Chapter 11 Jackie to the rescue #2
“I forgot how much you love to laugh at the pain of others.” I paused. “Help me.”
“Lucky for you, I cleared my schedule to be here. It also gave me an out for a pixie problem.”
“Pixies?” I shuddered.
“Yeah, you know those evil little things! They love any reason to pop off. Apparently, they have beef with some local shifters. When you called, I quickly passed that task to Miguel, who sends his regards, of course.” She laughed.
“You should have seen his face! I don’t know why I didn’t think to have my camera out to record! ”
“He blamed me, didn’t he?” I shook my head. “How could you do that?”
“Of course he did. You think he had the balls to blame me?” She laughed. “Said you owe him some of your special tea in exchange for his services.”
“I’ll get right on that.” I glanced at my supplies on the counter to see if I had enough to make the blend he preferred. When I looked back at Jackie, there was only one question on my mind. “How is she?”
“Whitney?” she sighed. “I should have known you were going to ask about her. I don’t think I can remember the last time we talked when you didn’t.”
“Yeah, I know. I can’t help it. Besides, we don’t talk that often anymore, so I have to catch up on everything!”
“Your sister is fine.” Jackie smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m still watching over her, and so is Maverick. He’s gotten so big. I’m pretty sure he’s done growing. It was a thoughtful gift for you to give her. He’s grumpy but looks out for her.”
“You think she will ever be ready to learn about me?” I asked.
“Will you be?” She challenged my question. “You know that goes both ways. Last I checked, you weren’t ready to tell her about your connection.”
“I don’t know. She still doesn’t have any abilities, right?” I sighed. “It’s hard enough to say hey, I’m the sister you didn’t know about, adoption ripped us apart, but on top of that adding, oh, and we come from a magical bloodline, and you may or may not develop powers of your own one day.”
“That is a lot, and no, she doesn’t have any abilities.
But maybe you can save that part of the conversation for a future topic.
” She shrugged. “Just a suggestion. But you know, the longer we keep this a secret, the more upset she’s going to be, more so at me than you.
Because, you know, I’m her best friend. There isn’t enough sushi in the world to cover keeping a lie like this. ”
“I forgot about your sushi pact. That’s still so weird to me.” I slumped in my chair. “Damnit. Yeah, maybe I’ll think about coming clean soon.”
“Is that what you’re waiting for?” she asked. “For her powers to show up? Do you think that will make it easier to do?”
“Kind of. Don’t you think that would be easier to connect over?”
“If you say so.” She stood. “I’m going to go check into my hotel. You know I don’t ride sofas anymore. I’ll be back a little later. We need to get food and catch up!”
As I watched her drive away, I thought about my sister, Whitney.
Jackie was the reason I found out about Whitney.
We met while she was still in college and, oddly enough, Whitney was one of Jackie’s roommates.
We didn’t figure out the connection until she came to me with her other roommate, Lena.
They were planning to cast a spell of protection for Whitney and came to me for some herbs they couldn’t find.
It was during that exchange I felt the energy that lingered in the hair they took from Whitney for the spell.
It was a small thing, but something inside me wouldn’t let it go.
When I saw Whitney, my gut told me to dig deeper. She looked like me but younger. She preferred braids while I loved to sport a fluffy afro whenever I could. We met a few times, only briefly, and I vowed to never interfere with her life, but my heart told me who she was.
I said nothing to Jackie because I wanted to be sure.
So, I went into investigative mode and eventually found the original adoption agency that split us up, and sure enough, Whitney was my sister.
I was happy she hadn’t bounced around too many homes like I had.
She was younger, more adorable, and had been adopted a full two years before me.
She lived with one family who took great care of her, and even after they had another daughter, they still cared for her the way a parent should.
I didn’t know if Whitney knew she was adopted, and for years, I told myself I didn’t want to be the one to lift the veil on that secret.
But even after Jackie told me Whitney knew everything, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
I cleared away the cups from our tea. Knowing Jackie, she wouldn’t be back that night.
As soon as she made it to her room, she would pass out, and I would see her in the morning.
We could do brunch. There were a few new spots around town, two of them owned by Black women, so I was ready to go support!
Just as I turned to go to the backyard to pull the leaves I needed to make Miguel’s tea, there was a knock on the door. I scanned the kitchen, wondering if Jackie had left something behind, but there was nothing.
“Maybe she just wants another hug.” I laughed at the thought of Jackie’s overt appreciation for my breasts. She wasn’t blessed up top like I was, and would often sneak in a second and sometimes third hug for the feels.
I reached the door and swung it open without checking who was on the other side. “Did you forget something?” I immediately regretted that decision.
Standing on my porch wasn’t my friend, arms opened for another hug. It was Raymond, jaw tight and eyes narrowed.
“Shit.”