Chapter 71: It’s Christmas
Raina remained by the window long after the second message arrived.
you look like you were enjoying yourself
The words sat on her screen like a stain she couldn’t wipe away.
Outside, Pottersville looked exactly the way a Christmas postcard should look. Snow blanketed the rooftops. Colored lights glowed from neighboring houses. Somewhere in the distance, children laughed as they raced through the streets with new toys and winter coats.
Everything looked warm.
Safe.
Normal.
Yet standing there with her phone in her hand, Raina felt none of those things.
She felt watched.
The sensation settled beneath her skin and refused to leave.
For several seconds she scanned the darkness beyond the glass, searching for movement among the trees and parked cars lining the street.
Nothing.
No figure in a rabbit mask.
No suspicious vehicle.
No stranger lingering beneath a street lamppost.
Nothing at all.
Which somehow made it worse.
Because X-Reveals never seemed to need to be seen.
He simply knew.
Knew where she was.
Knew what she was doing.
Knew exactly when to remind her that he existed.
The floorboards creaked behind her.
"Eating dinner with my family isn’t usually considered a crime."
Ethan’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.
She quickly locked her phone and slipped it into her pocket before turning around.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Good."
He leaned against the doorway.
"Maybe now you’ll tell me what’s wrong."
Raina forced a smile.
"Nothing’s wrong."
"Right."
The single word carried enough disbelief to fill the room.
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.
The sounds of laughter drifted faintly upstairs from the living room where Nathan was undoubtedly telling another ridiculous story while Grace encouraged him.
Normally, those sounds would have made Raina smile.
Tonight they only reminded her how separate she felt from everyone else.
Ethan stopped a few feet away.
The concern in his expression had been building for months now.
She could see it.
Every time he looked at her.
Every time she changed the subject.
Every time she disappeared into her own thoughts.
"What?" she asked.
"What do you mean what?"
"You’ve got that look."
Ethan rubbed the back of his neck.
"I’ve got that look because you’ve spent half the night staring out windows like you’re waiting for someone to break into the house."
She looked away.
"That’s dramatic."
"Is it?"
The question hung between them.
When she didn’t answer, Ethan sighed.
"Raina."
His voice softened.
"Talk to me."
The simple request made guilt twist inside her chest.
If only it were that easy.
How exactly was she supposed to explain any of this?
That she had spent weeks investigating a dead man who might not be dead?
That someone wearing a rabbit mask seemed to know every secret she possessed?
That she had stood over an empty grave less than twenty-four hours ago?
No.
There was no version of that conversation that ended well.
"I’m fine."
"You always say that."
"Because I am."
"You’re exhausted."
"I’ve had a busy week."
"You’ve had a busy year."
She nodded
"Fair."
Ethan’s expression remained serious.
"Look, maybe I’m wrong."
She already knew where this was going.
He continued anyway.
"But lately it feels like you’re carrying around something you won’t let anybody else touch."
The words landed harder than she expected.
Because they were true.
Painfully true.
Felix.
Malcolm.
The grave.
The house.
X-Reveals.
The secrets were becoming so heavy she sometimes felt as though they were physically attached to her.
Yet she couldn’t share them.
Not with anyone
Especially not with Ethan.
"I’ve just got a lot on my plate."
"The streams?"
"Among other things."
"The Soul Beauty campaign?"
Raina groaned.
"Don’t remind me."
Finally Ethan smiled.
A genuine one.
"The impossible photoshoot?"
"The impossible photoshoot."
"Did your client survive?" He asked for some reason he found it amusing .
"Barely."
"Did your team survive?"
"Questionable."
That earned a laugh from him.
Some of the tension eased.
Not all of it.
Never all of it.
But enough.
Ethan took another step closer.
"You know," he said quietly, "you could take a break once in a while."
"I’ll schedule one sometime around retirement." Raina said
His eyes lingered on hers for a moment before drifting toward the hallway.
Then back again.
A familiar look appeared.One Raina recognized immediately.
"Oh no."
"What?"
"Don’t do that."
"Do what?" Ethan asked
"That."
A grin slowly appeared.
"Ethan."
"What?"
"We are in your brother’s house."
"So?"
"There are people here."
"They seem occupied."
"Ethan."
His grin widened.
"There is literally a child downstairs."
"Then we’d better keep the noise down."
Her face immediately flushed.
"Ethan."
His laughter filled the room,Warm,Comforting and Normal.
For the first time that evening, the knot in her chest loosened slightly.
Then he kissed her.
And for a little while, she allowed herself to forget everything else.
Christmas morning arrived with the sound of Jonathan treating the staircase like an Olympic sprinting event.
By the time everyone gathered around the tree, the boy looked as though he might explode from excitement if forced to wait another minute.
Nathan sat on one side of the living room nursing a mug of coffee while Selene occupied the opposite end of the couch looking equally amused and exhausted.
Grace appeared perfectly content in her favorite armchair.
Jonathan remained standing, Pacing, Hovering.Practically vibrating.
"Can we start now?"
"You asked that five minutes ago," Nathan said.
"That was five whole minutes ago."
Everyone laughed.
"Open Grandma’s first," Selene suggested.
Jonathan immediately nodded.
Grace handed over the package with a smile.
The gift contained exactly the sort of things grandmothers had mastered over generations.
A hand-knitted winter sweater.
Several adventure novels.
Homemade Christmas cookies carefully packed inside decorative tins.
