Chapter 245: [4.63] Breakfast with the Valentines
Her fingers shook slightly as she typed. The truth was more complicated than she wanted to admit to Sarah, who had both parents and didn’t understand what it felt like to be abandoned by someone who was supposed to love you unconditionally.
Diana had looked healthier yesterday. Happier. Like California sunshine and some guy named Jack had fixed whatever was broken inside her that made her unable to be a real mom. And part of Iris, the stupid childish part that still remembered being seven and wanting her mommy to show up at school events like everyone else’s moms, wanted to believe it.
Wanted to believe Diana had actually changed. That this time would be different. That maybe Iris could have a real family instead of just her and Zay against the world.
But the smarter part of Iris, the part that had learned not to get her hopes up when Diana promised she’d be home for dinner or when she said she’d definitely make it to Iris’s art show this time, knew better.
People didn’t just change. Not really. Not deep down where it mattered.
Diana was performing. Just like Isaiah had been performing professionalism with the Valentine sisters until he couldn’t anymore. Just like Vivienne performed competence at board meetings when she probably wanted to scream.
Everyone was always performing something.
Iris’s phone buzzed again.
Harlow: GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!!!
Harlow: did you sleep okay???
Harlow: the guest beds are SO comfy right???
Harlow: chef laurent is making french toast
Harlow: the GOOD kind with berries and whipped cream
Harlow: come down whenever!!!
Harlow: also i found the PERFECT wig for your sailor moon cosplay
Harlow: its got the odango buns already styled!!!
Iris couldn’t help smiling at the wall of text. Harlow’s enthusiasm was like a force of nature. Exhausting but somehow comforting.
She swung her legs out of the obscenely comfortable bed and her feet sank into carpet so thick she could barely see her toes. The guest bathroom attached to her room was bigger than her entire bedroom back home, complete with a tub that could fit three people and approximately seventeen different bottles of expensive soap and shampoo.
Iris had used all of them last night. For science.
She brushed her teeth with the complimentary toothbrush they’d provided, which was somehow fancier than regular toothbrushes and probably cost ten dollars or something insane. The mirror was one of those ones with the perfect lighting that made everyone look like they belonged in a beauty commercial.
Iris examined her reflection critically. Same dark eyes as Zay. Same tendency to look tired even when fully rested. Same stubborn jaw that meant she was about to do something probably stupid but definitely necessary.
She got dressed in the clothes from yesterday since she hadn’t packed enough stuff, then headed downstairs toward the smell of butter and cinnamon and what she was pretty sure was heaven.
The informal dining room was already occupied when Iris arrived. Harlow sat at the table wearing pajamas covered in tiny cartoon cats, her hair in space buns secured with glittery clips. Cassidy slouched in her chair in what looked like workout clothes, scrolling through her phone with a scowl that suggested she’d woken up angry at the universe. Sabrina sat by the window reading a book, wearing silk pajamas that probably cost more than Iris’s entire wardrobe. Vivienne occupied the head of the table in a cream-colored robe, reviewing something on her tablet despite it being barely eight in the morning.
Four identical faces. Four completely different people.
"IRIS!" Harlow bounced out of her chair and rushed over, pulling Iris into a hug that lifted her slightly off the ground. "You’re awake! I was about to send a search party! Did you sleep okay? Was the bed comfortable? Did you use the fancy soaps? I bet you used all of them, didn’t you?"
Iris laughed, her face smooshed against Harlow’s shoulder. "The vanilla one smelled the best."
"RIGHT?!" Harlow released her and grabbed her hand, dragging her toward the table. "That one’s my favorite too! Vivi says it’s basic but I think basic is good sometimes!"
"I said predictable, not basic." Vivienne didn’t look up from her tablet. "There’s a difference."
"Not really," Cassidy muttered.
"There absolutely is—"
"Morning, Iris." Sabrina’s quiet voice cut through the brewing argument. She set her book down and studied Iris with those too-seeing purple eyes. "You look rested."
"Yeah." Iris slid into the chair Harlow pulled out for her, right between Harlow and Cassidy. "That bed is insane. I felt like I was sleeping on a cloud."
"Wait until you try the tub." Harlow piled french toast onto a plate with enthusiasm that suggested architectural ambitions. "It has JETS. Like a hot tub but in your bathroom! I spent two hours in there once and Vivi had to bang on the door to make sure I hadn’t drowned!"
"You had a fashion emergency." Vivienne’s tone was dry. "The fitting was in twenty minutes and you were still covered in bubbles."
"It was a BUBBLE EMERGENCY!"
"That’s not—" Vivienne stopped herself, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Never mind."
Iris accepted the plate Harlow handed her, which was piled so high with french toast and berries and whipped cream that it qualified as a small mountain. Cassidy pushed the syrup bottle toward her without looking up from her phone.
"Thanks," Iris said.
"Whatever."
But Cassidy’s ears were pink, which Iris had learned meant she cared but refused to admit it.
Iris cut into the french toast and took a bite. Her eyes widened. "Oh my god."
"Right?!" Harlow beamed like she’d personally invented breakfast. "Chef Laurent is a WIZARD. Wait until you try his crepes. They’re even better!"
"If that’s possible," Iris mumbled around another bite.
Sabrina’s lips twitched into something almost resembling a smile. Almost.
They ate in relative quiet, which was wild considering the house had four identical people in it. Iris kept glancing between them, still amazed at how different they all were despite looking exactly the same. It was like looking at four different versions of the same person who’d made wildly different life choices.
Harlow noticed everything and commented on it constantly. Cassidy noticed everything and pretended she didn’t. Vivienne noticed everything and filed it away for strategic use later. Sabrina noticed everything and kept it to herself until the perfect moment to deploy maximum damage.
Iris was starting to understand why Zay was losing his mind.
"So." Cassidy finally set her phone down and looked directly at Iris. "Your mom."
