27. Morganite
Morganite
D ays flew by and almost blurred together into one.
I went to work, came home, went to bed, and repeated each day. My weekends were spent talking to Quinn while she was on her jobs or having brunch with the girls. I tried to escape in books or video games to avoid thinking about anything. The medicine from Dr. Julian worked to at least keep me asleep through the night without any more nightmares. It did very little to help with my skin that was still painfully dry no matter how many oats and honey soaks I did or bottles of lotion I used. The grimoire remained open to the same page.
Each day blended into the next becoming more of the same.
Soon, it was Halloween.
Well, the night of Halloween.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come out with us? Your Blossom costume was so cute! More people should get to see it!” Thompson pouted.
Teddy was a welcome addition to the household as of late. He had practically moved in over the past few months, staying over at least three times a week and ensuring me and Uncle Everett didn’t starve or stuff our faces with whatever fast food was delivering late at night. I had gotten to know him more over charcuterie boards and watching anime together while Everett was working out or going to bed to get up early for work. I was right when I first met him because it was easy to talk to him and just hang out.
“Thank you so much, but I’m in for the night. Once the bra comes off, it is not coming back on unless someone is dead or dying in the streets,” I joked.
“Yeah, give it up, babe.” Everett patted Thompson’s shoulder as he left his bedroom. “Byrdie is a grandmama. She likes to be home before the street lamps come on, but after the Early Bird Special at her favorite buffet.”
“That’s really rich coming from a man dressed in a Pikachu onesie.”
“Extra rich considering you are in a granny sweater.”
“It’s a duster cardigan .”
“Now, now, children,” Teddy chided, giving us both looks under his Ash Ketchum hat. “Everett, behave , or we’ll go to Jacob’s house for that party instead.”
“No! I hate Jacob! He’s so fucking loud ,” Everett grumbled and groaned like a teenager.
I stifled a chuckle. “Feels like a missed opportunity that you didn’t put him in an Eevee costume.”
“They didn’t have his size.” Teddy shrugged. “But he still looks so adorable as my little Pikachu.”
“Aren’t you happy you caught him in your Pokéball?” I booped Uncle Everett’s nose.
“I cannot stand either one of you. I would electric-shock you both if I could,” Uncle Everett said, putting his wallet and phone in one of his onesie pockets. Teddy blew him a kiss, and he rolled his eyes. “We are going to head out, kiddo. Enjoy your boring little movie night.”
“Oh, I will enjoy being not sweaty, gross, and way too close to strangers’ genitalia with a thin covering between!”
“It’s a house party, menace.”
“A gay house party.”
“That is motivated.”
“But not untrue.”
“Chris does throw some ragers, Eevee,” Teddy conceded.
“You two will make me the first shifter to die of high blood pressure,” Uncle Everett said, opening the door to leave as a nerve feathered his jawline.
“Have fun, you crazy kids!” I said as I waved them off.
I plopped onto the couch and pulled out my phone from my shorts pocket. It was the first time I had been on it in hours. The witches at the door of the Winebary had bespelled everyone’s phones to avoid cheating during the “Things That Go Bump in the Night” Trivia Night Tournament. Simone, Maisie, and I had decided to go as the Powerpuff Girls: me as Blossom, Maisie as Buttercup, and Simone as Bubbles. Since Blackbell treated Halloween like a national holiday closing down everything including the University for the day, we had even managed to rope Rhois, Journee, and Isidora in on it with Rhois going as Princess Morbucks, Journee going as Him—which was the most iconic thing I had ever seen—and Isidora going as Miss Bellum. Naturally, with three librarians on our side, our team won. Our costumes also bagged us First Place in the Costume Contest. It was a lit night, but I was ready to spend the rest of the spooky night in and on the couch.
Unlocking my phone, the only notifications I had were from social media, some random emails, and unread text messages from Quinn. Of course, I opened the messages first:
ME
We just pulled up! Waiting to get in now! They are probably going to lock my phone so I won’t be able to text you while we are competing in case I go radio-silent for a while. ??
ME
Group Selfie.jpg
ME
Is it giving big Powerpuff Girl energy?
PUMPKIN QUEENIE ??
OMG! ??
PUMPKIN QUEENIE ??
You are the best Blossom I’ve ever seen, gorgeous! The whole gang looks badass. I love it. ??????
PUMPKIN QUEENIE ??
What are your plans after Trivia? ??
ME
I’ll be at home watching movies. My friends are all extroverted introverts. We like to be out long enough to show our faces before going home to relax and recharge ??
PUMPKIN QUEENIE ??
Lol! I feel that, trust me.
I had liked that text just before we reached the front of the line. Everything else was new and unread:
PUMPKIN QUEENIE ??
