I STILL BELIEVE | ELEMENTAL

07

"And that lady was my Grandma wasn't she?" Jade asked.

Ember nodded. Smoke came out of her nose as she was a little pissed. Oh come on, she was very pissed.

"Jade, I don't have time for this right now. We'll talk about this in the morning." Ember insisted.

"No! I deserve to know. Everytime I bring him up you always shut me down." The six year old said.

Ember almost turned purple. But there was still calm in her manners.

"Jade, when you're older you'll understand." She sighed.

"But I wanna know now! Why not now?" She asked, utterly angry.

As Jade continued to yell at her, Ember tried to take a deep breath.

Be calm, make a connection.

Be calm, make a connection.

Be calm, MAKE A CONNECTION!

Before she could process it. Ember yelled at Jade. Making them both shake.

Jade started crying at her Mother's outburst. She barely ever yelled at her.

"Sorry. I'm so sorry." Ember said, immediately going to calm her child down.

She held her in her arms. Trying to make her better.

"I was just asking." Jade murmured.

"I know, I know, baby." Ember said.

That's it. She couldn't anymore.

Ember began to sob uncontrollably. The six years of the guilt, the lies and the secrets that she kept started to pull back at her.

Years of feeling like a disappointment. To her parents and family.

Years of being mad at Wade. For leaving without saying he was leaving. For going without a goodbye. For leaving her with a mixed bastard child.

But how could she call Jade like that? And why did the world have to tell her that Jade was branded as a mixed bastard child. A child that shouldn't even be able to exist.

Why should Jade be known as a social issue?

That wasn't fair. And now it was all towering before her.

She knew she would never be able to face the town again. For showing her face with a mixed child holding onto her hand.

"I'm sorry for getting mad. Okay?" She whimpered. Sounding like the one who yelled.

Jade nodded, whimpering as well.

"It's okay, Mommy. I get mad sometimes too." She admitted.

Ember laughed bitterly. She wasn't cursed. She was blessed.

~~~

Being the one to host the annual family reunion was a lot of work. And especially when revealing what her child truly looked like.

Her Aunt and Uncle were probably embarrassed to have to celebrate the family reunion with her.

But they were a family at the end of the day. And Jade did have her fire heritage too.

And she was missing a few ingredients for the Tasha stew.

But the town people were like leeches. They just couldn't stop looking at Jade. Because she of course stood out from the rest.

She hung to her leg, anxious about everyone's eyes on her.

Ember decided that she would not be wearing her hoodie. She had to be brave. And she realised that Jade was also taking the liberty of taking ber hoodie off.

"Mommy, are we done yet?" She asked.

"Not yet Sweetheart." Ember answered.

Ever since what happened, with Wade, Ember couldn't sleep at night. And without sleep she can't think.

God help her, she'll make this whole place drown in her tears that she cries.

If they even dare try to hurt Jade. Even daring to lift the covers from her. They'll have to go through her first.

She tried to go to Mr. Earl's. But he didn't want anything to do with her. With Jade trailing behind her. She tried to look for another stand.

And then she tried Ms. Sparklette. But she apparently didn't have anything to give her.

Only Mr. Jolie ended up giving her what she needed. And she was grateful for it. Especially since everyone had their eyes on her. Curious, as if this was a telenovela. A F-Drama.

But this wasn't a drama. This was real life.

Having had the ingredients, Ember headed back to her house.

She had to face her family tomorrow.

And they would not be happy that Jade was a mixed bastard child.

Jesus Christ, this whole family is more messy than my cousin's room.

So in the next chapter comes the family meeting. Will Ember lived to see it.

Also, wonder why Thorn never speaks? Why doesn't he have a POV of his own? Brook, Wade, and Ember all have their own points of view.

But others don't.

This is because when Jade was born, and when Wade left, Ember started to see the world in a dark light.

And her parents dying was also the cherry on top. It just made everything worse.

The once sunny young twenty-something became cold hearted. For a fire element who was fire.

But now that Wade has come back. She has started to come out of her shell. And that came back negatively. How unfortunate for her.

But now she has started to see the world the way she used to know.

Maybe perhaps she had depression. Idk.