“Yes, it is. You seem to think I’m breakable. But I’m not blown glass, Quinn. I won’t shatter if you drop me. I’m a McKallister, just like you. Just like Emma and Kyle and Keith and Jake. If the rest of you don’t break, why do you think I do? It’s insulting, honestly.”
I didn’t have an answer for Grace because there wasn’t one. The truth was, Grace was every bit as resilient as I was. She’d survived right alongside me and had probably done a better job of it than I had. So why had I set different standards for her? WhydidI see her as fragile?
Looking her over now, I could clearly see Grace was not the waiflike girl I’d always cast her in the role of. She was lengthy in height, not Great Dane like Emma, but she wasn’t a corgi either. Somehow, when I wasn’t looking, Grace had grown into a strong, sporty young woman with bright eyes and a kind soul.
“I’m tough and capable and smart. I demand to be treated with respect because I see it in how Dad treats Mom and how my brothers treat their women. But most of all because of you. You put me first, Quinn, when no one else could. You kept me safe and loved and cared for. I never wanted for anything… because of you. And now I’m asking you to keep putting me first. Let me love and live my own life and in return…” Tears welled in Grace’s eyes as she struggled to maintain composure. “In return, I will absolve you of your duty. You served me well, big brother. So, sit back and relax, knowing you did your job well. I’ll take it from here.”
I grabbed my heart and groaned. Grace had always been the one constant in my life. By keeping her safe and protected, I’d guaranteed myself at least one person who wouldn’t leave when I needed them most. But I couldn’t keep her locked in a tower forever. I had to let her go. “You’re killing me, Grace.”
“I know.” She laid her head on my shoulder. “But you’re not losing me. I’ll always love you forever.”
“I know. And I love you too.”
Just then a tall, lanky, bespectacled Harry Potterish hipster-looking dude stepped out onto the front landing looked fresh and rested. And thankfully, harmless enough. No blue-haired mullet. No tattoos. And he napped. How could I ask for more?
“Oh, sorry,” he said. “Did I interrupt?”
“No, Grace has finished the lashing,” I said, standing up. If I was going to be the person Grace needed in her adult life, I might as well start now.
Elliott walked toward me, hand outstretched, and we exchanged greetings. Normal. Friendly. Boring. Whew. I’d dodged a bullet with this one. He madenotbeing a prick so much easier. And that accent. When he talked, I felt like I was flying around Hogwarts on a broom. Hell, if I wasn’t already spoken for by a girl who wanted nothing to do with me, I’d consider dating the dude.
The three of us chatted comfortably for several minutes before a distant voice captured my attention.
Okay, Angels, if you’ll look to your right, you’ll see the McKallister Mansion.
I cocked my head. That voice—faintly projected over an intercom—I’d heard it before… at the press conference. I remembered thinking it sounded like Jess at the time, and I still thought it sounded like her now.
Neither Jake nor Quinn live here, but we do spot them visiting on occasion…
Grace and Elliott began to chat amongst themselves.
“Shhh,” I said, putting my hand up. “Do you hear that?”
We all remained silent as the faint voice continued to talk.And they aren’t the only two famous family members…
“It’s a sightseeing bus, Quinn. Just like the thousands of others who’ve passed by us for years and years. We should probably go in. Quinn’s a big deal now,” she said, grinning as she offered each of us a hand. Elliott took it. I did not.
I glanced toward the street and spotted a bus. I recognized that one. It was Angel Line Tours—the sightseeing company with the pink-winged buses. They’d been coming by once, sometimes twice a day for my whole childhood. Grace had always been indifferent to these tours, but I hated them with a passion. My list of grievances was long, given the particularly sullied history my family had with these intruders rolling by at all hours of the day and night, angling their long-lens cameras through the slats in our security gates and snapping shots of us in our private moments.
To be sure, the evasive tactics started way before we had tall fences to protect us. In fact, the exploitation dated all the way back to the day Jake had gone missing. Camera crews, reporters, and lots and lots of the curious bystanders came out in droves and set up shop on our front lawn. Some of the bolder trespassers would knock on our door or peek in our windows. It was like living inside a reverse snow globe where the storm raged outside our fragile glass bubble.
The crowds multiplied by the thousands after Jake’s miraculous return, packing us all in tighter. I remembered that time of fear and uncertainty. The onslaught eased months later, as Jake’s story eventually became old news in the eyes of the media and life slowly began to return to normal…or at least a new normal. But as it turned out, Jake was never meant to fade away, and as he rose to fame, he dragged the rest of us along with him.
The day Jake bought this place for my parents was the day order returned to my life. Not only did we move into a virtual mansion on one of the most desirable streets in LA County, but I also grew up in affluence, never wanting for anything. And while the giant, sweeping security gates did their job of keeping intruders off our lawn, there had been no cure for the buses that sat out front with their tour guides regurgitating the story of our tainted lives over and over for the enjoyment of their giddy, snap-happy tourists.
The McKallisters, of course…
That voice. And then I remembered what Jess had said to me in the car that day when I’d ask what she did for a living.
She’d said,“My duties consist mainly of being the head angel.”
I jumped to my feet. Holy shit.
“Quinn?” Grace swished her head around, alarmed. “Are you okay?”
“No. Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know. I think that… that tour guide…”
I didn’t finish my sentence because I was already sprinting across the driveway.
