Chapter Twenty-One
My mom was out of the house before I even closed the door. She walked straight to me and into my arms. She was vibrating for some reason. Anger was my best guess, and she was trying to calm down.
“Where have you been?” She pulled back and cupped my cheeks.
“I went for a run.” I smiled. “Toya came to help me bring everything else home.” I pointed to her, and she waved from the other side of the trunk.
“Hi.” She walked to the tailgate and pulled it down. “Where should I put this stuff?”
My mother looked between the two of us, and I saw understanding bloom in her eyes.
“Let me show you.” She let me go after another squeeze and walked down to grab a few bags.
I followed and grabbed the rest of the stuff before I closed the tailgate as Toya followed my mother inside.
“How are you, dear? Did you do well in your course?”
“I did.” Toya smiled. “I was top of my class. Not as good as Amy.”
My mother scoffed. “Apples to oranges, my dear. Different courses, different scores.” My mother was always like that.
Never comparing between two people. “Everyone is only measured against themselves. Never anyone else because they did not have to go through what you went through.” My mom stopped in front of my door.
“Did you do better than you did the semester before?”
Toya thought about it for a second before she nodded. “Yeah, I think I did.” My mom nodded.
“Then be proud.” She peaked over Toya’s shoulder to find me watching them. “Are you going to open the door, babe? Or do you want to move into the hallway?” Toya burst out laughing as I dropped the bags in my hands and walked over, unlocking the door and removing the magic.
“There.” I swung the door inwards and went to grab the bags I left, letting the two in first. I dropped my bags next to my closet as my mother closed the door behind me. I took a deep breath as I looked around my old room.
“Is it weird?” My mom clicked the lock on the door before joining Toya on my bed. “Being back here?”
I looked around the room and was hit with a wave of nostalgia. “A little. I’ve gotten so used to being alone in my own place, being back here with everyone will be an adjustment.”
My mom nodded. “Shannon cried when she came back.”
I lifted my lip. “I’m sure she did.”
Toya scoffed. “She didn’t have the best time at school.”
My mom shifted against the headboard. She pointed at me and then twirled her finger around the room. I smiled as I sealed the sounds inside. No one would overhear what we were speaking about now. “Now, what do you mean Shannon didn’t have the best time?”
“She was in business, so we didn’t really see much of her.” Touya started, so I turned to my closet and put stuff away. “Amy was obviously in the tech building and I was in the teaching wing. But Shannon…” Toya looked at me as I came out.
“Shannon tried the same crap at school that she does here and got put in her place by every ranked wolf in her course. Brandon was the only reason she survived the first year until she learned to stop throwing her non-existent status around.” I grabbed another bag and turned back to the closet.
I walked past my usual racks and started packing things in the far back.
Toya continued with the story. “She eventually made friends, but she was upset that Amy had more power than her. She threw a couple tantrums. Amy,” Toya called as I was hanging up the last bit of clothes.
“Yeah?” I turned, but something caught my eye.
“Do you remember when Shannon freaked out when the training started?” I laughed as I pushed clothes out of the way.
Toya’s voice grew softer, like she was leaning in with a secret.
“The king had the teachers implement mandatory training. She was not happy. She stomped over during our session and demanded Amy call the king that minute. She said she was too important to reach him personally and that Amy should do it for her, like she was her secretary.” I stepped deeper into the closet, pushing past the first rack of clothes to my out of season stuff.
“Amy did it. She called Rowan. Shannon took the phone from her and started talking, but the king was like, who the fuck is this? It was hilarious.” Toya laughed and my mother joined her.
“Amy, come here.” My mother called for me but I was almost to the back of my closet and the edge that caught my eye.
“Amy?” I pushed past the last rack of clothes, and I ended up against the far wall, staring at a random door I didn’t even know was here.
“Amy?” My mother’s voice was closer, but there was a drum neat in my ears.