I wish I could have dressed up this year. I freaking love Halloween. It’s always so fun.
PUMPKIN QUEENIE ??
I bet we would have an awesome couple’s costume. We’ll have to start thinking of some for next year! Wanna see some of my favorite costumes?
Quinn sent over a few pictures. Some were just of her, some were of her and Nat, and others were her with the rest of the cousins and a stranger or two. They also covered the gamut when it came to age. One was a baby picture of her as a pumpkin. Another one was her as a teenager dressed in a bottle of mustard with Nat as ketchup, Cole as relish, Cody as barbecue sauce, and Cooper as mayo. I laughed when I saw them in that one. There was one with her, Nat, and a woman that looked just like Quinn but older and more feminine dressed as the Sanderson Sisters—Quinn as Mary and Nat as Sarah, which made me laugh again because their impressions were too good. My favorite that made me scream with how good it was had to be her Ms. Trenchbull costume. It was perfection right down to her facial expression.
I didn’t think I could like this girl more than I did already, but she kept finding new ways to make it happen.
PUMPKIN QUEENIE ??
I miss you, sweetness.
PUMPKIN QUEENIE ??
I know you are having so much fun. I bet you are winning. I can’t wait to hear all about it.
PUMPKIN QUEENIE ??
Call me when you get home! ??
She had sent that text only twelve minutes ago. All her messages made me so giddy I could squeal. I stood up and pressed the video icon while I walked around the living room. I straightened my half-ponytail in its scrunchie while I waited for Quinn to pick up. As always, I didn’t have to wait long.
Quinn appeared on camera looking cozy and adorable as always. She was laying down on a couch. Her hair was a pillow of curls around her head. The collar of her sweatshirt was over her mouth, but I could tell she was smiling at me.
“Hi, gorgeous.”
I scoffed. “Me? I look like I just need to put my bonnet on to go to bed. I have a naked face and my jammies on.”
“I think you have never looked more beautiful.” Then she looked further down at my outfit, and she raised an eyebrow. Her cheeks took on a soft blush. “What are you wearing?”
“It’s my favorite Halloween jammies! Do you like them?” I flipped my phone camera to face the standing mirror in our living room. I posed in my bleach-dyed cropped cami with two skeleton hands clutching my boobs, a matching pair of short booty shorts, and my thick black duster cardigan. I did a little dance to show it off.
When I rotated the camera back toward my face, Quinn’s smolder was blazing enough to make me melt. “Those are some cute pajamas. You are hot enough to serve up and eat. Do all of your PJs look like that?”
It was my turn to blush now. “You will have to find out, I guess.”
“Oh, I look for—Ouch, Clarkson!” Quinn cried out as a ball of chocolate brown appeared on screen, almost knocking her phone out of her hand. Clarkson crawled up onto her chest and dropped the tennis ball she was carrying to lick Quinn’s face. Quinn turned her face away back and forth, trying to push Clarkson away. She finally managed to get Clarkson away from her face. Now, she was on her back, tongue lolled to the side, loving Quinn’s belly rubs.
I laughed.
“How was Trivia?”
“It was so much fun! We won!”
“I would expect nothing less. You are smart as fuck.”
“And I got the winning answer!”
“I love that. What’d you win us?”
“We won a free bottle of wine to share for Trivia Night, and we each got a twenty-five-dollar gift card for winning the Costume Contest! I will definitely be back. Oh! We should go on a date there! It is such a vibe. I would love to take you and treat you for once.”
“I’m definitely down. I know you mentioned watching movies earlier. What’s on the watchlist tonight? Any monster or slasher movies?”
I scrunched up my nose. “Absolutely not! My life is a monster flick—where the monsters at least live in the end, but it’s not super fun to watch those for me. And if I wanted to be stalked by a guy with mommy issues and bloodlust, I would visit the Business District in the middle of the night.”
Quinn chuckled. “Fair.”
“Every Halloween, after hanging with the girls, I come home, put on my favorite jammies, and watch the list of true crime documentaries I’ve been dying to watch all year. Oof, that was a bad pun.”
I made Quinn chuckle again. “It’s okay! I love a dark unintentional pun. You do this every year?”
I nodded. “What’s scarier than crime, murder, and cults?”
“Well, it sounds like my kind of night then. Do you mind if I join you?”
“Are you kidding me? I would freaking love that!” I leaped onto the couch and loaded up my favorite streaming service. I launched into what the options were. In between, I asked Quinn about everything from her favorite popcorn flavors to what she would bring to survive on Naked and Afraid .
After what felt like too much rambling, I said. “I’m so sorry, pumpkin.”
Quinn smiled, her eyes twinkling. “Don’t apologize, baby girl. I like wine-drunk Byrd. Although tequila-drunk Byrdie was pretty fun.”
