26. Family Bonding
Chapter 26
Family Bonding
I t’s with Noah’s heartbreaking gaze looping in my head that I stomp into the shop on Sunday morning once again, despite my dramatic exit last week. I ditched Tuesday's and Thursday’s lessons to wander through the bookshop with Noah, so I’m honestly half surprised to see Grandma walking around the room lighting candles.
I figured she’d give up on me just like everyone else.
“You were right,” Grandma says as I enter the room.
I almost stumble back. “Me? Right? Do you have a fever?”
“Sometimes your sarcasm is not as endearing as you believe it to be.” Her eyes are hard. “The fate of our family shouldn’t rest solely on your shoulders. Despite the self-righteous martyr act you’ve adopted, you are right about that. So, I spoke with your mother and sister.”
“You did what now?” This time I do stumble back. Thank God for the bookshelf that catches me.
She nods. “They’ll be here in half an hour. We will discuss this as a family even if we claw each other’s eyes out first.”
The memory of Noah’s anguished face roots me to the ground despite my urge to run upstairs and hide under the fuzzy blankets. The only way I’m getting out of this alive and back to Noah is by working with them. “I’ll stay. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to enjoy it.”
“Luckily for you, I don’t think you’ll be alone in that sentiment.”
Instead of continuing to get my metaphorical ass kicked by a woman who has been out-sarcasming every person she meets since before I was born, I sit in the circle of candles she’s created. I watch her hippie, witchy-chic skirts billow as she perfects her shop. Every herb, every crystal has a perfect space. She’s creating shapes and flitting around, and it takes my eyes a few moments to adjust to the patterns.
It’s like a giant altar.
Maybe she truly means to rip our cooperation out of us. It may be necessary at this point.
The jingling bell above the door sends a shiver down my spine. The skin on my hands is rosy from wringing them.
“Sarah, Laura.” Grandma gestures warmly toward them. “Come sit down.”
My eyes finally lift, and damn . Mom looks like she’s been through war. Usually the woman is a drop-dead knockout, but today she’s a shell of herself. Her normally liquid-gold eyes are sunken and dull, her brown hair is stringy and frazzled.
Laura at least seems put together, but her eyes dart around like those of an abused puppy.
She hasn’t set foot in this shop since she was a child. I bet she’s getting hit with the same memories I had when I came here for the first time. Her eyes are shiny as she sits beside me, leaving space so we aren’t touching.
My hand itches to close the distance despite everything. She’s my sister after all—when she hurts, I hurt.
As if sensing the sisterly love, she shifts uncomfortably, tucking her knees up to her chin. So much for that.
Mom, in all her messy glory, sits across from me. She refuses to look at me, only looking at Grandma—with a glare I bet she wishes could kill.
Grandma sits and claps her hands. “We all know why we’re here. Our family is at risk.”
Laura snorts. Fully indoctrinated by Mom, then. Awesome.
“I’m handling it.” Even Mom’s voice is broken. It’s as if she hasn’t slept in weeks.
“While I appreciate your strength, Sarah, you and I both know you can’t do this on your own,” Grandma says. While her voice is kind, her eyes are firm.
I’m lucky that Grandma has never had a problem calling Mom out on her shit.
“We wouldn’t even be in this situation if Hazel didn’t have a savior complex!” Laura spits from across the circle.
When did I become the center of all her vitriol?
I snap my head to her. “So has Mom just been poisoning you against me all this time? Or are you really so stupid that you don’t understand what the actual situation is?”
The words escape me before I can stop them. Laura rears back, shock stopping her response.
Grandma raises her hands. “Girls, please.”
“We’d be in this situation no matter what.” I say. “Draven sent Botis as a message. He wants all of us dead. Whether I had been in that forest or not, Botis would’ve come. And Draven will, too.”
“Draven will be handled. The girls won’t be put in harm’s way again, and neither will you, Mother.” Mom stands. “That is the end of this discussion.”
Grandma stands as well. Smaller, but formidable. “Sarah, don’t do this.”
Mom turns on her heel and exits the shop, leaving Laura behind. Good job, Mom.
“Laura...” I reach for her and she snatches her hand back as if she’s been burned.
“Don’t. Just don’t.”
And Laura is gone, too.
Great family meeting. Family bonding at its best.
A cold chill turns the room into a freezer, causing goosebumps to raise on my skin. It takes a second for me to realize it’s from me, from my fear at the look in Grandma’s eyes.
“Grandma?”
Her eyes are like pure blue liquid wrath, like blue fire. The earth trembles beneath my feet, threatening to send me toppling over.
Against my better judgment, I take a step closer. “Grandma?”
“Never. Never in all my days have I seen a group of more stubborn, bull-headed women. And to see it is my own kin acting in this shameful way.” The ground settles beneath our feet as the fire leaves her. She deflates, shoulders sagging. “I have failed. I’ve failed all of you. You’ve failed me, and the price will be our lives.”
Shit . I’ve seen a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never seen Grandma give up. She’s supposed to be the most stubborn of us all.
And we broke her.
The guilt is like a slap in the face. I can’t let her feel like this.
“I’ll call them back.”
She shakes her head. “I believe it may be far too late for that. And it wasn’t all you, Hazel. Rest, dear. Talk to me when my heart isn’t so far into my throat.”
The shaking in my bones isn’t because of the cold anymore. It’s an overwhelming helplessness that not even Grandma can overcome. Where do I go from here? Where do any of us go from here?
My feet take me to the back door, to the stairs, to my apartment, and I’m whipping out my phone before I know what’s happening.