Cobweb Memories
I dreamt that I was a child again.
It was almost a real memory, one I hadn't thought about in too long. In reality, I had climbed a tree, gone too high, fell out, and badly sprained my ankle. My Dad had come running, picking me up to cradle me as he carried me home. Mom brought out the lemonade- the kind that's just made from powder, not anything overly special, but still somehow special because she'd made it- and Dad announced that I was fine.
In the dream, no one came for me. I wasn't a child anymore, but 29, and I fell out of the tree anyway, calling desperately for my mom and dad.
No one came.
I opened my eyes with a heavy gasp, and I realized that I wasn't on the asphalt of the parking lot, like I should've been. Looking up, my whole face must've turned redder than a stupid tomato, because Aegis was holding me, and he looked really upset.
"Sylvia," he said, "what the hell just happened?"
How mortifying. He was holding me like a child, and walking briskly back into the building, which was kind of impressive objectively, because he was acting as if I weighed the same as a doll.
"I-"
With horror, I stopped talking, my hand jerking up to my face. My cheeks were wet. I was crying.
This could not get any worse.
I pushed lightly on Aegis's chest, horrified, and he quickly set me down. The room spun, and I stumbled, my knees giving out like some cheap dollar store damsel in distress, and he quickly grabbed me by my waist.
"Sylvia," he said again, "what is going on? Are you sick?"
"No," I said, and even worse, my voice shook. I sounded small, even to my own ears. "No. No, I'm fine."
There was a ringing, and I squeezed my eyes shut in total horror. Someone from town was walking in here, and if it was the wrong someone, it would be all over everywhere that I was seen swooning in Aegis Black's arms not even one day back.
Dear. God. No.
"Oh, my God, Aegis, what happened?!"
The voice wasn't familiar. When I looked, I saw someone who just did not belong in Werewolf Hollow.
She was drop dead gorgeous, objectively. Perfect features, amber-lit eyes like Aegis, black hair that hung and shone like the wings of a raven, and dressed to the nines in the prettiest, most expensive clothes I had seen... basically ever. The ladies back in LA at my old job would have passed out for shock. I knew enough to know that her outfit cost more than my car was worth... which, granted, wasn't saying much, but still.
She rushed through the door, looking terrified as she grabbed my other hand. I looked between her and Aegis, and for a moment, I was crazy enough to wonder if she was dating him. This is someone who would look good on his arm, I thought distantly.
"Sylvia?" She said, putting the back of one hand to my forehead. "Oh, this is so not how I pictured seeing you again would go! Are you okay?! Did my brother do something?"
Brother? Well, that put a pickle in my already confused and mortified brain.
"Don't you go accusing me of anything," Aegis said, giving her an almost comically angry look. That was a lot for him, because he didn't typically show very much emotion. Not back as teenagers, and so far, not too much, now.
"I saw you fall from my car," the girl babbled, and I looked at her in total confusion. She was scared for me. She had to be someone I knew, but I didn't-
"Hang on," I said, feeling totally stupid. "Jade?"
Her face lit up like Christmas had come early. "You remember me!"
I pushed up and finally got control of my legs, quickly releasing both of their hands. "I- I almost didn't recognize you," I stammered, trying to dry my cheeks, because of course they'd both already seen the horrifying embarrassment by now, so there was no use pretending. "You look- you look incredible."
Jade Black, Aegis's only sister- took me too long to remember that, because I was so damned embarrassed- beamed at me. She was wearing stiletto heels, I saw, and her jeans glittered with carefully embroidered... gems? Sequins? Crystals? I couldn't tell. Her makeup was flawlessly and perfectly applied, and she was a total 180 from the girl I had known back in High School.
"You do remember me," she said, grabbing my hands and squeezing them. She shot another accusing look at her brother. "You sure he didn't overwhelm you? I told him to wait a day or two before throwing everything in your lap."
"No, no, it's fine," I said quickly. "I just- it's just- you know..."
I trailed off, because I couldn't think of a damned thing to explain why I had collapsed in Aegis's parking lot. The truth was even more horrifying... that I had realized my parents and my sister were still gone, total shocker, death still works the way it's always worked. The knowledge of this, of being in a place where the echo of their memory was all that was left had totally knocked me out.
