1. Once Upon A Time #2
“It was fine, Grandma.” It’s so much fun being the boring sister.
I don’t miss the look they share. The ‘Oh, poor Laura, she’s so damaged, what are we going to do about her?’ look. It’s infuriating. I scowl in their direction and stuff a forkful of mashed potatoes into my mouth.
“I have an idea I’d like to run past you,” Grandma says. “I was wondering if you’d like to start magic lessons with me and Hazel. I think it’d be prudent for you to begin learning how to harness your magic.”
“Oh, I’m finally invited to sit with the cool kids?” I snark. “Lucky me.”
Anger grows in my chest like a molten bubble in a sea of lava, ready to pop.
“You were always invited to our lessons, Laura,” Hazel says.
“I’m pretty sure my invitation got lost in the mail because I never received one.”
“Laura,” Grandma sighs. She’s lost her fire since Mom.
Once upon a time she’d be telling me to take my attitude and shove it.
“It’s imperative that you learn how to defend yourself.
We have no idea how long it will take for Draven to form a plan and make his next move.
Once he returns from being banished to Hell, he will come for each of us and I refuse to allow you both to be defenseless. ”
Defenseless. Her words remind me that I’m the only one of us who still doesn’t know what the fuck they’re doing. I’m the least prepared. The least connected to her magic.
I’m the failure.
The lava bubble pops.
“Well, if you two have already decided, then I don’t have much say in the matter, do I?” I slap my hands on the table. “How about instead of presenting it as a choice, you tell me the truth. I’m going to magic lessons and that’s that.”
Grandma’s eyebrow shoots up.
Good. Get annoyed. Get mad. Fight with me. Show me some sort of emotion instead of the passive bullshit I’ve been getting.
“You will go to magic lessons and that’s that.” Grandma smiles, a snarky thing that makes me feel like I’ve fallen into a trap. “And you will work a booth for The Cat’s Cradle at the market this winter.”
The market? A lance of panic shoots through my false bravado. I can’t be at the market every day. Not with him.
How long can I keep pushing him away if I’m literally forced to be around him every single day?
“Grandma, I—” I protest.
She holds her hand up to stop me. “That’s final.”
Hazel tries to open her mouth as well, but Grandma shoots her a glare. This topic is over.
How in the fuck did I end up in this mess?
“It seems I’ve lost my appetite.” I stand, glaring at both of them before turning my back and stomping up to my room.
I’m not an idiot. I know exactly why they’re so hell-bent on having me learn my magic. I’m not fond of the idea of Draven ripping me a new asshole either, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy being ordered around like a dog.
Two knocks sound on my bedroom door.
Hazel pokes her head in. “Do you mind if I come in?”
“Not sure I have any free will anymore, so why not?” I snap.
Her smile is guilty as she walks in and sits across from me on the bright pink bedspread. “I’m sorry how that all went down downstairs. That definitely wasn’t the plan.”
“So you admit there was a plan? That you’ve been talking about me behind my back?” My hands fly up of their own accord. “Instead of involving me in decisions that affect myself and our family, you’ve been actively excluding me.”
She has the decency to drop her eyes, at least. “Well, when you say it like that it does seem bad. It doesn’t come from a bad place, though. I’m just worried about you. Worried about all of us, honestly.”
“Worried about Noah?”
Noah. One of the main reasons I will not be engaging with my soulmate. Is Noah fantastic? Absolutely. The nerd is great. But did he also get kidnapped and nearly killed by the psycho warlock who killed my father? You’re damn skippy.
And there’s no way in fuck I am putting myself—or my soulmate—through that. I’ll push him away until I can’t push anymore to keep him safe from Draven. To keep myself from becoming another woman in this family who lost her soulmate. To keep myself from turning into Mom.
She nods. “Of course I am. He knows much more about what’s going on now, but I think I’d lose it if anything happened to him again. I’d lose it if anything happened to you, too.”
“I get it, okay? You have every right to be worried.” I shuffle away from her. “But I’m an adult. Stop treating me like a child. I deserve to be part of those conversations.”
“Okay.” She exhales a deep breath that makes her seem so much older than her twenty-five years. Like she’s truly been through some shit. And she has. “You’re right. No more planning without you.”
“Thank you.”
She stands. “Oh, and Laura?”
I make a questioning noise as I pull out my sketchbook. It’s full of designs for accessories I’ll never make.
“Noah told me what you said on the phone with him after he and I had our falling out. How you convinced him to come and see me.”
My body stills. I specifically told that man not to mention that we talked. One look from his soulmate and he sings like a fucking bird.
She approaches, coming a little too close to my personal bubble. “Thank you. I know we are in a weird place right now, but I love you. And I appreciate so much that you went to him.”
Tears burn my eyes. Fuck her for making me cry.
For reminding me that the person I felt safest with for most of my life is still right there but that things are so different between us now.
There’s a deep, scared little piece of my heart that just wants her big sister. But the part she hurt is bigger.
“Yeah,” I sniffle. “Whatever. I was just sick of seeing you so miserable.”
She chuckles and leaves the room, the door making a gentle snick behind her.
“I love you, too,” I whisper to the empty space.