“Well, my Aunt used to say that whiskey gets you frisky, tequila gets you pregnant, but wine, no matter red or yellow, will surely make you smart and mellow.”
Quinn threw her head back and laughed so hard that Clarkson righted herself to look at her. She tilted her head in that cute doggy way when they’re confused. Hearing Quinn’s laugh made my heart swell. I wanted to hear that sound again and again.
Smiling, I picked out a movie. I think it was about a woman whose parents were held hostage and murdered under strange circumstances. I say I “think” because as soon as Quinn and I pressed play at the same time on our TVs, we started talking again and we hardly stopped. The movie soon became background noise for our conversation and laughter, but I didn’t mind it at all.
I would talk to Quinn every minute of every day that I could if given the chance.
I was so engrossed in talking that when the doorbell rang twenty or so minutes into the movie, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Who could that be this late?” I asked, getting up from the couch.
“Trick o’ treater, maybe?” Quinn said, sitting up on her own couch.
I raised my eyebrows at her. “I live in a penthouse suite, starlight. The gargoyle guardians hand out candy to the kids on the street, so they don’t make it up the elevator.”
I opened the door. There, a large black box floated on a cloud of sparkling blue and white at my eye level. It motioned forward, and I widened the door’s opening to allow it inside.
Like humans, we had a postal service, but ours had levels of magic. On the lowest level, there was the bespelled sorting system at every supernatural postal office that knew where to send your package. However, for those willing to pay, you could get a spell on your package that would deliver it to the location of the recipient, no matter how absurd or remote. I have never used it, but Everett has had to use it for work before and, of course, Simone’s parents have used it on her.
The box flew in as if in the arms of an invisible postal carrier. Then it landed on the kitchen island with its magic swirling and dispersing like glitter in the air.
“It’s a package!” Closing the door behind me and turning toward the kitchen, I flipped the video call’s camera for Quinn to see. “Whoever sent this is rich! Sending a package this late through Spellbound is crazy expensive. Who could this be from?”
“Maybe it’s one of your girlfriends?” Quinn waggled her eyebrows.
“Har har!” I rolled my eyes. “Who would want to be a girlfriend with my nerdy ass?”
“Well, it is a fantastic ass.” Quinn winked.
I laughed at her as I examined the box more closely. What I had first thought was black, I could now see, was actually a dark night blue instead. Tiny, dazzling sparkles shimmered across the box. They looked just like stars in the night sky. At the bottom of the box, I could even make out the dark outline of trees, swaying on a delicate breeze. It was mesmerizing to look at, but I pulled my eyes away to take in the entire box. Sitting on top of the counter, the box stood a little higher than the top of my ponytail. I couldn’t see any tape on its lid at the top. I could hardly make out if there was a lid. I kneeled on one of the barstools to see above the package, but I still didn’t see a way to open it from above.
“It’s weird. There isn’t a way to open it that I can see. Like no seams or openings or anything. Hang on, let me try something.” I leaned down to position my phone where Quinn could see me and the package within frame.
“Definitely liking this view. Those pajamas should be illegal.” Quinn’s eyes darkened as she watched me. I was hyper-aware of my shirt and shorts riding up over my curves to expose more skin. I felt my cheeks heat under her hungry gaze.
I caressed one of the corners at the top. Suddenly, at my touch, the stars on the box started to glow, making me lean back in my chair. Lines shot from them to connect to each other until the entire box was ablaze with light. When the light was getting so bright my eyes were starting to hurt, a light beam shot up toward the condo’s vaulted ceilings. Then it burst. The white exploded into a show of orange, white, black, and gold. They popped like fireworks in my own home before raining down on me.
As it came close to the end, the sparkles from one of the explosions came together to form a Monarch Butterfly made of pure light, carrying a maroon something with a trail of diamonds in its wake. It fluttered around before dropping whatever it was carrying onto the counter and poofed into a cloud of glitter at the same time the other fireworks stopped.
I was already in awe, but then my eyes looked back to where the box had once been and where the red thing landed.
I gasped.
The box was gone now. In its place, a bouquet stood in a black box similar to the one that had just been magicked away. The bouquet held merlot red, blush pink, sunset orange, and creamy white peonies, dahlias, roses, and tiny bushels of hydrangeas with lavender and eucalyptus leaves sticking out in between. It was a beautiful, fully packed arrangement. Folded next to it was a hoodie I recognized immediately as the one that Quinn was wearing a few weeks ago. In between the bouquet and the hoodie, the butterfly had dropped a dark red folded piece of paper. It was folded to resemble a heart. My name was written in an unfamiliar but calligraphic handwriting. It was all so pretty, I almost didn’t want to open it, but my curiosity quickly took over and won out.
