Page 190 of Sincerely, Butterfly

“Only for you, hot stuff,” he responds playfully.

“I’m hanging up now.” Callie goes to hang up, but I quickly speak again.

“Can you tell them that if they ghost me for much longer, I will come looking for them.” Maybe that’s not the right thing to say, but I feel like I’m losing my mind, and my crazy is going to start showing soon.

“Don’t worry. I think you will be hearing from them sooner than you think.”

Garrett wasn’t wrong. A few days later, I came home from school to find a letter on my bed.

Heart racing, my fingers graze the matte black envelope. I know it’s from them before even opening it.

Picking it up, I turn it over, finding a teal wax seal with the fleur de lis symbol.

Carefully, I remove the seal and pull out a card.

Dear Ms. Edwards,

We would like to cordially invite you to our annual masquerade gala on the night of Saturday, February 13th.

This invitation extends to you and you alone. Anyone else will be turned away at the door.

Please come dressed in the outfit provided with this letter.

Party begins at ten PM sharp. Do not be late.

— Your Dark Monsters.

The smile stretching across my face starts to hurt as utter joy rushes through me.

They signed it ‘Your Dark Monsters’. They still love me. They still want me. They’re admitting that they’re mine.

This is the best news ever!

Wait…. I don’t see an address anywhere on this letter. How do they expect me to go to this thing if I don’t know where it’s being held?

And it mentioned an outfit that came with the letter. What outfit?

I look around my room, trying to figure out what it might be referencing, but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. No boxes, no bags. Nothing.

“Huh,” I breathe, reading the letter over again and again.

Who put this here? Did they, or did my dad? If it were my dad, maybe he’d put the outfitsomewhere else?

As I stare at the letter for what feels like hours, the sound of a notification on my phone snaps me out of it.

Blinking out of the haze, I grab my phone and check.

It’s a text message from an unknown number.

Brows furrowing, I open it and read the message.

Unknown

Did you get our letter, Little Rabbit?

That nickname. It’s what Wesley called me. My heart starts to pound wildly in my chest.

It’s him! He’s texting me.