the offer would ever be extended to me.
I frown. “We can do that?”
“We’ve done it before. The airport gives us permission because we cause a lot of disruption. It’s safer for us and for everyone else.”
“But it’s just me…I don’t usually fly in a private plane.”
“Yeah but you can take our planes alone. We don’t mind. We’d want you to.”
I’m already shaking my head. “It’s too much for just me.” I don’t know what I expected her to offer—but this feels like the entire world, and I just need…
I don’t know.
Air.
“Then I’ll send Garth with you,” she says, offering me her 24/7 bodyguard for travel. “He’s the best. If it’s only you, the crowds won’t be as bad. I know they won’t.”
I have a temporary bodyguard that I sometimes use. He’s okay, and I know that bodyguards who are constantly around the families and assigned to specific people are ten-times better. They’re trained for everything. Even kidnappings.
But I don’t love the idea of someone following me all day.
Even if they say nothing and just stand there.
It’s creepy.
Having two bodyguards in the airport would definitely help, so I nod to Lily.
“Have you told Willow?” she asks.
“No,” I force out, hoping she doesn’t tell her either. “If she knew, she’d start flying to Philly to see me instead of the other way around.” I lick my dry lips. “Willow gets anxiety when she’s stuck in the middle of crowds. I know she’d brave it out for me, but…”
“You want to brave this out for her,” she realizes.
I nod more firmly. “Yeah.”
Moffy shouts, “I think you’re brave, Uncle Garrison!”
I sm
ile weakly and tell Lily, “Your kid is funny.”
“Or maybe he’s right.”
I exhale the heaviness that’d been on my chest. Yeah, I feel better. “So I can take Garth when I fly to London?”
“Without a doubt, no take-backs. Cross my heart.” She makes an “x” over her heart and adds, “He’s pretty much the family bodyguard, and you’re our family.”
That feels good.
I smile more. “Thanks. I appreciate everything, you know?” Again, she’s helping me. Again, she’s not even hesitating.
I owe so much to Lily Calloway. For her kindness. For seeing something inside me worth a damn. Because the day I walked in this store, asking for a job—it changed my life.
Lily nods again, a nostalgic smile rising.
We return to the comics, hunting through the boxes for Sorin-X, and she asks me why I need all of them.
Here we go. “I guess I have to ask about it anyway, but you have to promise not to tell the tall one. He’s literally throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars at my face. I’m scared shitless he’ll shut the entire thing down and fire me if he finds out.”
My secret project has been on-going for three years. I think he’s out of his fucking mind for even letting me code without evidence of what the hell I’m programming.
For all he knows, I could be pissing time away constructing a unicorn farm on Minecraft.
I’m literally a heartbeat away from purging the big secret when the storage door swings open.
Oh shit.
Loren Hale pockets his keys as he enters. He must’ve just left work at Hale Co. or Halway Comics, and I’m not ready to blow up this project in front of him.
Lily, yeah.
Lo, fucking no.
Wherever You Are (Bad Reputation Duet Book 2) Page 27