I noted that it was heavier than I expected it to be as I picked it up. The paper was also thicker than I thought it would be. When I opened it, I had to catch something as it fell out.
It was a fucking tennis bracelet . It was rose gold with stones of morganite going all around it. It was stunning .
“This is so beautiful. I—” I started watching the peachy gemstones sparkle in the light of the condo.
“That was Stass’s idea,” Quinn said. “Read the note, though, babe.”
I clutched the bracelet close as I finished opening the heart-shaped note. The inside was a creamy white with black handwriting that matched the front. It read:
Quieres ser mi novia, Byrd?
(Will you be my girlfriend, Byrd?)
Tears flooded my eyes as time slowed. I was speechless, my mouth agape. Was this real life? Was this my life? Had she really just asked me ? And like this ? My brain was struggling to even process the idea.
“Girl, what do you say?!” I heard Nat say.
I looked away from the note to the phone. Through my tears, Quinn had set up the phone somewhere so I could see the entire couch now. I saw Quinn beaming at me with a smile so wide and precious I would have given up everything I own to see it every single minute of every day. It squeezed my heart. Natassa sat beside her along with Cody. Even Clarkson was in Quinn’s lap looking at the phone in anticipation. I hadn’t heard or seen any of them come in.
I finally closed my mouth and nodded emphatically. “Of fucking course, I would love to be your girlfriend.”
The other line erupted into cheers of celebration.
I laughed as the tears spilled over. I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t sure if I ever would. I was on Cloud 9, floating away in pure shock. Yet, I had never felt so grounded. No one had ever done anything like this for me before. I had never been doted on like this. No one had made me feel safe enough to let go and let someone else take control. Quinn made me earnestly feel so special and beautiful. I felt special and beautiful. She was the first to care enough to do that and ensure I stayed feeling that way.
Quinn Garcia was the girlfriend of my dreams. I couldn’t have asked for more.
“I can’t believe you did this for me,” I said, barely above a whisper. I placed the note on the counter before picking up my phone to snap a few quick pictures of everything. Then I sat my phone back down and did my best to put my new bracelet on with shaky hands.
“Believe it always, mi tesoro ,” Quinn said, locking eyes with me in such a way that I felt like she was here, right next to me, instead of wherever she was. I wanted to kiss her until I couldn’t breathe. “I always want you to be happy and feel taken care of. I like you so, so much. I think you are the most beautiful being I have ever seen. I love your personality and how you think. I love that you always make me feel better when I feel like shit, and you always find a way to surprise me. I’m enamored by you, Byrd. I think we will be something glorious together. I wish I was there to hold you and kiss you and just be with you. You have no idea how much I want to be there.”
Her words didn’t stop me from crying. They actually made me cry more.
I think I love her.
I think I was falling in love with Quinn Garcia.
The realization snapped the breath from my chest. I wanted to tell her. I wanted to say those three little words to her, but it was too much at once. We were girlfriends. Even though I could feel those words hanging above the both of us. I wondered if Quinn wanted to say them as much as I did. Did she feel the bubble hanging above us that would burst once those words were said? Could she see what would happen after we said it unlike me? Would it be the furthering of everything or the end for us?
Byrd, you are girlfriends. She just asked you to be her girlfriend. That’s enough. Let that be enough for now. Something roared in me, shaking me to my bones, begging me to say those words to Quinn despite what I told myself.
“I’m so happy I’m not wearing makeup anymore, even if it’s magically tearproof.” I choked on a chuckle as I grabbed a paper towel to dry my eyes. The words still lingered in the back of my throat, so I did my best to swallow them down and say something else that would have to do… for now. “I adore you, starlight. I like you so much. You have no idea. I think you are so beautiful inside and out. You always know how to make me laugh and calm me down. I will always accept you for who you are, and I would never settle for less.”
Quinn blew a kiss through the phone, and I acted like I had caught it and held it close to my heart.
Cody encircled his hands around his mouth and shouted. “ GAY! ”
Quinn and Nat both reached over and punched him hard enough to make him hold his arm.
Laughing, I stood up to take my cardigan off and pull Quinn’s hoodie over my head. The hoodie came down to my knees, resembling a dress more than a hoodie. But it was perfect. Gods, it smelled just like her. Oh, and the warmth ! It was like she was holding me right in this moment. I didn’t want to take this off ever. Bury me in this hoodie. Let me live in it forever and ever, amen.
“Oh, I think I found something I like seeing you in more than your pajamas.” Quinn’s eyes sparked, and she smirked.
“I love that you will never stop flirting with me,” I said as I leaned to smell the flowers Quinn had sent. Instead of smelling the scent of flowers and plants, I smelled… sugar and cake?