Jonathan’s entire face lit up.
"Thanks, Grandma."
Grace barely had time to react before he wrapped his arms around her.
The old woman laughed and hugged him back.
"You’re very welcome, sweetheart."
Next came Nathan’s gift.
The moment Jonathan saw the soccer cleats, he nearly stopped breathing.
"No way."
He turned the box over twice as though afraid it might disappear.
"Dad, these are the new ones."
"I know."
"They’re impossible to get."
"I know that too."
Jonathan launched himself at his father.
Nathan nearly spilled his coffee.
Selene’s gift came next.
A detailed firetruck complete with working lights and a handwritten note tucked inside the box.
Jonathan read the note aloud.
"For our future firefighter."
The boy looked as though Christmas had personally been designed for him.
He immediately hugged his mother.
Then his attention shifted.
Toward Ethan and Raina.
The two of them exchanged a glance.
Both remembering the exact same moment from the previous night.
One minute they’d been occupied.
The next Ethan had suddenly frozen.
"Oh, shit."
Raina had blinked.
"What?"
"Jonathan."
"What about him?"
"We forgot his Christmas present."
Back in the present, Jonathan stared at them expectantly.
"My turn?"
Raina checked the time on her phone.
Right on schedule.
"Actually," she said, "your gift should be here any second."
Almost immediately the doorbell rang.
Jonathan practically launched himself off the couch.
Ethan shook his head.
"You planned that."
"Maybe."
He headed for the door.
A moment later Malik entered carrying three large boxes.
Everyone stared.
Then he disappeared outside again.
And came back carrying four more.
Nathan blinked.
Selene blinked.
Even Grace looked confused.
Raina closed her eyes.
Of course he had.
She had asked him to buy a present.
One.
A single gift.
Apparently Malik had interpreted that as an invitation to bankrupt a small nation.
The man returned carrying another stack.
"Good morning, everyone."
Jonathan looked as though he’d just witnessed Santa Claus walk through the front door.
"Malik!" Raina said.
The man smiled.
"Merry Christmas, ma’am."
"I told you one present."
"You said impress the child."
"I absolutely did not."
Malik considered that.
"Perhaps I improvised."
Nathan started laughing.
"So this is improvised?"
"I take Christmas seriously, sir."
The sincerity on his face only made everyone laugh harder.
Eventually the mountain of gifts was assembled beneath the tree.
Gaming systems.
Sports equipment.
Electronics.
Books.
Collectibles.
More toys than Jonathan could reasonably play with in a year.
The boy’s jaw remained permanently open throughout the entire process.
"Can I open them?"
"Go ahead," Selene said weakly.
Jonathan attacked the wrapping paper with frightening efficiency.
Each new box seemed more expensive than the last.
A premium gaming console.
A VIO tablet.
Sports equipment.
Collector editions.
Accessories.
Enough gifts to make several Christmas mornings.
Nathan eventually rubbed a hand over his face.
"I think this costs more than my monthly salary."
Raina winced.
Honestly, it probably did.
Jonathan, however, looked happier than she had ever seen him.
And somehow that made it difficult to regret any of it.
Once the last package had been opened, Malik finally prepared to leave.
Selene tried convincing him to stay for breakfast.
Nathan joined in.
Even Grace offered.
But Malik politely declined.
"I should get back to Harrington."
Raina walked him to the door.
"Thank you."
"It was nothing."
"It definitely wasn’t nothing."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"Seeing the kid’s reaction was worth it."
Nathan shook his hand before he left.
Ethan thanked him.
Selene thanked him.
Jonathan practically declared him a hero.
When the door finally closed behind him, everyone looked back at the mountain of gifts.
Nathan sighed.
"I’m still not sure we should accept all this."
"You should."
"Raina—"
"It would make me happy."
Nathan looked toward Ethan.
Ethan simply shrugged.
"I learned a long time ago that arguing with her is a waste of energy."
The room filled with laughter.
And for a few hours afterward, life felt almost normal.
There was food.
Stories.
Christmas movies.
Tree lighting.
Old photographs.
The kind of simple moments most people took for granted.
Moments Raina had begun to realize were becoming increasingly rare.
By evening they began the long drive back to Harrington.
Eight hours on winter roads.
Eight hours watching darkness slide past the windows.
Eight hours during which Raina found herself checking mirrors far more often than she should have.
Looking for a familiar vehicle.
A familiar shadow.
Any sign of X-Reveals.
Nothing appeared.
Yet the feeling remained.
The certainty that somewhere out there he was still watching.
Still waiting.
Still planning his next move.
When they finally arrived home, neither of them seemed particularly eager for the night to end.
So Ethan stayed.
Dinner became conversation.
Conversation became a steamy night
And before either of them realized it, Christmas Day had quietly slipped into Christmas night.
Raina was drifting toward sleep when Ethan’s phone rang.
The sound cut sharply through the darkness.
Half awake, she watched him reach for it.
"Hello?"
For several seconds he listened.
Then suddenly sat upright.
The change was immediate.
Violent enough that every trace of sleep vanished from her mind.
"Ethan?"
He didn’t answer.
His face had gone pale.
"What did you say?"
Silence.
The caller continued speaking.
Raina pushed herself upright.
A cold feeling settled in her stomach.
"Ethan?"
His grip tightened around the phone.
Then, very slowly, he turned toward her.
And spoke a single name.
A name that made the blood drain from her face.
"Felix?"
