Chapter 11 A Normal Day
A NORMAL DAY
Thirteen years ago
“Leave me the fuck alone Cole. I don’t need you to babysit me,” Summer angrily responded as she put a dish in the sink a bit too forcefully.
“I only suggested I drop you off, it’s not the end of the world,” I rationalized, coming to stand beside her at the sink. It was the end of my world, though. She was putting the mask back into place, and I could no longer reason with her.
I couldn’t imagine the war raging in her head as she killed off parts of herself with everyday forward, gone were her lush blonde locks chopped and dyed a honey brunette, her baby blue eyes replaced with startling green contact lenses and her appearance morphed into a person I never knew.
This was not my Summer, no. This was Mia Williams.
“You cannot drop me off at school looking like–” she stammered, trying to find the right words.
“Like a thug?” I supplied, and her features softened for a fraction of a second.
“Exactly,” she confirmed.
I could tell her lies; she loved my tattoos and picked out several of them herself. So what if I looked like a thug? As long as I was her thug, it didn’t matter.
“What if we take the bike?” I pleaded.
I knew what today was, and I was struggling to remain calm.
We had argued enough over the last two weeks about the reason we were both here.
Midas wanted leverage, and that’s what Mia was going to be — the leverage against Obsidian.
It was easier to see Mia than to admit it was my firefly being used in such a manner, like a disposable phone tossed at the end of the day.
It made me sick. Turns out that this rich kid school Mia had been attending for the last two years was the perfect playground for the son of Obsidian’s don. He preferred innocent tastes.
“Fine, but you keep the helmet on, you drop me off at the gate and you will not pick me up this afternoon,” she rolled her eyes, and I smiled.
She grabbed her bag off the counter and threw a snack into it and marched into the hall to grab shoes. I followed behind, and as she opened the front door, I forced it closed.
“Cole, I don’t have time for your games let me out,” she glared at my hand on the door. It was too high for her to reach and knock it away, so she shoved her finger into my chest. “Seriously stop, I need to go,” she whined.
“Okay, but before you go,” I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the box and held it in front of her.
“What is that?” She looked at me suspiciously, and I couldn’t blame her because we didn’t do gifts, especially ones we probably couldn’t keep.
“Happy birthday, I know it’s not until a few more weeks but I figured why wait…” I trailed off as she stared at the pendant.
She cried and swiped the tears away and sniffled. The pendant was a golden firefly engraved on one side, and on the other was a bronze chain with a single key.
“If you don’t like it I can take it back.” I sheepishly shrugged my shoulders.
“It’s beautiful,” she smiled at me, wiping her eyes. “Will you put it on me?” She kept swiping the tears away, probably trying not to smear her makeup, but I didn’t care.
She turned around, moving her hair out of the way for me to clasp it around her neck, and once I finished, her eyes were shining brightly even if they were that ugly shade of green.
She hugged me tightly. There was the sunshine I had missed in these dreary days.
I held her as long as I could, basking in the warmth of her embrace; it felt like home.
The apprehension I’d been feeling since I woke up faded, especially after giving her the pendant.
Okay, a lot more after giving it to her.
Midas told me to watch her closely, and that’s exactly what I planned to do.
The pendant, while being a lovely little trinket, also held a tracker in it, and I hoped to hell she at least kept it in her bag if she didn’t wear it all day. It gave me some small peace of mind.
“Now let’s go so I am not late.” She walked out the door, and just like that, the mask was back in place.