“Those are cake pops, Byrdie-Bee,” Cody said, noticing my furrowed brows. “Quinny made them herself! She packaged them and everything.”
“She did what ?!” I cried out. “I thought these were real flowers! They look so realistic, it’s amazing!”
“That’s how good Quinn is. She’s the best baker ever. We have been trying to get Quinn to open a shop for years .”
Quinn’s face reddened, and her hand fluffed her curls back away from her face. I loved seeing her nerves get the best of her and knowing that’s why she did that. “Well, y’all know that I can’t with the family business and all. Besides, my piping and fondant really need work?—”
“Shut your face right now,” I interrupted. “We aren’t doing that. This—” I motioned toward the bouquet. “Is perfect. Absolutely perfect. I wouldn’t change a single thing, and I would fight anyone who tried to. You are an artist , ma’am. Don’t let anyone—even yourself—tell you any different.”
Quinn’s blush deepened. “Thank you so much, babe.”
“So! Are they all the same flavor?”
Quinn shook her head. “No, actually, I couldn’t settle on just one or two, so I went with four. The red ones are maple bacon and apple, the orange ones are spiced Mexican chocolate, the pink ones are butter cake with orange and cranberry filling, and the white ones are vanilla chai. I know how much you love chai tea, so I knew I had to make that one for sure. The spiced Mexican chocolate is my own spin on things. Everything else is a guess for what you might like, honestly. The lavender and leaves are very real at least, but I thought they were pretty and went well with everything.”
I plucked a white hydrangea cake pop from the bouquet. It came up with a clear stem for me to hold onto while I ate it. I almost hated to eat any of it since it all looked so real and beautiful. Still, I leaned in to take a bite. Immediately, my mouth was overcome with the flavors of fresh vanilla chai tea and cake. I moaned, deep and low, as my eyes rolled back. It was so fucking good .
“Damn, girl, would you like some alone time with the cake?” Nat teased.
“I would definitely love some alone time with the baker of this cake,” I said, taking another bite while making eye contact with Quinn, who was making me feel hot for more reasons than her almost-magically warm hoodie.
“Okay, okay, we can take a hint. Let’s go, shit-stain,” Nat said, standing up from the couch to leave.
“Welcome to the family, Bee! I definitely like you way more than the last one. You are definitely prettier than her and way more fun.” Cody winked before following Nat.
My eyes stung with the threat of tears again at Cody’s words, but instead, I smiled at Quinn now that we were alone again. “This has been the best Halloween ever.”
“I’m so happy, sweets. I wanted it to be perfect, just for you.” Quinn beamed. “I wasn’t expecting Cody to say that just now.”
“I love that your family likes me so much, but the last one must’ve been a doozy to do such a number on everyone. The last one is the ex they threw that party over, right?” I asked before taking the final bite of the cake pop.
Quinn nodded. “Yeah, that’s Zaria.
“So, what’s the story with her? We haven’t talked about exes really. But if you don’t want to talk about this, we definitely don’t have to. You just asked me to be your girlfriend and I can only imagine how cringe it is that we are talking about exes now?—”
“It’s not cringe at all. I don’t mind, either. I mean, it’s all a part of getting to know each other so that we can be better, right? You can always ask me anything, sweets.” Quinn smiled before she started:
“I met Zaria almost immediately after I had broken up with my second girlfriend. I was just looking for a hookup, nothing serious. In typical lesbian fashion, we moved extremely fast like light speed. If we had slowed down, I wonder if we could have worked, but I doubt it. I think we were always meant to stay a situationship. Neither of us were ready for a real relationship. We were both young and immature. I was full of resentment toward my family for not giving me a choice in joining the family business. She was unserious in so many ways, and she didn’t know how to support a partner. She was bougie and materialistic, but she was lazy, never wanting to earn the luxurious lifestyle she felt she needed to survive. Instead, she put her energy into controlling me to help her get what she wanted.
“You know, we had good times together during those four years. When times were good, our relationship was great. But when things were bad, they were hell on freaking earth. Zaria always wanted things her way, and she would do everything in her power to ensure that. Even though I hated my job, she would tell me to get over it because I was good as fuck at it. It paid her bills and got her what she wanted, so she said I should be grateful and just do it. My happiness didn’t matter. She would also just manipulate me and amplify my insecurities by saying that I was too stupid to do anything else. She hated so many things about me from how I dressed more masculine to how I was more of a night owl to my ADHD quirks. She would even say and do things that would piss me off on purpose. I have a temper, but it does take a lot to make me mad. She knew how to get me heated, even if I was in a good mood. We would have screaming matches, where we would come to blows sometimes. We didn’t talk things through. We just yelled it out, fought it out, or fucked it out. It was everything a relationship shouldn’t be.”
