Moon Bound (Forgotten Series, #5)

Chapter Eleven

I stared at the unassuming house intently. The flutter of the curtains a few minutes ago let me know that my a-bú had peeked out and was more than likely amusing herself with my hesitance.

"So are we goin-"

"Shush!" I glowered at him. "The last time I was home, my a-bú told me that my troubles with my magic would be my own." I didn't want to hear her gloat about me losing my magic, or hear about how she was right and I was wrong. "She never wanted me to be a white witch. She told me it would break my heart." Well she had been correct in that assumption. There had been nothing but heartache for me but I hated admitting I was wrong.

Bastian gave me a look of confusion, tilting his head slightly, his shaggy hair falling forward into his eyes. "You said your parents would accept you no matter what happened to you." He looked far too attractive and my fingers twitched to brush the hair from his eyes.

I forced my gaze away from him and to the steering wheel. "They would but I don't want to hear her say 'I told you so'." I really didn't want to hear that. It was all I would need right now. I just wanted life to be normal for a moment before the shit show started again.

A knock on my window had me jumping, my heart in my throat. I slowly turned and my a-bú gave me a look and gave a sharp gesture down. I slowly rolled down the window and braced myself. "Chickpea, I did not raise you to lurk about. You are home, get inside. Lunch is waiting and your papa will be sorely upset with you if his tempura is cold." Her Taiwanese was chiding and I winced.

"I'm sorry, mother." I let out a heavy sigh and glanced at Bastian who looked between the two of us with an expression of sheer confusion. I didn't blame him, it wasn't like he could understand us.

"I don't need apologies. The neighbours will start asking questions if you don't move your little butt. In the house, now." She bent down, her eyes landing on Bastian. "Go inside, lunch is ready. No need for your belly to be empty because chicken is too worried about I told you so's to move." She gave him a soft smile and he blinked rapidly as he looked at me.

Heat rolled up my cheeks and I glared at my a-bú from the corner of my eyes. "Its chickpea, not chicken!" I swore she did it deliberately to antagonize me.

She only gave credence to that belief as she gave a lazy shrug. "English hard, I know few word only." She deliberately over pronounced her accent and my blush only deepened.

"Oh stop it! You are so embarrassing!" I gave a sound of disgust as I pushed open the car door and stepped out. She acted like that all the time growing up and her twitching lips only made me that much more agitated with her.

"My son, out of the car!" She tilted her head as she gestured to Bastian, her bracelets jangling on her wrist. "You need to eat. Lunch is waiting." She headed for the house and I ducked my head back into the car to look at Bastian who was looking at my a-bú with wide eyes.

"Just ignore the weirdness. We need to go eat." I closed the door and followed after her. I could hear Bastian getting out of the car and I stopped, waiting for him to catch up. It was not fair to throw him to the proverbial wolves and leave him to figure it out by himself.

He limped his way towards me, his expression a grimace. "You didn't have to wait for me."

I waved him off as I started walking once again. "I actually did. You are going to be entering a house with some very strange customs. I'm going to give you a heads up." There would be a few things that would be strange for him. "My papa isn't as strict with the rules, which drives my baba crazy. He's the black sheep but still remove your shoes before entering." We reached the front door and I slipped off my runners, tucking them into a cubby before grabbing my old slippers and putting them on.