"Are you all right?" Aegis asked quietly, and there was an undertone to the question that made me want to die of embarrassment.
"I'm fine," I said, stepping away from them both quickly. "Totally fine. I'm sorry, that- that was incredibly embarrassing."
"There's nothing embarrassing about tears," Jade said softly, and those words tugged at an old, rusty memory at the back of my mind.
"I'll be all right," I said, backing up to the door. "I should... I need... Home. I gotta go home."
I pushed through the door, and then blanched, because I realized that Aegis still had the keys to my car. I popped back in slowly and looked at him.
"I'll get your car and bring it around," Aegis said quietly, those intense eyes on me. For the first time since I'd known him, in all my life, I looked away, because I couldn't bear to imagine that he could actually see through me.
"Thanks," I muttered, before darting back out the door.
I didn't realize Jade had followed me until she appeared at me side, looking incredibly concerned.
"Sylvia," she said softly, "what's wrong?"
Everyone I ever loved is dead, and even though it's been a little over 10 years, I still feel like it was yesterday.
"Nothing," I said out loud. "I'm just... really tired. I've been on a roller coaster of emotions the last few days." Much better excuse.
"Of course," Jade said, squeezing my hand. She smiled. "You look really good, Sylvie."
I snorted. "No, I don't."
"You look beautiful," she said, "but if you don't feel beautiful, I can help you fix that."
I looked at her, because again, her words were tugging at a memory I hadn't thought of in years.
"Surely you haven't forgotten that," Jade said, smiling. "Look, here's Aegis with your car. Would you mind if I followed you home? I want to make sure you get there safe. That, uh... that's... that's a very... old car."
She fought so hard to be nice about the old rustbucket that I couldn't help but laugh, the sound shaky and weak. "Sure. You can follow."
Aegis stepped out of the car, but when I reached for the keys, he yanked them back. "I'm driving you home," he said grimly. "You just collapsed. I'm worried."
I made a face. "I'm fine, Aegis. It's right around the corner, it's barely a five minute drive."
"I'm following," Jade offered.
"What are your plans for the day?"
I looked at him, saw that he was going to ignore every answer that wasn't the one he wanted, and sighed. "I need to go shopping for clothes for the kids."
"And for you?" Jade said, brightening. She took my hand again. "I could call Ivy, and we could give you a makeover this time!"
This time, I thought, the cobwebs of my memories embarrassingly thick. "I can't... The kids have to come first," I managed to say, because saying "sorry, I don't buy stuff for me anymore unless it's thrifted or at yard sales" sounded way too pitiful.
"I know where all the best shops are, with all the best prices," Jade said immediately. "Trust me. This is, like, my whole thing now."
"It is," Aegis grunted. "She's a thing on social media now."
"I make videos," Jade said proudly. "Sometimes it's just vlogs, sometimes it's about being a werewolf, sometimes it's about clothes and makeup. I like styling clothes. For ages, it was only stuff I thrifted, but now that I'm doing really good, I can actually go out and get, like-"
"Jade," Aegis s. "You're babbling."
"Right. Sorry." Jade clapped her hands together. "Will you let me?"
I shook my head slightly, marveling. "You've changed," I said, echoing the words said to me... only she had grown so much. "I couldn't have paid you money to talk in front of a class, and now you're doing social media stuff?"
"Livestreams and everything," Aegis said, crossing his arms. The keys were pointedly kept out of reach. "She's not even telling you the more impressive bits. She games, and she's some kind of championship winner, or something."
Jade waved a hand. "This isn't about boasting," she said. "Look, Aegis'll drive, I'll follow you and call Ivy, and then I can meet your kids." She took my hands and smiled. "I knew you the second I saw you on that TV. I don't know what you think's changed, Sylvie, but you're the same person you've always been."
A lump formed in my throat, and I shook my head, stepping back. No, I'm not, and I'm going to disappoint all of you.
"Come on," Aegis said quickly, saving me from answering. "Hop in. I know where it's at."
And like the pushy Alpha he'd become, he slid into the front seat and turned the keys in my ignition, which sputtered angrily like an old cat.