My heart broke hearing her, but it cracked further and deeper as I saw her eyes glisten. She shook her head and continued. “Honestly, just thinking about our time together, I get so mad I could cry because of how much and how long I endured everything. I walked on eggshells with her twenty-four-seven, scared to say the wrong thing that would get be used against me. I was wound so tight from always being ready for a fight. Still, I felt suffocated and like I didn’t have a way out. Zaria put me in a dark place for a long time because she made me believe that I deserved her for the shit I did. I don’t know how I went through all of it.”
I could feel the sting of tears surfacing again. I wished I could reach through the phone and just hold her right now. “Quinn, I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve that. Your happiness matters, especially to me. I would never treat you that way, and I want nothing but the best for you and for you to be even happier than you make me.”
“I know, baby girl.” Quinn chuckled, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “I’m actually kind of happy that I did go through it, so I can see how much of an amazing person you are and how people should be treated. That way, I don’t mess this up, too.”
“Oh, Quinn. You didn’t mess up your last relationship with Zaria. She was a mythic bitch, and you were pushed into survival mode, by the sounds of things. What was your final straw that made it end?”
Quinn sighed. “To make a very long story short, we were both sent on a job, and she not only botched it but broke a crucial rule that we have. She didn’t give two shits about it. When we got back to our rental, she asked me to clean it up while she went out shopping, and I lost it. We got into a huge fight that night. It was weird though because I wasn’t screaming, just her. I think I had mentally checked out of our relationship so long before that. In that moment, I realized I was fully done and ready for this to be over. She wasn’t, though. She called me names and tried to push every button she knew to push. She tried to get physical and fight me. She tried everything, but I didn’t react to any of it. I just packed my bags and got Clarkson ready to go.
“The last thing Zaria tried was to say she would blackmail me to my family. That was the last straw for me, and I knew I had to leave before I stayed and ripped her a new one like she wanted me to do. I was done giving in to her. She had been horrible to my family ever since she met them, having been rude to them and trying to isolate me from them. She had even tried to manipulate Natassa to be her little minion of sorts and had been a horrible influence on her. Everyone hated her, especially Nat because she saw how she turned me into a shell of myself. Still, my dad, mom, and aunts wanted me to work through it all because Zaria knew the business. Her family has been in the game for almost as long as mine. It would have been a good match if we had made it work.”
I raised my eyebrows as I plucked an orange rose from the cake pop bouquet. “Matches? Do y’all do arranged marriages or something in your family? Sounds like your family is royalty. Or the mafia.”
Quinn threw her head back and laughed again. Honestly, after the heaviness of the previous conversation, it was a relief to hear and a great way to break the tension. “You’re not too far off.”
“I know you mentioned you do contract work as well as real estate before. This is giving Goodfellas , Mulan , and Brave vibes to me now.”
Quinn snorted and shrugged halfheartedly. Quinn and I had been talking long enough for me to know that that shrug meant we were in the territory where there was more that she wasn’t telling me. I took a bite, filling my mouth with spicy chocolate. I chewed thoughtfully for a moment. I probably would have moaned again if the conversation was different. “Your family’s business sounds like something you either don’t want to tell me about?—”
“Trust me, sweetness,” she interrupted. “I want to tell you. I would tell you everything if I could.”
“I’m sensing a ‘but’ here.”
“It’s dangerous. Yes, for my family, but also for you. If you knew the work we did—that I did—you could be at risk. There are people who would use you to get to me if they knew you knew. I refuse to ever put you in harm’s way. Ever . So, if it means not telling you the whole truth, I’m so sorry. I don’t want you to feel like I’m lying to you or keeping something from you. It isn’t from a bad place. I just want to protect you and keep you safe.” Quinn’s eyes were locked onto me, and there was nothing there but genuine honesty. I knew I could trust her and that she wasn’t lying to me.
“You can tell me the whole truth, I get it. Are there parts of the truth that you can tell me? I want to know you, Quinn. I want to know everything about you. Even the parts you don’t like. We are girlfriends now. If we can, we should lay everything on the table that we can.”
“I don’t know…” Quinn shook her head with her hand in her hair again.
“Okay, how about this?” I took the last bite of my cake pop and swallowed. I continued as I picked up my phone to go sit on the couch. “Let’s make it into a game of sorts.”
“Oh, my mom used to make things I hated into games. I’m sold already.”
“I will tell you something I have never told anyone before, and you give me a tiny fraction of what your day-to-day looks like. It doesn’t have to be major. It could be your job title or something you have to do every day for work or your favorite part about working.”
