Chapter 24 #2
The worst part isn’t that he made a mistake and betrayed me.
It’s that I still love him anyway. I just needed him to choose me.
I need him to be my best friend and not like Jessica who chooses other people who try to screw me and my family over.
I need people who are loyal to me and won’t screw me over with their secrets. This is not the Finn that I know.
The heavy dark wooden door between our shops creaks open, and there she is, my mother in her long dark purple cardigan, hair pinned up with a butterfly barrette, carrying a teapot and a potholder like she’s smuggling in a secret. She closes the door behind her with that quiet, decisive click.
Lilith Maren looks around the apothecary, then at me. Her eyes soften immediately. “You’ve been brooding in here long enough for days, my little crow.”
My heart softens at that. She's always called me her little crow as an endearment and it always softens me up. “I’m not brooding,” I mutter.
She lifts her eyebrows. “You’re drinking cold tea out of a questionably clean beaker and glaring at a pile of rosehips as if they’ve done you wrong. That’s textbook brooding.”
A reluctant laugh escapes me. “Maybe I have a reason to be angry.”
She smiles, setting the teapot down beside me. “I brought the good blend. A secret blend, and a touch of rose. For heartbreak, exhaustion, and general brooding.”
“Perfect,” I mumble. “I qualify for all. Secrets are everywhere these days.”
She pulls two mugs from behind the counter and slides one toward me, and the smell alone almost undoes me. It’s the scent of being cared for—sweet, warm, a little floral, a little earthy. And I need that more than I realized right now.
For a while, we sit there. The candle flickers.
Outside, the town hums softly beneath a cloudy night sky.
I glance out the back window and a summer thunderstorm is coming in.
Fitting for the mood for tonight and hopefully I won't have to water the plants tonight because I don't have the energy to go back over to Finn's for a round two fight.
Finally, she says, “Willa told me about what happened with Sammy and then I'm guessing something happened with Finn because Ivy said that Remy has been assisting him with something he did.”
I sigh. So apparently Remy knows and he could tell him but not me. I didn't realize that Remy was in on this too and was helping him. That should make me feel a little better, but it really doesn't.
She hums, patiently, waiting.
I stare into my tea. “He messed up, Mom.”
“Did he tell you what happened?”
“Some of it. He says he didn’t know what he was signing, that he didn’t mean to hurt me.” My throat tightens. “And I know him, I know he wouldn’t, not on purpose. But he still did.”
Lilith nods slowly, her eyes soft with understanding. “Love doesn’t make people perfect, honey. It just makes their mistakes cut deeper.”
I look down at the steam curling out of my cup. “I trusted him. I really did. And you know that I don't trust easily. Finn was my person. The one I thought would never let me down.”
She reaches across the counter, brushing a tear from my cheek with her thumb. “And trusting someone doesn’t make you foolish, especially when it's someone that you love.”
I blink hard, another tear slipping loose. “It doesn’t feel like love. It feels stupid. Why would he even entertain the idea of working with that slimebag?”
“I don't know, honey. But I do know Finn. And that man loves you so much. I'd bet everything I have that he'd never do anything to hurt you.”
And deep down, I know that's true. I can expect betrayal from a lot of people in this world, but never Finn.
She sips her tea and sits with me, just giving me space to figure it all out with her. Tea has always been the answer to my mom. Bad day at school? Tea. Had a bad dream? Tea. She loves to put together her own blends. And my love for that and apothecary came from her. She taught me everything.
Then she gives me a soft and mischievous smirk and says, “Though I do recall making you a love potion before your trip, so maybe part of this is my fault.”
I blink up at her, caught off guard. “You really did that, Mom?”
She waves her hand like it’s no big deal. “Just a little blend for courage and open hearts. Maybe a touch of attraction oil. It looks like it worked.”
I groan. “Oh my God, Mom.”
She laughs, eyes twinkling. “Well, it worked, didn’t it? He fell for you, you fell for him, and it's possibly the best thing that ever happened to both of you.”
I cover my face. “That is not funny, Mom.”
She pats my shoulder. “Sweetheart, you and Finn were always meant to be.”
Despite myself, I laugh, tears mixing with it until I’m half-laughing, half-crying.
She pushes the teapot closer. “Drink your tea, my little crow. You can cry, you can curse, and then you can start again. That’s what we Maren women do.”
I sniffle, sipping. “What if we lose our shops and he has a part in this?"
She smiles, gentle and certain. “Then we’ll make another potion.”
I laugh again, a small, watery sound that still feels good. “You always know how to fix everything.”
“No,” she says softly, brushing my hair back. “But I know how to sit with you while it hurts.”
The tea’s gone by the time she stands to leave. She kisses my forehead, whispers, “You’ll find your way through this, my little crow. You always do.” Then, she closes the door behind her.
The shop smells like roses and a little bit of hope now. And for the first time all night, I actually believe her. Somehow, everything will be alright.
By the time I reach the top of the stairs, my bones throb with exhaustion.
The moonlight spills through the window like a promise that tomorrow will be better, catching the glimmer of dried herbs hanging from the rafters.
I collapse into bed, the sound of the waves crashing up against the harbor floating through the windows.
The last thing I think before sleep finds me is that even wilted things grow back, given time and light.