Forget Me Not (Book 3 of Acceptance Series)

Chapter 35

There was a knock on the side of the car from where there was a loud thud, and we looked that way to see it was only Aenes, looking at us concerned but also amused because we screamed again.

I breathed a small sigh of relief and sank a bit in my seat before I rolled my window down a little so that I could talk to him. "Aenes," I said, the sigh of relief apparent in my voice while my shoulders sagged in relief. "Thank Goddess that it's just you."

"Hmph." He bit back a small smirk before he bowed his head a little and looked at me with a concerned look on his face. "Are you all ok?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question while he looked at all of us before he looked at me again.

"Well, all of our tires have been popped by someone, and we can't get in touch with either Mom or Dad, but other than that, I believe we're peachy."

Aenes slowly blinked before he slowly nodded and pressed his lips into a thin line. "Do you know how your tires were popped?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question.

I hesitated before I shook my head and cleared my throat while I shifted in my seat. "I'm sure that someone popped them with magic, but I don't know who or where they came from."

Aenes pressed his lips into a thinner line and slowly nodded. He didn't say a word while he looked around before he looked at me.

"You didn't have anything to do with it, did you?" Julius asked from the back, and both Aenes and I looked at him with annoyed looks on our faces. He narrowed his eyes and scowled while he looked at the older gentlemen.

Mel bit back an annoyed sigh and smacked her forehead with a small smack before she moved her hand across her face and shook her head. "Really, Julius?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question while she pulled her hand away from her face. "Did you really ask that to Aenes?" She gestured to him while she pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Well, yes," he said and nodded in confirmation. "I mean, he is the only Warlock that I see near us, and TJ only has his window cracked and not all the way down, which is weird. Someone also banged on the car before there was a knock on the window."

"But that was on the other side of the car," I replied and looked at my brother, "and I have my window down a crack as a just in case, especially since everything that had happened."

Aenes blinked and blinked again, pressing his lips onto a thin line, and worry flashed across his face and through his eyes. "There was a thunk on the other side of the car?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question, trying but failing to hide the worry in his voice.

I nodded in confirmation while I turned to look at Aenes again. "Yes," I confirmed. "I don't know when or what it was about, but there was a thud on the other side of the car."

"Roll your window up all the way, TJ,," Aenes instructed, "and don't roll it down until I tell you to."

"Wait, what's going on Aenes?" Melody asked before I could do what I was told to do. She leaned forward and looked at him with a concerned look on her face. "Is everything ok?"

Aenes bit back a small smile and slowly nodded. "Everything is going to be fine, Mel," he said. "Just let TJ do what I told him to do so that I can look around for a second."

"And to prove that you weren't the cause of it," Julius said, earning a warning look from both Mel and I as well as a chuckle and a nod from Aenes.

"And to prove that I wasn't the cause of it," he promised before he looked at me again. "Close the window."

And with that, he walked to the other side of the van, and I did what I was told to do and rolled the window all the way up while we watched him in tense silence.

Goddess, keep us safe...

***

Mel cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, breaking the tense silence, first. "Do... you want to see if you can't contact Mom, now?" Mel asked while we watched Aenes on the other side of the van. "Now that Aenes is here? I can try to contact Dad, too, so that we have both parents taken care of."

I pressed my lips into a thin line and slowly nodded while I grabbed my steering wheel tighter. "Ok," I said and took a deep breath before I released it with a small whoosh and tried to link my mother again.

'Mom?' I asked when I felt the bond form again, not knowing how it went away beforehand. My voice shook and was filled with nervousness while I tried to contact her. 'Can you hear me?' I asked.

'Yes..?' my mother said, sounding confused, and I had a feeling that she raised an eyebrow in question. 'Why wouldn't I? Is everything ok? Do you have everyone in the car with you?'

I breathed a small sigh of relief, and my shoulders sagged as if the weight of the world was lifted off of them because I could contact my mother again.

Thank Goddess...

'Well, Mel and I were not able to contact you a few minutes ago,' I said, 'or Dad. It felt as if there was this block between us that caused the mindlink to stop working.'

I felt my mom grow tense through the bond, and I could tell that she was getting worried, especially since we weren't able to contact her and Dad.

"I got Mom," I said and looked at Mel.

"Good because Dad is being a butt and not answering me," Mel said and pursed her lips in annoyance. "I can feel him, but he is not answering me when I contacted him."

'What happened? Where are you?' she asked, her tone a little dark, and I could hear the protectiveness in it even from where I was at. 'Is everyone ok?'

'We are fine but nervous, Mom," I said before I cleared my throat and tapped on my steering wheel again. 'Someone popped all of the van tires,' I added, 'and I have a feeling that they used magic to do it. A-'

Mom growled out protectively, interrupting me, and I couldn't help but flinch and bow, even though her anger wasn't directly directed toward me but at the predicament that we found ourselves in. 'Where. Are. You?' she asked in a threatening tone, and I bit back a small gulp, not knowing if I wanted to see her like this.

'We are on the long road that is in between the school and packgrounds,' I replied, meekly. 'Ae-'

'I am on my way,' Mom said, interrupting me again. 'Stay put.'

And with that she blocked the bond between, and I breathed a small sigh of annoyance while I moved a hand through my hair and pressed my lips into a thin line.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath. "This is going to be great."

"Well?" Mel asked and raised an eyebrow in question, looking a little amused and worried about my attitude. "What happened?"

I sighed again and shook my head while I pursed my lips in annoyance. "Mom is on her way," I replied, "and she is not happy. Tell Dad that Mom is on her way over to us, and that she is not a happy camper."

"And tell him that Aenes came here from out of nowhere," Julius said. "I don't know if TJ was able to do that before Mom set up the block between the two of them."

I bit back a small chuckle, and I shook my head. "I wasn't able to," I said, "so go ahead and do what Julius said."

Mel nodded and did what we told her to do, and relief flashed through her eyes as if Dad finally contacted her back. "Done," she said, "and Dad is on his way as well to help with whatever we need."

I breathed a small sigh of relief and slowly nodded. "Good," I said while I looked at Aenes and saw him look very confused and concerned about something with the van, "because it looks like we need all of the help that we can get."