Quinn considered the rules, and she slowly nodded her head. “Okay, sweets, I’m down.”
“Perfect! I will go first!” I thought for a moment what to tell first, toying with my mom’s pendant around my neck as I considered my options. Then I finally decided. “So, at one of my first dance recitals when I was about five or six years old, I introduced myself as ‘Bitch-ette’ instead of Brydgette because I was missing my front teeth and was so freaking nervous. Pops has it on video somewhere, and it used to be one of his favorite home movies. I always dreaded bringing someone home for him to show it to them because it is so embarrassing. Like, how did I not even know my own fucking name?”
Quinn cackled with laughter as I willed my face to cool from the heat of my embarrassment. “Okay, but that is fucking adorable ! You definitely shouldn’t be embarrassed about that.”
Quinn thought for a second of what she was going to reveal. “So, at work, I’m a Team Leader of sorts. I tend to work with Nat and the boys more than anyone else. They report to me, and I give them commands. When we are at work, we aren’t cousins. We are coworkers, and I’m their manager.”
“Oh, I love a woman in power.” I winked, making Quinn snort. “Do y’all work well together?”
“They listen to me and respect me at work. They know I’m good at what I do, so they trust that. Cooper can be… annoying sometimes, but we rarely go for each other’s throats.”
“That’s great! Okay, um, let’s see… Oh, I have something I’ve never told anyone, even Simone and Maisie!”
“Go for it.”
“When I was born, my Aunt Max got me this stuffed bunny because I just looked so innocent, according to her. Gods, I loved that bunny. I carried it with me everywhere, and I would have a meltdown if I didn’t have it. I just couldn’t sleep without it. Pops had to turn around once two hours into a five-hour road trip because we had left it at home.” I smiled at the memory of Mom telling the story. Mom always said it was Pops’ fault that Stella was forgotten that day because he was rushing them when Mom was trying to go through her list of what we all needed. Pops would just shake his head but never deny that Mom was right. “Anyway, I still have that bunny, and I take her almost everywhere I can. I never sleep well without her.”
“Aw, what’s her name?”
“Stella. I loved the name as a kid, so I named her that and it stuck.”
“Why haven’t you ever told anyone that? It’s so cute!”
“I guess I’ve always thought it was childish or someone would judge me or not understand. I don’t know. I’ve always been scared to tell anyone and get made fun of.”
“Baby girl, that isn’t childish or anything like that. I think it’s adorable. It brings you comfort, and there’s no shame or anything in that. Plus, it has happy memories associated with it. It’s special and important to you. That means it’s special and important to me. I would love to meet Stella one day.”
I beamed at the phone. My heart swelled so full of affection. Telling Quinn secrets that I had kept so close to my chest for so long was so easy and nice. I didn’t feel any judgment from her. She just seemed to take it in stride. Words couldn’t describe how much I cherished that.
“Thank you, pumpkin.”
“Anytime, sweets,” Quinn smiled. “Speaking of security blankets we take everywhere… you know, my knives?
“Tina and Amy?”
“I love that you remembered,” Quinn smirked as she reached off-screen to grab the black blades. They still glowed with color and energy. She looked down at them as she spoke. “Well, I got these from my grandmother when I was a toddler. She was excellent at metalwork, something that my Aunt CK—the cousins’ mom—and Cooper inherited. They are not nearly as good as she was, though. Grandma Jane was a hard-ass about a lot of things and refused to take anyone’s shit, but with her metalwork, there’s a strange softness and vulnerability. They are like a handmade quilt but pointy? That sounds ridiculous, I know. But she just put love into her work. Seeing these knives just takes me back to when she taught me how to throw knives in her backyard while some horrible casserole was cooking in the oven for dinner—I did not inherit my cooking skills from her.” We laughed before she kept on. “These daggers were the last things she made before she died, and she made them especially for me. So, I carry them with me everywhere I go. I’ve always thought there was power in that, like they were blessed with her protection or something.”
“That’s beautiful, starlight. It sounds like your grandmother was a hell of a lady and an amazing blacksmith to make those daggers. May I ask: was she a witch or something and that’s why the blades are magicked?”
“You can ask me whatever you want, Byrdie.” Gods, I loved hearing my name in her golden voice. It sent shivers through me. “But no, she wasn’t a witch. She did use magic in a way. She… it’s not easy to explain.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Is it not easy to explain or something that you just can’t tell me right now because it isn’t safe?”
“I mean, yes? A little bit of Column A and B?”
I smiled. “I understand.”
“I honestly don’t know how you can. I don’t even know if I understand myself right now.” Quinn chuckled.
“Well, that makes two of us. I don’t understand myself a lot these days.”
