Page 43

It’s convincing enough that I almost believe it. Almost. But before I can ask anything else, another wave of customers arrives, and the moment disappears beneath questions about commissions and card payments. It sets the tone for the rest of the afternoon, which dissolves into a blur of laughter, conversations and more sales.

By four o'clock I’ve completely lost track of how many paintings have gone home with people. And as the crowd continues to ebb and flow around us, I find myself smiling for no particular reason. I’m surrounded by kindness, by creativity, and by people celebrating each other. And for the first time in what feels like forever… I feel a weight lift. Maybe things aren’t as bleak as I thought. Maybe what Lennie and I have is stronger than what I’ve done.

Chapter 29

Saint

Ihaven’t sat down in six hours. Not that I’m complaining. Every time I think I’ve got a spare minute to breathe, someone wanders over to my stand.

"Are these really hand-painted?" — "Can I try this one on?" — "I’ve never seen anything like these."

I help another customer shrug into a black leather jacket, stepping back while they admire themselves in the mirror. Their face lights up. “Oh my God…” They turn to their friend. “I have to buy this.”

I grin. “You absolutely do, darling. You look like a rockstar queen.”

Five minutes later it’s hanging from their shoulders instead of my rail. It’s been like that all day. Jackets, T-shirts and custom commission requests. People stopping just to tell me they love my work. People actually seeing it and gushing about the tiny little details nobody notices until they’re standing inches away.

Across the aisle, someone dressed as Negan demands a photo because apparently my jackets ‘match the vibe.’ Two minutes later, Harley Quinn joins us. Then Ghostface and an absolutely spectacular Demogorgon. At one point, I end up sandwiched between him, Eleven and Hopper while someone dressed as Batman insists on taking the picture. I don’t ask questions, conventions exist outside the laws of physics. And honestly? I adore that.

My stomach actually aches from laughing, talking and smiling so much. When was the last time that happened? I honestly can’t remember.

Leaning against my stall for a moment, Luna catches my eye, giving me two enthusiastic thumbs up before returning to a queue of people waiting for her art. Her wall looks… Bare. It’s an amazing achievement, I’m so happy for her. Lennie is trying to reorganise what’s left of their display while simultaneously answering questions from three different customers. They’re thriving, I hope Bri and Ember are having as much success. I’m sure they are.

Today has been unbelievable, and I don’t just mean financially. It’s giving me a much-needed boost to both my creativity and my confidence. Maybe… Maybe I should finally do it, open the boutique. The proper one, the one that’s currently an empty shop space gathering dust. That was always the plan. Before… Everything happened.

How many plans have I put on hold? How many versions of myself have I left waiting because I convinced myself life had stopped?

I look around the hall. At the cosplayers laughing together. At strangers complimenting each other’s costumes. At people finding joy in the wonderfully ridiculous.

This weekend has done something to me. The lodge, my friends. Saints preserve me… Friends. Actual beautiful, sweet, ridiculous friends.

And these people, here today, this weird, beautiful, wonderful community. They’ve somehow coaxed me back towards life. I’ve laughed and I’ve remembered what it feels like to belong somewhere. And perhaps most terrifying of all… I’ve let myself enjoy it.

I’ve spent so long believing that anger was the safest place to live. Turns out it’s also the loneliest. Anger is easy, especially when the alternative is accepting that love can be torn away—lost forever in a single moment.

Yet standing here, surrounded by thousands of beautifully unapologetic geeks celebrating the things they love, it wakes me up to the truth—love never left.

It’s in the father helping his little girl adjust her superhero cape. It’s in the woman crying because a jacket reminds her of her mum. But it’s also closer than that. It’s in Bri info-dumping to anyone who’ll listen about dragons. It’s in Ember’s smile whenever someone understands her and her love of horror. It’s in Luna and Lennie adopting us all as family without a second thought. And it’s in Jax, in the quiet way he accepts all of us and opens up in our company, without checking who's watching him.

It’s everywhere I look. Acceptance is too. Nobody’s apologising for being too much, for caring too much or for loving too deeply. They are all just unapologetically themselves. And maybe… Maybe that’s why this place feels like home, like healing.

My smile fades slightly as another thought creeps in. Tonight. The truth. I roll the locket between my fingers without thinking. I should have told Jax first. I’d wanted to. Instead, Jason caught me in the lie. The universe, apparently, wants to shove me along. Part of me wants to run. But another part… The part this weekend has slowly brought back to life… Knows I can’t keep living inside yesterday.

I can’t ask for a future while refusing to face the past.

Chapter 30

Bri

The atmosphere today is palpable. Crowds flood the convention floor in colour, noise and laughter that is infectious. I watch in awe as stormtroopers mingle with princesses, and vampires compliment superheroes. It’s… Amazing!

A pair of cosplayers stop at my table; both dressed in elaborate fantasy clothing with pointed ears and fake weapons strapped to their backs. One of them picks up my book, turning it over curiously. “What’s it about?” she asks.

"It's about a witch struggling to bond with the dragon fate chose for her," I explain, smiling. "There's magic, political chaos between four territories, and a war brewing between species. It's the first part of a trilogy I'm writing."

Both of them immediately light up.

“You had me at dragons,” the taller one says, already reaching for her purse.