This was important, and I didn’t know why. I grabbed the knob and, with a deep breath; I pulled the door open.
The door swung open and there was…nothing.
“What are you doing in there?” My mom came up behind me, standing at the doorway.
“Why is this here?” I spun in a circle, seeing an almost identical room from the cabin.
“It’s for seasonal storage. When we moved in with Morgan and Shannon, this was her closet.
This entire room. Morgan wanted to put you in the guest room, but I knew.
This was your room. I told him you had to have this room or I would stay with you in the guest room.
He cleared it out for you the next day.”
I turned to face her. “I don’t remember that.”
My mom laughed. “I wouldn’t think you would.
You were a baby.” She leaned in and kissed my forehead.
“So now it’s your turn to answer my question.
Why are you in here?” I huffed out a breath and pointed towards the room.
She turned and headed back to my bed and I left the small hidden door open.
I followed and leaned against the door frame. “What’s wrong?”
“Yesterday…” I swallowed. “The call. It was Carly.” My mother gasped, and I nodded.
“Carl was fighting off rogues. Before he went out, he told her to call me. Mom.” I walked closer and sat next to her on my bed.
I grabbed her trembling hands and squeezed.
“When we got there, he was already too far gone. We fought the rest of the rogues and burned their bodies, but Carl. He didn’t make it.
” My mother covered her face and started to cry. “I’m sorry.”
My mother dropped her hands and sniffled. “It’s not your fault, baby. We knew this day would come. He was just a close friend.” She wiped her tear-streaked face. “How’s Carly?”
I blew out a breath. “As good as can be expected. I buried him under a tree so she can go see him every day. And I promised to bring him back for her big moments.”
“He had been preparing for last night.” Toya picked at my blanket. “He had clothes for all of us. We each had a room. Letters. It was impressive.”
My mom laughed through her tears. “He was an impressive man, through and through. He was very prepared. He said being prepared for everything made his gift a lot easier to process.” I nodded.
I looked back to the closet and the door there, and it reminded me of the letter Carl had left taped on the door for me. I brought it to the apartment and stuffed it into my bag after shifting back. I stood and walked to the bag that held my laptop and pulled it out.
“What’s that?” Toya leaned closer as I sat back down.
“A letter from Carl. He had it taped inside the door in my closet at the cabin.”
“The door?” My mom asked, and I pointed to the door in the closet.
“He built a room like that. It’s…”
“Weird.” Toya finished.
“Confusing.” I countered. She smiled at me but shook her head. I opened the letter to see his scrawling hand writing.
“What does it say?” My mother looked over my shoulder, but I pulled back as I got up. I handed it to her as I made my way back to my bag and grabbed my Book of Shadows.
“You need the rock?” Toya’s eyebrows rose.
“The rock?” My mother looked over at me from the letter and furrowed her brow.
“It’s my Book of Shadows.”
“Her magic book. It’s concealed as a rock.” Toya waved her hand and I laughed. “Look, it’s weird as fuck seeing you read a rock, even knowing what it is.” Toya leaned back against the headboard. “It doesn’t change from a rock to a book unless you hold it.” Toya finished.
My mom turned back to the letter as I started flipping through the pages, looking for what I needed. My mom gasped, and I just nodded. “Clever man.” My mom whispered, and Toya pushed off the headboard and crawled over the bed to us. She started reading the letter over my mother’s shoulder.
“What?” Toya’s eyes darted over the letter and then snapped up to the doorway. “You have got to be kidding…you can do that?”
I looked up from my book to see them both staring at me expectantly. “I don’t know.” Toya pointed at the book in my hands and then back to my face.
“Well, hurry, man.” She jumped up. “That would be so fricken helpful.” She looked around at all of our bags. “We could bring everything in seconds.” She spun back to me. “What do we need to get?”
I looked back to the book. “I don’t know yet. I haven’t found it.”
Toya sighed as she laid back down on my bed. “I-” There was a knock on the door and all of us turned towards it.