The Runes Curse

Chapter 3

“Where’s Sammie?” Quinn asked, fumbling with the sheets.

“He’s…” Joshua looked over at Lydia, a silent message passing between them both. “He’s still sleeping. He can’t know that you had gotten hurt, Quinn.” She had to agree.

“Hi, everybody,” Austin said, interrupting the serious moment they all had. His dark brown hair was still in his eyes and it annoyed Quinn. She always wanted to cut it, but he’d tackled her before she could even get the scissors out. Cameron was with him, looking gloomy until he saw Cecily. His face brighten up and both of their eyes met before Cecily broke the connection. Quinn wondered what it was about, but didn’t press it. “Move.” Austin tugged at Joshua’s short-sleeved shirt, urging him to move.

“Fine, boy,” Joshua sighed. He silently told Lydia to follow him.

“I need to check on something,” Lydia whispered, barely audible. She gave Quinn a quick kiss on her forehead before squeezing past Cameron to follow her husband. That left the four of them.

“So, did you have fun being babied?” Cameron asked, stuffing his hands in his gym shorts. Cecily shot him a look of death, warning him not to mess with Quinn. She felt triumphant that her friend was sticking up for her, but she also didn’t like her friends fighting. Cameron might be a total d-bag, but he was Quinn’s d-bag. 

“Did you hear about the Lightwoods?” Austin always was good at changing topics, even when it wasn’t welcomed. He looked over at Cecily and gave her a toothless grin, trying to play something against her. Cecily just looked bored.

“What do you mean?” Quinn asked, scooting against the head-board so that she could be upright. “Did something happen?”

“No, he’s just…” Cecily looked like she was at a loss for words, trying to make whatever she was excited about that much better. She gave Cameron one last look before staring straight into Quinn’s eyes. The flecks of gray were barely noticeable in the sea of blue, and at any other moment, Quinn might’ve wanted to take a picture of her eyes. “My brother is coming back from San Diego!”

“What?” Quinn asked, coming back to reality. She thought of Cecily’s brother and could come up with almost nothing. Just that he was Cecily’s brother. He was a blur to Quinn, and she couldn’t put a finger to it. He was two years older than her and Cecily, and that was it. “Isn’t he, like, 19?”

“Yup! It turns out that he’s coming to learn how to run the Institute!” Cecily rushed out the words, each word turning into a jumble.

That was not okay to Quinn

“He can’t steal my job! I’m supposed to learn how to run the Institute,” Quinn whined, realizing that she sounded spoiled. Her parents might run the Institute, but that didn’t mean that some kid that Quinn could hardly remember could take over. It was her home, and who knew what he was going to do to it? He sounded like trouble.

“Hey, who said it was your job?”

“Haven’t you noticed, Cecily?” Cameron said, finally letting himself be noticed. Quinn looked up at him and squinted, hoping that she looked menacing. It didn’t work. “She’s her parents’ prized possession. She has to be their heir.” Cameron crossed his arms and leaned against one of the mobile curtains that were used to separate patients. They didn’t get much of those.

“I am not!” Quinn exclaimed, trying to win over her friend. Quinn felt like tackling Cameron to the floor and leaving him there until he said sorry, but she knew better. Cecily and Austin would probably stop her, and she would most likely stumble trying to get to Cameron.

Cecily bit her lip and studied the both of them as they bickered back and forth. “Stop,” Cecily said softly, interrupting the two. She stood up and tucked a lock of frizzy, dark curly hair behind her ear, and walked up to Cameron. She was shorter than most boys and him especially. “Be nice to your best-friend.”