Quinn’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
I clutched my mom’s pendant, calling on it to give me strength to not lose my resolve. Here was my chance to lay it out there. Quinn hadn’t offered me the whole truth, but she had given me something , and I trusted her reasoning behind not giving me the whole thing. Maybe I was naive and so interested that I was missing a red flag or two, but my gut was telling me to keep going and Mom had told me to follow it.
So, here goes.
“So, you remember when the girls and I were doing that research into my back scars that you saw as a tattoo? Well, something found me that day. It was my family’s grimoire as I would later find out.”
“A grimoire? Aren’t those like a book of witchy recipes or something?”
“Yeah, they can be. But they aren’t specific to witches. They can be for any supernatural creature apparently.”
“Any supernatural creature—? So that means?—?”
“I’ve never said it out loud before, so it does count for the game, I guess. But uh, I’m… not… human,” I admitted, vocalizing what had been echoing in my brain for weeks now becoming louder and louder. “I don’t know what I am, but I’m not human.”
Quinn’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. Honestly, I felt the same way, even if I had been considering it for months. “Byrd?—”
“Honestly, I should have guessed it years ago. It shouldn’t be as much of a world-changing concept. Humans are only ever involved in the supernatural world if they have been attacked or they are one and don’t know it yet. But I have been surrounded by supernaturals my whole life. My aunt and uncle are shifters. My mom was a teacher at a supernatural middle school. My dad was a cop on a supernatural police force. My best friends in school were all supernaturals growing up, and even now, my closest friends are a mermaid and a witch. Normal humans don’t live the life I do. How could I be so stupid to think that they do? How did I not suspect anything sooner? Why didn’t I question anything?—?”
“Byrdie, baby. Take a breath. Respire hondo, mi Tesoro. You are spiraling. Can you breathe with me?” Quinn interrupted my spiral in the way that only she could. She took a deep breath, and I followed her. I inhaled, shakily, and exhaled, doing that enough times for the tears and my quivering voice to go away.
“Good. Now, none of this is your fault, okay? You are not at fault for any of this. You couldn’t have foreseen this. You are right about humans and supernaturals, sure, but you are not wrong for thinking you were an exception. It saved you from the anxiety of the unknown. That isn’t a bad thing. It isn’t a bad thing either that you are a supernatural and don’t know what sort yet. That’s okay. We can figure it out. We don’t have all the answers, but we can figure out most of them together. Okay? Don’t carry this burden alone like this.”
I nodded, afraid that if I opened my mouth, my anxious word vomit would spill out all over again. I sniffled, not realizing that I was on the brink of tears.
“You want to know something?” When I nodded again, she said, “If it helps, I’m not quite so human, either.”
“What?” I said, incredulously.
“Yeah, I’m kind of a supernatural, too, but it’s… complicated. It’s in that zone.”
“That’s okay.” I sniffled again, using my hoodie sleeve to wipe away my tears. “Complicated seems like it’s the default state of my life these days.”
Quinn smiled. “You are the least complicated thing, sweetness. Being with you is easy. I can finally be what I want and who I want around you. I can be happy. So, don’t worry about anything else. We got this. Together.”
“You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
“Gods, when is the next time we get to see each other? I miss you so much. I just want to hold you and never let you go.”
I smiled hard enough to make my cheeks start to hurt. “You have no idea how much I feel the same. We might be able to see each other soon! Simone’s family owns an island that we usually go visit for a week right before Thanksgiving to say goodbye to Summer. We relax and throw a Friendsgiving feast made by the amazing chefs on the island, since none of us can cook. The weather is always perfect. I’m sure Simone would love it if you and the cousins came!”
“Oh, if Simone is planning things, I’m sure she’s already invited Cole, who’s cleared our schedules to ensure we can all go. Simone could ask Cole to move the Sun, and I’m sure he would ask how far to the left or right.”
I laughed. “He’s obsessed with her. I’ve never seen a man down bad like that before. It’s sweet how he caters to her. That’s how all men should be to their girls.”
“I agree wholeheartedly. Cole clearly loves Simone, and it’s cute. I don’t think anything could come between those two.”
“Yeah, but we are the real dream team, the couple to beat,” I joked.
Quinn smirked. “Bet your sexy ass we are.”
Suddenly, Clarkson started barking at something off-screen. Quinn glanced toward where she was barking before nodding at whoever or whatever it was. She got up from the couch, picking up the phone to come with her. It didn’t escape my notice that she was still holding her knives. “I hate to cut our call short, but I have to go, sweets.”
“That’s okay!” I yawned. “The wine is catching up to me, anyway, so I think it’s time for bed.”
“Dream good things, mi novia hermosa .”
“Hopefully, they will be of you.” I blew her a kiss. Her smoldering smile was the last thing I saw before my phone went dark.